#4809 + #4810
Nendo + Dango
Two tepary beans in a pod. Two tarballs bobbing on the water. Nobody’s really sure where Nendo and Dango came from, but their arrival is announced by the unmistakable sound of “Wheek! Wheek! Wheeeeek!”
#4809
Nendo
| Origin: | Traveler |
| Nature: | Pacific |
| Boundary: | Pimu (Santa Catalina Island) |
| Size: | Manageable |
| Nature Feature: | Santa Catalina Island manzanita (Arctostaphylos catalinae) |
◆ Growth Points ◆
20 GP
◆
Two tepary beans in a pod. Two tarballs bobbing on the water. Nobody’s really sure where Nendo and Dango came from, but their arrival is announced by the unmistakable sound of “Wheek! Wheek! Wheeeeek!”
◆ Personality ◆
Nendo is the “nice” one. A gentle and calm spirit, he seems to take a simple joy in everything he does.
And he does a little bit of everything: chasing the surf, collecting seeds and shells, hiding under the prickly pears, bobbing on the water, sunning himself among the rocks, stowing away in ships and kayaks… Nendo can’t be described as “busy”, but he’s certainly never bored. He takes on the world at his own pace, which moves at about half a mile per hour at best.
Nendo can fill his days all on his own, but he seems to enjoy sharing them with other ghosts, too. Many esk find his easy-going attitude and unhurried energy soothing. He’s more inclined to commensalism than to “asking” anything of others– even for something as small as a helping hand, or a moment of their attention. Still, he’s known to play simple games now and then.
Mostly, Nendo just wants to nap and explore his haunt in good company. Everything else can be accomplished in its own time.
◆ Boundary ◆
Nendo lives in Pimu, or Santa Catalina Island, which is off the coast of California. Like the other Channel Islands, Pimu exists at the ecological crossroads of the Pacific ocean, the California coast, the interior desert, the temperate North, and beyond. The island is a refuge for many endemic species who trace their ancestry to relatives from abroad. Some have even gone extinct on the mainland, but are survived by their island counterparts.
This diversity exists even though Pimu has never been geographically connected to the mainland. At some point or another, all of its residents have made the 20-mile journey across the ocean in order to reach the island. In fact, Pimu’s isolation is the very reason that it contains such a rich assembly of relic and endemic species; those that couldn’t cope with changes on the mainland found sanctuary at the island. Meanwhile, newcomers who were cut off from their relatives on the mainland quickly became distinct species specialized for island life.
Pimu has a rich human history, too. First called home by the Tongva and Chumash, Pimu became a hub for trade and industry. Here, the Tongva and Chumash build ti’ats and tomols, which are redwood boats waterproofed with asphaltum from the naturally-occurring tarballs that wash up on the coast. Sailing has historically connected the Tongva and Chumash to many communities along the Pacific coast, as well as the intricate inland trade network of the wider Americas. So interconnected is the island with the mainland that the Pimu Catalina Island Archaeology Project has mapped the movement of goods from Pimu to abroad. At least one axe was found at Pimu that was crafted by the Hohokam of the Salt River Valley, in south-central Arizona. Likewise, Chumash goods have traveled with the Quechan as far East as the Colorado River Valley–and probably beyond.
This legacy endures today. The Chumash hold an annual tomol crossing between the Channel Islands and the coast of California. Similarly, the ti’at is experiencing a reawakening among a new generation of Tongva wayfarers. Though Pimu has endured radical change, it’s efforts like these that close the loop between island and mainland, people and home.
◆ Nature Feature ◆
Sovuuchey ("manzanita," Tongva) ◆ Santa Catalina Island Manzanita (English) ◆ Arctostaphylos catalinae is looped around Nendo’s neck. Endemic to Pimu, the Santa Catalina Island manzanita has a unique relationship with a fellow endemic, the island fox (Urocyon littoralis.)
On the mainland, manzanita seeds generally germinate after fires. But on Pimu, wildfires are rare. How does the Santa Catalina Island manzanita reproduce in a fireless environment? We’d expect the plant to struggle–and yet it’s all over the island.
