Post by Nayeli on Jun 17, 2013 14:36:41 GMT -5
THE AOTEAROS PEOPLE
The Pori
NON PLAYED CHARACTERS
Kīngi Tangaroa - Chief of the Aotearos people who came to Alagaësia. Though knows the language, is not very good at speaking it and must be translated most of the time.
Pirinihehe Moana-Māngai Kāwanatanga - Princess of the Aotearos people who came to Alagaësia. Seven years old when her people were met by the Tio Taringa(pointed ears) and Tarākona(dragon). Very fluent in the language of the Broddering Empire, she was named ambassador(Māngai Kāwanatanga).Ceremonial-Formal Dress for Chief & Princess
The Hongi, the greeting(done between malexmale, femalexfemale, femalexmale)
Warrior
THE HISTORY & MYTHOLOFY OF THE PORI
My people came from the land of Hawaiki where our great ancestors learned of the world before the birth of our people. Our story starts with Ranginui(Sky Father) and Papatuanuku(Earth Mother) two great beings that once lied in a strong, loving embrace. With this love came their children, all brothers, whom grew in the darkness between the Sky Father and Earth Mother. As the brother’s grew, they wanted to see the light of the world, and they began to think of a plan to push the two apart. The fiercest child, Tūmatauenga, the fiercest of the children, proposed that the best solution to their predicament was to kill their parents, but his brother Tāne (or Tāne-mahuta) disagreed. Instead he suggested that it would be better to push them apart, to let Ranginui be as a stranger to them in the sky above while Papatuanuku will remain below to nurture them. The others put their plans into action—Rongo, the god of cultivated food, tried to push his parents apart, then Tangaroa, the god of the sea, and his sibling Haumia-tiketike, the god of wild food, joined him. In spite of their joint efforts Rangi and Papa remained close together in their loving embrace. After many attempts Tāne, god of forests and birds, forced his parents apart. Instead of standing upright and pushing with his hands as his brothers had done, he laid on his back and pushed with his strong legs. Stretching every sinew Tāne pushed and pushed until, with cries of grief and surprise, Ranginui and Papatuanuku were pried apart.
Tāne searched for heavenly bodies as lights so that his father would be appropriately dressed. He obtained the stars and threw them up, along with the moon and the sun. At last Ranginui looked handsome. Ranginui and Papatuanuku continue to grieve for each other to this day. Ranginui's tears fall towards Papatuanuku to show how much he loves her. Sometimes Papatuanuku heaves and strains and almost breaks herself apart to reach her beloved partner again but it is to no avail. When mist rises from the forests, these are Papatuanuku's sighs as the warmth of her body yearns for Ranginui and continues to nurture mankind.
And now, the children of the Sky Father and Earth Mother could see the light and have space to move for the first time since their birth. All the children chose to go in their separate ways, all but one… Tāwhirimātea, the god of storms and winds, had become anger that the parents have been torn apart. He could not bear the cries of his parents, nor see the tears of his father, Ranginui. The promised his siblings that from then on, he would deal out his anger among them. He flew to his father and together they fostered his own many offspring. This included the Winds, one for each quarter of the compass. To fight his brothers, Tāwhirimātea gathered an army of his children—winds and clouds of different kinds, including fierce squalls, whirlwinds, gloomy thick clouds, fiery clouds, hurricane clouds and thunderstorm clouds, and rain, mists and fog. As these winds showed their might the dust flies and the great forest trees of Tāne were smashed under the attack and fell to the ground, food for decay and for insects
Then Tāwhirimātea attacked the oceans and huge waves rose, whirlpools form, and Tangaroa, the god of the sea, fleed in panic. Punga, a son of Tangaroa, had two children, Ikatere father of fish, and Tu-te-wehiwehi (or Tu-te-wanawana) the ancestor of reptiles. Terrified by Tāwhirimātea’s onslaught, the fish sought shelter in the sea and the reptiles in the forests. Ever since Tangaroa had been angry with Tāne for giving refuge to his runaway children. After that, Tāne supplied the descendants of Tūmatauenga with canoes, fishhooks and nets to catch the descendants of Tangaroa. Tangaroa retaliates by swamping canoes and sweeping away houses, land and trees that are washed out to sea in floods.
