The Accui'hoyya

[Nawat'nikay]

Name: Accui'hoyya (Basic: The Shell-Talkers)
Designation: Sentient
Homeworld: Waw'ettet (Basic: Between-Two-Seas), no galactic standard naming protocol - undiscovered world.
Language: Hoyya, Basic

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Average Height: Male: 5'10", Female 5'5"
Average Weight: Male: 165 pounds, Female 115 pounds
Hair Color(s): Black, brown
Eye Color(s): Brown
Distinction(s): Mainline human species, beginnings of genetic drift into distinct ethnicity.
Average Lifespan: 65 years / 65 days (time dilation discrepancy)

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Society and Culture:

The Accui'hoyya are a tribe of semi-migratory fishermen. Though they gather other sources of food such as island flora and land-dwelling game animals, the Shell Talkers are sustained by following the yearly circuitous migration of the Otuui, the Great School. Comprised by millions of diamondscale fish called rappaoi, the Otuui traces a path of spawning and feeding grounds that the Accui'hoyya long ago learned to predict and follow. The tribe establish a village each season on a specific island to use as a launching point for their trimarans, setting out to bring back their catch until the Otuui moves on once more. This seasonal migration puts the Accui'hoyya in contact with numerous other tribes, some which are friendly allies and others which are frequently rivals and enemies that compete for food sources and land. This constant scenery change means that the Shell Talkers often have to be prepared for change on their wild world.

The tribe is led by a Chief, called the Accui'okkano or the Okkan. The role is typically passed in a hereditary line, though this can be usurped by a rival. Such a power change is rarely done by violence, but instead by a show of communal productivity. An Okkan who is not a successful fisherman may soon find themselves challenged by a member of the tribe who has done a better job at feeding the people. The Okkan leads the tribe in council, settling disputes between the people. They also speak for the Accui'hoyya when negotiating with other tribes or raising a war party in defense or to secure the tribe's needs.

Matters of the spirit and the world around are handled by the tribe shaman, who is called the Chna'tehoyy, or Word-Keeper. Unlike the Okkan, the Chna'tehoyy is a life-long responsibility. It is the duty of the Word-Keeper to find and instruct a younger member of the tribe in their way so that the line remains unbroken. The Chna'tehoyy's council is asked for to predict safe weather for travel and fishing. They perform weddings between members of the tribe, and administer the naming ritual, the Imachkan, when a member of the tribe has earned one. The most important duty of the Chna'tehoyy, however, is to keep guard over the tribe's old magic - Uppuat, and their relics of the Great Shell. The Accui'hoyya are said to know the Old Speech of the All-Mother, known as Baa-Seek. The Chna'tehoyy's greatest responsibility is to safeguard and preseve that knowledge.

From birth, each member of the Accui'hoyya is expected to contribute to the tribe. The children learn how to clean rappaoi. As they grow, they are taught to fish and which plants to forage. Teenagers learn to use the Aukak, the spear and atlatl made from the laminated quill of the giant squid. When they are mastered, they are considered to be adults. They are spear-kin, Taum'auk. Once a member of the tribe has become Taum'auk, they are able to hunt maned seals, boars, and the larger and more dangerous quarry the Accui'hoyya may opportunistically pursue. Taum'auk are also called to join war parties, when levied by the Okkan. These responsibilities are shared between the sexes without distinction.

Uppuat (magic) is revered throughout the tribes of Waw'ettet. It represents the mysteries of the All-Mother, passed down from the Above-Sea in the Great Shell. This can be as simple as component parts such as nuts and bolts from the original ship, to mighty artifacts such as the Shohuako or Light-Bringer, weapons that can kill with a flash of fire from a great distance. These are extremely rare, and the fact that uppuat is diminishing from Waw'ettet is known by everyone. Of all the uppuat that is known, the Accui'hoyya consider the Old Speech of the All-Mother, Baa-Seek, to be the most sacred. This holy language is a direct link to the All-Mother, and the reverence of Baa-Seek informs most of the sensibilities of the Accui'hoyya. Speech is important to them. It separates man from animal. It projects thought into air. This distinction is so important that in war, a Taum'auk might demonstrate their total domination of a killed enemy by removing their jawbone, so that even when dead they may not speak. Speech also informs the Accui'hoyya's sensibilities with their own dead. A member of the tribe who dies is given their final rites by having their bones cleaned of flesh, arranged by twine with pieces of shell and metal uppuat, and hung from a place where the wind might make their bones speak.

History:

In 20 BBY, the Corellian Star Transport Eloi mobilized to evacuate the planet Torque's human population, under threat from an imminent Separatist assault. The Eloi succeeded in rescuing the civilians and last remnants of the Grand Army of the Republic, then set course to return the refugees to Corellia. The Eloi failed to check in one day later. Two weeks later, the ship was declared lost or destroyed.

Unknown to the Galaxy at large, the Eloi struck a temporal dilation phenomenon enveloping an uncharted planet in the Gordian reach. The vessel crash-landed, largely intact on a large island in an archipelago. The survivors quickly discovered they were unable to communicate offworld due to some unknown atmospheric interference. As hope of a rescue dwindled and faded away, the survivors began to try to eke out a living in a strange land. Though a reactor leak in the crashed ship forced the passengers and crew to abandon the wreck, these survivors soon explored the world around them, finding their way to nearby islands with the aid of makeshift rafts. The world they discovered was lush and habitable. Verdant jungles, rich seas, and no shortage of flora and fauna to sustain them.

The first generation of survivors died out, followed by their children, their children's children, and so on. Cut off from the rest of the galaxy, and with limited access to technology that could be scavenged from their ship, these descendants began to adapt to the realities of their new world. Old social orders and mores were put aside. United by common purposes and needs, the survivors began to form their own groups, cultures, and tribes. The truth of their common origin was passed down less and less, until all that remained was a faith in what the eyes could see and what stories ears heard.

Though thirty five years have passed in the galaxy beyond, time moves differently on the planet whose people have named Waw'ettet. Hidden from history and time, the tribes of the islands have thrived for over twelve thousand years.

One such tribe are known as the Accui'hoyya. They are a people known as gifted fishermen and fierce warriors.


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