The island fox is the secret to the manzanita’s success. When the fox eats the manzanita’s fruits, the seeds become softened in its stomach and are later dispersed around the island. From here, they can germinate and grow into a new plant. In this way, the two have provided for one another through deep time.
The manzanita also owes a debt of gratitude to the Chumash. It’s thought that they brought the island fox to Pimu from the other Channel Islands, perhaps as companion or hunting animals.
◆ Personality ◆
Dango is the “grumpy” one. He’s ornery and mistrustful by nature, but it’s not his fault that everyone around him is too big, too loud, and too nosy.
He prefers to keep to himself and go about his own business: napping in the shade, stashing away seeds, burrowing in the cholla, chasing wrens away from his turf… Dango leads a solitary life, and that’s just how he likes it.
What he doesn’t like is other esk intruding in his day. Though Dango sometimes makes a big fuss, rumbling and posturing at those who bother him, most ghosts just get the silent treatment. It helps that he’s stubborn as a rock, too– easy to bother, but difficult to provoke. He is tolerant only of those who respect his space and know how to keep their mouths shut. Even then, he will choose alone time over quiet companionship, most of the time… Most of the time.
◆ Boundary ◆
Dango lives in a region of the Sonoran Desert called the Arizona Uplands. True to its name, it’s part of the northernmost stretch of the Sonoran Desert, which reaches into the U.S.-Mexico border and south-central Arizona.
The Sonoran Desert is a lush, subtropical desert, which is diverse in species, landscapes, and people. The Arizona Uplands are a relatively cool and moist subdivision of the desert, a high-altitude fringe that borders neighboring grasslands, pinyon-juniper woodlands, and other montane communities.
Some say this region actually resembles thornscrub–the grey area between desert and tropical deciduous forest–more than it does a true desert. The tropical heritage of the Sonoran Desert is written plainly in its assembly of plants and animals, many of which trace their ancestry to the seasonally moist forests that would have lived here in the Eocene and early Miocene. Aptly described by biologist Thomas R. Van Devender:
❝
Thornscrub could […] be called the “mother” of the Sonoran Desert, and tropical deciduous forest its “grandmother” or “great aunt!”
Standing at the gateway of North America to South and Central America, the desert is home to great human diversity as well. In fact, human stewardship is closely linked with some of the desert’s most stunning examples of biodiversity. A’al Waipia (Quitobaquito springs) and Ki:towak are two oases on the U.S.-Mexico border that have been managed by the O’odham and their predecessors since time out of mind. As ethnobotanist Gary Paul Nabhan puts it:
❝
Quitobaquito is naturally diverse, but its diversity has also been enhanced rather than permanently harmed by centuries of human occupation. Prehistoric Hohokam and Patayan, historic Tohono O’odham, Hia c-ed O’odham, Apache, Cucupa, and Pai Pai visited Quitobaquito for food and drink long before European missionaries first arrived there in 1698. Since that time, a stream of residents from O’odham, Mexican, Jewish, and Mormon families have excavated ponds and irrigation ditches, transplanting shade and fruit trees alongside them. They intentionally introduced useful plants, and accidentally brought along weedy camp-followers, adding some fifty plant species to Quitobaquito over the centuries. Native birds and mammals have also been affected by human presence there, and some increased in number during the days of O’odham farming downstream from the springs. All in all, Quitobaquito’s history demonstrates that the desert’s cultural diversity has not necessarily been antithetical to its biological diversity; the two are historically intertwined.
From the canals of the Hohokam, to the dryland farms of the O’odham, to the wild stands of domesticated agave left behind by the Sobaipuri, a very human story is written in the environmental story of the Sonoran Desert.
◆ Nature Features ◆
Şegai (O’odham) ◆ tsaatsakw’hunvi (Hopi) ◆ ’iivse (Piipaash) ◆ creosota, gobernadora, hediondilla (Spanish) ◆ creosote, greasewood (English) ◆ Larrea tridentata sprouts from Dango’s fur. Creosote holds up the world around it as the foundation of lowland desert communities in the Sonoran, Mojave, and Chihuahuan deserts. They’re absurdly common and easily overlooked, but those with a discerning eye can appreciate their wide array of ethnobotanical uses and generally tough-as-nails outlook on life. (They’re also responsible for the wonderful scent of the desert after rain, so there’s that!)
