Amunati

The Amunati are the people of the lower Tamarat River in northern Idiri, descendants of one of the greatest kingdoms of the ancient world which is now just another province of the Sirdabi Caliphate. They are a very proud people with a strong sense of exclusive identity, and many among them consider themselves culturally superior to their Sirdabi conquerors. Despite this they are largely uninterested in the idea of independence from the caliphate, preferring rather to steer it from within by attaining positions of influence and power. They have a reputation for cunning, arrogance, and deceit -- but the Amunati themselves would claim this is largely the product of jealousy at their success. Most ordinary Amunati are now peaceful people with a love for natural beauty and the visual arts, and many have a mystical bent that influences their worship. Their province produces talented astrologers as well as engineers and builders.

Appearance

Amunati usually have copper to dark brown complexions and dark hair that runs the full range of textures from straight to kinked, and they tend to be taller than most other peoples of Idiri.

Culture

Most Amunati like for things to be tidy and orderly, and to feel that everything is properly in its place. This applies to anything from one's house and fields all the way up to humankind's place in the cosmos. Ritual holds great importance in Amunat, not only in religion but in the practices of daily life. It is perhaps this mindset that made Kalentoi culture appealing to the people of Amunat, and why the Kalentic faith easily took root here under the rulership of the Empire. But Amunati also are deeply devoted to the idea of tradition, and even in the face of numerous changes of governance and religion, many ancient practices and beliefs are still cherished.

Besides order, beauty is also highly valued in Amunati culture, and ideally things should be both orderly and beautiful at once. For this reason formality and style are preferred over crass realism, in everything from painting to landscaping. Some outsiders find Amunati art and gardens to be artificial and stiff, but the best of their design manages to incorporate studied elegance with an exuberant embrace of all aspects of life and nature.

Women are well respected in Amunati culture, and there were even once a handful of queens in the days of ancient Amunat. Ordinarily, women are expected to engage in professions and pursuits traditionally considered feminine. Creating things of beauty is one such feminine pastime, so it is not uncommon to find women working as potters, jewelcrafters, weavers, garden designers, and even drafters of architectural plans. The more physical aspects of any such labor, however, are supposed to be left up to men -- or to women of lower status who cannot afford to adhere to such ideals.

Traditionally, women in Amunati society also played a strong role in religious practice. Ancient Amunat always had High Priestesses to lead in the worship of various of the old gods and goddesses, and there were once religious societies made up entirely of women. Women were also sought as soothsayers, ritualists, and creators of powerful talismans and charms. With the replacement of the old ways by the new Azadi faith, women have lost much of their prominence in matters of worship. But among those segments of Amunati society who follow Idiri deities such as Nirzali, priestesses are still both common and respected.

Religion

As part of the Sirdabi Caliphate, Amunat's official religion is Azadi, and the majority of Amunati within their home province and without now embrace that faith. Due to traditional cultural practices, women of Amunati communities tend to play a more public role in religion than is typical among most other Azadi. Both women and men worship freely together in the same spaces, and some communities even boast female imams -- a huge scandal to more orthodox Azadi elsewhere.

Before the coming of either Kalentism or Azadi, the Amunati followed their own ancient pantheon. Most of these deities were the same as those known as the Children of Dawn and Dusk, and the Children of Noon and Night. In Amunati representation, however, these gods and goddesses typically bore the heads or other features of their totem animal. The goddess Kholabi was once especially revered, being the patron of refined civilization, ritual, and magic.