The Shàalilu
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Culture and context for Cuuyamu
This public article was written by [Deactivated User], and last updated on 29 Jan 2016, 16:35.
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7. Syntax Samples
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10. The Shàalilu
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This article is a work in progress! Check back later in case any changes have occurred.
This article is a work in progress! Check back later in case any changes have occurred.
This is a basic sketch of a culture that exists for the sake of the language Cuuyamu. It might be possible, in theory, to invent a language without any mouths to speak it or lives to live it, but it would be much less fun. None of this is in a fixed state, nor is it very fleshed out. This article is more of a dumping ground for ideas I've had, and names and concepts I've decided on. I'm currently working on the language with a particular slice of the culture's history in mind, so the following description is written based on that time frame. Presumably their culture would continue to change as time goes on from this point.
Cuuyamu is spoken by a people who call themselves Shàalilu, the River People. They are a relatively small people group divided into eight individual clans.
The local environment is a slightly hilly landscape covered by a deciduous forest. Many rivers wind through the forest, flowing from east to west, where they empty out into a vast ocean. The forest reaches out to the coast on the west, and extends for a long distance to the east, eventually thinning out into a region of plains and large lakes. Most of the Shàalilu clans live within the forest, though a couple of the eastern-most clans spread out into the plains. Farther to the east, there is a chain of very high mountains that stretches from north to south with a series of impressive waterfalls.
To the south, the climate becomes more cold and forbidding, and the forest turns into a sparse tundra. To the north, the forest becomes lush and tropical. The Shàalilu rarely travel far in either direction.
The local region goes through annual weather cycles which the Shàalilu divide into six seasons. The names of the seasons provide clues as to the environmental effects:
- cúuñujati: brighten-time (corresponds to early summer)
- shùujazati: storm-time (late summer)
- cindanati: gather-time (autumn)
- wùudñujati: darken-time (early winter)
- itanati: snow-time (late winter)
- jiyajaqnati: budding-time (spring)
Each of the clans is made up of multiple families. The smallest clans have a few families, while the largest one has a dozen or so. Kinship is ambilineal, which means that an individual may belong to either his father's family or his mother's. Children are raised by the family group that their parents belong to, and they belong to that line of descent by default until they reach puberty, when they may choose whether to stay with the same family group or leave for the other parent's original line. When they get married, both spouses will choose one of their two family groups to join for the rest of their lives.
The people within a clan live together in a large village. There are clan rivalries, but outright violence or aggression is relatively rare, and most clans trade openly with others nearby. Marriages between clans are common, especially for the smaller clans. In inter-clan marriages, just as with marriages between families within a clan, the couple chooses where they will live, and the person joining the new clan becomes a full member of that clan starting from the time of the marriage.
People in a family are very close. Multiple generations typically live together in a single household, and extended family will live close by. Children around the same age are typically raised together, and parenting duties will be shared between mothers within the same family, or even women in different families who are close friends. The term çati refers to any female relatives who are in the same generation, including both sisters and female cousins. A shuti is any male relative of the same generation. Relatives of the parents' generation are referred to as ñama and ñaji (female and male, respectively). A ti is a person of either gender who belongs to one's own generation (i.e. a sibling or cousin). Children also use the terms nuati and jazuti for sibling/cousins who are older and younger than they are.
Each clan has a shííçi (Clan father) and a náaili (Clan mother), who are respected leaders of the clan. They are often married to each other, but they do not have to be. The clan also has a çaamuli (literally, person who remembers), who is responsible for the stories, genealogies, and traditions of the clan. The Cuuyamu language is unwritten, so they rely on oral records and stories to track their own history and culture.
The Shàalilu are traditionally gatherers and hunters, though agriculture is beginning to take root in their culture and some types of domesticated animals are becoming common. The men in a family usually do the hunting while women do most of the childrearing. Both sexes contribute to planting, gathering, and harvesting, especially in the season of gathering before winter. Women also weave clothing, and share techniques of traditional crafts including pottery, mosaics, and woodworking.
They are in contact with several outside groups. To the east lives a people they call the Yáájuplilu, Mountain People. As their name suggests, they live in the mountains, as well as on the plains between the mountains and the forest. For many years they have sent people to trade with the Shàalilu during the summer and winter.
From the west, another group of people come over the sea by boat who are called the Batslilu (People of the West), or Laulilu (Sea People), which is slightly derogatory. They bring a wide array of goods and information to trade, including previously unknown metals, new seeds for agriculture, and technology such as optic lenses and waterwheels.
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