Miqo'te

The Miqo'te are a Spoken race, and counted as one of the Wandering Races of Men. In Eorzea, they are not one of the more numerous, but no less vital to its defense, survival, and identity.

Appearance
Miqo'te are a lithe race, built for survival in lean times and adverse climates, for speed and endurance rather than brute strength. The males seldom grow above five fulms, eight ilms in height, and the females are seldom more than five fulms two.

Their distinguishing characteristics are their feline features: long, supple tails, slit-pupil eyes, stripes upon their cheeks and brows, and large, furred ears atop their heads.

A curious trait of the Miqo'te, unique among the Races of Men, is that their population skews heavily toward females over males; vastly more girl-children are born than boys. The cause of this phenomenon is as yet unknown.

General
Miqo'te culture is broadly based upon the hunt; indeed, it is central to their identity. Every clan, every family has its own traditions and methods for the taking of prey; many of those traditions have influenced such organizations as the Archers' Guild of Gridania and the legendary Upright Thieves of Limsa Lominsa.

Miqo'te, by nature and sometimes necessity, tend to be solitary people, and prefer the wild freedom of nature to the large, bustling cities of the Lalafell, Hyur, and Roegadyn; the gregarious races puzzle them as much as they perplex others. Indeed, they often consider themselves to be an integral part of nature--the apex predators that maintain the balance of life--and may find a certain kinship of spirit with the Wildwood Elezen.

Miqo'te regard death as part of the cycle of life, even their own. A Miqo'te who can no longer hunt may seek death, so as not to burden others and to return to the Lifestream.

Subclades
The broader race of the Miqo'te is divided into two subclades, each with a distinct culture and physical traits that derive from long centuries of tradition.

Within these subclades, however, there are many clans and tribes, and those as well divided. Barring a narrow few similarities, even two Miqo'te from within the same subclade may have vastly different traditions, customs, and hunting methods.

Seekers of the Sun
The Seekers of the Sun are descended from the Miqo'te forebears who chose to hunt in the sunlight. Though each of the twenty-six clans has its own way of reverence, all of them revere Azeyma, goddess of the sun. They are widespread, with settlements across the face of Eorzea, and can frequently be found among the crews of privateer and pirate vessels.

Seeker culture is patriarchal, and its essential unit is the polygynous family, centered around a single breeding male (called a nunh, pronounced "noon"). All males of the Seeker clans are born as tia--lesser males--and may only become nunh by defeating one in single combat, or by breaking away and forming their own harems. More than one nunh may live in a community, but these communities are generally quite large, and therefore are extremely rare.

Clan Names
The Seeker Miqo'te arriving in Eorzea during the Fifth Umbral Era were quick to notice a strange parallel between their new native language and their own clans. There are twenty-six letters of the Eorzean alphabet, and twenty-six tribes had migrated to the new land. To honor this, the tribes now call themselves by a single letter, and affix it to their forenames to show their membership.

Individual Nomenclature
Of particular note is the naming convention of the Seekers. In both men and women, the forename is composed of two parts: a single letter denoting the clan to which they were born, and then a given name. Surnames differ; women use their father's given name as a surname, while men simply use their title of "Nunh" or "Tia".

Therefore, H'naanza Esi (forgemaster of Naldiq & Vymelli's in Limsa Lominsa) is a member of the "H" clan, her given name is "Naanza", and her father's name is H'esi Nunh. Similarly, V'mah Tia is of the "V" clan, his given name is "Mah", and he has not established himself as the patriarch of a harem.

Keepers of the Moon
The Keepers of the Moon, unlike their Seeker cousins, revere Menphina, goddess of the moon. Content to hunt in the night and darkness, they make their traditional home in the cool shade of the Black Shroud. Upon their arrival, they immediately came into conflict with the Elezen and Hyur of Gridania, who regarded them as invaders and poachers. After many years of strife, most of the Keepers have come to terms with the Trappers' Guild and its compact with the elementals, and dwell in peace; however, some Keeper families continue to flout these rules and plunder the forest and its creatures as they please.

Many of Keepers' hunting techniques, especially those pertaining to the shortbow, have been integrated into the formal training of the Archers' Guild.

Keeper culture is matriarchal, with far smaller families and the mother at the head. Communities are typically composed of two or three such families, who hunt together. Before these hunts, Keepers will adorn their faces with war paint made of poisonous "soldier's sore" berries, to symbolize both the blood with which they are resolved to stain their hands, and as a pledge to the Twelve that they are prepared to die and serve the gods in the afterlife.

Nomenclature
Keeper names are no less complicated than the names of Seekers. Female and male names both keep the mother's surname; however, girl children receive their own given name, while boys are simply called by their mother's given name, along with a suffix to indicate birth order. These suffixes run, from first to tenth: 'a, 'to, 'li, 'sae, 'ra, 'ir, 'wo, 'ya, 'zi, and 'tan--though, to have even three sons is extremely unusual for a Miqo'te.

As an example, a girl born to Okhi Nbolo may be named Gota Nbolo, while her oldest brother will simply be Okhi'a Nbolo. Should her mother bear more sons, they would be named Okhi'to Nbolo, Okhi'li Nbolo, Okhi'sae Nbolo, and so forth.