Zuri Jinjahl
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The Twelveswood is everything. Life, succor, refuge: it contains family, hearth, and home. If ever there existed an ideal life for Zuri, it would be in the wood, within the bounds of her tribe's women, where survival is as much a joy as it is and endless list of chores needing to be done. And yet, she is rarely found under leaf and bough. Her travels between the city-states have made a tapestry of her adulthood, a series of disconnected stories and memories that frame her remembrances of home. Yet, while the intensity of her longing remains her single greatest driving force, she embraces the task which has been set her. She carries out her duties with a pride that sometimes spills into arrogance: a self-embroidered destiny that keeps her aloof and lonely, no matter how desperately she subconsciously seeks understanding.
Born to a nomadic people and set to travel between the city-states, Zuri is weathered and hardened by constant movement. Formerly a bow-hunter of her people, she still carries some of those muscles. While she yet carries a bow, she demures any residual skill as an actual hunter; these days she spends too much time walking to have enough practice to be considered skilled by the reckoning of her people. As such, while she still carries some of the muscle required to bend her shortbow, she no longer retains the musculature that is common amongst the hunters of her tribe.
Aspects That Stand Out:
Born of a culture that prizes conformity over individual expression, much of Zuri's behaviors and beliefs stem from her people. That isn't to say that each of her fellow tribeswomen are copies of one another, but rather that behaving within social mores and following the tribe's social scripts are paramount to the health of the individual and the tribe as a whole. As such, the majority of Zuri's beliefs and actions are always weighed by virtue of what will best suit her people. She always weighs her actions against what would be considered a credit to them, and what would disappoint them. As well, doing anything that might potentially reflect badly upon them is always something she tries to avoid.
That's not to say that her or her people are morally stringent. Indeed, there are many things that might be considered immoral or problematic for those within the city-states that are without issue to her. Indeed, there are many concepts that are downright bizarre to her, that she has had to learn to adapt and work around. While she's been in the city-states long enough to understand how to behave without causing issue, there are still many things she disagrees with or cannot fathom why such beliefs or behaviors are upheld. Zuri is a loyal person, as the vast majority of her people tend to be, but that loyalty is largely saved for kith and kin of the overall tribe. Relationships outside of the tribe are, for her, nonexistent -- all outside of the tribe are none of her business. And though she might be compassionate or feel fondness, at the back of her mind is always the idea that they are outsiders.
Zuri's tribe is a combination of two staple matriarchal lines, and two lines adopted in who do not have elders included in the elder's council. Consisting of around fifty women and a scattering of children broken into a variety of camps, it is small enough to face the danger of dying out, while being large enough to face difficulty in feeding everyone and keeping everyone in good supply.
As such, reliability, humility and trustworthiness are considered to be of utmost importance, as well as obedience, resilience, and not making a fuss of things. Expressiveness is typically muted when compared to those who live in industrialized cities, and more weight placed upon working as an extension of the group rather than individuality. All of this can be conceptualized as honor, though among themselves the tribeswomen do not refer to it as such. It is simply the way of living, and to break it is to inflict spiritual death upon oneself, the punishment for which is typically exile, shunning, or at worst, death. However, people are people, and the tribe is cognizant of the nature of weakness in sentience. A certain amount of flaws are tolerated in silence, with some problems being left for nuclear families to sort out; such things are not spoken of so long as they do not compromise the whole. To this end, women of this tribe tend to stay out of conflicts, both internally within the tribe and -- for those sent away -- conflicts external to their own culture. Zuri, in particular, does her best to not become too deeply involved in the lives of those she is familiar with outside of her tribe. While she has her share of curiosity about others, she sees it as disrespectful and inappropriate to directly influence others. What matters most to these women is motherhood and the haleness of the tribe. Children are raised by the tribe as a whole; hunting and gathering rotations are done so there are always able-bodied women in camp alongside the grandmothers and elders who can no longer hunt. However, these women still retain knowledge and skill. When age leads to infirmities of body or mind that makes the women of this tribe no longer able to contribute or make the journey between camps, they will often excuse themselves on a last, solo hunt. Such suicides are considered to be natural and simply the way of things; they do not see it as a sorrowful occasion, but something to be celebrated. Release within celebration and competition is common to this particular tribe. Dancing, chanting, throat-singing, wrestling, and sharpshooting each have their place in a variety of feasts, festivals, and rituals -- both formal and informal. Life and death celebrations tend to be matters of informal potlatches with more loosely held rules and expectations of gift-giving practices (both of hosting family and guests) than other such rituals. Contrarily, solstices, induction as elders, induction as hunt-leader, and coming-of-age ceremonies are the most rigid in expectation.
Humility - individual achievement is celebrated only during festivals. The rest of the time, it is considered apropriate to demure or otherwise denounce one's achievements. The better one does, the more it is expected to decry. When it comes to hunting or skilled creation, everyone will take turns insulting the creation. Arrogance is a particularly reviled trait in the tribe, especially considering the dearth of game allowed to hunters and the imposed scarcity of resources. Everything is to be shared, and so to feel pride of particularly impressive feats is considered to be an endangerment to the tribe.
Therefore, being able to receive insults well, and to be open to receiving criticism, is considered to be both honorable and marks of a good person. To this end, receiving compliments from outsiders often makes Zuri feel uncomfortable and unnatural.
Romance and romantic love is generally not practiced, and considered something of an abnormality amongst the tribe. Companionship, love of tribe, and familial love is the expectation. Hunt-partners -- often matched while still young -- sometimes form deep committments, but the exact dynamic is not the same as monogomous pairings found in other cultures. Men of the tribe leave as young adults to wander. Those who come back do so for the purpose of familial bonds and/or procreation, and while male-female bonds form or persist, it is not the same thing as romantic love.
In terms of physical boundaries, the people of this tribe have almost no personal bubble. Oftentimes touch is as valid a form of communication as words, as well as reassurance. Tribeswomen do everything in pairs or groups, and it is not uncommon for them to be found in tightly grouped circles or pressed forehead to forehead while speaking or doing tasks. Sleeping houses are often small and cramped -- personal space is nigh unheard of. It is expected to touch frequently as part of communication.
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