Race and Ethnicity

The concepts of race and ethnicity in the Civilised World are complex, related to issues of history, geography and culture. Some theories of the origins of humanity claim that all humans are descended from a single group of original ancestors, while others believe mankind is made up of distinct races with separate origins.

Modern scholarly opinion divides humanity into five groups, based on physical traits and geographic origin: the Aralse, living in the Natorn Archipelago, the Thalse in most of Ororr and northern Harthera, the Eloyoun in Otekahré and southern Hartheraplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_bigHarthera

The Hartheran Union, commonly named Harthera, is an imperialist maritime nation state dominating the northeast of Anásthias. It is one of the two great powers of the modern epoch, arguably the most technologically and militarily powerful nation in the world, only matched by the vast size and wealth of its neighbour, viridOrorrMEOrorrOrorrOrorrOrorr, the Li-Vam in Eastern and Upland Munatan, and the Gyeil in southwest Ororrplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_bigOrorr

Ororr [o-ROARR, ɒ̝rɔ'ɾ], also called the Holy Motherland of Ororr, is a theocratic nation in Anásthias, one of the world's great powers. It the largest nation in the world, perhaps the largest empire in history, occupying the entire northwest of the continent between the mountains and the sea. Ororrlanguagelanguagelanguage and Western Munatanplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_bigMunatan

Munatan [Moo-Nah-Tahn] is the southernmost region of Anásthias, south of the Dun Trisan mountains. The name possibly derives from a ancient Thalsic, meaning “Land of One Sun”, since the daystar is not visible in the southern hemisphere. Or it may be a reference to the Manthi people who were once the majority population of western Munatan. The term is an OrorrOrorrOrorrHartheraHartheraOrorrOrorrOrorrHartheraHarthera.

Some further believe that the Thalse, Aralse and Eloyounplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_bigEloyoun People

The Eloyoun people are an ethnic group found throughout eastern and northeastern Anásthias. They are the majority ethnicity in Kahtoyn and most of southern Harthera. Modern Hartheran language and culture is a blend of Eloyoun and Iskean.

The Eloyoun people claim descent from the ancient realm of are all one extended family, while the Gyeil and Li-Vam are separate races. Throughout history the Gyeil have been deemed racially inferior, since fertility between Thalsic and Gyeil people is low, though philosophers are uncertain why this is the case.

In ancient times these groups lived in significant geographic isolation, each developing distinct languageplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_bigLanguages

List of human languages and dialects, contemporary and extinct.

Language

language

This is in a series of articles about Languages and Communication.

topics sidebar cult1, culture and physical adapations to their environment. In recent history, with the rise of the great land empires of Dor-en-Sann and Harthera, there has been a degree of racial mixing, with new ethnicities emerging from the mix.

The Natorno-Thalsic peoples are the majority human population of the Civilised World. They include the Thalsic peoples of northern Anasthias, the Aralsic peoples of the Natorn Archipelagoplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_bigNatorn Archipelago

The Natorn Archipelago, or the Natorn Isles [nah-TORN], is a chain of islands in the Natorn Sea. The islands are oceanic ridge running from the northeastern tip of Anásthias to the Anrel Isles. The ridge is an active geological fault, many of the islands being volcanic.Anásthias, and the Eloyoun peoples of Otekahre and Harthera.

The location of the ancient homeland of the Natorno-Thalsic people has never been precisely identified. It is thought to have been somewhere in the region of the modern Natorn Archipelago or northeastern Anasthias, in an area now lost.

According to folkloreplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_bigFolklore

Folklore

This is in a series of articles about oral traditions, tales, folk practices, and folklore.

topics cult1 they are the descendants of the Godmen, the mythical progenitor race who descended from the heavens to found the Realm of the Godmenplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_bigGodmen

The Godmen were the mythical inhabitants of a landmass contiguous with the modern Natorn Archipelago, said to be the ancestors of all the Thalsic peoples of the northern Civilised World. In the Emerald Epoch they created the first great civilisation, referred to as the Realm of the Godmen. The Godmen are said to be mytho-historic, memories of an ancestor race shrouded by millennia of HartheraAnrelAnrelherherAnrelAnrel. Mythic history from the Anrel Isles places the Realm in the west of the historic landmass of Anrasard.

The Aralsic peoples are the majority population of the Natorn Archipelago, particularly in Anrel. In appearance, Aralsic people are tall, with light tan skin, hair colour ranging from light to dark brown, with wide brows, a long nose and a pointed chin (a characteristic particularly lauded in Tresard). In Anrelplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_bigAnrel Isles

Anrel [ANN-rel], or the Anrel Isles, is the most northerly island group in the Natorn Archipelago. It consists of three major islands and numerous smaller ones. The largest, colloquially if infrequently called Mainland, is divided between the kingdoms of Trésard and Narette. The island hair colour tends to be lighter in the north and darker in the south, though there is a great deal of mixing.

