The Riverfolk are a distinct culture, and their language is unrelated to Praxian. It is part of a family of languages spoken by river tribes in various parts of Genertela. Many speak Trade or Praxian as second languages. Note that the Baboons and Morokanth have lots of interaction with animal nomads, but don't speak Praxian as a first language (at least according to WF 6).
Here's some more about this tribe:
THE MRU (RIVER PEOPLE, "NATIVE FISHERFOLK") Copyright © 1992 Martin R. Crim all rights reserved except as noted in theGlorantha Digest FAQ/Copyright notice on this issue of the Digest
The fisher folk who live on the Zola Fel have always been an independent and proud group. They claim kinship with the Waertagi. Both men and women worship the river god, who brings them food, shelter, and safety. The Mru trust no one but their own folk and the Hasalaru (native farmers). They sneer at the proud warriors of the nomad tribes, who fear to get their feet wet. Safe in their boats, the Mru come to rest in reed huts on the river's many islands, or on land protected by marshy or broken ground. When nomads threaten them, they simply move out into the river and to a new sanctuary. They eat river fish, drink river water, swim like fish, and never have to pay tribute to the nomads. Where they must camp on open ground, the Mru string their old nets on poles around the perimeter, each spread square between four poles. Then the nomads must either ride underneath, risking having the nets dropped on them, or cut the outer poles, creating a barrier as the inner poles still hold up their side.
The only crisis the Mru have ever faced was the Jrusteli invasion. When the river fought against the Godlearners, the Mru became hunted from Robcradle (now inside the walls of Pavis) to Feroda (near Corflu). The Jrusteli wiped out entire clans and families. The folk survived in the marshes and headwaters, and returned to repopulate the river when the Jrusteli left.
The Mru helped with the founding of Pavis, and later with the founding of New Pavis. The cities mocked the nomads, thus pleasing the Mru. The Mru would never allow a dam on the river, however, or allow any river traffic they did not control. They allow irrigation and bog drainage because these things please their god. They allied briefly with the Yelmalions, but now see them neutrally. They don't like the bridges, and would like to see them fall.
The Mru charge a toll on all river crossings, and require Zola Fel cultist pilots on all ships traveling the river.
Mru feel a deep sense of kinship with Newtlings and the talking fish of the river. Newtlings sometimes join the river cult, and the talking fish always do. In fact, by cult law the Most High Priest of Zola Fel is a fish.
The Mru language comes from Riverspeech, sometimes called Boatspeech. It is related to the Cetoi language, and speakers of one can speak the other at 1/10 their skill. It is also related to Waertagi, but in a manner only academics would appreciate.
Mru occupations follow the Barbarian pattern, but substitute fisher for farmer, herder, and hunter. Their cultural weapons are the one-handed spear attack and parry (25), net attack (30), and thrown javelin attack (25). Their other base skills are as normal humans, except for Boat (+20), Ride (-05), Swim (+15), Speak Tradetalk (20), Shiphandling (+05), and World Lore (+05).
The total population is about 4000 souls. This has been steadily rising since the founding of New Pavis. However, every Mru still knows every other Mru, by sight and family if not by name. About 1000 call New Pavis home, another 500 live in and near Corflu, and the rest are spread haphazardly along the river, in villages of between 100 and 300.
All adult Mru are initiates of Zola Fel, the River God. About 150 men belong to Issaries, and about 100, mostly wealthy men, belong to the Pavis city cult.
End of Glorantha Digest V2 #358
WWW material at http://hops.wharton.upenn.edu/~loren/rolegame.html
Powered by hypermail