Unuvi culture

Attire

Bird masks

You can help keep this canon consistent by cross-referencing it with: History of Unuvun and the Nautical Peace

During the 75th century, Unuvun was under the rule of the Haki Republic. Birds, common in Unuvun due to the island's many trees, became a symbol of resistance for the Raiwlawbiwmtë people, and began playing a part in secret Raiwlawbiwmtë gatherings. Even after the collapse of the Haki Republic and subsequent flourishing of the independent Unuvi states, birds remained a key motif in religious ceremonies. In the 80th century a priestess named Fushigë was obsessed with birds and began making her disciples wear simple bird masks over their eyes and nose that were based off the different birds that she kept in her aviary. Then in the 81st century, when the Imperial Plain civilization began establishing its university-monasteries, they appointed Fushigë's disciple Robolon into a key position and he used his influence to make sure that students wore bird masks during prayer.

As these university-monasteries became more important in Imperial Plain society, the practice spread from them to other parts of the upper class such as the nobility. Bird masks soon became a key signal of loyalty to the imperial government and only became more important after the unification of Unuvun in the 82nd century. The tradition trickled down to the lower classes and commoners became accustomed to wearing bird masks when interacting with the nobility, or when visiting shrines and temples.

Bird masks gradually fell out of favor during the mid-late 9th millenium, before suddenly being revived in the 94th century with the ascension of Fihano Pazhil to the throne. Bird masks resumed most of their previous functions and even gained some new ones. Chena Tise mandated that bird masks be worn for oral interviews for bureaucratic positions as this would help reduce bias. Chena Tise was disfigured around the eyes and very self conscious about it, believing that her career was negatively impacted.

When one was sick, and during pandemics in general, it became standard practice to wear a full-face bird mask somewhat like a plague doctor's mask. The beak was extended and filled with material that happened to make it harder for diseases to transmit, although they didn't really know what they were doing back then. As technology advanced including the development of surgical mask materials, the full-face bird masks were optimized and noses shortened back to be closer to their previous length. There also exist combination bird mask-green wigs, which those without green hair can opt to wear outside instead of dyeing.

Unuvi gas masks have a signature bird look to them. Gatherings such as birthday parties often include disposable bird masks. Modern day bird masks often only cover the lower part of the eye in order to show the eyebrow and better convey facial expressions, although this comes at the cost of anonymity. On the other hand, it is not strange at all to wear a full-face bird mask in a public space, and indeed people often wear these while committing crimes to preserve their anonymity.