Tāwhirimātea next attacked his brothers Rongo and Haumia-tiketike, the gods of cultivated and uncultivated foods. Rongo and Haumia were in great fear of Tāwhirimātea but, as he attacks them, Papatuanuku becomes determined to keep these for her other children and hides them so well that Tāwhirimātea cannot find them. So Tāwhirimātea turned on his brother Tūmatauenga. He used all his strength but Tūmatauenga stoods fast and Tāwhirimatea could not prevail against him. Tū (or human kind) stands fast and, at last, the anger of the gods subsided and peace prevailed.
Tū thought about the actions of Tāne in separating their parents and made snares to catch the birds, the children of Tāne who could no longer fly free. He then made nets from forest plants and casts them in the sea so that the children of Tangaroa soon laid in heaps on the shore. He made hoes to dig the ground, capturing his brothers Rongo and Haumia-tiketike where they have hidden from Tāwhirimātea in the bosom of the earth mother and, recognising them by their long hair that remains above the surface of the earth, he drug them forth and heaps them into baskets to be eaten. So Tūmatauenga eats all of his brothers to repay them for their cowardice; the only brother that Tūmatauenga does not subdue is Tāwhirimātea, whose storms and hurricanes attack humankind to this day.
It was then that my people were born into this land, the children of Tūmatauenga, the great God whom showed courage against his brother. After many years of living in Hawaiki, my people chose to go out into the ocean of Tangaroa and find a new home, one to call our own. Taking the many Canoes, we spent many weeks in the sea, catching fish and making fresh water like our father’s before us taught us how to do. Finally, we landed upon the land we called Aotearos and began our new life.
THE CUSTOMS OF THE PORI
My people have been known as the warring tribe, but do no mistake our strong dances to be as such. Our people perform a dance known as a Haka, which is a traditional ancestral war cry, dance, or challenge from my people, which came with us from the great homeland. It is a posture dance performed by a group, both tāne(men) and wāhine(women), with vigorous movements and stamping of the feet with rhythmically shouted accompaniment. Our haka is used to welcome guest and say our farewells. It is used to call forth a new life as our children our birthed and used to call war on someone who threatens our people. Our people do this to entertain our families and even do games with this to teach our own children. When we arrive in a new locations, we do a greeting dance, which some might think is a war dance, towards the end, the lead of our dance, steps forward with a spear and then lowers it to the ground in greeting while still in a position which is rigid and hard. After placing the spear on the ground, he rejoins the group and continues to the end of the dance. The woman stand behind and chant as well until the end and sometimes swing Poi balls in unison.
Our people are very well organized from many years of keeping to tradition. The men of our people are the hunters and we provide for our families. We go out to sea and bring back the food for our tribes. The men also plant the seeds for our crops, and we tend to our harvest. The men also prepare the food, cook the food, and also serve the food to our tribe. The woman keep the homes, raise the children, and become the heart of the home. They weave baskets and make things with their hands. In our culture, woman are only allowed to eat white meat of fish and the plants we grow, to make sure they stay healthy and do not become overweight with muscle and fat. Men are the people who need muscle and fat to protect our families from those whom might hurt them. Men are not allow to be with the women for one week of each month and we are not allowed to be around the tent that they live in during that week. Men are not allowed near the birthing house until the child is born and the mother is cleaned and well again.
In our culture, we believe in the concept of Tapu. This can be interpreted as sacred, as spiritual restrictions, or as implied prohibition. It involves rules and prohibitions. Certain people and objects contain mana - spiritual power or essence. Those of us whom hold a higher rank, will not touch an object belong to members of a lower rank for this is considered pollution to us and will take away some mana, our life force. Any person of a lower rank cannot touch the belongs of a highborn person without risking death upon them by the great beings above. There are communal items that everyone can touch at any time.
