カナウイ
The Kanaui Confederacy, on the Isle of Matomai, is a nation with a deep and spiritual connection to nature. For hundreds of years, the Great Houses have upheld an ancient covenant between humans and nature spirits. This is the Universal Law, or kanaui, by which the Kanaui people name themselves. Such is the foundation of the eternal cycle of Life.
The Forging of the Covenant
Long ago, when the world was new, Great Matomai was divided by war. Greedy chieftains fought over followers and land, blind to the pain and suffering of the very people they fought over. The pastures withered, the sky turned black, and Mount Wahiahi wept tears of fire.
All this changed when the nature spirits appeared to King Bikaha, first of the Kamana dynasty. King Bikaha agreed to uphold the Universal Law that governs the balance between humans and nature. In exchange, the nature spirits granted King Bikaha vast supernatural powers. He used his newfound strength to defeat the corrupt chieftains and unite the tribes of Matomai, ushering in an era of peace that continues to this day.
Today, Great Matomai is ruled by the Seven Great Houses, who govern their people through an elected parliamentary body called the Wahiahi Assembly. The Kanaui Confederacy is wealthy and powerful thanks to the island’s abundance of natural resources. It is said that as long as the Kanaui keep their ancestral promise and uphold the Universal Law, the spirits will bless Matomai with strength and prosperity.
Kanaui, the Universal Law
The central precept of the Universal Law is that the universe does not belong to anyone. Life is like a perfect jewel which encompasses the whole world, and humans, spirits, plants, and animals are all just tiny facets of this jewel. Upholding the law, then, means recognizing one’s place as part of a greater whole. Being a good Kanaui means being a good steward of the land and ensuring that all Life — not just you or your people — can benefit.
The philosophy of the Kanaui has led to a society that is quite different from other nations. The Kanaui live in communal settlements and do not recognize the concept of private property. They collectively live on the land and take care of it, collectively raise their children, and collectively make decisions by majority vote. These communities include not only the humans who live in them, but the spirits who inhabit the land: their opinions, as seen from the omens in the sea and sky, are just as important as those of any human being.
But all is not well in recent years, for the peace of the Kanaui has been disrupted by outsiders seeking the resources of the Isle of Matomai. The Great Houses are fighting a losing battle against the economic interests of the Domenican Empire, the Aetherwrights, and others who would transgress upon the Universal Law. Within the Confederacy, too, there is a growing number of dissenters who are dissatisfied with the old way of life and call for a new interpretation of the kanaui.
The Path of a Hundred Branches
Bamboo is central to the Kanaui architectural tradition and way of life. Its shoots grows readily on Matomai, and the Kanaui people have a thousand and one uses for the plant: as a light and strong building material, as a component in paper-making and fiber-spinning, as a medicine in all kinds of herbal remedies, even as a vegetable in Kanaui cuisine.
Walking into a Kanaui town, one will first be greeted by a wall of bamboo stakes, with a bamboo gate raised and lowered with pulleys. The houses and workshops are modular wooden structures that can be quickly assembled to fit any purpose. The Kanaui do not clear forests or reshape the earth: instead, they build within and on top of the landscape that already exists. Their houses and rope bridges and watermills grow along the sides of cliffs and tree branches, like winding vines that pulse with life.
Kanaui ships are considered to be the finest in all the Thirteen Lands. They are light, sleek, almost futuristic bamboo watercraft, handcrafted and varnished in a secret artisanal tradition. With their distinctive sails and silky smooth finish, they are a popular export product of Matomai and imitated by luxury shipbuilders all over the world.
The Language of Flowers
Gold and gems are relatively common on Mount Wahiahi, so the Kanaui do not consider these things particularly valuable (although they are still pretty decorations and useful trade goods). Instead, the Kanaui arts revolve around gardening and floral arrangement. The finest expression of talent, after all, is cultivating Life and fully expressing the beauty of the Universal Law.
Flowers are especially beloved in Kanaui culture, and there are all kinds of festivals and songs praising the beauty of Matomai’s flowers in full bloom. Each flower has a particular symbolic meaning to the Kanaui and they are a common motif in fashion and architecture. Delve into the rabbit hole of Matomai’s arts scene and you will find hardcore flower-breeding genetics enthusiasts, horticultural events about growing the prettiest rose or the largest melon, different schools of landscaping that are bitterly divided over the best shape for a garden path…
Pathfinders of the Kanaui
To the Kanaui, the New World represents a facet of Life that was previously unknown to them. It is an integral, beautiful, and sacred part of the Kanaui world, and many young Kanaui are driven to set foot on those distant shores and see those vistas for themselves. It is simultaneously a pilgrimage to a place of beauty, and a mission to protect that beauty from others who would corrupt it.
The Kanaui have long been sailors and Kanaui Pathfinders are at home on the ocean. They wear light fabrics dyed in brilliant reds, oranges, and greens, which wrap around them like petals. It is not uncommon for their outfits to incorporate flowers, living grasses, and even birds’ nests: to the Kanaui, all life is part of every person, just as they are an inseparable part of the universe.
Symbols of the Kanaui
- Birds of Paradise: These bright orange flowers are an iconic sight in Matomai. The flag currently used by the Kanaui Confederacy is a red banner with a gold silhouette of a bird-of-paradise flower in the center (which is often made of actual gold thread).
- Ukuleles: A small, portable guitar wildly popular among the Kanaui, to the point that the ukulele-strumming musician in a floral vest is something of a national stereotype. It is a stereotype that the Kanaui do not seem to mind: Isle-touring ukulele concerts are widespread and massively popular.
- Gold and Pearls: Items that would be priceless commodities elsewhere are common on Matomai, and visitors are often awestruck by the glittering decorations put up by the Kanaui for festivals and events. The Great Houses are well aware of this and take care to show off Matomai’s wealth whenever foreigners are visiting.