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Language
Name
The primary race of K’tumal is the Naktul, which means “The Sky People.” The Naktul believe that their gods come from the sky, and that they are the children of those gods, and thus they are also derived from the heavens. A variation on the name is Tahoi’naktul, which means “Golden Sky People.” However, this translation is found only in archaic texts and has dropped from the common parlance.
Epithets
The Naktul are usually referred to by their common name. Slang terms however are: Goldies, Spotters and Flat-faces. Particularly nasty are the terms employed by humans to describe the Naktul, such as baby-killers, slavehoarders, or sister-wedders.
Spoken Language
The Naktul speak Tik, a language that involves tones both in the high and low ranges. Tik is very fluid, and many phrases run together, with only glottal stops to separate words and sentences.
Written Language
Both the written and oral languages of the Naktul are called Tik.
Tik operates in both a pictographic and phonetic sense. Pictographically, glyphs are put together to form words, sentences and phrases. However, each glyph is also assigned a phonetic association, and often glyphs are put together in purely phonetic ways to impart language. This is most often done for proper names. This dualism makes Tik difficult for non Naktul to learn.
Foreign Languages
As the Naktul operate in trade alliances, they have learned to communicate in the languages of other people. In fact, they make it a point when speaking to foreigners to attempt to speak in that race’s tongue. Many Naktul are fundamentally opposed to the use of languages other than Tik for anything besides commerce, and Tik is the language both of the aristocracy and the priesthood.
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Appearance
Physical Appearance
The Naktul are a slight people, the tallest among them barely clearing five feet. Women are lithe and willowy, and men are stocky and barrel-chested. These norms are regarded in degrees of purity – the Naktul have several “points” of purity, and each physical trait is measured in relation to how close to pure it is. The more pure a Naktul in features, the higher they are regarded.
Environmental Adaptation
The Naktul have gone beyond their physical adaptations. They dress and ornament themselves for social reasons, rather than for survival reasons. Their clothing and styles of adornments are at present in the realm of dressing for dressing’s sake.
The chief physical adaptation of the Naktul is their short stature. This slight posture allows them to travel under the lowest boughs of the jungle canopy, and closer to the cool, shady ground. The second adaptation of the Naktul is their flat face, which has come across through generations of living in a hot, humid climate. The lack of fleshy features distributes heat uniformly across their heads, from their short, flat foreheads, to their even ears, to their pointed chins, to their smooth cheeks, and flush noses.
Lifespan
Naktul live up to 115 years of age.
Home Environment
K’tumal, the homeland of the Naktul, is a land of wet spaces and hot places. Though the largest cities are located around the sun-dappled coastlines, the capital and most of the small villages of the Naktul are located inland, among the sweltering jungle and heated savannah.
Attitude Towards Nature
The Naktul take nature for granted. They readily exploit the goods that their island offers them, and it is only through a strict bureaucratic system that the environment is not plundered recklessly into barrenness. They view the land as theirs to take and use, and the things upon it also theirs, whether beast, plant, or natural resource.
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Home Life
Dwellings
Naktul homes vary by social ranking: the mightiest and richest live in lodges of chalk-plastered hardwoods, while the lowest and poorest live in stone house mounds. All homes are single level, with the exception of those belonging to high-level functionaries, which have rooftop solars.
Family Homes
The poor live in utilitarian homes: the buildings consist of a firepit, mats for sleeping, and the bare minimum of storage space. More than one family may live in a house mound, because the homes are used for storage and rest only, and the majority of life takes place in the town center and in front of the home.
The rich live in connected single-family homes, organized by House. Grandfather, father and son may all live within separate buildings with their immediate families, but these smaller units are connected by covered walkways and winding passages. The constant recycling of domiciles as elders pass and younger generations start families ensures that space is always used, and homes are rarely unoccupied for long. Homes of large families may become crowded, which means that many of the younger Naktul set forth on long travels, or join the clergy, to avoid adding to the crowded situation.
Family Organization
Their children, and their children’s accomplishments, are a source of great pride and joy to Naktul women. It is through the deeds of the young that Houses garner praise and influence. To that end, Naktul families are large. Women often have four, six, or ten children.