There are two kinds of tapu, the private (relating to individuals) and the public tapu (relating to communities). A person, an object or a place, which is tapu, may not be touched by human contact, in some cases, not even approached. A person, object or a place can be made sacred by tapu for a certain time. Tapu is one of the strongest forces in Māori life. A violation of tapu can have dire consequences, including the death of the offender through sickness or at the hands of someone affected by the offence. Food cooked for a person of high rank was tapu, and could not be eaten by an inferior(lower rank). A chief's house was tapu, and even the chief cannot eat food in the interior of his house. Not only were the houses of people of high rank perceived to be tapu, but also their possessions including their clothing. Burial grounds and places of death were always tapu, and these areas were often surrounded by a protective fence.
When someone dies, the people do a Tangihanga or funeral rites, which may take two or three days. The deceased lies in state, usually in an open coffin flanked by female relatives dressed in black, their heads sometimes wreathed inkawakawa leaves, who take few and short breaks. During the day, visitors come, sometimes from great distances despite only a distant relationship, to address the deceased. They may speak frankly of his or her faults as well as virtues, but singing and joking are also appropriate. Free expression of grief by both men and women is encouraged. Traditional beliefs may be invoked, and the deceased told to return to the ancestral homeland, Hawaiki, by way of te rerenga wairua, the spirits' journey. The close kin or kiri mate ("dead skin") may not speak. On the last night, the pō whakamutunga (night of ending), the mourners hold a vigil and at sunrise the coffin is closed, before a church or marae funeral service and/or graveside interment ceremony. It is traditional for mourners to wash their hands in water and sprinkle some on their heads before leaving a cemetery. After the burial rites are completed, a feast is traditionally served. Mourners are expected to provide koha or gifts towards the meal. After the burial, the home of the deceased and the place they died are ritually cleansed with karakia(prayers or incantations) and desanctified with food and drink, in a ceremony called takahi whare, trampling the house. That night, the pō whakangahau (night of entertainment) is a night of relaxation and rest. The widow or widower is not left alone for several nights following. During the following year, the kinfolk of a prominent deceased person will visit other marae, "bringing the death" (kawe mate) to them. They carry pictures of the person on to the marae. Unveilings of headstones (hura kōwhatu) are usually held about a year after a death, often on a public holiday to accommodate visitors who could not get to the tangihanga. The dead are remembered and more grief expressed.
These are the basic customs of my people.
THE RECENT EVENTS
Our people have lived peacefully for many years and still wish to, but during out men’s voyage to gather fish for our people, they were approached by a great beast. We had never seen such a beast, only heard stories about the beast that the Earth Mother gave birth to after she was separated from the Sky Father. The beast was a carrier of messages, but it was never enough for the Earth Mother and she still mourned for her love. The beast became few and far between and then we never saw them again, until that day. Upon his back, was a strange human. After many months and years of learning about this being, we learned that he was an elf and the creature was a dragon. After many years, we were told about the land known as Alagaësia and we picked a large group from our people and we left with the beast and elf towards this new land. The beast flew ahead of our canoes and told the tribe(Teirm) that we were arrive in that we were peaceful, but that we would display a chant and dance that was one of greeting and peace.
CREATOR & ADMIN NOTE
This culture is based off the Polyensian group known as the Māori of New Zealand. It does have the same history/mythology as the real Polyensian group. I have fallen in love with the culture of the Polyensian People and especially with the chants and dances of the Māori group during a Luau one night.
Now, how I would picture the people of this group, is being very much into their culture and the rules of their culture which is that is they do something bad, the great gods above will strike down upon them. It is how many of them were raised on their island to believe. They have only recently come into contact with the elf-dragon rider known as Pikia Isha and his Dragon, Dungana. The dragon was called Tarākona(dragon) and the elf called Tio Taringa(pointed ear). Upon arrival to Teirm, the new looking people were called Waiti(white) or Nika, for the dark-skinned people or slaves(dark-skinned slaves were called nika rōpā{black slave}). Anyway, though I am sure some will pull away from tradition, it would of happened very recently since leaving their island home.
VIDEOS OF DANCING & CHANTING
Dances of Life
Māori Weapons Haka(dance)
Saying Good Bye to Fallen Comrade
Village Welcome
Women Haka
MANY MORE ON YOUTUBE
I spent three months working in NZ last year and loved it. 
Well, I kinda just took the Mythology and stuff and culture stuff.