Itothani

Itothani
Religious motif associated with followers of the Cascade amongst the Itothani
Capital	None
Ruler	Many
Government	No formal government; matriarchs and elders
Demonym	Itothani
Adjective	Itothani
Languages	Hikunza; Sea-Speak; other regional languages
Religions	The Cascade; animism

The Itothani (pronounced eye-toe-THAH-nee) are the reef-dwelling locathah of the Wounds. While generally friendly and welcoming of outsiders to their communities, they are fiercely protective of their vibrant reefs and are willing to take drastic action to protect them should the need arise. They are a diverse group of peoples with varying traditions, spread across the many coral reefs of the Wounds.

Geography

The largest populations of the Itothani are in the Vese-Te-Mona Reef near the Protectors, the Itzazoa Reef near the Angry Kings, and the Vivid Reef near the Chain. They value all coral reefs, however, no matter their size, and smaller communities can be found in reefs far and wide across the Wounds.

Historically the Itothani also lived in the Wonder of the Seas, now known as the Corpse, a reef south of the Old Twins. After its destruction in the early waves of the demonic invasions of the Old Twins, the survivors from this reef fled throughout the Wounds and have culturally diverged from the Itothani, becoming the Bakari locathah.

Demographics

The Itothani are entirely locathah. Still, some individuals of other ancestries can be found living in their reef-villages as well, usually aquatic elves or less commonly merfolk.

Culture

Religion

Most Itothani are followers of the Cascade. Strictly speaking, on its own the Cascade is more of a philosophy than a true religion - it is the reefs themselves that are the object of worship. Each is treated as, if not quite a deity, then something close, a benevolent living god itself composed of both the flesh-forms and spirit-forms of all that live within and around it. Every reef, whether that be the major ones such as the Itzazoa, Vivid, or Vese-Te-Mona or the great many smaller ones that can be found throughout the Wounds, is worshiped slightly differently, with varying areas of concern, tenets, and domains, depending on local conditions and the populations that live around them. The religions of all reef-gods have a number of shared edicts and anathema, however, centering primarily around the need to protect the reefs and heal the injured whenever possible.

Some Itothani hold other faiths in addition to, or instead of, the Cascade, but this is not common. The Sunken Star has a few adherents, as does the Beating Heart.

Languages

Nearly all Itothani speak Hikunza, the language of the locathah of the Wounds. While their dialects are generally mutually intelligible, they do have a significant degree of variation. Communities in the same reef can easily communicate with each other but they sometimes encounter difficulty in speaking Hikunza with locathah living in far-away reefs. It is also not atypical for the Itothani to know Sea-Speak.

Food and agriculture

Itothani cuisine is effectively entirely based around seafood. Seaweed, sea cucumbers, sea urchins, crabs, and shrimp are core parts of their diet, but fish accounts for most of it. Not all types of fish are consumed by the Itothani, however. Most families and communities hold one or more species of fish to be of particular significance and representing of their own relationship with their reefs, and therefore sacred and protected, but the exact animals that are given this status vary widely. Tropical fish that are only found in symbiosis with local corals are most typical.

The Itothani value freshness in their food, preferring to eat it as it is gathered or harvested, or at least very soon after, without allowing it to sit any longer than is necessary. Almost all dishes are eaten with raw ingredients, though often combined and prepared in inventive ways.