Naktul men live with their wife and children. Men see to the education of sons, and women to daughters, until the age of maturity, when all children are given final training in the vocational path of their, and their parents choosing.
Attitude Towards Children
Women marry as young as their fourteenth birthday, and have children as soon as possible after the union. They take great pride in the variety and number of their children and continue to have children as long as they are able, in the hopes of producing one or more who bring honor and fame upon the family, and upon the House. It is not uncommon for a woman to have 7 or 10 children. Children are treated as small adults, and are expected to behave properly from an early age. Play is carefully regulated, so as to be both stimulating and educational.
Attitude Towards the Elderly
The elderly are left largely to their own devices, and are urged to live independent lives for as long as they are able. They live in their own dwellings within the household, and when they are unable to care for themselves, the younger generation moves in and tends to the needs of their elders.
Naktul regard age as a time for reflection and relaxation. Elderly Naktul are encouraged to remain active in family and House activities, and maintain their positions socially and politically, while taking pleasure in the company of their extended families. If parents dote on their children, Naktul grandparents lavish attention on their grandchildren.
Kinship Ties
The entirety of Naktul society is based around kinship and House membership ties. They control who marries whom, who is friends with whom, and who does what in life. Kinship ties are everything to the Naktul – they are childhood friends, adolescent partners, husbands and wives, compatriots at arms and comfort in the end of life.
Extended Family
Extended family provide child care, education for youths, mentors in first work assignments, aid in arranging marriages and numerous other services, all related not only to immediate extended family members, but also to those who share common House lineage.
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Nourishment
Foods
A balanced Naktul diet consists of a red meat, white meat, bean dish, corn dish, root dish and a sweet.
Poor meal:
Stewed monkey
Fire-roasted chicken
Mashed red beans with chilies
Corn Flatbread
Sliced boiled squash
Fried bananas
Middle class meal:
Spitted lamb
Baked chicken with sweet corn
Boiled beans with chilies
Corn Flatbread
Wild carrots with gravy
Hot cacao drink
Upper class meal:
Griddled beef
Dressed capon in plum sauce
Cornmeal and beans in wine reduction
Thin flatbread with berries
Fried squash
Cold cacao and sweetbeer
Food Production
The Naktul farm, hunt and gather. The poor do most of the farming, often as serf labor for the middle and upper classes.
Special Dishes
The most expensive food item for the Naktul is cacao, a sticky sweet and bitter chocolate drink. It is served hot, making a thick, gooey drink, and also cold, mixed with liquors and sweet leaves. Cacao is a large aspect of the Naktul trade, and is in much demand by other peoples.
Unpalatable Dishes
The Naktul do not consume dairy products. They have low tolerance for lactic acids, and can only consume dairy when extensively processed.
Tool Use in Eating
There is only one eating utensil among the Naktul, a long stick that is a combination of fork, spoon and knife. At one end is a flat, slightly hollowed spoon-like implement, at the other a one-tined spearing fork with a sharpened edge for cutting. This tool is called a putretl.
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Personal Adornment
Clothing
The Naktul dress in leather, light linens and beaded garments. Their clothing is very colorful, and they favor bright, contrasting schemes, such as: green and black; gold and red; or orange and blue. Jewelry is common, mostly made of shiny metals – tin for the poor, and gold for the rich. The rich of both genders enjoy wearing jewelry set with precious stones.
Examples:
Kama (female) is wearing a slashed black cotton gown, a fitted bright yellow undertunic, heavy golden armbands, large gold earspools, black leather sandals and a wide goldenrod sash.
Toka (male) is wearing a sleeveless black leather vest, several thin golden armcuffs, a single large jade earspool, rough golden yellow leather pants, black leather sandals and a wooden sheath.
Earspools are large, round, plug-like cylinders that are inserted into the stretched lobe of the ear. To stretch the ear, first a small hole is made, anda metal earring is inserted. Over a period of several months, larger and larger plugs are inserted into the hole, stretching it gradually. Finally, when the hole is about an inch in diameter, full-sized earspools can be inserted. It is considered a mark of adulthood when a young Naktul’s ear is fitted for “real” earspools.
