Tedani (tay-dah-nee) - A human like people, live in all regions of the planet, varied weight and height. Hair, eye and skin tone indicate from which of the 5 Faisi (Parents) their ancestry comes from.
5 Faisi (Parents) Characteristics*
*It is important to note the eye appears the same as a human eye and the eye color refers only to the iris color. Also of note there are no yellow or orange colors. For violet/purple see Cha Ti.
Marriage and Population
According to origin accounts, there was one male and one female with the same characteristics listed above. They were given the Thaoem Jenol Yajo ("Binding Life Name"), for example Cyme. Their children were only allowed to marry and have children with a member of an opposite family that had the same eye color. For example a Narah with green eyes could marry a member from the Cyme, Rian, or Roksha families with green eyes. The Cyme family had the greatest variety of choices because of their dual eye color, thus giving them the option to marry someone with either color. Later in their history the dual color became rare and often undesirable.
There was a two thousand year period (Fisate Hu Lithu "Time of Ignorance"/Fislithu "Ignorant Times") when Tedani adopted the habit of marrying someone with a specific, "opposite" eye color. They were only allowed to marry their opposite.
White - Black
Red - Green
Brown - Blue
NOTE: During the Fislithu, amazingly there was not intermarriage within a family line. For example a brown eyed Rian never married a green eyed Rian. Strict genealogical records were kept.
Eventually the practice was abandoned marking the beginning of Ko Ganaoth ("Year to Awaken"). There was a dramatic shift in philosophy and culture within a standard year. As the population grew some Tedani married someone who had the same or similar characteristics as they did, although still not a common practice in modern times.
Marriage and reproduction are closely related. Many laws were written to uphold the practice of having children after marriage. Although in more recent times the laws are either not strictly enforced or in some cases abandoned. Despite the legal aspect, there is a general attitude and tradition of marriage before children because the people do not want to attempt to raise a child on their own for fear that the child will miss something greater in the process. Children born out of wedlock are rare.
Naming
The Yajenol (abbreviated derivation from Thaoem Jenol Yajo, meaning 'Life Name") helped show genealogical heritage. The male's yajenol was listed first then the female's after to make a combined yajenol. For example, if the husband were a Roksha and his wife a Jop, the yajenol they would both use would be Rokshajop. At first children took the Faisi name that best fit their appearance, usually determined by hair color, when they went to be married. So, a child from a Rokshajop family who had brown hair would keep the name Jop when they married.
For a time, children of a couple would take only the engendered part of the yajenol. So a male child from a Rokshajop would just take the Roksha part of the yajenol when he married. This can lead to confusing spaces or connections when researching heritage. Eventually this practice was abandoned and the original naming practice was reestablished.
The use of yajenol is still used in modern times. It is more of a tradition that can be used in formal cultural instances, for example marriages or naming of children.
A yajenol functioned as the last name for many years, but as populations grew and first names began to be shared over longer distances a Woth Yajo (literally "to do name", also later shortened to Wojo) was taken by families. A wojo was based on a father's profession. For example if he was a professional cook, his last name could be Mithjena (literally "to cook, man" or better translated as "cook man"), or Kemellomith (literally "fish, to cook" better translated "fish cooker") if his specialty was or he only cooked fish. A wojo was passed down to who would take over the family business/trade, sons or daughters. Those who did not take over the family business either took their spouse’s wojo if that spouse was the head of their family's business. Those who took up a new profession would create their own wojo.
Gendered names, like Mithjena would change to Mithjene if a daughter took that name/profession. Women could also choose to take their father's or mother's wojo when they married in addition to their husband's. Men only took their father's wojo.
Religion
There is a common core set of beliefs that all Tedani subscribe to believing.
It is a commonly held belief that each of the different Faisi were blessed with a perfect understanding of one core principle. A perfect understanding of the sixth principle was not given to any of the Faisi but is required for them to master all during their mortal existence.