Matahouroa Worldbuilding: Human Culture

  Mankind's history before the Empire is poorly understood, largely due to  the absence of writing prior to it. Legends from time immemorial state  that humanity once thrived in the island of Sawaiki, the ancient  paradise, where men lived without the fear of disease, old age and other  ills, where food was plentiful and the gods always favorable. However,  legends say, mankind grew proud and warlike, desecrating the sacred  forests until they were nothing but ash, killing off the plentiful  birds, waging war on fellow men and giving in to violence, cruelty and  cannibalism. It is said that the gods did not even need to lift a  finger, as mankind ruined itself, destroying Sawaiki and reducing it to a  wasteland. As hunger and disease arrived like the sea mists, mankind  wept and begged the gods for help, for at least the soothing embrace of  death if nothing else. The gods took pity on mankind and sent five  massive Hōkūleʻa, full of food and medicine to last for months. Five  gods, one for each Hōkūleʻa, were the captains of these life ships,  Lālākea-kupu steering the Hōkūleʻa that carried the Empire’s ancestors.  The fate of the other Hōkūleʻa is wrapped in mystery, their final fate  unknown to all, but Lālākea-kupu diligently and faultlessly drove his  ship to the south, until he found an island with great mysts. It was  named “the gray haired woman”, Hinawahine, and was offered by the shark  god to mankind, under the promise of careful management and peace.

The  colonisers formed many tribes, spreading across the island,  domesticating its animals and carefully creating farmlands. After  centuries of developing in isolation, tensions began to form, and it is  said that the tribe that dominated the Plateau, once ruling where  Hiruhāramānia is now, took over Hinawahine “without shedding blood”,  unifying the tribes under an Empire, which would afterwards expand into  the sorrounding seas, preserving Hinawahine’s resources whilst finding  new ones. By about five centuries after the Empire’s birth, all islands  of Hinawahine had been conquered, and other archipelagos were found just  decades after. A few insular tribes had been found, one of which a  minor island-spanning civilisation as well, all assimilated or  conquered.

Because of Sawaiki’s tragedy, the concept of Tapu  has become very important to the Empire. Generally speaking, something  that is Tapu is considered inviliolable or sacrosant, and it should not  be touched, should not be meddled with, and in some cases not even  spoken about. A superior’s personal items, for example, are Tapu, and  cannot be touched by an inferior; religious relics are Tapu, and should  not be touched unless by the Kahuna or the Prince. Many animals are  Tapu, and thus cannot be hunted; Tapu applied to areas is distinguished  as Rāhui, and is a very  important method of preserving the Empire’s sacred spaces and natural  resources, effectively rendering them untouchable to all but the  Kahuna. Tapu can even extend to abstract concepts and actions: not  honoring the gods is Tapu, for instance. Tapu is such a strong concept  that there is an inherent magic to it: violating Tapu enforces by  default anything from a visceral sense of shame to outright death,  depending on the gravity. The longer something is Tapu, the more  inviolable it will become.

That said, Tapu can be omitted and dissolved, in the form of Noa.  Noa, or blessings, lift Tapu from something, allowing the enforcing  magics to be evaporated and the prohibition thus removed. Noa occurs  whenever gifts occur, lifting the reservation and prohibition, and in  everyday Tapu simply a genuine desire to give that blessing suffices.  When it involves the norms of the society, the higher the authority,  the more effective the Noa is, and even enchantment charged Tapu can be  dispelled easily if the thing in question is under his/her authority – a  general instantly removes the Tapu inherent to his food in regards to  lower people if s/he so wishes to offer it to a starving child, for  example. Rāhui cannot be so easily dispelled, however, with even the  Kahuna normally powerless to remove it.

For obvious, many a  person desires to have entire mastery over Noa, or else be able to  bypass Tapu in other ways. In some practices, violating Tapu is actually  the whole focus, misdirecting the curse to empower instead. This is a  very dangerous gamble, especially when violating Tapu usually does not  entirely remove it, but those successful in this technique have become  excepionally powerful mages. The Kahuna are the most powerful in  delivering Noa, their blessings removing Tapu from everything but Rāhui.  Removing or blatantly violating Tapu is not always necessary, however:  many people try to weasel their way around it, doing things of  questionable nature by rationalisations and technicality. So long as the  conviction is strong, bending Tapu to one’s will is possible, to the  point that the breaking point may never be reached. This is how the  Empire’s ancient system caste system has gradually eroded away, the Tapu  that kept them distinct gradually being weaseled out as the “lower  class” managed to find ways to ascend socially, particularly in regards  to the relevance of commerce.

