| Yakira | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Height |
5'0"-5'8" | |
|
Weight |
100-175 pounds | |
|
Form |
Human | |
|
Lifespan |
60-70 years | |
|
| ||
The Yakira (Yaka: Yaang'kiwa, roughly "People-Surviving") are a group of humans living in the southern half of the Kira Jungle. They are characterized by widespread poverty, a lack of central organization, and reliance upon a partially-migratory tribal hunter-gatherer lifestyle; this bears great contrast to other races of men, most of whom have adopted agricultural and sedentary ways of living. The Yakira are also frequently subject to harassment from Kutai hunting parties, who consume Yakira meat during important religious ceremonies.
Early in their history, the Yakira were, by all known accounts, largely stripped of the ability to speak by Kalopsis. As a result, the Yakira rely solely on a native sign language, Yaka, to communicate. Kutai legend holds that Kalopsis stripped the Yakira of their humanity entirely, and this (among other reasons) to them justifies their frequent hunts of "the Yakira animal".
Etymology[]
The name Yakira is a Teoja interpretation of the Yakira's native Yaka demonym, Yaang'kiwa, roughly translating to "people-surviving" or "surviving people".
Culture[]
Yakira primarily worship Nggami, a native equivalent of Ugana, viewing her as the mother of all living things. Unlike their Kutai neighbors, Yakira do not practice sacrificial rituals, viewing them as a betrayal to Nggami. They instead focus on ritual dance, shrine worship, and animal veneration. While well-intentioned and peaceful, this practice is the primary force responsible for the Yakira's destitute status within the Kira Jungle. While the Kutai manage to appease the darker, more evil spirits of the jungle through sacrifice, and thus escape their wrath, the Yakira's denial of this practice leaves them an enemy to most nefarious forces that lurk within the jungle.
Yakira society is almost entirely non-hierarchical, with each band being led by their elders. Across the stretches of the Kira Jungle, Yakira remain mostly culturally homogeneous.