Kilima

Alongside the common language, the Kiliman language is used, which is a mixture of various east african languages such as Maasai, Swahili, Oromo, Amharic and Kikuyu as well as Himba. The two major dialects within Kiliman territory are the high mountain dialect and the foothill dialect.

Kiliman culture can be most notably divided into two types: Urban Kiliman culture and Rural Kiliman culture.

Urban Kiliman culture is categorised by their focus on industrial trades such as mining, smithing and engineering. It is due to this that many Urban Kiliman settlements are sedentary and are often located near to or inside mines. Urban elves who grow up in these settlements are often expected to either take up their family’s business or become a warrior, placing emphasis on their contributions to the community. Unfortunately, this leads to orphans in Urban settlements being used as cheap labour in order to fulfill their contributions.   On the other hand, Rural Kiliman culture is much more focused on the pastoral nomadic lifestyle that many Kiliman traditions originate from. Many sun elves of this culture grow up around Zebu and Fat Hoolaa, to the point where some animals are kept as pets instead of being used for food. Children of Rural settlements often grow accustomed to the constant moving of the tribes and learn how to forage and herd animals from a young age.

Through their use of Shango Batteries, Kilimans are able to engineer a variety of tools they use daily, such as flashlights, battery powered saws, drills and cranes. Within Kiliman territory is also the site of Kimathi Industries, which manufactures most of the technology across the world, competing with Eadland's industries.

Kilimans consider their deep maroon hair a source of pride, and as such shaving it is a common practice during momentous occasions, as such many Kiliman women and men have shaved heads. When not shaved, Kilimans mix their hair with a red mixture called otjize and shape it into long tubes, which ends with their natural hair. Married women wear a headpiece called an erembe. Both man and women often wear decorated headbands. One of the most iconic pieces of Kiliman clothing is the Shuka, a red cloth patterned similarly to plaid, which acts as both a cloak and a top garment. Underneath this people would wear a kikoi which could be fashioned into various dresses, pants and shirts. Due to their pastoralist and nomadic culture many Kiliman men and women prefer to wear pants. In addition, leather and animal hide are also popular materials used within Kilima which provide contrast to the red.   In terms of jewellery, Kilimans are famous for their iconic large, disc-like, beaded necklaces worn by women, along with their other incredibly colourful strings of beads and bracelets. In terms of earrings, many Kilimans stretch their earlobes and wear numerous hanging earrings on both ears or two large wooden ear plates, a custom of the lower foothills near to Renirano. Due to their very active culture of smithing, mining and herding, many Kilimans often wear belts and pouches along with gloves.   Kilimans can be distinguished by their face paint which is 8 dots, in 2 lines of 4, going down their cheeks under their eyes, with 2 lines under each eye.

Due to their majorly nomadic lifestyle, most Kiliman settlements consist of numerous fabric tents situated around the ancestral fire. These tents are constructed using a frame made of woven sticks, which is then covered with a cloth that has a similar pattern to their shuka and can be easily transported in the case of movement. In the case of a sedentary settlement, the huts are round mud or stone huts with an exterior fabric awning acting as a roof around the hut and a tall chimney in the centre, effectively heating the entire hut. Larger ‘Jitumbo’ huts have a dome roof and have the chimneys in the back of the building. The roofs of the mud huts are often supported by wooden beams which adult Kilimans use their height to put dangerous items like knives as well as hang useful items like pots and lights.   The general structure for a Kiliman settlement are many houses, either nomadic or sedentary, surrounding a central fire called an Okaruwo, which is usually covered by a tent-like gazebo, which can be covered in case of rain or strong winds. In the case of pastoral tribes, these settlements would contain numerous corrals separated by man-made thorn bushes. In more urban and industrial sedentary settlements it would not be uncommon to see boxes of supplies and tools being hung on lines between buildings.   Unlike most cultures of Macheo, Kilima does not in fact have notable iconography, with their writing script being invented fairely recently. Despite this, there are instances of notable Kiliman art forms outside of 2 dimensional art. One such art form is their use of waga statues, which are used to honor a decesed warrior who won numerous battles, but eventually extended to any people of influence. Another art form of the Kiliman people are their brightly coloured jewellery and fabrics. Because of Kilima’s focus on mining and smithing, many inventions used throughout Macheo were created in Kilima, such as power tools. These are often powered by Shango lily batteries. Aside from these, Kilimans are also known for their use of calabashes for bottles and storage.   Some Kiliman instruments include a litungu or nyatiti, a kebero, a masenqo, a kudu horn and a tic toc drum.

Kiliman cuisine mostly consists of meat and as well as various carbs. Some Kiliman cuisine includes:

• Mutura
  
• Roasted Ganēnī
  
• Injera and Wat
  
• Chechebsaa
  
• Bark bar- A popular packaged snack made of tree bark
  

Kilimans often drink Zebu blood either by itself or with milk, and also use the blood as a sauce for other dishes like mutura and roasted ganēnī.

In the Kiliman religion, Waaqa Nyaga(Safiri) is the god of the sun and father of Enkai, the sunset spirit and guardian of the Kilima people. They believe that Enkai possesses the power to control heat and the firelight, as well as the ability to bestow abundance on the people. When not present, spirits roam the mountains carrying messages on Enkai’s behalf, called Ayyaana. The priests in the Kiliman religion are called Laibon, distinguished by their fur coat and fan. One important and noticeable aspect of Kiliman spirituality is their reverence for their ancestral fire or Okaruwo. This Okaruwo contains the messages and essence of each tribes’ Ekeraa or ancestors, and it is the Laibons job to keep the fire alive in order to keep contact with their ancestors. According to their legends, the two sacred sites of their culture is Mt Kilelechatheluji/Kirinyaga as the abode of Enkai and their tribe and Mt Dhugaa/ Gaaradhugaa as the final destination and path to the underworld.

Moshimwamba- Capital City
Ululugut- A major mining city located in a cavern near the top of the mountain.
Galaansufi- A town located on the other side of the sunburst railway. Acts as a checkpoint into Macheo.
Kimathi Industries- The top technology company in the western hemisphere. Deals with any form of technology produced, unlike other nations which primarily focus on their own types of technology.
Yebireti Medosha Smith- Major blacksmith company which also manufacturs various materials.