Government

Historically,  a caste system separated nobility, the Kahuna, the “lower class” and  war captives/slaves. As the Empire grew, the needs to oversee more and  more settlements, the merchants’ increasing importance, the reforms of  the military and the progressively more esoteric tendencies of the  Kahuna dissolved this caste system into a more pragmatic ruling body:

-  “True” nobility has been reduced to the royal line proper. The current  royal line is considered to be the descendants of Ākala, sharing his  unusual grayish-golden eyes, and in the last two millenia this emphasis  has dictated the monarch’s bloodline in particular regard, becoming the  focus of conservation on the part of the Kahuna. Because of the absence  of more royalty, the monarch was traditionally allowed to marry from  within the nobility, but with its dissolution the issue has become more  complicated. Generally, an Ariki consort is selected, the marriage  ceremony now involving extensive purification rituals to allow for the  blood of Ākala to be preserved.

The monarch is the ultimate  authority, though they are strongly influenced by the subordinate  government body. Once seen as the connection between the gods and  mankind, this role has largely been usurped by the Kahuna, but the  divine blood still grants the monarch authorithy over them under usual  circumstances. In the span of the Empire’s history, the Kahuna almost  never intervened with the monarch’s rule, until now, where the conflicts  with the current “Prince” and the Tohunga Ahurewa have become  progressively more severe. The current monarch is “Prince” Whēuriuri,  with his cousins Mura and Hatiti being the next in the line for the  throne.

- The military, always recruiting members from all walks  of life, has had an increasing political influence for the past few  centuries, embodying a face of social potential and ascension in the  face of previous rigid caste systems. Already frequently the ruling  power in external colonies, it entered in vicious competition with the  Kahuna in terms of political power, a secular government body against a  theocratic one. Now, both groups have utterly displaced other  factions/social grades at the position secondary to the royal line,  forming the actual government body with the monarch as the figurehead.  And “Prince” Whēuriuri came to favour the military out of the two,  rendering the Empire almost entirely under martial law.

The  military has a well organized system of ranks, on which the members are  promoted or demoted in accordance to performance and honour[s]. The top  rank is that of the Tianara,  now held by the man known as Aata, which many consider to be practically  equal to the “Prince” in every way. The patron god of the army is  Lālākea-kupu, though several gods are called in the battlefield.  Regardless, the military is fundamentally secular, as it is Tapu to  cloud strategy with delusions of exacting divine will. Consequently,  these same “logical” strategies translated into the battlefield of  politics.

- Outside of Hiruhāramānia, individual territories are  general ruled by an Ariki. Originally Hinawahine’s non-royal nobility,  the Ariki is a position generally elected or promoted to, usually from  the military, the merchant elite and, more rarely, the Kahuna. An Ariki  does not usually answer to democratic vote: the population’s favor is  usually meaningless to place a person as an Ariki, as it is the  government body that does so, though an exceptionally unpopular Ariki  will be placed under trial and demoted. More often than not, the Ariki  is simply a figurehead, the military, merchants and/or Kahuna being the  true power in the individual territories.

- As the Empire has  expanded beyond Hinawahine, merchants have also gained relevance.  Karatakara, Koronitiwa, Hiriwa and several external islands have  developed well established mercantile elites, which compose most of the  localized government bodies. They are almost never in an  “official”position of power, with an Ariki, the military or the Kahuna  serving as the political authorithy, very often puppets for the most  influencial of these elites.

- And finally, there are the Kahuna, the Empire’s clergy, that always project immense authority whenever they are.

Kahuna

Matahouroa’s  most relevant priestly class, the Kahuna were originally the caste  secondary to the nobility, concerning themselves not just with religious  duties, but working as the carpenters, merchants, medics, entertainers  and generally the operators of civilized society, above the farmers,  hunters and the rest of the low class workers. Gradually, the population  at large began to fill these roles as society shifted from its rustic  roots to full blown civilisation, and the Kahuna in turn began to focus  on their role as mediators between mankind and the gods, as the self  entitled guardians of nature and civilisation alike, as well as  supervisers and caretakers of morality, traditions, the populace, and  above all magic. The Kahuna are some of Matahouroa’s most powerful  mages, said to be blessed by the gods and to have acquired sacred  knowledge from them. They are highly esoteric and secretive, and just as  easily mistrusted as they are awed and venerated by the populace. Once  hereditary as a caste, the Kahuna as priestly orders are welcome to any  exceptionally talented mage, whereas they're willing or not.

