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1) Tonkin live in tribes.

2) Knife = symbol of status
(bigger rank = bigger and better knife, the Chief has a sword)
3) Every bladed weapon is called a "[adjective] knife"
Examples: Big Knife, Stick Knife, Sting Knife, Shovel Knife(edited)
4) Knife terminology is limited. Any weapon that is too complex to describe is a "weird
knife"
5) Tonkin speak in a simplistic, third-person manner, kinda like Khajits.
6) If a Tonkin sees a group, he assumes the one with the biggest "knife" is the leader,
and will only speak to him/her.
"You have biggest knife. [Tonberry name] speak to you."
7) Tonkin carry lanterns because they want their enemies to see them.
Chiefs have levitating lanterns, and can use both hands for the sword.
8) The Lanterns also play an important part if Tonkin tradition and burial rites
9) Tonkin follow a mix of Code of Honor and Buddhism, called "The Path".
Backstabbing is considered deplorable.
10) Tonkin Lanterns contain the soul of their deceased parent or ancestor.
When a Tonkin dies, the lantern is opened, the spirit is set free, the deceased Tonkin
takes their place, and the Lantern is passed on to his/her children.
11) Tonkin Lanterns (also called "Handlights") are enchanted to be durable, to sustain
years of use.

----
Examples of Tonkin speech and sayings:
"Tonkin always have Handlight. Without Handlight, Tonkin lose Path. Tonkin is Path, and
Path is Tonkin."(edited)
---
"Tonkin see Enemy. Enemy see Tonkin. If Tonkin has Handlight, Tonkin and Enemy see
Path. The Path is.

If Tonkin has no Handlight, Tonkin and Enemy see no Path. The Path isn't."(edited)
---
"If Enemy fall on Path, Tonkin move on. The Path is.

If Tonkin fall on Path, Enemy move on. The Path is."

12) Lands of the Tonkin Tribes tend to attract a lot of fireflies.

If they don't have a term for a bladed weapon, then it's a Weird Knife, until they figure out
what it actually is.

So, if a Tonkin encounters a party of, say, a Hume, a Dwarf, a Viera a Varg and a
Moogle...
...he will speak to the one who has biggest weapon-to body ratio.

So, a hume with a shortsword and moogle with a dagger have roughly the same status.
And I would assume they prefer the bladed variety.
As in, axes and spears come second.

(In regards to Tonkin and ornamented blades as to how the relate to status)

Well, this can go 2 ways:

1) the size indicates general status, and the ornaments indicate a more specific status

or

2) Tonkin are pragmatic about weaponry, and consider superior quality of the blade to
be an ornament in and of itself.
Again, either could be a specific Tribe tradition, depending on their area and their
specific economics.
For example,
If Humes or Elvaans they trade with have ornamented blades, it's possible they could
copy that bit of culture over time.

And the specialization could be different as well.

The "sizers" would have better warriors
The "ornamenters" would have better jewelers or craftsmen
Etc.
It also could be the reason why the even live as separate tribes.
They still follow the same ideals, but their ways of status indication just so happened to
develop differently.(edited)
Due to circumstances.(edited)
In this regard, I imagine the common greeting to an unknown group (the one I described
earlier) should be "You have Great Knife. [Tonkin name] speak to you."

If a Tonkin encounters a group of Tonkin from a different tribe, and can't figure out who's the
leader, he can ask "Who has Great Knife?"

And I suppose the leader will step forward and respind with "[Leader name]."
Again, in this example I mean leader of that specific group
Once they enter the tribe, the Chief has the Great Knife (generally).
Alternatively, the "Great Knife" thing could be used to non-Tonkin races.
Reason - other race's hierarchy is too complex for Tonkin to understand.
Again, this is all just theorizing and speculation.
So, if you wanna add your own twist to the thing, go nuts.

Tonkin initiation ritual.

A special variant of a "Test Of Courage".

First, the elders pick the place, where "The Path" is going to be - usually in a forest.

Then, at night, the soon-to-be-adults gather near its entrance, and need to walk through
it, alone, and make it to the other side.

As they walk, they see dark scary silhouettes, standing at the sides of the road. These
do not move, but just stand there and look ominous.

When the Tonkin emerge at the exit, the Chief hands them a Lantern.

Now they must walk the same path again, with the Lantern this time.

And it turns out that all those scary silhouettes were actually harmless things, set there
by the elders earlier.
"Tonkin have Handlight, Tonkin see Path. Path is."

Tonkin have short, two or three syllable names, with each syllable being a distinct
sound. They use a “consonant-vowel structure”, where every syllable can be broken
down into a paired consonant and vowel.
"SoTahKat" "MaRinSa" "ZoMoSha" that sort of thing. "KahMin" and "ZahRick" for
two-syllable examples.

Some theorize that this came about due to their inability to speak,