In addition, earlobe elongation is also practiced. The process, concurrent with hole stretching, is accomplished by attaching chains from the earring to a set of shoulder clasps. The chains weigh down the earlobe, and over a period of months stretch it to the desired length. The process is painful, and combined with the earspool stretching, constitutes a period of “reflection on the weakness of the body” that the Naktul find spiritually purifying.
Symbolic Clothing
The Naktul believe that to be noticed by the sun god, you must be as bright and noticeable as possible. Their clothing reflects this belief. They wear bright colors to stand out from the jungle, and shining jewelry to reflect light into the sun god’s eyes, making him take heed of them. They also believe that the sun god takes comfort in seeing his people as happy as possible, and cheery colors give him pleasure.
Clothing Reflecting Status
Clothing is more ornate among the middle and upper classes, but only in the degree of decoration and the materials used in ornamentation. At their root, all Naktul garments are the same. Modern upper-class clothing has begun taking cues from foreign influences, and fashionable clothing shows traces of Komadas, Sumil Kai, and Qaroo.
Social Status
Status is determined by overall House power, and by the power of the individual within their House. Merchanting has created a newly rich class separate from the traditional House rankings, called the Katecha. Their money and power comes from trade deals, and many live in Katecha enclaves within the Naktul cities, and within foreign cities as well.
Social Stratification
The Naktul are both the primary and secondary race on K’tumal. This is because the disparity in living standards between the elite and the common people is so large as to almost render them separate cultures. The elite live in large palaces of stone, with thick walls, open, sun-catching skylights, and high windows open to cool breezes. The common people live in low earthen and stone house mounds, catching the heat of the ground and the shade of the canopy. The elite live off the labor of the common people, and the common people live off what the elite discard and dislike. The rich provide housing for the commoners, who farm the land and tithe the majority of the proceeds back to the landowners. What joins the two groups is religion, and what keeps one from rising up in numbers and taking over the other is fear of their god.
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Men and Women
Primary Caregiver
Though mothers are ultimately responsible for the care of all of their children, fathers play vital roles in educating their sons in the ways of the Naktul people.
Gender Relations
Men and women join in single-bond marriages. A man may only have one wife at a time, and a woman only one husband. Men and women are both allowed to take part in all occupations, although upon marriage, a woman is expected to give up her career and property to the care of her husband. Thus, women are encouraged to pursue work prior to marriage, and women in high circles are marry later in life, in order to secure more wealth and prestige for their husbands.
Roles of Men
Men are the primary suppliers of income and goods. They hunt, farm, work in governments and offices, and are responsible for the education of their sons, and the careers and marriages of their daughters.
Roles of Women
Women are the primary caregivers of children and the elderly. They tend house, farm, work in governments and offices, and are responsible for the education of their daughters and the careers and marriages of their sons.
Marriage
Marriage is binding to the Naktul. Only death separates couples that have taken oaths under the auspices of the sun god. There is no divorce, and men who leave their wives or put them aside in favor of other women face ostracism.
All Naktul women marry, most at a young age. Women have two options, largely dependent on the power and wealth of their families, and their expected success in the workplace. If a woman comes from a rich or powerful family, she will customarily marry young, bringing a degree of influence to her husband and his family through marriage. If a woman comes from a poor or weak family, she will usually work in some career field before marrying, in the hopes of securing a good match through the promise of the gift of her labors to her husband and his family. In poor families of lower houses, marriages for love are acceptable. However, for elites, marriages are arranged at a young age.
Men marry generally after attaining age 24. Women marry as early as 14.
It is preferred for widows to remarry. All property reverts back to the family when a man or woman dies, and it is considered prudent for a woman to remarry and cease to be a “burden” on the family she married into.
Marriage Ceremonies
Naktul wedding ceremonies directly reflect the happiness of both parties’ families with the union. Those who seek to gain from a union usually provide elaborate ceremonies, often with lavish parties and ornate dress and gifts. Those who expect to gain little from a union usually provide for a priest or priestess of the sun god, witnesses to cite the validity of the union, and the bare necessities required to start a household.
