Veyari
| Veyari | |
|---|---|
 A Veyari stilt village on the Salt Coast, photographed in 2031 | |
| Homeland | The Salt Coast, north-eastern Rendorlin |
| Population | About 1,000,000 (before 2035, about 1,900,000) |
| Language | Veyari |
| Religion | Tide-keeping |
The Veyari (/veh-YAH-ree/) are a people of the Salt Coast of north-eastern Rendorlin, who lived in the marshes and harbours of the coast for about two thousand years before the Protectorate Wars. Before 2035 there were about 1,900,000 of them; about 150,000 were killed in the Salt Coast Clearances, and about as many again fled or were driven into the camps. They are now a subject people of the Ulmarkan Protectorates.[1]
Society
[edit]The Veyari lived in stilt villages on the salt marshes, farmed the reclaimed ground between the tides, and traded dried fish and marsh iron with the coastal states. Their villages were governed by councils of elders, called tide-wardens, who kept the sea-walls. The wardens were also the keepers of the tide-calendar, the Veyari religion's one text, which records the tides of two thousand years and which the Ulmarkan army burned at Dunmarrow.[1]
Under occupation
[edit]The Veyari may not hold land, bear arms or travel without passes, and must serve a term in the shipyards, which they call "the oar". The Veyari language is not taught in the territories' schools, and the tide-keeping is forbidden in public. Children are taught in Ulmarkan, and told to wrestle.[1][2]
Survivors
[edit]The Veyari Survivors' Committee, founded in 2044 in the camps, keeps a register of the dead and is also the main armed resistance. Its register has about 150,000 names. It has asked repeatedly for the Concord to recognise the Clearances as a crime; the Ulmarkan government has refused to receive its delegates.[2]