Oye
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The Oye are an ethnic group of Okrit originating in the lowlands around the Omolai Straight. The Oye are the largest of the five traditional lowland ethnicities make up a majority of the population around the nations administrative centre in Nakrama. OF all the Okriti cultures, the Oye are the most exposed to eastern culture, technology and politics, primarily Akaria. They reside primarily in the provinces of North Waaq, Datwa, Oombo, Akoni & Omolai province.
History
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Culture
Oye culture has many of traits shared by other lowland ethnicities, as well as Okriti cultures as a whole. The Oye have still maintained a strong identity due to their perceived superiority over the other cultures of Okrit, primarily origination in the historical economic domination of Oye traders and traditional perceptions of sophistication they claim to have inherited directly from the Ukubians.
Subdivisions
Although they maintain a consistent identity, the customs, laws and beliefs of various Oye communities will differ from location to location. Each community will have its own developments and influences depending on their respective history and geographical situation. In this way, the Oye can be categorized into several ethnic subdivisions based on their shared developments, however care should be taken when approaching the matter as the Oye's own perceptions of these divisions may not best represent those similarities.
Inland and Coastal Oye
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'Crocodile Oye'
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'Forest Oye'
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Familial system
The Oye familial unit is a fundamental part of Oye society which serves as the core of many customs and social systems. Oye society is heavily concentrated around family and blood connections, with many laws and traditions regarding marriage, property management and inheritance.
Marriage
The Oye marital system is polygamous, allowing for a maximum of six spouses, counting divorced ones. This applies to both sexes, however this restricted to one's social standing relative to the other within that marriage. The spouse of 'higher standing', perceived through wealth, reputation or nobility of birth, is termed 'Ode' and is allowed to have multiple other spouses, 'Kinta'. Each Kinta however can have no more than one spouse, being their Ode. If a is discovered to have been committing acts of a sexual, romantic (and in some cases platonic) nature with anyone other their Ode they are considered guilty of Adultery.
Within the system, a man may have multiple wives and a woman may have multiple husbands - allowing for same-sex relations as well - however said man or woman will be perceived as being of inherently higher social value. This system in practice however only applies regarding the nobility and those living in urban areas where there is larger variety in social standing, and where it is much more 'evident' to tell as such. Within poorer, rural communities monogamous marriages are common, as the two participants of a marriage are of equal social standing. Various systems regarding equal-class polygamy do exist in some communities however they vary from village to village.
Agak
Usually, the oldest & most respected living member of the family is considered the ‘Agak’, an Agak being their respective families’ matriarch/patriarch. The Agak is the spiritual head of the family, and holds great influence on the financial & marital decisions made within that family.
Language
The majority language of the Oye is Omolain, within the larger central lowland classification. Omolain serves as the working language of the Okriti Government, with the standard variety being based primarily on the Nakrama dialect and the literary vernacular of classical Oye literature, from the period of 600 - 200 TT. Standard Omolain serves almost entirely as the language of government and publications, with most day-to-day speech being in the respective dialects of Omolain. Although mutually intelligible, these dialects can be rather jarring and hard to adjust to for second language speakers, of which a great amount of other Okritis as well as foreigners are. Alongside Omolain, Oye populations to the west of the Omolai may also speak Inunese, a language that diverged from Omolain very early in its history, and differs greatly due to its historical influences, such as proximity to the western lowland languages of the Taaqbal and Efiyye and it's lack of interaction with Ukubian compared to Omolain. Likewise, some of the eastern Oye populations speak dialects with influence from the neighboring Amata, however Omolain is considered of higher prestige than the Amata dialects, and is more likely to be spoken in Amata villages than vice versa.
Religion
The religion and spiritual beliefs of the Oye allign with the elments prominent throughout of the spirituality within Okrit. The Oye term for one's spiritual power is 'ojo', a concept which has great influence not only over Oye spirituality but also over law, social interactions and language.