Visible Signs of Marital Status
If a man is married, he wears earspools in both of his ears. If he is unmarried, he only wears an earspool in one ear.
If a woman is married, she attaches a hanging charm to the earspool in her left ear. If she is widowed, she wears charms on the earspools in both ears. If she is of marriage age, she wears earspools in both ears. If she is too young, she wears no earspools.
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Education
Education
Education among the Naktul is a right, not a class privilege. Despite the availability of free, state-sponsored education, only those who cannot afford private tutelage attend the public schools. The exception is basic religion, which is taught to all, rich and poor alike, by the local priesthood.
Schooling begins at a young age. Children are schooled in the home from the age of three, and by the age of five are inducted into outside venues. Schools are organized by geographically, and more populous cities have more schools. These educational centers have varying degrees of efficiency, and it is not uncommon for the rich to fund schools in their areas for personal gain – drawing employees from a center in which they are certain of the educational background is frequent.
Children are taught basic computations, to read the calender dates and to sign their names. Children of elites, and those singled out for the priesthood, are taught more characters and glyphic placements. Most non-elite Naktul can read little beyond simple figures and their names.
At age twelve, both males and females leave primary school to enter into vocational training of their, or more often, their parents’, choosing. Some of these vocational fields filter directly into governmental organizations, such as the Arms school, which filters into the military, the Maritime school, which filters into the shipping and trade industry, and the school for Linguistics, which filters into scribe work and translation pools.
The local priesthood of each city and village oversees religious education. As the Naktul worship a single god, this teaching is very specific and varies little from area to area. Faith is an affair of the state, and theology is not considered to be open to personal interpretation.
Knowledge education is the process by which young Naktul are educated in their world and their place in it. It is a process that begins at age 3 and ends at age 12 for many females, though it may continue until age 24 for males.
Racially cultured education is the Naktul equivalent of anthropology. It is a post-primary school situation, and involves the study of the other races of the archipelago, their histories, and their relationships to the Naktul. Foreign languages are taught in racially cultured education, and foreign writing systems as well. All Naktul children receive a basic education in the geography, history and peoples of the archipelago. Children of the elite and the wealthy, and children selected early for the priesthood, also receive more extensive education.
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The Arts
Art
Art is valued for its monetary worth on the open archipelago market, and for the amount of status that possessing it brings. Naktul art is meant to be seen and admired, and is always placed in prominent sight of visitors to the home or business.
Though everyday objects can be said to have stylistic beauty, the Naktul do not regard the designs incised into useful items as art. Art is only for display, and is separate from stylistic conventions. However, common motifs of Naktul art include red and black slips to decorate pottery, concentric lines and circles, stylized icons of suns, moons and celestial bodies, and the frequent use of gold and gilt.
Artisans
Artisans are valued inasmuch as their work commands income. Poor artisans are regarded as beneath notice, and art is encouraged to be within those styles popular among buyers. Artisans are frequently sponsored by elite members of society, who feature their work in their homes and businesses, in the hopes of inflating the reputation, and hence the pricetag, of their pet artists.
Music
The Naktul favor chants over straight songs, and greatly enjoy percussive and heavily beaten musical numbers. String pieces were formerly the rage, but fell out of favor with the new and youthful, warlike government.
Crafts
The Naktul are known for their glazed and slipped pottery. The traditional shape is an hourglass figure with a tripod base. Incised into the slipped sides are etchings of daily life, propaganda for Houses and the government, and stylized religious motifs.
Commodities
Above all other materials, the Naktul prize the rare green obsidian stone. The Lakchi Mountain chain is the only location in the archipelago in which green obsidian can be mined. The steep peaks and deep-coned volcanoes are covered with constant sluggish magma flows, making travel dangerous.
Wealth
The Naktul take great joy in their wealth. They believe that wealth is better owned than earned, and that those who have wealth belong to greater lineages than those who do not. Or at least, this is the view of the elite. The lower classes desire wealth as well, but better appreciate the wealth inherent in owning the land that they work. The elite own the land, and bemoan the fact that they must employ and care for workers to tend it, often criticizing their work efforts.