Many  orders of Kahuna exist across the Empire, but Hinawahine’s Kahuna are  divided into five main orders. Unaligned Kahuna exist, but they are  exceptionally rare within Hinawahine and Hiriwa, where the orders have a  strict policy of adherence or penalty for “treason”, which more often  than not includes either forceful conversion or death. The populace is  widely warned to act against unaligned Kahuna, being Tapu to accept  their services or offer them hospitality. All orders answer to the Tohunga Ahurewa,  the head of the Empire’s clergy. In theory, all orders have the claim  to this title, but the Tohunga Ahurewa’s position in Hiruhāramānia has  ensured that only the Pūhihi Kahuna have occupied this position for most  of the last millennium or so. The other orders for the most part only  pay lip service to the Tohunga Ahurewa anyways. The current Tohunga  Ahurewa is Raiti of the Pūhihi Kahuna.

While other sapient  non-human races have priests and some even work closely with the Kahuna,  only humans are considered to be Kahuna.

Pūhihi Kahuna (White)

The  largest and most prestigious order, the Pūhihi Kahuna have their  headquarters in Hiruhāramānia, with most of the smaller settlements in  the Plateau also being important operation centers, some of which  entirely under theocratic rule. They also have large temples and  political seats in Karatakara and Hiriwa – though there they are  secondary to the Pirita Kahuna and Karetai Kahuna, respectively -, and  through the islands of the Empire, where they are often in charge of  healing centers and public religion alike. With their base in  Hiruhāramānia and being widespread and popular, they are often  considered to be the “official” Kahuna order of the Empire, a claim with  Tapu attached. Many feel that the Tohunga Ahurewa has effectively  become simply a rank of the Pūhihi Kahuna, unofficially solidifying  their dominance, though legally it still remains a title availiable to  other Kahuna.

The original distinctive social role of Pūhihi  Kahuna was to oversee morality and justice. Their stated purpose is to  dictate the laws and supervise their enforcement, as well as to arrest  and judge the guilty. The military has taken over these fields, but the  Pūhihi Kahuna still have enough authority to intervene when corruption  or ill judgement is perceived. They may also collaborate with the  military, their battle magic a value asset. Aside from this, the Pūhihi  Kahuna also work as the main healers, operating medic centers throught  the Empire – though this role has often also been taken by the Pirita  Kahuna, and by other Kahuna sporadically. More generally, the Pūhihi  Kahuna are the Kahuna that most dutifully fulfill the civic cleric  duty, being responsible for religious events and public celebrations,  both to honour the gods and to unite communities, though other Kahuna,  particularly the Pirita Kahuna, also do this. Whenever new conquests are  made, at least one Pūhihi Kahuna is among the colonizers, being  considered the most immediately useful of the Kahuna with his/her medical  and combat skills.

The symbol of the Pūhihi Kahuna is the  sunray, which sums up their original philosophy: rather than the solar  sphere itself, it is the light that emanates from it that has  importance, the divine emanation that nurtures the world and in turn  connects mortals to their deities, carrying their prayers and joy in  return. In turn, it’s not the Pūhihi Kahuna that matter, and not even  their actions, but their souls’ metaphorical radiance. To this end, they  spend a lot of their time on purifying the soul in various methods, a  practice no other Kahuna does, the Pūhihi Kahuna being among the few  people in Matahouroa with an unambiguous concept of spiritual purity.  Nonetheless, the Pūhihi Kahuna have gradually taken the symbolism much  more literally, and gradually came to herald Rāo, the god of daylight,  above the other gods, as their patron and the deity whom their symbol  honors, considering Them the source of their power, and the  demonstration of their beliefs, a pure being made of beams that connects  mankind to the divine realms and to each other.

