Tau Nui

The Tau Nui (pronounced tau NOO-ee) people of the Rendah Pulu isles of Minata are insular folk who claim descent from peoples of the historical empire of Taumata. Many Tau Nui clans have sworn oaths to protect Taumata's ruins from outsiders and fiercely protect the locations of these ancient sites.

History

The once-disparate Tau Nui clans were nomadic until the late Ariki Tewari united them and guided them to permanently settle in Rendah Pulu.

Culture

Tau Nui people are known for their elaborate garments, especially their flax-woven cloaks sometimes decorated with animal skins and feathers, as well as hairstyles of top knots and braids, and for facial tattoos designed with curves or spirals to depict their individual histories.

Many Tau Nui people can directly trace their ancestral lineage to Taumatans. Tau Nui clans closely guard Taumatan sites, and as such avoid interactions with outsiders and explorers or most opportunities for trade or political alliances.

Structure

Tau Nui people live in heavily fortified settlements, the most fortified of which is the ancient city of Pawainui on the island of Lakapuna, home to the Tau Nui people's ruler Ariki Heihenari. The opulent city includes more than 1,000 carved totemic columns that depict the histories of the city and its families.

Heihenari inherited leadership as the first-born son of Ariki Tewari, but Heihenari's cousin Pirinihi Kahukura is also a popular leader, and as of 7214 IC Heihenari's wasteful ways and a popular effort to name Kahukura as the rightful successor had driven a rift among Tau Nui clans.

Sites

Tau Nui primarily inhabit the isles of Rendah Pulu, particularly Lakapuna and neighboring Olakapuna. However, Tau Nui were once nomadic, and more distant places still bear Tau Nui names, such as Waunomani.