As a creosote bush grows old, the oldest parts of the plant will die. When this happens, the crown of the plant splits into two identical clones. Successive splittings will eventually form a ring of genetically identical plants. Given enough time and the right environment, these rings can achieve something very close to immortality–clonal colonies of creosote are some of the longest-lived organisms on Earth. One individual, King Clone, is estimated to be ~11,700 years old.
I:hug (O’odham) ◆ kwaxthon (Piipaash) ◆ halaaka (Havasupai) ◆ cuernitas (Spanish) ◆ basket claw, devil’s claw, doubleclaw (English) ◆ Proboscidea parviflora hangs on the nape of Dango’s neck. An early candidate for domestication, the claw-shaped seed pods are used to weave black designs in basketry. The root, seeds, and immature pods are edible, as well
Basket claw is also thigmatropic–that is, it can move in response to physical contact. The stigma of the flower snaps shut when disturbed, in order to trap pollen from pollinators.
#4809
Nendo
| Origin: | Traveler |
| Nature: | Pacific |
| Boundary: | Pimu (Santa Catalina Island) |
| Size: | Manageable |
| Nature Feature: | Santa Catalina Island manzanita (Arctostaphylos catalinae) |
◆ Growth Points ◆
20 GP
◆
◆ Personality ◆
Nendo is the “nice” one. A gentle and calm spirit, he seems to take a simple joy in everything he does.
And he does a little bit of everything: chasing the surf, collecting seeds and shells, hiding under the prickly pears, bobbing on the water, sunning himself among the rocks, stowing away in ships and kayaks… Nendo can’t be described as “busy”, but he’s certainly never bored. He takes on the world at his own pace, which moves at about half a mile per hour at best.
Nendo can fill his days all on his own, but he seems to enjoy sharing them with other ghosts, too. Many esk find his easy-going attitude and unhurried energy soothing. He’s more inclined to commensalism than to “asking” anything of others– even for something as small as a helping hand, or a moment of their attention. Still, he’s known to play simple games now and then.
Mostly, Nendo just wants to nap and explore his haunt in good company. Everything else can be accomplished in its own time.
◆ Boundary ◆
Nendo lives in Pimu, or Santa Catalina Island, which is off the coast of California. Like the other Channel Islands, Pimu exists at the ecological crossroads of the Pacific ocean, the California coast, the interior desert, the temperate North, and beyond. The island is a refuge for many endemic species who trace their ancestry to relatives from abroad. Some have even gone extinct on the mainland, but are survived by their island counterparts.
This diversity exists even though Pimu has never been geographically connected to the mainland. At some point or another, all of its residents have made the 20-mile journey across the ocean in order to reach the island. In fact, Pimu’s isolation is the very reason that it contains such a rich assembly of relic and endemic species; those that couldn’t cope with changes on the mainland found sanctuary at the island. Meanwhile, newcomers who were cut off from their relatives on the mainland quickly became distinct species specialized for island life.
Pimu has a rich human history, too. First called home by the Tongva and Chumash, Pimu became a hub for trade and industry. Here, the Tongva and Chumash build ti’ats and tomols, which are redwood boats waterproofed with asphaltum from the naturally-occurring tarballs that wash up on the coast. Sailing has historically connected the Tongva and Chumash to many communities along the Pacific coast, as well as the intricate inland trade network of the wider Americas. So interconnected is the island with the mainland that the Pimu Catalina Island Archaeology Project has mapped the movement of goods from Pimu to abroad. At least one axe was found at Pimu that was crafted by the Hohokam of the Salt River Valley, in south-central Arizona. Likewise, Chumash goods have traveled with the Quechan as far East as the Colorado River Valley–and probably beyond.
This legacy endures today. The Chumash hold an annual tomol crossing between the Channel Islands and the coast of California. Similarly, the ti’at is experiencing a reawakening among a new generation of Tongva wayfarers. Though Pimu has endured radical change, it’s efforts like these that close the loop between island and mainland, people and home.
