Raiwlawbiwmtë

The Raiwlawbiwmtë were a people that originated in the land to the west of Tebua and south of Hvalozd. A chance series of genetic mutations changed their hair color to be on a spectrum from green to purple. This led to them developing a strong identity. Eventually migrating groups from other parts of Delezia-Hazele forced the Raiwlawbiwmtë to disperse westwards. Tribal chief Bolek made a courageous last stand against the invaders, however a freak tornado carried him away never to be seen again in an event known as Bolek's Rapture. After this biblical event, the Raiwlawbiwmtë began worshipping him and followed his son Jupetero westwards to the Shattered Islands.

With the crops and domesticated animals they brought with them, they established a thriving civilization in the southern Shattered Islands and very quickly became adept at shipbuilding and navigation. They separated into clans based off of hair color, with people migrating between clans upon reaching adulthood based off their natural hair color. Although inter-tribal marriage was not forbidden, and indeed there are several oral tales passed down regarding the drama caused by a purple-haired princess marrying a green-haired prince, it was generally expected that people married and procreated with those of similar hair color.

Around 6,800 Y they were displaced again, this time by the Htaevic peoples. Many of the purple haired tribes migrated northwards into the Meó basin, while the green haired tribes migrated southwards into Unuvun. The purple-haired tribes mostly assimilated into ancient Meóese society, though a minority of them retained their traditions and dialects and formed the Hkamisëbiwmtë, mostly in the southern reaches of the Miru river in the Htasei basin and along the coasts adjacent to it. The green-haired tribes overwhelmed the native Konods in Unuvun and claimed the island for themselves.

Religion

Edetan Roots

The Raiwlawbiwmtë’s homeland was located near Edeto, so their creation story and many themes in their religion have connections with Edetan Mythology.

Bolek's Rapture

As the invaders occupied more and more Raiwlawbiwmtë territory, the clans lost hope and fled westwards. However one courageous clan leader, Bolek, refused to flee his village and rallied some of the neighboring clans to fight in the Battle of the Sunken River. As Bolek's army stared at the invaders from across the river, a large tornado formed and ripped through the area. Bolek ordered his army to retreat, but he stood his ground as the tornado approached him and flung him into the air, never to be seen again. Having witnessed this biblical event, his loyal clansfolk posited that he must have been taken to Haki, and that one day he would return and lead the reconquest of their homeland.

In accordance with Edetan Mythology, Bolek was thought to be a descendant of the Sky Father, with the power to return to Haki.

Bolek's charismatic son, Jupetero, skillfully used the rapture of his father as a tool to gain influence over all of the Raiwlawbiwmtë clans. Many began worshipping him and his raptured father. He married Remë the Green and Ramë the Purple, daughters of two powerful clan heads, in order to consolidate his power over all the Raiwlawbiwmtë. And then he led a great migration westwards to the Shattered Islands. The saga of him and his father would become the bedrock of the Raiwlawbiwmtë oral religion, which gradually formalized into Raiwlawism.

Technology

The Raiwlawbimtë were a bronze-age culture, and in fact their reliance on inferior bronze tools was one of the reasons they were displaced by the iron-using Htaevic culture.

Culture

The Raiwlawbimtë revered the colors green and purple, and considered them to be opposites of one another. They had a complicated system of stone monument construction; religious monuments would start their life cycle as stone circles, and once they had accumulated sufficient divine energy the stone would be harvested and used in the construction of much larger stone pyramids, topped with large bronze bells and rung out at sunrise and sunset in order to worship the divine spirits of their ancestors and unborn children who lived on Haki.

Raiwlawbimtë's funeral ceremonies made use of both cremation and of burial. Those judged to have lived a good life were cremated so that their spirit may float upwards to Haki, while those judged to have lived a bad life were buried as punishment so that their spirit would forever be trapped in Pavala and they would be unable to continue the natural cycle of existence by living their next life on Haki.