P'al

P'al men

The Pa'l are a subgroup of Tuluran White Pilgrims that live in its majority in isolated communities deep in the Tuluran countryside, as opposed to the other followers of the White Paths that predominantly live in coastal urban settlements. They are the descendents of White Pilgrims armed militias that settled in secluded areas of Tulura during the War of Ten Thousand Leagues as a way to avoid persecution. There are currently XXXXX P'al registered by the census, who work predominantly as cattle herders and coffee farmers. They are especially famed for their poultry, including chickens, ducks, but also Terror Birds, Ostriches and even Moa from Onekawa-Nukanoa.

Because of their role in the Thousand Leagues War, the P'al were reputed to be violent, bloodthirsty, communautarists. They have an history of opposition to the State, notably on the matter of conscription, but also of conflicts with neighboring communities, even if their secluded settlements limit the number of confrontations.

Etymology

It is the other white pilgrims communities that gave the P'al their name, which then became commonly used by the other Tulurans. P'al mean "separated" in Satti and refers to the separation that occured inside the White Path community after the end of the Mutulese presence in the Ozeros. The majority of pilgrims stayed in the portuary cities where they've always resided, while a few preferred to abandon their urban settlement to find refuge deeper inland, away from the Tuluran and especially the |Iifae as tensions between the two groups were at an all time high. Since then, while contacts between the two communities are regular, especially during pilgrimages, their lifestyles remain irremediabely different.

Economy

Their economy is based on agriculture, the raising of livestock (especially large avians), and hunting. Most of their agriculture is subsidence-based, with very few P'al growing coffee or other cash crops. The main crops are sorghum, millet, and corn, but also pulses and yams.

Livestock

Livestock production plays an important role in P'al communities. Almost the entire population is involved in some way with animal husbandry. They raise large avians, such as Ostriches, Moa, and some specific breeds of Terror Birds, but also smaller birds like chicken, turkeys, and ducks. They're all raised for their feathers, skins, eggs, or meat. Ostriches are an especially important source of revenues for P'al ranchers. They've also developed special saddles for ostriches, allowing for Ostriches racing, while Terror birds are raised in manner not dissimilar from dogs either as company animals or for running and fighting competitions.

They nonetheless raise bovines as a source of meat, milk, leather, and draft power.

Culture

Language

P'al speak Tewanya as their first language. Very few are capable of speaking Satti and only know the religious vocabulary. As it is, Satti remain firmly a litturgical language, only spoken fluently by the clergy and some community leaders.

Religious practices

While there's no specific ethnicities associated with them, P'al are all, by definition, White Pilgrims which distinguish them from their neighbors.

The P'al's White Path main divinity is Chaak, including his Avatar Mesfin. They consider that, since he was a God made human, all his descendents, the Mesfids, can potentially become Avatars themselves and thus claim the title of Kallu, or "Holy Lord". However only his son, Temesgen, claimed the title of Kallu and his Caliphate died with him. Thus, the P'al consider that Temesgen was the last true Holy Lord, and that all other Kallu after him were illegitimate. Including the Almurids.

Hunting is especially important to the P'al way of life and it has a repercution in their practice of the White Path. The Chax Massat K'ij, "Day of the Blue Deer", is an annual feast organized by the hunters of the community and is considered one of the most important day of their festive calendar. Meanwhile, a contrition day is held each year for the hunters, so they can be forgiven if they hadn't respected the religious rules surrounding the Hunt, such as preserving all the bones of their preys and to depose them at an Hunting Altar, or unnecessarily wounded the game.

Cuisine

A typical dish consists of a spicy stew (called Wat) including poultry, vegetables and various type of legumes, wrapped in an Injera flatbread which is then wrapped in Ensete and steamed. Because of this peculiar cooking process, the P'al have slightly altered the flatbread recipe, making it less dependent on teff flour.