◆ Nature Feature ◆
Sovuuchey ("manzanita," Tongva) ◆ Santa Catalina Island Manzanita (English) ◆ Arctostaphylos catalinae is looped around Nendo’s neck. Endemic to Pimu, the Santa Catalina Island manzanita has a unique relationship with a fellow endemic, the island fox (Urocyon littoralis.)
On the mainland, manzanita seeds generally germinate after fires. But on Pimu, wildfires are rare. How does the Santa Catalina Island manzanita reproduce in a fireless environment? We’d expect the plant to struggle–and yet it’s all over the island.
The island fox is the secret to the manzanita’s success. When the fox eats the manzanita’s fruits, the seeds become softened in its stomach and are later dispersed around the island. From here, they can germinate and grow into a new plant. In this way, the two have provided for one another through deep time.
The manzanita also owes a debt of gratitude to the Chumash. It’s thought that they brought the island fox to Pimu from the other Channel Islands, perhaps as companion or hunting animals.
#4810
Dango
| Origin: | Trespasser |
| Nature: | Prickly |
| Boundary: | Sonoran Desert uplands |
| Size: | Unmanageable |
| Nature Features: | Creosote (Larrea tridentata) Basket claw (Proboscidea parviflora) |
◆ Growth Points ◆
20 GP
◆
◆ Personality ◆
Dango is the “grumpy” one. He’s ornery and mistrustful by nature, but it’s not his fault that everyone around him is too big, too loud, and too nosy.
He prefers to keep to himself and go about his own business: napping in the shade, stashing away seeds, burrowing in the cholla, chasing wrens away from his turf… Dango leads a solitary life, and that’s just how he likes it.
What he doesn’t like is other esk intruding in his day. Though Dango sometimes makes a big fuss, rumbling and posturing at those who bother him, most ghosts just get the silent treatment. It helps that he’s stubborn as a rock, too– easy to bother, but difficult to provoke. He is tolerant only of those who respect his space and know how to keep their mouths shut. Even then, he will choose alone time over quiet companionship, most of the time… Most of the time.
◆ Boundary ◆
Dango lives in a region of the Sonoran Desert called the Arizona Uplands. True to its name, it’s part of the northernmost stretch of the Sonoran Desert, which reaches into the U.S.-Mexico border and south-central Arizona.
The Sonoran Desert is a lush, subtropical desert, which is diverse in species, landscapes, and people. The Arizona Uplands are a relatively cool and moist subdivision of the desert, a high-altitude fringe that borders neighboring grasslands, pinyon-juniper woodlands, and other montane communities.
Some say this region actually resembles thornscrub–the grey area between desert and tropical deciduous forest–more than it does a true desert. The tropical heritage of the Sonoran Desert is written plainly in its assembly of plants and animals, many of which trace their ancestry to the seasonally moist forests that would have lived here in the Eocene and early Miocene. Aptly described by biologist Thomas R. Van Devender:
❝
Thornscrub could […] be called the “mother” of the Sonoran Desert, and tropical deciduous forest its “grandmother” or “great aunt!”
Standing at the gateway of North America to South and Central America, the desert is home to great human diversity as well. In fact, human stewardship is closely linked with some of the desert’s most stunning examples of biodiversity. A’al Waipia (Quitobaquito springs) and Ki:towak are two oases on the U.S.-Mexico border that have been managed by the O’odham and their predecessors since time out of mind. As ethnobotanist Gary Paul Nabhan puts it:
❝
Quitobaquito is naturally diverse, but its diversity has also been enhanced rather than permanently harmed by centuries of human occupation. Prehistoric Hohokam and Patayan, historic Tohono O’odham, Hia c-ed O’odham, Apache, Cucupa, and Pai Pai visited Quitobaquito for food and drink long before European missionaries first arrived there in 1698. Since that time, a stream of residents from O’odham, Mexican, Jewish, and Mormon families have excavated ponds and irrigation ditches, transplanting shade and fruit trees alongside them. They intentionally introduced useful plants, and accidentally brought along weedy camp-followers, adding some fifty plant species to Quitobaquito over the centuries. Native birds and mammals have also been affected by human presence there, and some increased in number during the days of O’odham farming downstream from the springs. All in all, Quitobaquito’s history demonstrates that the desert’s cultural diversity has not necessarily been antithetical to its biological diversity; the two are historically intertwined.
