Higath
"If it moves, a higath will either bow to it nice-like, or he'll kill it outright, so if they're not bendin' an' prayin' when they sees us, you jus' go ahead an' run for it. 'Course, a particularly polite higath might do both, and not necessarily in that order, so when they start bowin', IF they bow at all, you follow my lead. Each tribes got different greetins' and such. No, I don't know which tribe we're comin' up on now, so don't ask. They're always on the move, you see, and never the same tribe in the same place at the same time of year. Only settle down once or twice every decade or so, and then only to decide which tribes movin' where next, and for how long, and how many nosy foreigners they'll tolerate afore they get out those big hammers of theirs and start whackin' 'til you're jus' paste quick-freezin' in the snow.. Alright, alright, so I made that last bit up to scare you, sure, but sometimes folk need scarin' afore they meet their first higath. Most folk think they're slow, though I can't imagine why; jus' 'cause someone don't do much talkin' don't mean they're slow. An' you won't think so either if one figures you're more trouble than you're worth. Mostly on account of bein' dead, I suppose. Higath don't much like anythin' they can't think of a way to get some use out of. Anyhow, you jus' do what ol' Hennikk tells you and you'll be alright." -Mountain guide.
Higath: (pl: higath adj.: higathuan)
Beliefs: pantheistic,
The beliefs of the Higath are marked heavily by their characteristic lack of curiosity. While some of their shamans profess to certain beliefs about the creation of the universe and the form of its laws, they do so hesitantly, and only in as much as they find such theories useful for the practice of their medicines and magics. For the Higath, there is little point in knowing what came before, or what will happen after. The former is either evident from its effects on the present, or else is wholly unimportant, and the latter will be experienced, and therefore understood, when it eventually happens. Their beliefs about divinity are just as practical; life itself is divine, and is worshipped in the manner to which it is accustomed. They make no distinction between gods and beasts, save by their usefulness or danger. To a Higath, all interaction with the fauna of Ko is a form of worship, whether it be the defense of one’s tribe, the slaughter of livestock, the avoidance of poisonous animals, or getting out of the way of a rampaging god. Higath are therefore sometimes flummoxed by the appearance of certain gods which don’t readily conform to their ideas of animal life, as well as some of the more ambulant plant life in Ko, but such distractions are momentary. As their tribes usually live in regions less hardy creatures could not, such problems of theology rarely crop up.
Biology: bulky, tall, furred, muscular, hot-blooded.
Values: respect, utility, strength
Mating and family: short gestation period, most children conceived during celebrations held during interaction between tribes, little distinction made between tribe and family
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