Once, the Pūhihi  Kahuna paid homage to all the celestial gods equally, but gradually  their focus shifted on an utterly exclusive servitude of Rāo. Even while  they pay lip service to most of the pantheon in public ceremonies, they  try to subtly influence the populace to have similar henotheistic or  monotheistic beliefs, a practice that displeases other Kahuna, which see  this as superficial favouritism or outright delusion. The Pūhihi Kahuna  believe fervently in a prophecy known as the Rāomārama, in which Rāo  will not just overwhelm darkness and the night, but will also destroy  the physical universe with Their immense light, aside from the ancestral  island of Sawaiki, where the pure souls that survived the purge will  dwell for eternity without ever fearing another calamity. This belief is  held differently amidst the Pūhihi Kahuna, from being a literal  sequence of events to a metaphor for the soul’s henosis, but regardless  it has made them insanely ambitious, trying to prepare all for the  Rāomārama. The Tohunga Ahurewa, Raiti, feels that the Rāomārama is near,  and grows progressively more bold, chastising the “Prince” with an open  and vicious belligerency never seen before in the Empire’s history. The  more the Pūhihi Kahuna express their desire to see Whēuriuri dead, the  more Hiruhāramānia is divided. Tensions are extremely high, very near  the point of breaking.

The Pūhihi Kahuna allow any person with talent in White  magic to join them, any person desiring to become one simply asking for  it. Full initiation occurs during sacred occasions, which which a  purification ceremony prepares the new member, who is unwittingly mind  altered as to make them complacent with the esoteric dogma and  ambitions. All Pūhihi Kahuna travel to the Plateau for formal training,  usually in the smaller settlements, visiting Hiruhāramānia for  ceremonies. All Pūhihi Kahuna stand before the Invoking Moai at least  once in their lives, the first moment being considered the moment of the  individual’s full realization within the order. Afterwards, they are  relocated anywhere in the Empire, but are free to return to the great  city whenever they can afford it.

Karetai Kahuna (Blue)

With  their headquarters in Hiriwa, the Karetai Kahuna are spread across most  of the Empire, but absent from the main island of Hinawahine, under  laws enforced by the Pirita Kahuna; their very presence there is  considered Tapu, not helped by the general distrust of the main island’s  population. Regardless, they’re widespread across the archipelagos  under the Empire, second only to the Pūhihi Kahuna, their naval role  being of utmost importance.

The Karetai Kahuna oversee knowledge,  communication and the development of civilization. Hiriwa’s great  libraries are maintained by them, and they constantly add new  information to these libraries. Their temples are not just libraries in  themselves, but also laboratories, where experiments of all kinds are  conducted. They work closely with the military, providing naval  technology and designing ships, crafting protective enchantments and  defensive battle spells and investigating methods of making long sea  journeys more comfortable. The Karetai Kahuna are also important in  regards to communication between islands, shrouding courier birds and  ships, as well as being oracles. Finally, the Karetai Kahuna protect and  safeguard the sea, rendering bays, entire coastlines and expanses of  open water Rāhui. Some with expertise in elemental magic are also used  as naval war weapons, while others can be employed as assassins.

Overseeing  information and knowledge has predictably made them a double edged  sword, controlling the flow of information and erasing it in accordance  to not only their agendas, but also of the Empire’s. Controlling the  Karetai Kahuna has proved an immense challenge, as not only the Empire  sees itself reluctant to dispose of such a useful tool, but also because  the Kahuna have mastered techniques to go around Tapu for centuries. As  it stands, manipulation by the Karetai Kahuna has been rendered Tapu,  continuously strengthened by wards upon wards, to which Noa is applied  by the army or the other Kahuna when need be. In Hiriwa, the more  experienced of the clerics can bypass the Tapu, being able to secretly  manipulate information both in the libraries – public or private -, and  messages.

The Karetai Kahuna have a close relationship with the  Parekareka, which extends all the way to the order’s foundation. Indeed,  it may be accurate to say that the Karetai Kahuna are basically the  human attempt to respond to Hiriwa’s Aven, previously the most civilized  race in Matahouroa. The Parekareka work closely with the Karetai  Kahuna, aiding them in research and in their overseeing of the seas and  information, many making their homes in the temples and living mutually  in a shared community. Many believe that the Karetai Kahuna are more  loyal to the Parekareka than to the Empire, a paranoia that appears to  become more and more justified, the more the Karetai Kahuna’s elders  devote themselves to Purūpī’s project.