From the canals of the Hohokam, to the dryland farms of the O’odham, to the wild stands of domesticated agave left behind by the Sobaipuri, a very human story is written in the environmental story of the Sonoran Desert.
◆ Nature Features ◆
Şegai (O’odham) ◆ tsaatsakw’hunvi (Hopi) ◆ ’iivse (Piipaash) ◆ creosota, gobernadora, hediondilla (Spanish) ◆ creosote, greasewood (English) ◆ Larrea tridentata sprouts from Dango’s fur. Creosote holds up the world around it as the foundation of lowland desert communities in the Sonoran, Mojave, and Chihuahuan deserts. They’re absurdly common and easily overlooked, but those with a discerning eye can appreciate their wide array of ethnobotanical uses and generally tough-as-nails outlook on life. (They’re also responsible for the wonderful scent of the desert after rain, so there’s that!)
As a creosote bush grows old, the oldest parts of the plant will die. When this happens, the crown of the plant splits into two identical clones. Successive splittings will eventually form a ring of genetically identical plants. Given enough time and the right environment, these rings can achieve something very close to immortality–clonal colonies of creosote are some of the longest-lived organisms on Earth. One individual, King Clone, is estimated to be ~11,700 years old.
I:hug (O’odham) ◆ kwaxthon (Piipaash) ◆ halaaka (Havasupai) ◆ cuernitas (Spanish) ◆ basket claw, devil’s claw, doubleclaw (English) ◆ Proboscidea parviflora hangs on the nape of Dango’s neck. An early candidate for domestication, the claw-shaped seed pods are used to weave black designs in basketry. The root, seeds, and immature pods are edible, as well
Basket claw is also thigmatropic–that is, it can move in response to physical contact. The stigma of the flower snaps shut when disturbed, in order to trap pollen from pollinators.
◆ 粘土団子 ◆
Seedballs
Nendo and Dango were named by Dr. Harlowe, after 粘土団子 (“nendo dango.”) Taken alone, nendo means clay, and dango is a sort of dumpling formed into a ball. Together, nendo dango are hand-shaped balls of soil and seeds that are popular in environmental restoration projects. They’re also known as seedballs, earth balls, and seed bombs.
While Nendo and Dango are full of cavy mischief when they’re alone, their true potential is only realized in each other’s company. Meetings between the two spirits are filled with pure joy: they openly romp, wrestle, and play together, sending fruits and seeds flying in every direction. Over time, these meetings build up seed banks of manzanita, basket claw, creosote, and other plants. The seeds can even germinate into new plants, with proper planning and care.
Others have realized that Nendo and Dango’s boundless affection for one another can be an effective restoration tool–reintroducing native species to disturbed areas, and propagating existing plants in restored areas. It’s not uncommon to see environmentally-minded esk leading the two spirits to impaired parts of the desert, so that they can work their magic.
◆ Notes ◆
- Nendo and Dango don’t speak, and rarely vocalize. But when they do, they have a colorful vocabulary of rumbles, burbles, chuffs, snorts, chirps, and wheeks.
- They are the size of cuy guinea pigs, which are a bit larger than the domestic guinea pig common in the North American pet trade.
- Nendo and Dango are inseparable, often traveling together to visit one anothers’ haunts. They usually stick to the Pacific coast and the inland deserts of North America, but you can find them at almost any corner of the world. They sometimes visit the Conservatory on important (and inscrutable) seedball business.
- They are gendered arbitrarily, in the same way a field scientist might use gendered language to personify their subject of study.
◆ Use ◆
Nendo and Dango can be freely used as characters in your works. In general, they’re whimsical little guys who interact with the world in much the way you would expect a pint-sized nature spirit with the emotional faculties of a guinea pig to. While Nendo welcomes the company of other ghosts, it takes time and patience to get past Dango’s prickly exterior. Mostly, they just go about their business according to their own inexplicable whims.
Nendo and Dango can be used as creator esk. They’d likely make esk that are tonally similar to them– silly little sprites who make simple mischief. (Though the thought of them making a stormy trespasser or heavy-hearted traveler is pretty fun, too!)
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