The folk of Home don't know where they came from. As far as their oral history can trace back, they've lived in Home for about 120 years or so, and new Foundlings arrive once a year (on special occasions, such as after a great wave killed most of the population, foundlings arrive more than once a year). Each batch of Foundlings has at least one "seer" with visions and knowledge new to the group that brings a benefit of some kind, although it may take several seers' visions put together to actually make use of the benefit. Usually this is along the lines of new and improved farming techniques (or a new crop), or knowledge to create metal tools, or, once, knowledge of written language.
However, in spite of many being adult in body, and all having basic skills (eating, speaking, dressing themselves, etc.) down, no foundling ever remembers a life before waking up on Gods' Isle. The first few waves suffered mass casualties as they figured out how to work the land, and gather food from sea and forest, but mortality rates have steadily gone down since. The first plants cultivated were millet and barley, but flax and rice have been added to that list. Non-grains include chickpeas, lentils, lettuce and cabbage. Recently tree fruits (olives, apples, figs) and more variety in vegetables have been added. In the last 10 years, a herd of milk and wool producers has been started and is thriving with surprisingly few defects, at least compared to the natives.
There are three 'seasons': A long, dry drought season, a short, intense flood season, and in between a growing season. The most recent advancement was irrigation, to funnel water to fields even in the drought season, although it's not perfected and very little actually grows successfully during drought season. There isn't much entrenched leadership, although the elders are respected and mostly obeyed, especially when they all agree. They organize into loose family units--headed by two to four adults and a couple younger ones. The adults may treat each other in a sibling way, or be lovers. Mixing of kinds happens often, although it used to be uncommon for them to be involved sexually/romantically. It’s become more common in the past couple decades, but birth defects are all but guaranteed when the couple isn’t the same kind.
Foundlings arrive in the middle of the growing season, and are a big deal. They're all quickly adopted into families in one way or another. But there's a darker side to foundlings. An early seer encouraged them to send their dead "back to the gods" and it was noticed that some subsequent foundlings looked a lot like infants/adults that had died. There's a belief in reincarnation, and it's grown to the point where living members of the community, usually the old (mostly by choice) or the badly deformed (mostly not by choice), are "given to the gods" and abandoned on Gods' Isle once a year. They are always all gone the next morning. No one knows what actually happens to these people, but it's firmly believed that the gods are remaking them into a new foundling.
It's very idyllic, for certain definitions of that involve high risk of death, but as folk are eating better and living longer, things are starting to get overcrowded with the foundlings coming in every year. There's been talk about expanding, but the environment strongly limits that, so there's a bit of tension.
Traditions
--Harvests are a big deal, and while not celebrated with a full festival, completing a good harvest is cause for celebration, usually with a bigger than normal meal. --no such thing as weddings, and even the concept of monogamy is a bit tenuous. Couples may form and be faithful, but it's equally common to see a romantically involved couple (or triad, or quadrad or…) with lovers on the side. In some cases this is for procreation reasons--it's known that having a baby with someone not your 'kind' is a recipe for disaster. In others it's purely because it works out for the people involved. There's no stigma for having a lover of the same sex, multiple lovers, or none. Or for having non-sexual romantic relationships (or purely sexual non-romantic relationships) --the big festivals are the arrival of the Foundlings (which is also essentially a birthday party for everyone), and the festival honoring the elders and ancestors. Since they come so close together, it winds up effectively being one long festival anyway. --the Day of Farewells is a group funeral. If someone dies during the rest of the year, their remains are wrapped up and buried at the edge of the desert proper, resulting in partial mummification. Day of Farewells is also when all the infirm, chronically ill, or other disabled individuals are given a "live" funeral. If they're willingly going, most will give away all of their possessions beforehand, and elders make a big deal of their imminent departure during the Ancestor's Festival. The Day itself is spent saying goodbye, and then just before sunset, the living and remains of the dead are carried out to Gods' Isle on the boats and left with a little food and sometimes small possessions. It's taboo to try and stay to watch, and everyone is always gone without a trace in the next morning. At least one case of a watcher going missing as well has happened, enforcing the taboo.