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Social Issues
Physical Impediments
The Naktul regard physical prowess as directly reflecting inner strength and spiritual purity. Those who do not fit the collective mold are regarded with wariness at best, and physical blows at worst. Individuals with war wounds are the exception, and are given heroes’ receptions.
Mental Disease
The Naktul believe that their bodies are vehicles for the transmission of the spirit of their god. Physical and mental diseases are seen as flaws in the vessel, and do not reflect any personality traits of their deity.
Slavery
The Naktul believe in slavery, and would keep slaves still were it not for the combined pressure of the other nation-states of the archipelago. At present, they keep their poor in conditions akin to slavery or serfdom, and there is little room for social mobility upwards, only downwards.
Murder
The Naktul have a term, Itl Lakchi. This, translated loosely, means right dangers. Itl Lakchi refers to the practice of combat to the death for slights of honor, family or blood. A Naktul is allowed to kill another Naktul, but he must be able to justify his behavior with the official government rules for engagement. The ball game, called talot, is the most common expression of Naktul honor and blood games.
Used for recreation, honor games and religious ceremonies, ball courts are most commonly found in the public areas of towns, though the poor and elite neighborhoods of K’tumal each their own private courts.
Talot is a no-hands game, in which players seek to put a six-inch, hard rubber ball into a hoop, while bouncing the object off walls, markers and each other. The game is further complicated by bulky equipment of leather and wood, and by religiously significant scoring rules.
The Naktul love their ball game, and entire towns come out to watch matches. The stands are usually reserved for elite members of society, but the open ends of the I-shaped court are thronged with spectators. It is considered good luck to catch a ball that flies out of court, though that good luck is usually tempered by sore muscles and bruises from the very hard ball.
Infanticide
Infanticide is acceptable, but not widely practiced.
The Naktul believe in having as many children as possible, and it is currently considered counterproductive to birth a child and then dispose of it, though this was not always societally the case.
In the past, infanticide was practiced so that families could support only the more desirable male children, rather than the undesirable female children. However, with the overall general increase in family wealth, only the lowest status families now practice infanticide. Those families continue the practice in an effort to have less costly daughters to marry off, andmore helpful sons to work on the family farms.
War
War is regarded as a holy endeavor, as is any act that advances the Naktul people in land, possessions or power. The government must justify war according to official spiritual and bureaucratic rules.
Taboos
Some Naktul taboos include:
• A taboo against worshipping foreign gods or idols;
• A taboo against consuming part of a corn crop without giving a portion in sacrifice; and
• A taboo against raising children outside of K’tumal.
The Naktul are one of the only peoples who do not have an incest taboo.
Incest between siblings and parents and children is not common, and is frowned upon by the state. However, it is not uncommon for first cousins to marry, and the practice is encouraged to keep family alliances strong and internal.
Punishment
Ostracism, banishment, death. Racial taboos are only those acts committed which fail to live up to the code of ethics and standards set forth by the government.
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Politics
Political Organization
The Naktul are divided into Houses. These groups organize all aspects of a Naktul life, from birth to death. In addition, Naktul live within city-states and village collectives governed by city-states. These city-states are overseen by the priesthood and by the top echelon government, ruled by the Penak.
At the head of Naktul society is the Penak. The Penak is usually male, but in very rare cases may be female. The Penak dictates policy in all things: religion, governance, jurisprudence and society are all under the auspices of the Penak. How the Penak is initiated to his throne is shrouded in the mysteries of the priesthood. The Penak serves for life, or until abdicating in favor of a younger relative.
The Penak does not rule entirely alone, however. He is assisted by a number of ministers, each reporting to him on their circle of influence. These ministers make up the Penak’s cabinet, and are his chief advisors and confidantes. The cabinet members are drawn from the Tuluk, the elite families of the Naktul, and seats are customarily handed down from parent to child. Though the cabinet wields great influence in court circles, its members’ opinions can be overruled by the Penak with a mere word, making their positions tenuously based on the relationship between minister and ruler.