The Karetai Kahuna bear as  their symbol the reflection. Introspection is a complicated subject for  the Karetai Kahuna: while it is considered to be of uttermost  importance to understand and master oneself in order to affect the  outside world, directly analyzing the thoughts and emotions is  considered counterproductive and ineffective, leading to false  conclusions and veiled self righteousness. The Karetai Kahuna have a  tradition of staring at their own reflections for meditation, seeking to  improve themselves by looking at their own eyes, the true windows to  one’s true self. Karetai Kahuna that have examined themselves in this  way gradually learn how to scry by gazing upon their reflected images,  being able to understand higher knowledge simply by examining the depths  of their mind. This is a process that seems almost impossible to  describe in words, being only understood by practitioners. Many consider  the Karetai Kahuna to be the most secular of the Kahuna, due to the few  public religious ceremonies they hold – aside from funerary rites, when a  Karetai Kahuna is in charge of preparing the “boat” which the soul uses  to return to Sawaiki -, but in reality an individualistic, experimental  sort of spirituality is a core concept in their philosophy, most of  their spellcraft being exceedingly subtle divine invocations.

In  Hiriwa, young mages study and train on the complexes adjacent to the  libraries, and talented individuals may be selected to join. Otherwise,  the Karetai Kahuna take a more proactive approach, youngsters with  qualities considered to be necessary being selected and persuaded to  join. Should they refuse, abduction occurs, leading to a complicated  process of indoctrination that involves careful brainwashing. Elsewhere,  recruitment is done in a variety of forms, with the Karetai Kahuna  being generally being controlling and/or discriminating in practice.

Ataata Kahuna (Black)

The  most mistrusted and disliked of the Kahuna, the Ataata Kahuna are  ostensibly the smallest of the orders, although this is hard to assess.  They are seldom officially employed, and in some areas outright  persecuted. Nonetheless, they hold an important role as the appeasers of  the dead, preventing the angry spirits from being a menace to the  living, as well as the guardians of the world’s shadows and darkness.

Although  officially considered an order, the Ataata Kahuna are too  individualistic to be an organization. Each Kahuna has their own agenda,  goes wherever and does whatever they want. There are no ranks, there  are no headquarters: each Ataata Kahuna fends for themselves.  Nonetheless, most Ataata Kahuna feel attached to the Wairepomango, where  the power of the Grieving Moai is strongest. This power is attractive  to many black mages, but there is a catch: the blessings of the Grieving  Moai can only be obtained from its tears, zealously guarded by hordes  upon hordes of the spirits of the dead, which are ravenous and  malicious, quickly dispatching any unprepared mage and spreading  diseases across the swamps. Only a few mages manage to go through the  spirit horde, and by using the Moai’s power they officially become  Ataata Kahuna. Many of these mages are taught by Pango, the Black  Taniwha, and thus owe him an oath of loyalty. Pango can thus be said to  be the true master of the Ataata Kahuna. The Ataata Kahuna in turn are  officially the rulers of Koronitiwa, and the Wairepomango as a whole, a  role which they may choose to withdraw from if they so please. The  leadership position and thus control over Koronitiwa’s market is  frequently and viciously contested among the Ataata Kahuna, centuries  upon centuries of former rulers and unsuccessful contestants now lying  in the depths. This position is currently held by Pō, a rarely seen  woman whose interests seem to lie elsewhere, leaving Koronitiwa to be  lead by the puppet-Ariki known as Teone Miritene.

The Ataata  Kahuna, as powerful black mages travelling the land, have a role in  overseeing the spirits of the dead. Other Kahuna have roles in regards  to funerary rites, with the Pūhihi Kahuna purifying the dead, the  Karetai Kahuna preparing the vessel for them to travel to Sawaiki and  the Pirita Kahuna promoting and apparently causing reincarnation, but  not all spirits depart or are reborn. Many lay restless in the shadows  of the world, in the domain of Hine-nui-te-pō, and become shades,  pooling wherever it is dark. While not necessary malevolent, the shades  often lash at the living out of anger and resentment for various  reasons, causing sickness and more direct deaths, and it is the job of  the Ataata Kahuna to prevent this. The activities of the Ataata Kahuna  limits and pacifies the shades: their very initiation rite further  encourages the restless spirits of the Wairepomango to pool around the  Grieving Moai instead of stalking the swamps, and soothes their anguish.  Gradually, the Ataata Kahuna connect further with these spirits, even  growing attached to the dark spirits, sympathising more readily with  them than with the living.

