As I draw characters I imagine what they would be like, their personalities, culture, lifestyle, philosophies. So after creating dozens of these sea people my head was bursting with information that I tranferred into a note document. I decided to name them the Enki, inspired by the Mesopotamian god of freshwater and knowlage.
HOMO AQUATICUS
The sea community consists of diverse cultures and tribes living harmoniously.
Sea people are a very diplomatic race, who seek to resolve conflicts peacefully to avoid any disruption within the ecosystem. Intentional killing is an alien concept to them. Their reasoning and morality is by nature neurologically similar to humans, yet they approach situations more responsibly.
Sacred geometry: the sacred geometry of the sea tribes reflects the biodiversity. Circles. Spirals. Patterns. Sequences. It is the language of the universe. Which is why its on clothes, bodies, buildings, art.
The Enki speak languages consisting of complex clicking sounds, inspired by the many marine animals like dolphins, as well as the click languages of the Khoi San tribe of Southern Africa, the oldest human population on Earth.
Afterlife: The sea people are a deeply spiritual race with various beliefs about the afterlife, most traditionally believe in reincarnation or some form of continuity.
As humans you may wonder why prejudice is almost null, and thats because they always remind themself that they’re the same species and that all life is sacred. Simple as. Although there are instances of discrimination in society they must be resolved through mutual understanding. Differences within society are embraced in the same way that corals are objectively viewed, as beautiful and unique, a result of genetic and cultural variation over time.
Diet: They live off renewable coral and kelp farms, feeding of a diet mainly of fishes, seaweed, sea plants, crustaceans, plankton and sunlight (photosynthesis). They tend avoid corals despite being edible. Corals are the most important thing to sea life, for without them everything would die including the sea people. Hence they always tend to corals and expand. After every plant and coral plucked, a new growth is planted, after every fish eaten, more are incubated. The defining aspect of the sea people is maintaining natures balance, for imbalance will destroy everything as they learned form the past. Utilising natures gifts provides eternity.
Fashion is big in sea culture, clothes often reflect the architecture or the individuals cultural identity. Many wear minimal clothing and adorn themselves with bioluminescent jewellery made with teeth, coral, flowers, crystals, stones, metal and plants. Using 3D printing technology they can create intricate/geometric fashion and architecture using renewable matter and even living cells.
Architecture. Underwater life has the benefits of termal energy, the main source of energy as well as hydraulic energy. Buildings and skyscrapers are organically engineered from live coral, clay, plant fibre, and reused metal, hence most buildings are actually alive.
City: Advanced, futuristic, sustainable, underwater city, metal skyscrapers, geometric architecture, coral and trees.
Roles : all life is originally viewed as genderless, therefore males and females can take on various gender identities and roles inter exchangeably and equally. For example Warriors are also shepherds, who’s job is to regulate the larger sea mammals and predators, forming deep bonds or alliances with other species.
Tribes That Inspire Me:
Bajau (Indonesia/Phillipines)
Maori (New Zealand)
San (Southern Africa)
Omo (Ethiopia)
Mursi (Ethiopia)
Dinka (South Sudan)
Masai (Kenya)
Turkana (Kenya)
Twa Pygmy (Congo)
Mangbetu (Congo)
Melanesian Tribes ( Papua Guinea)
Apatani (India)
Munda (India)
Andamanese Tribes (Indian ocean)
Aeta (Philippines)
Tibetans (Tibet/China)
Ainu (Japan)
Mbalantu (Namibia)
Yanomami (Brazil/Venezuela)
Kayapo (Brazil)
Guarani (Brazil)
Kuikuro (Brazil)
Ahwari (Iraq)
Amazigh (Morocco)
Sami (Scandinavia)
Cree (North America)
Diné (North America)
Nahuatl (Mexico)
Other tribes
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE ENKI :
Overpopulation
Technology
Transport
Religion/Spirituality
Education
Entertainment
Music
Philosophy
Art
Sex
Birth
Childhood
Adulthood
Elder hood
Death
Rebirth
Law
Crime
Social Construct
Appearance
Origin
Evolution
Extinction
This is what I wrote so far, somewhat in the form of a Doctor Who like/Wikepedia fact file and at the end you can see theres so many more themes we could branch into about this fictional race. This helped spark more ideas in my group who have researched a lot more about climate change than I have.
MIRO
https://miro.com/welcomeonboard/U2F1NXpEWkZtdHk1enp0Q0F6T0d2WEVOb1VxeDZSaURIMTdVS 1FnblNCcG1zekJBQzlGRTdjYUkxTU1kSnJoVHwzNDU4NzY0NTY5NTMxNTA3NTM1fDI=?share_link _id=302125083295
As a group they put more imput as to how our sea characters should live, reflecting upon human activity and how we could improve as a race, in a way these characters of ours represent the potential that humanity has to be better, while its not too tate.