Currently, the Penak of the Naktul Empire is Micca of House Serpenttooth, or as he is more commonly called, Micca Strongarm. He is young, impetuous, was spoiled by his mother, and is prone to making decisions in haste. Micca has a known fondness for women, cacao, and games of strength, and is endeared to the people with his youthful appearance and energy. The Court at Antubal is a loud place, full of young hangers-on and quieter established courtiers.
Within the court, courtiers are organized based around what House of the Tuluk they belong to. Houses are a hereditary tradition, and there is great competition between Houses for attention, power and money.
Political Figures
The Tuluk Houses are:
House Serpenttooth
House Gilded Eagle
House Jewel-in-the-Eyes
House Yellowgrass
House Poison Dart
House Daring Moon
House Featherspear
House Double Pyre
In addition, there are numerous Houses for non-Tuluk. Every Naktul, regardless of caste, position and rank, is born into a House, though many are just names as their power and influence have weakened over the years.
The cabinet of the Penak consists of many different ministers, each overseeing a specific area of Naktul society. The ministers are:
Minister of Religion, Lord Oaxalon of Gilded Eagle
Minister of Culture, Lord Catpaw of Serpenttooth
Minister of Law, Lord Tezoq of Double Pyre
Minister of Housing, Lord Ojochi of Featherspear
Minister of Trade, Lord Becanba of Jewel-in-the-Eyes
Minister of Court, Lord Brindled Lizard of Serpenttooth
Minister of Taxes, Lord Patla of Double Pyre
Minister of Transportation, Lord Gavett of Poison Dart
Minister of Castes, Lady Hetta of Daring Moon
Minister of Education, Lord Blackback of Yellowgrass
Minister of Magic, Lord Poala of Gilded Eagle
Alliances between greater and lesser Tuluk Houses are common, and voting and opinions in blocks are frequent during Cabinet meetings. Though all claim to have the best interests of the Naktul, and of the Penak, in mind, protecting their positions and their own houses also play heavily into policymaking. The aristocracy that is the Tuluk has weakened since the days of the Caste War, but only in deeds, not in machinations.
Religion in Politics
The priesthood is frequently used and abused for political ends. It is not uncommon for a minister or high official to solicit the support of fellow House members in the church to reach political decisions.
Wealth in Politics
Only members of the Tuluk houses can sit in the Penak’s cabinet.
Kinship in Politics
Political power is largely based on the importance and wealth of one’s House.
Caste
The Naktul have a blatant caste system.
Attitude Towards Other Races
The Naktul society is open, though on a limited basis.
The Naktul are a religious monarchy, with a single head of both government and ritual life. That head, the Penak, oversees all aspects of Naktul life, and is worshipped by the entire population. Upon his head is the golden crown of Penak, and through his voice the one god, Penak-Naktul, speaks. How the Penak is chosen is shrouded in the mysteries of the priesthood, but it has always been chosen from the Tuluk, the elite class, and has almost always been a male.
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Cities and Towns
Cities
The main city of the Naktul is Antubal, a concentrated metropolis of public architecture and sprawling, bustling markets. Located in the middle of the island of K’tumal, Antubal is central to the Naktul faith, as the home of the Temple of High, the Palace of Air, and the Square of Heaven. Residential areas are few in Antubal, save for those of the elite, the Penak, and many of the priestly class. Antubal is famous for its four boroughs, Miktek, Namitlal, Olatlantil, and Bariltalan.
Instead of living in Antubal, the Naktul live in small residential communities scattered around K’tumal. Each city operates independently, and there is a great deal of civic loyalty among the Naktul. The largest of the cities are Padtu in the northwest, Hett in the northeast, Kij in the southwest, and Morjan in the southeast. When the Naktul gather at the ballcourts in Antubal, it is almost always Padtu, Hett, Kij, or Morjan who takes the prize for best game team.
Public Works
The Naktul use conscription, slavery and volunteer labor in order to fund, erect and maintain their public works.
The majority of public works are temples, and though they are made for and by the common people, only the priesthood ever sees the inside of the sun chambers. The masses watch all religious ceremonies from the ground, in the public squares and surrounding plazas.
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