The Ataata Kahuna do command the  shades to do as they please, most of their magic being based on this  spirit control, but instead of simply tools they view the spirits as  extensions of themselves. Theirs is a strange form of spirituality,  where ambition and desire for power lead to a communion and hollism with  the dark forces of nature, just as with all the Kahuna. The Ataata  Kahuna generally view or grow to view “normal” necromancy as abhorrent,  though far too profitable to outright prevent it.

Many an Ataata  Kahuna have left Wairepomango to travel around the word, seeking new  opportunities elsewhere. They are rarely employed, though many seek  their services as mercenaries and assassins, and many also seek them for  services other Kahuna cannot provide. Other Kahuna orders respect the  order for their role, with the Tahepuia Kahuna being the most  sympathetic and the Pūhihi Kahuna at best paying lip service, but very  often they too employ the Ataata Kahuna. The current Tohunga Ahurewa has  all but stated to have disowned them as true Kahuna, something that has  largely been extensively ridiculed by nearly all orders but the Pūhihi  Kahuna.

Tahepuia Kahuna (Red)

The  Tahepuia Kahuna have their sit of power within Rinomaunga’s temple,  Tīrarae, and indeed Raiti and the Pirita Kahuna consider these to be the  only members of the order. However, throughout the Empire, many groups of  Kahuna have taken the mantle of Tahepuia Kahuna, something extremely  encouraged by the “original” order in Rinomaunga, stressing the  foundation of the Kahuna orders by listening to nature and the spirits,  and that true Kahuna are born from knowing universal truths, not  esoteric dogmas. As such, the Tahepuia Kahuna are distributed across the  Empire: wherever there is volcanic activity, there is a temple.  Regardless, the Tahepuia Kahuna are free to wander off wherever they  want, many traveling around the Empire to satisfy their wanderlusts,  usually traveling along vault lines out of comfort and a sense of  safety. Traveling Tahepuia Kahuna are afforded a level of protection,  though a priest’s destructive potential is often the subject of anxiety  and extensive precautions.

The Tahepuia Kahuna on the Plateau are  heralded as the greatest smiths of Matahouroa, fulfilling the army’s  needs for metallurgical products with powerful and extensively refined  blades and armors of various metals, crafted by shaping the liquid ores  within the lava in the “pools” of Tīrarae, calling them forth into  desired shapes. They are also greatly renowed as artists, and frequently  commissioned by the wealthy to produce sculptures, either from  materials in the liquid rock or from basalt and other already solidified  stone. Many non-commissioned artworks are scattered across Rinomaunga,  exhibiting the Tahepuia Kahuna’s sense of pride – or simple lack of  concern – in showing even drafts and poorly executed pieces, though most  of these statues don’t last for long, being consumed by the rivers of  molten rock that flow from the volcanoes sooner or later. What comes  from the magma will return to it one day, a “fact” that the Tahepuia  Kahuna embrace and cherish. Outside of Rinomaunga, blades and  sculptures are also commissioned, though less so.

The Tahepuia  Kahuna are the least politically involved of the Kahuna, generally  preferring to avoid the meddling that other Kahuna engage in. They have  no sit of power or management over any area, a fact that other Kahuna  are more than happy to enforce just in case. Their policy of  non-involvement obviously does not exclude them from civilization, where  they are just as easily respected and awed, their embrace of positive  emotions and freedom earning them a reputation as wonderful, magnetic  individuals… as well as hedonistic, ammoral and unconcerned with the  consequences of their freedom by the Pūhihi Kahuna and mainland Pirita  Kahuna. The military occasionally attempts to recruit Tahepuia Kahuna as  battlemages, an offer more often than not refused, given the focus on  positive emotions for the Tahepuia Kahuna, and incapable of being  enforced. The extreme rarity of Tahepuia Kahuna in the military is much  applauded by the Pūhihi Kahuna, Raiti claiming that “it’s the only form  of decency they have, and the only right by which they can call  themselves human, let alone Kahuna”.

