The elven population of Ilaros is dominated by two major ethnic groups, the Jaur and the Nravo. Of these two groups the Jaur are the most widespread and have had the greatest effect upon the history of the region to date. What follows is a kind of overview of the Jaur as a whole with some reference to the modern Jauric cultures (the Nyeran's and the Ejantuli).

Physical Description

Physiology

The Jaur are a distinct looking people, being somewhat taller than other's of their species, and noted for their copper-colored skin, blue-black hair (straight or wavy), and amber or topaz colored eyes. The nose is generally somewhat prominent and high-bridged with either an aquiline or convex shape and the nostrils tend to be somewhat wide. The mouth is generally wide and the lips range from thin to medium fullness. Hands and feet tend to be somewhat elongated with pronounced joints on the fingers and toes,

giving them a somewhat gnarled appearance in old age.

Dress and Personal Adornment

It is a pan-Jauric cultural trade to dress as elaborately and as sumptuously as one's wealth and social position will allow. Often, garments are made of many layers of cloth of different patterns and colors. In the Empire, high elaborate collars are currently in vogue and among the Nyerans these are also common although they are almost universally paired with enormous scarves. Hair styles are likewise elaborate, and often are intended to encode some ritual or symbolic meaning. Hair that mimics the shape of

cephalopod arms (a complex arrangement of either braids or dreadlock studded with stones and held with ornate metal bands) is not uncommon.

Origins

The first physical evidence of elves in the region dates back some 20,000 years and consists mostly of advanced stone tools, stone and bone carvings, and the odd bog-body drawn up from the peat. Unfortunately, the unique material culture of these early elves cannot be traced to any of the other continents of the world, making pinpointing their ultimate origins somewhat difficult. That the Jaur came from elsewhere is certain, but that is as much as archaeology can tell. Several theories have been put forward, liking the Jaur with populations of elves to the north and east, or to some now-lost land but these have proven to be inconclusive at best. Even their languages give no real clue as to their origin for no successful connections have been made between the Jauric languages and any know language family spoken by elves or indeed any other sentient group. Whatever their ultimate origins, as a culture, the Jaur are native to the Nyeran archipelago and the history of the region is bound up with them.

Languages

The Jauric languages comprise their own family and while the internal relations among the several Jauric languages are well documented, there have been no successful, widely accepted, theories of any higher order connections. Some linguists have attempted to related the Jauric and Vodnan languages, but due to a long history of contact it is difficult to determine what words might be borrowing, and what words might show a common relationship.

Typologically, the Jauric languages are rather unique as they combine several unusual features found rarely in the world's languages. Jauric languages tend to be of the analytic type and possess very complicated syntactic rules on account of their relatively weak inflectional markings. The languages are also either tonal or possess a pitch accent system which interacts with both the morphology and phonology in a number of ways to alter meaning and sound. All Jauric languages are syntactically ergative (an uncommon feature in most mortal languages) and possess a complex means of clause coordination (switch reference systems and anti-passives along with alternations in word order). These and other notable features of the Jauric languages are not found

together in any other language family which only serves to further the mystery of their origins

Social Organization and Politics

Traditionally, Jauric cultures are extremely socially stratified with limited social mobility. All modern Jauric cultures make use of an elaborate caste system which determines many of the social and cultural norms that one adheres to. Diet, religious affiliation, language, manner of dress, and general social standing are all determined by one's caste, but professions are not necessarily determined in the same way. There is no "warrior caste" or "fisherman caste" but there are castes that tend to gravitate towards a particular profession or group of related profession. For example the igaj caste is generally considered to be a "working class" caste and in coastal communities many igaj find work as fishermen, clam diggers, and sailors whereas in an inland community it would not be uncommon to find igaj potters, weavers, or smiths.

Caste is determined by birth and is tracked solely though the female line like all Jauric familial relations. A child is born into the same caste as its mother regardless of the caste of the father. Similarly, inheritance is generally matrilineal in nature. Property (land, houses, and certain good, but not ships) can only be owned by females and is handed down mother to daughter. Goods (ships, carts, books, and tools concerning the building of ships and the like) can only be owned by males, but are not passed down from father to son. Rather, they are passed down from maternal uncle to nephew. In modern Nyeran custom, these sorts of property arrangements remain essentially unchanged, whereas in the Empire inheritance laws are based partly on blood-relatives and partly on a complex system of patronage.

The political organizations of settlements too have had great effect upon Jauric culture. In the settled communities the internal political life is dominated by two major groups, a council of old and powerful females, and the hereditary priesthood called the hvalgo. The old females generally act as a kind of panel of magistrates, mediating disputes between various people and groups within the settlement. The hvalgo priests find themselves acting as perpetual advisors, whispering in the ears of those with public titles and keeping the records of community. The external politics of a community (how it relates to other settlements, issues of trade, war, and the like) are usually governed by one or more nlor, or ‘princes’. The nlor combine aspects of a hereditary nobility and a merchant class into their function acting as both a political and military leader and as a sort of central bank, trade advisor, and chief economist. Originally it seems that the nlor evolved out of a rather peculiar “pariah” caste that was free of the social codes that forbid members of certain castes from interacting with others. They acted as a kind of perpetual middleman and go-between, for they were neither seen as sacred or profane and thus could freely move from the highest circles of power to the depths of untouchability with unparalleled ease. Eventually, the nlor had become indispensable to the functioning of Jauric society and attained their present status as a political and economic force.

Religion and Philosophy

Religion

Religion

The Jauric religious traditions are among the oldest still practiced forms of worship among the mortals of Ilaros.  The various sects, cults, and branches of the Jauric faith are quite different in belief and practice, so much so that it might be appropriate to refer to the Jauric family of religions (much like the Dharmic or Abrahamic religions)  if it were not for the fact that practitioners of the Jauric religion maintain that all descendants of the ancient traditions are essentially varieties of the same faith.

Although the Jauric sects vary widely, there is a central body of beliefs that tends to exist (in one form or another) in nearly all branches.  These include the following:

·        A belief in an essentially uncaused and eternal universe

·        A complex panthaeon of  deities whose purpose it is maintain the order of the cosmos

·        A fundamentally amoral cosmos with no conflict between ‘good’ and ‘evil’. Rather, they are both fundamentally important to the functioning of the cosmos.

·        Belief in causal reincarnation of all sentient and semi-sentient beings  (mortals, outsiders, gods, animals etc.)

·        A rejection of immortality in any form

·        A strict taboo against raising the dead, attempting immortality or otherwise preventing reincarnation.  Bringing back the dead is considered an affront to the cosmic order and is an act that is utterly immoral and depraved.    

·        An elaborate series of afterlives, some designed to punish those that willfully violate cosmic order (the Hells or the Purgatories), some simply other existences (the Whorls), and some meant to provide succor for those who have endured tragic or painful lives (the Paradises).

·        Veneration of ancient texts of hymns, songs, and prayers

·        A belief in progressive revelation: the sacred truth is revealed over time, in different forms. 

·        A very strong taboo against praying over mundane, day to day occurrences. One does not pray for good weather for a picnic, or for victory in a game, this is demeaning to the gods and to the cosmos as a whole.

·        Ritual songs, stories, and poems form the center of worship along with sacrifices and votive offerings

·        Priests are generally poets, storytellers, philosophers, and keepers of lore. Healing and the priesthood are not generally associated. 

·        A monastic and/or hermit tradition with strong contemplative, mystic, and philosophical elements

·        A rather peculiar soul-belief system by which the living have no discrete soul only a mind. The soul is the form of a being that travels between lives, once incarnation occurs, the soul either ceases to exist or becomes synonymous with the subconscious.