WORLD INFO
The folk of Home don't know where they came from. As far as their oral history can trace back, they've lived in Home for about 120 years or so, and new Foundlings arrive once a year (on special occasions, such as after a great wave killed most of the population, foundlings arrive more than once a year). Each batch of Foundlings has at least one "seer" with visions and knowledge new to the group that brings a benefit of some kind, although it may take several seers' visions put together to actually make use of the benefit. Usually this is along the lines of new and improved farming techniques (or a new crop), or knowledge to create metal tools, or, once, knowledge of written language.
However, in spite of many being adult in body, and all having basic skills (eating, speaking, dressing themselves, etc.) down, no foundling ever remembers a life before waking up on Gods' Isle. The first few waves suffered mass casualties as they figured out how to work the land, and gather food from sea and forest, but mortality rates have steadily gone down since. The first plants cultivated were millet and barley, but flax and rice have been added to that list. Non-grains include chickpeas, lentils, lettuce and cabbage. Recently tree fruits (olives, apples, figs) and more variety in vegetables have been added. In the last 10 years, a herd of milk and wool producers has been started and is thriving with surprisingly few defects, at least compared to the natives.
There are three 'seasons': A long, dry drought season, a short, intense flood season, and in between a growing season. The most recent advancement was irrigation, to funnel water to fields even in the drought season, although it's not perfected and very little actually grows successfully during drought season. There isn't much entrenched leadership, although the elders are respected and mostly obeyed, especially when they all agree. They organize into loose family units--headed by two to four adults and a couple younger ones. The adults may treat each other in a sibling way, or be lovers. Mixing of kinds happens often, although it used to be uncommon for them to be involved sexually/romantically. It’s become more common in the past couple decades, but birth defects are all but guaranteed when the couple isn’t the same kind.
Foundlings arrive in the middle of the growing season, and are a big deal. They're all quickly adopted into families in one way or another. But there's a darker side to foundlings. An early seer encouraged them to send their dead "back to the gods" and it was noticed that some subsequent foundlings looked a lot like infants/adults that had died. There's a belief in reincarnation, and it's grown to the point where living members of the community, usually the old (mostly by choice) or the badly deformed (mostly not by choice), are "given to the gods" and abandoned on Gods' Isle once a year. They are always all gone the next morning. No one knows what actually happens to these people, but it's firmly believed that the gods are remaking them into a new foundling.
It's very idyllic, for certain definitions of that involve high risk of death, but as folk are eating better and living longer, things are starting to get overcrowded with the foundlings coming in every year. There's been talk about expanding, but the environment strongly limits that, so there's a bit of tension.
Traditions
--Harvests are a big deal, and while not celebrated with a full festival, completing a good harvest is cause for celebration, usually with a bigger than normal meal.
--no such thing as weddings, and even the concept of monogamy is a bit tenuous. Couples may form and be faithful, but it's equally common to see a romantically involved couple (or triad, or quadrad or…) with lovers on the side. In some cases this is for procreation reasons--it's known that having a baby with someone not your 'kind' is a recipe for disaster. In others it's purely because it works out for the people involved. There's no stigma for having a lover of the same sex, multiple lovers, or none. Or for having non-sexual romantic relationships (or purely sexual non-romantic relationships)
--the big festivals are the arrival of the Foundlings (which is also essentially a birthday party for everyone), and the festival honoring the elders and ancestors. Since they come so close together, it winds up effectively being one long festival anyway.
--the Day of Farewells is a group funeral. If someone dies during the rest of the year, their remains are wrapped up and buried at the edge of the desert proper, resulting in partial mummification. Day of Farewells is also when all the infirm, chronically ill, or other disabled individuals are given a "live" funeral. If they're willingly going, most will give away all of their possessions beforehand, and elders make a big deal of their imminent departure during the Ancestor's Festival. The Day itself is spent saying goodbye, and then just before sunset, the living and remains of the dead are carried out to Gods' Isle on the boats and left with a little food and sometimes small possessions. It's taboo to try and stay to watch, and everyone is always gone without a trace in the next morning. At least one case of a watcher going missing as well has happened, enforcing the taboo.