Indigenous Safiloans

List of Ethnic Groups in Mekabiri

Proto-Marenesians

Aiana family

People have inhabited the Peridasei islands in Northern Safiloa fairly early on ($date?). These extremely early inhabitants were likely the ancestors of today's Ayana people, who still live seasonally-influenced semi-nomadic hunter-gathering lifestyles in the foothill jungles and swamps of the Burañnoan Cload Forest Mountains. They are noted for their short statures, friendly demeanor, and their consumption of hallucinogenic honey for rituals. They continue to live in small albeit fragmented semi-transient villages throughout the islands. They primarily subsist on bee larvae, honey, termites, grasshoppers, tubers, fruits, herbs, wild sugarcane, and nuts. They have been documented communicating with the Peridaseian Honeyguide bird in their search for beehives and termite mounds.

The mysterious language-isolate and pale-eyed, light skinned, and red-haired Pishatja people originally lived in an extensive network of large man-made catacombs, tunnels, subterranean mushroom gardens, and caverns on the island of Kambanu island for ($thousands of years$). They are known for their stone masonry and have collectively constructed thousands of stone effigies and sarcophagis that decorate the rocky outcrops that dot Kambanu's interior. Initially demonized and shunned by outsiders for their peculiar behavior, eventually an outbreak of the deadly Sopoto dissease - which wiped out a huge percentage of their people made their island finally vulnerable to Marenesian, Azanians, and then eventually Sokhainean encroachment. Now, very few Pishatja continue to live underground with most choosing to live in non-subterranean cities along with other Safiloans.

Marenesians

Marakoua during their Mudmen Ritual

The Marenesians arrived in numerous separate waves likely from the Morimosheku islands and all share similar mythologies, traditions, and linguistic origin. This includes the Adaro, Djuboko, Doian, Guoaikeri, Kakañgora, Keliak, Kimpurusha, Koiorowen, Kuailanoro, Marakoua, Menehun, Mohoao, Muki-Mora, Nargun, Ñarañ, Pukeonaki, Saitanong, Suchi-Varoti, Tjinipili, Tutugal, Valakilea, Wotuku, and Eyabon peoples. Together they form the most geographically widespread and numerous Safiloan ethnicity. Despite their diasporic spread over several islands, many abide to a philosophical vegetarian and pacifist stance called Nunuku-Wenao. Nunuku-Wenao, is often described as either a cultural hero or demigod, a prophet, or a direct ancestor of many of the Marenesians surrounding the Safijeran Sea. Despite their geographic spread and diversity, the Marenesians only make up the majority population on the Tataina and Doianina archipelagos within Safiloa, but are a sizable minority in every other archipelago as well.

Azanians

Wodjimba children playing next to a Crab Claw Canoe

The next wave of settlers arrived from Southern Azanian and probably island-hopped during the Last Ice Age, back when the world's sea levels were much lower. Their descendants include the modern day: Bagini-Baidjini, Bunagaia, Kinnara, Madimo, Nomo-Utu, Vajimba-Wodjini and Watuku peoples. It has been hypothesized that these Southern Azanians might have arrived on a single migratory wave to the islands due to curious genetic markers, and that due to insular isolation may have become linguistically and culturally distinct from each other. Physically, they are tall, slim, robust, and much darker skinned than the Aiana. Many of these tribes live in the forest canopy either on extremely tall stilted homes or in treehouses. Ethnic groups belonging to the Bagini-Baidjini, Bunagaia, Kinnara, and Vajimba-Wodjini language families generally live throughout Morimosheku, including Makona and Malimoko, with the Wodjimba being the most numerous. The Nomos and Utus live predominately in the Paridasei islands. The Watuku however continue to live tribalistic lifestyles in the coastal mangrove swamps of Maleibidulu & Samberiti.

Sokhaineans

A public garden in Ponaiga

The arrival of the Mekabirian Sokhaineans was tied to a chaotic event in Europa history, which saw thousands of followers of Majataka's teaching flee religious persecution and oppression and settle in Northern Safiloa. There they quickly intermarried with the local chieftains and began proselytizing the indigenous communities. It became quickly apparent that Nunuku's Law and the teachings of Majataka were both pacifist and vegetarian in nature and actually complemented each other for the most part. The Sokhaineans and the indigenous communities represented at the first Great Fire established that both Nunuku's Law and the teachings of Majataka would matter and that future religions and belief systems - as long as they did not disagree with the "fundamentals" could contribute toward the "Law of the Land".

Modern Sokhaineans still follow Majataka's reforms and are internationally known for their majestic public gardens.

Gomu

The Tamurini Gomukhans or Gomu also arrived from Europa - similar to Sokhaineans, albeit for different reasons and settled on the islands of Maleibidulu & Samberiti, where they began setting up a farm and salt-panning-based colony on Maleibidulu. It quickly developed overtime eventually a major library and temple was constructed on the nearby island of Samberiti. The Gomukhans by pure coincidence had also independently developed a fairly pacifist society thanks in large part to their adherence of ahimsa (a cornerstone of their Jivanamist faith), albeit with a caveat. Orphans and poor children unable to afford an ecclesiastical or merchant education were trained to serve in the "Boluan" Guards - a small elite force primarily tasked with the defense of temples, stockades, granaries, gardens, ports, libraries, and other important structures. Eventually, the Boluan Guards were tasked with defending the defenseless and downtrodden.

A Jivanamist Basadi

Mevraqi

The Mevraqi-derived Pinonim were late arrivals from Mevraq, where their religious differences began to cause a strain with the increasingly rabbinical-led teachings of Mevraq, which the Pinonim considered "Midrash". The Pinonim instead chose to believe strongly in having a personal relationship and understanding with their god and that no individual - including a rabbi - should come in between.

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Still to add:

(Tseiam, Teteholi Ana(h)a, Hawea, Siñuaia, Sassalagohan, Omumborombonga)