Azuposi

The Azuposi are a group of humans living in the Pasocada Basin in Maztica. Their existence is built upon agriculture and cultivating the harsh land of the basin, but they revere sophisticated culture.

Society
Azuposi society is matrilineal meaning that the female is the owner of property and it is passed down through the females in the family. Men work the land but act as caretakers rather than owners. Myths dictate that this system may have originated from a decree of one of the War Twins or may have come about because Sus'sistinako (the Spider Woman) was instrumental in the creation of the Azuposi.

Tribes
The Azuposi live in six separate tribal societies. Each tribe is named after one of six directions significant to the Azuposi due to the solstices. These directions are up, down, northwest, northeast, southwest and southeast. The respective tribes are eagle, shrew, mountain lion, badger, bear and wolf.

Settlement
The Azuposi have settled in the Pasocada Basin. The City of Gold, Michaca, sits at the centre of their civilization. Numerous other settlements surround it, such as Nozoma and Mitzlato, and their infrastructure branches out from this one central hub. Their roads are sturdy stone constructions, which is uncommon even on Faerûn. Signal towers are laid out along the roads so that they are all connected by line of sight, and can be lit and used to transmit smoke messages quickly across the land.

History
Due to their illiteracy, the Azuposi have no written history. Their history is passed down the generations by word of mouth, and this has lead to some factual inaccuracies creeping in, where details have been changed to better favour the Azuposi, or even to create better rhymes in poetry or song.

Mythical origins
The Azuposi believe that the world's land was created by Sus'sistinako (the Spider Woman) and the Sun, two spirits who were somehow parents of one another, by pulling it from the ocean. Sus'sistinako then created Alosaka and Iyatiku by singing them into existence, and they in turn created living beings. Humans were brought into existence underground, but their lives were filled with chaos and corruption and they were unhappy, so they sent the bird Motsni to find them a better place to live. Motsni flew out of the underground at Shipapu, an exit point, and found Masauwu (the Skeleton Man). Masauwu informed Motsni that life was hard on the surface but that a bearable humble existence was possible. The Azuposi decided that this would be a better life, and left the underground at Shipapu to begin their lives on the surface. Masauwu remains their patron deity.

True origins
Although not a certainty due to their lack of written history, it is likely that the Azuposi are ancestors of the inhabitants of Kara-Tur because of the similarities in their appearance and their language, especially that of the Wu-haltai people.

War with the Metahel
At some point during their past, the Azuposi and the Metahel were at war with one another.