The Tahepuia Kahuna have an  absolutely open membership, any mage interested in their ways being  invited to join their temples. They don’t have any stipulations for what  they consider a “true member” of their order: as long as a mage listens  to and connects with Matahouroa’s liquid rock blood, they are a “true”  Tahepuia Kahuna. It goes without saying that Tahepuia Kahuna believe the  heart and the earth’s whispers to be the foremost drivers, freedom to  act as one pleases being the common right of all, though always with a  special emphasis on the positive, more fulfilling emotions. The  Tahepuia Kahuna are the only Kahuna that do not act in regards to the  dead and the afterlife, believing that life and death alike are marked  by the individual’s desires, and fundamentally not that different after  all.

Pirita Kahuna (Green)

The  Pirita Kahuna are largely restricted to Hinawahine itself; while a few  groups on other islands do consider themselves “Pirita Kahuna”, the  mainland ones generally regard them as delusional heretics at best.  Nonetheless, the Pirita Kahuna are a rather large group, taking domain  of Hinawahine’s vast forests. Their sit of power in the civilised world  is Karatakara, where their “official” headquarters lie, the massive,  vine covered temple known as Ponamuhoro. However, their true base is  Karemauru, a massive natural fortress located on the montane forests in  the highlands west to the Plateau, near the location of the Murmuring  Moai. Karemauru is composed of several trees intertwined together, their  branches connected together to form chambers and rooms, the center  being an enormous Kauri tree. Recruits are found/join in Karatakara, and  exact oaths of loyalty to the order and its secrets, before departing  to Karemauru for formal training.

The Pirita Kahuna originally  started mostly as rustic priests, helping farmers to grow their crops,  warding off pests and enemies, promoting favorable weather and  fulfilling the normal duties as healers and overseers of religious  events and traditions. While they regionally still fulfill these roles  in Hinawahine’s lowland settlements – and indeed, the Kahuna who claim  the moniker of Pirita Kahuna outside of Hinawahine still act exactly as  this, having no consistent organization to speak off -, the order as a  whole has become a more secretive and esoteric organization, moving away  from civilisation aside from Karatakara, where their political center  of power lies. They something of a double faced order: on one side, the  Pirita Kahuna are the guardians of the wilds, tending to Hinawahine’s  forests and rendering them and many of their flora and fauna Rāhui,  while on the other they’re an elitist political organization claiming  to preserve tradition and help manage the lowland settlements,  controlling the “morally bankrupt” tendencies of the local ruling bodies  and the integrity of the markets. In Karatakara, they’re more regularly  and relevantly responsible for public religious services than the  Pūhihi Kahuna, and are widely respected as the city’s moral center, but  many suspect them of dark ambitions and conspiracy plots, conclusions  that are not that far from the truth.

The Pirita Kahuna  originally held a notion of simplicity as their core value, refraining  from material goods if they interfere with their duty to the community  and nature. They still at least technically subscribe to this ideology,  refraining entirely from material possessions beyond instruments to  channel their power, but in Hinawahine their duty has transferred to  their order and its agendas almost exclusively. They are the overseers  of the wilds, Hinawahine’s true voice; they believe themselves to follow  the desires of Tāme, god of the forests and inspirer of the very  existence of the Pirita Kahuna. The people’s common interest is served  by obeying to the divine will, and that goes without saying for nature’s  well being. Kahuna that act in behalf of nature but to not devote  themselves to this path are believed to be deaf to the murmurs of Tāme,  and thus a mockery to the principles of the order. Renegade Pirita  Kahuna, if not dead or defeated by breaking the Tapu of “disloyalty”,  are hunted down and killed, their corpses desecrated in horrific ways.

The  mainland Pirita Kahuna differ from both most other Kahuna and  Hinawahine’s peoples in regards to their views of the afterlife. They  believe that Sawaiki is forever out of mankind’s reach, and that  Hinawahine, Tāme’s domain, should be mankind’s future residence. To this  end, they enforce the reincarnation of the soul into people, animals or  other races alike, preventing it from ever leaving to Sawaiki. They do  this in a variety of methods, most blatantly by taking charge of  funerary rite in many areas just as Karatakara. This rites are disguised  as purification-of-the-body rites, but in reality they work to bind the  soul to Hinawahine, preventing it from finding solace until  reincarnating. Pirita Kahuna elsewhere also believe in reincarnation to  be the best option, but generally simply guide and help spirits into  this process.

Predictably, the “true” Pirita Kahuna also see any  communities outside of Hinawahine as inherently blasphemous, a fact that  they don’t bother to hide much…