Thafonici
The Thafonici were an ancient pre-Ruageuti people group of the Vostau peninsula, living in the southwest of the peninsula. They were known as being the founders and principal population of the Thafonic civilisation, centred around the city of Thafon. Their language and culture would be wiped out in subsequent years by waves of invaders, including the Gauli, the Ruageuti and other subsequent groups.
There is no complete agreement on the exact nature of the Thafonici. Some ethnolinguistic historians presume that they were a single, large tribal confederation, akin to the smaller Vestu tribal confederations to the north and west, and that the Thafonic takeover of many Thafonici tribes was just a change of masters so to speak, while others presume that they were a much less united group from the beginning. Since the Thafonic civilisation was the first literate group of Thafonici, and the wider Patriarchy were the only ones who maintained literacy, most texts focus on them alone to the exclusion of the other tribes.
Religion
The Thafonic people were believed to have been very religiously united in their tribal form. What data exists of the Thafonic religion supports the idea of it having been polytheistic, with a pantheon of deities who manifested themselves in forms the Thafonic people attributed to natural events. Of particular note were the father and mother deities, Tekes, the father deity, associated with the moon, and Bokessa, the mother deity, associated with the sun, and two other deities, Vis, associated with life and rivers, and Ges, associated with death and drought. Despite the Thafonic religion’s association of the sun with femininity, Thafonic culture and customs were highly patriarchal. The sole exception to all of this was for a brief period in the 8th Century BCE when the Cult of Bokessa took over the temples of Thafon and made strides towards greater equality of the sexes.
Thafonic people associated the gods of life and death with certain superstitions. For example, they held a belief that death must be dealt with away from a river, else bad fortune would befall those who drank from its waters. This results in mausoleums, sick-houses and slaughterhouses being far away from rivers. Thafonic people involved themselves in ritual cleanliness, with public baths and heavily trafficked rivers, and especially tended to wash themselves after attending funerals or eating meat.
History
The Thafonici were in constant communication with their neighbours, both on the Vostau peninsula and across what they termed the 'Great Strait' to their west. At the very least throughout their latter millennium (from the 15th to the 6th Century BCE), they enjoyed civilised rule under a series of Kings, termed by Thafonologists as 'rote monarchs' and 'roll monarchs', maintaining a complex system of internal and external politics and a complex list of tributaries and vassals. Despite other Thafonic cities existing during the period, the wealth, power, position and diplomatic strength of the city of Thafon ensured it was always at the head of any Thafonic league. They enjoyed the use of mercenaries to fight their wars, specifically of Vestu background.
