Hasaa’ki Tribe

"The Moon Keepers"

The Hasaa'ki are a traditionally-minded tribe of Hekerin hailing from planet Hekeri.

They are among the most radically against the traders and outside technology as a whole, but there have been numerous individuals breaking off from the group over the years because of those views. It has contributed to rising bitterness and tension within the tribe.

Tiskha'sae Solawne and his brothers are some of those individuals.

## Data

* Planet of Origin: Hekeri
* Population: around a hundred people
* Type: Traditional, nomadic, anti-traders
* Organisation: Led by the Elders, children are raised by everyone
* Other info: hunter-gatherers, psionically trained

## Culture

### Beliefs

The Hasaa'ki believe that travelling the land is vital to keep from tiring it and using all of its resources. In addition to this nomadic life, they regularly do a pilgrimage to the Moonlands in order to bring vitality from that side to the Sunlands. For them, the Moonlands are the land of the spirits and the deities. It is not to be disturbed any more than necessary for this ritual.

As they charge themselves with the energy of that mystical land and come back to the Sunlands, they bring the energy back with them and into the land, therefore helping regenerate it. The tritium there is for them a physical manifestation of the energy from the other side.

For the Hasaa'ki, the traders and Hekerin harvesting the tritium are not only disrupting the regeneration of the land, but also potentially angering the spirits and the sun. They watch the lesser moon, Taktak, with attention as they believe it will start giving signs of a calamity if this does not stop.

The periodic pilgrimage is in big part ruled by solar flares, which they have learned to predict and anticipate, as a sign to get moving. They interpret the increase in tritium during solar flares as the result of their difficult trip to the Moonlands.

### Customs

The Hasaa'ki are organised in smaller family groups within the tribe, with the whole population following the Elders' recommendations. These Elders are seen as the oldest and wisest people of the tribe, and their opinion is highly valued.

As they arrive to a new spot, they dig small caverns into the ground and finish the entrance with skins and woven fabrics propped up by all sorts of materials. This allows them to have some places safe from the sun, the harsh wind, and other hazards.

Children are taken care of and taught indiscriminately by everyone in the tribe, even if most parents still have a closer bond with their own offspring. As the child reaches a certain age, usually between 10 and 13, they are taught how to hunt and become part of the hunting/gathering groups.

There is a customary rite of passage around the age of adulthood, where the young Hekerin is asked to go gather a very pure, very specific crystal and, with the help of the tribe member, to carve and turn it into what in effect is very similar to a circuit board. It usually ends up being made into some sort of accessory, from earrings to necklaces, wristbands or hairpins. This crystal is then ritually imbued with tritium and, for the more gifted individuals, allows them to use psionics.

Traditionally, psionics are used to make hunting more efficient, and help with day to day life.

### Relationship to the moons

Hasaa, the main moon of Hekeri is at the center of the tribal life. Its appearances and disappearances rhythm the days, allowing the Hasaa'ki to tell the time. As such, half a revolution around Hekeri is the equivalent of a 'day' for the Hasaa'ki, with an alternation of moonless and moonlit days. Hasaa's rotation is much slower than its revolution. The former is used by the tribe as a way to tell longer periods of time, about equivalent to a month and a half on Earth.

Taktak, on the other hand, is both feared and revered. Its very elliptical orbit and long revolution time makes it a very poorly understood astral phenomenon by the locals. The Hasaa'ki keep anxious watch over Taktak while it is visible in the sky, fearing it as it passes close and reveling in its absence when it is hidden from them on the other side of the planet.

## Language

As most Hekerin tribes, the Hasaa'ki have their own dialect and their own names for celestial objects, areas, flora and fauna, etc. In addition, they also know the dialect of the neighbouring tribes, as well as the common tongue used by the traders. They will not readily admit to the latter but some will justify it in a "know your enemy" way.

### Tribal names

* Planet: **Takseek**, referring to a necessary hardship or labour in order to reach a better state of being
* Sun: **Seektem**, hard to translate but it refers to both the concept of 'bringer of life' and 'judge'.
* Main moon (HK-01): **Hasaa**, literally 'The Moon'
* Secondary moon (HK-02): **Taktak**, referring to what other cultures might call 'hell'. More specifically 'the messenger of the end of the world'.
* Hekerin: **Rin'kasi**, 'child of dust' or 'born from dust'
* Traders: **Rin'tak**, more or less 'hell spawn'
* Tritium: That gas isn't known as such, but the area is called **Maka'seek**, literally 'Iridescent fields' or 'sacred grounds'
* Gravity Sling: **Memaka**, literally 'no-ground' or 'through-ground', also called **Meseekta**, 'passage to the sacred'
* Sunlands: **Iktak'nae**, loosely 'where we roam' or 'where we labour'
* Moonlands: **Ikseek'ta**, loosely 'where sacred happens'
* Dawndusk: **Menae**, literally 'not us' or 'not for us'. Despite the more clement climate, the Hasaa'ki consider the place unfit for proper living.

### Dictionary

Hasaa'ki dialect uses words for thematic ensembles, therefore the particles take different senses depending on how they're combined and the context in which they are used. There are still global ideas that can be made out. This list is by no mean exhaustive.

Particles:

* Seek: sacred, related to the sacred, iridescent, holy
* Tak: Bad, labour, difficulty, hardship, painful
* Hasaa: Moon, nurturing, soothing
* Tem: Judge, judging, deciding, balancing
* Rin: Child of, son, daughter, child, spawn
* Kasi: Dust, sand, dirt
* Maka: Field, ground, territory
* Me: No, nothing, void, through, passage, opening
* Ma: from, with, joined, linked
* Ik: Where, here, there, this place, close
* Ta: To, towards, becoming, happening, is, be, far
* Nae: Us, we, our, ours
* Ki: Keeper, watcher, holding
* Meek: Fierce, strong, mighty
* Pel: Tool
* Tae: Up, uncovering, to the top, towards the sky
* Rana: Dew, moisture, humidity
* Si: Under, into, inside, hidden
* Ehk: hit, kill, harm
* Seta: many, much, more
* Ae: first, one, once
* No: second, two, duo
* Le: Third, three
* Sae: Fourth, four

Word combinations:

* Peltae: A tool used for harvesting Ranasi, literally 'to uncover' them
* Ehkpelta: Projectile weapon. Literally 'Tool to hit from far away'
* Ranasi: literally 'hidden in the dew'. A small and difficult to find -- but delicious -- gastropod
* Ae'maseta: refers to beings or objects of composite origin, ie: chimera. Literally 'Many joined in one'
* Taktak: Hell, calamity