• Reidan are the majority ethnolinguistic group of the Anrel Isles, and the majority population of Trésard, Sensatard. They have relatively pale skin and classic Aralsic features.
• Oracilem - a mixed Iskean-ethnic people who settled in the southeast of old Anrasard, still existing in eastern Anret, the central plains of Anret and southern Tresard, and isolate communities on the rugged east coastal of Tresard.
• Narettian - the people of Narette have darker Iskean features, having mixed with Oracilem.

The Thalsic people traditionally descended from the civilisation of Traithe in northeast of Anásthias, migrating westward to form several sub-groups. Thalsic people are considered of average height, with a red-brown skin and heavy features.

The Iskeans were the chief example of the East Thalsic peoples, descendants of Traithe who remained living in the region. They are noted for having long faces, dark hair, great physical strength and cunning.

• Chelidt
• Junda
• Asokway

The Issithai or West Thalsic peoples were those who travelled westward into what is modern Ororr. They further subdivided into hundreds of ethnic groups, but in general tended to be shorter and darker than their eastern cousins. Their first greatest civilisation was in what was then the rich, vast delta of the River Wiyel, where the Issid people established what later eras called the Issid Block States. In later ages these peoples travelled up the Wiyel valley, their descendants being the modern Iqeelan (of Seqal and Remel), and the Daltirich highlanders of southeastern Ororr.

• Issid
  • Iqeelan
  • Vetthi

The Jorothi peoples are those who either spread westward during the time of the Issid Block States, fled west after their fall, or become nomadic peoples. They are more distinct from the Issid, being a little paler, more slight of build, but with heavier brows.

The Jorothi people journeyed westwards around the coast of modern Ororr, their descendants being the Jorothein of Old Ororr, the Siltun, and the formerly nomadic Orothei tribes. They also travelled southwards into Munatan, becoming the Manthi peoples.

• Orothei
• Othei
• Manthi

According to accounts of the ancient Miyarrain, the Eloyoun people fled the Realm of the Godmen at the end of the Emerald Epochplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_bigEmerald Epoch

The Emerald Epoch is the oldest era recorded human history, circa 16,000-11,000 BME. In mythohistory it is synonymous with the Age of the Godmen., and built a new civilisation in an remote region on the coast of modern Otekahré around 10,000 BME. This eventually became the great nation of Miyarris.

After the fall of Miyarrisplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_bigMiyarris

Miyarris [mee-YA-riss], (also Miarris, from Mayápo Mayarous) was a hugely influential ancient civilisation located which flourished during the Celadon Epoch, from 4000-3000 BME. It is considered the first great civilisation in history since the the mythic Godmen.

Ancient Miyarris

BMElanguagelanguagelanguagelanguagelanguage at the end of the Celadon Epochplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_bigCeladon Epoch

Name for the period of history c.6200-3000 BME, also called the Age of Miyarris, after the foremost civilisation of that era., they spread north and west, founding all the nations of Otekahré, and blending with Iskeans to become the modern nation of Harthera.

• Orodier
• Mayapon
• Eloyun
• Gaal

Many modern scholars consider the Eloyoun to be an off shoot of a single proto-Thalsic ancestral group.

The Gyeil people originally inhabited the Vildon valley in what is now southwestern Ororr. They were one of the few peoples to survive in thick viridplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_bigVirid

Referring to the Virid Kingdom of flora and fauna, toxic to human life. jungle, and perhaps their isolation led to some adaptations to this environment. The Gyeil have greyish-red skin, with darker pigmentation around their eyes, mouth and genitals. Children have fine black hair, but adults tend to lose their hair early, and are mostly hairless on their bodies. Many tribal groups remained fiercely isolationist right up until the time of the Prophet Therion, although there has now been considerable intermingling with other groups.

• Vildon
• Veedormim

The Li-Vam inhabit the mountainous uplands of Munatan and Torthien. Their skin has an iridescent scale-like adaptation to the harsh mountain sunlight, hence the derogative name “silverskins” often used by other races. This is most pronounced in upland Li-Vam, who have pale skin, fair hair and deep brown or purple eyes. Peoples of Torthien have significant racial mixing with Eloyoun, while the lowland Li-Vam are mixed with Manthi and others. The people of Deltirot were once thought to be Thalsic in origin, but are an ancient mixture of Issid and Li-Vam peoples, hence their relatively fair skin.

The Gikrik, often called the frogmen, are today almost legendary, considered bizarre mutations. Today they inhabit the delta of the River Roul in the far southeast of Anásthias, and some islands. It is said that one of the Godmen, seeing that most of the world was water, created the Gikrik to populate the wider world, and not be confined to the shore. Amongst the Junda they are revered in legend as beings sacred to the old gods, although modern Hartherans would see them as curiosities.