Hou Po'e Kanaka (The New People)
The Hou Po'e Kanaka was a Cargo Cult that derived its name from its origins as a movement to return to a mythical Hawaiian and Polynesian past, that grew beyond its original roots to include North American Anglo and South East Asian cultural elements (Philipino and Javanese in particular).They would have remained a Cargo Cult, albeit one with a Hawaiian and Polynesian theme, if not for the intervention a noble from the Tao of History several hundred years ago.
King Kamehameha the Great had been a Tao noble playing the great king and several of his descendants when the milieu passed him by, leaving him at loose ends. Like a small number of Tao in that situation, he travelled. Specifically, he joined the Patent Office as an inspector. During that time he encountered the Hou Po'e Kanaka Cargo Cult. They fascinated him immediately. Their culture was recognizably descended from his milieu and understandable by him, which also frustrated him and infuriated him, seeing the trap they were in. Still, he studied them and learned their culture and language very well. Eventually he retired entirely, saying he was considering a new role.
Then he, a lot of money and people disappeared.
Several years later, visitors reported that the Hou Po'e Kanaka were fighting amongst themselves, over new concepts and ideas and that outsiders were involved. The outsiders were Kamehameha and his followers, using the best they could afford to overturn the Hou Po'e Kanaka Cargo Cult and put in place something new.
Twenty years later, the Hou Po'e Kanaka dominated their world. For them, this means they’ve conquered all the islands they want, leaving Old Worlders to the continents, and control an equatorial subcontinent. They instituted a new form of government, an elective monarchy with a strong representational body organized along family and clan lines. In short, they bootstrapped the Hou Po'e Kanaka from a Cargo Cult to a minor civilization.
While fairly amiable and forthright in their dealings, they do have a reputation for aggression and assertiveness, using a mix of force and persuasion to control areas they desire. They also use geologic taps, nanotech and limited terraforming to form new islands. Among their notable projects: the creation of the Havaiki island group; the creation of floating islands (Kanehunamoku); the Ocean Arks (mostly self contained, solar powered ships that are easy to make).
Stereotypically, Hou Po'e Kanaka are light gold to dark brown, with brown eyes with some epicanthic fold. Hair is black to brown, with either straight or curly. They also tend to be of slightly less than average height and bulkier than the norm. The reality is that a multitude of phenotypes can be found within the phyle due to their syncretic origins. They also include humans adapted for aquatic life. Given their traditions (sailing, navigation, hula, hula chants, story telling and poetry), the following features are common among them: a natural sense of direction, internal clock, ability to drink salt water, natural sunglasses and beautiful voices.
Culturally, they have always enjoyed a number of arts, sports and games. The arts they favor: story telling, poetry, shadow puppetry, singing, dancing, drumming, guitar, slack key guitar, gamelan, woven arts, hula and hula chants. The sports that the Hou Po'e Kanaka commonly enjoy are: sailing, canoeing, fishing, hunting, archery, target shooting (typically with compressed air or low power gauss guns), "sledding" (holua), surfing, windsurfing and various martial arts (boxing mokomoko), kuntao, wrestling (hakoko), Kapu Kuialua, stick fighting (kaka la au, arnis/escrima). Traditional games are also popular, games like patterns, tops, disc bowling, to kohana (a traditional board game) and darts.
Clothing tends to be loose light, colorful and patterned, taking full advantage of advanced materials and nanotechnology. Tattoos are also common and frequently have cultural significance. Nanotech pigments are common, allowing the tattoos to be turned off, change color and even switch between patterns. Still, the old ways of tattooing are found and are popular due to their authenticity.
Their ocean ships (moku or wa'a) resemble old Polynesian catamarans, but the resemblance ends with the double hulls. They are larger and incorporate modern technology: solar cell smart sails, solar cell decks, variable smart hulls and keels, osmotic extractors and other modern conveniences and necessities. The truly authentic canoes are left to enthusiasts and hobbyists.
Hou Po'e Kanaka architecture is light and airy, resembling ancient Hawaiian buildings, with elements of the Hawaiian Renaissance. They take full advantage of modern materials and technologies to make it as durable, comfortable and ecologically sound as possible.
For all their physicality and appearance of bright colored simplicity, the Hou Po'e Kanaka are a highly advanced civilization on par with any other in the universe. They have a culture with every bit of complexity that their high cognitech, metatech and nanotech capabilities can bring. They are excellent nanotechnologists and cognitechnologists, using these tools in everyday life. Replicators are common, and computers pervade every material. Utility fogs are in commonly used for a variety of means.
They are open, welcoming and reasonably tolerant. This does not mean they are naïve or ignorant. Their security is appropriate and low key, able to be escalated as necessary.
Family ('ohana) and clan ('ohana nui) are very important to the Hou Po'e Kanaka, forming the basis of political units for election of chiefs (ali'i) to the phyle assembly and social welfare. The ali'i chose the King (ali'i nui) with a term of 15 years.
Among the major civilizations, they get along well with the Masquerade and Stardwellers. They’re a bit more ambivalent toward the Tao (and the Tao towards them) due to their role in the creation of the Hou Po'e Kanaka. Mechanicans are welcome, but frequently leave the Hou Po'e Kanaka scratching their heads. The Replicants they compete with as athletes, but leave the more extreme sports to them. Roamers are always welcome (for a number of reasons).
All of the societies from the core rulebook are found among the Hou Po'e Kanaka, though the Group Minds and Darwinians are very rare.
Emblem: Golden plumeria on a black background.Common Name: Hou Po'e Kanaka or New People
Inspector Status: Equivalent to FBI, RCMP or customs agent.
Benefit: Hou Po'e Kanaka receive one Athletics professions at level 4 for free.
Core Values: Ohona and Tradition
Ohana means family. Members of an ohana could be relatives by blood, non-relations who are accepted by the ohana, as well as members of the ohana who have died.
Tradition is the other anchor of Hou Po’e Kanaka civilization. Its an outgrowth of their origins as a Cargo Cult. Instead of Ritual, it is tradition that helps hold them together, giving citizens bonuses to actions that keep the civilization intact — such as fighting off civilization wide metatech assaults, convincing other citizens to keep to their traditions, and the like. Tradition doesn’t say that any specific tradition is important; rather, it is important to have traditions and to hold to them. It says that all traditions have worth and value, that they are what bring people together. The Hou Po’e Kanaka share this CV with the Old-Worlders and Tao, who have a more-or-less identical interpretation of it.
Other common core values are: Authenticity, Community, Ecology, Exploration, Honor, Knowledge, My Island, Sensation, Spirituality, and Worship
| Civilization | Bio | Cog | Meta | Nano | String |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New People | 2-8 | 2-8 | 2-8 | 2-8 | 1-5 |
