The Enkaru are relative newcomers to the Daruna area, having migrated into the region from the west several hundred years ago, fleeing a widespread plague in their homeland. Due to their hasty arrival in the region amidst rumors of plague, they were repelled from the various Darunite kingdoms and eventually settled far up the Tana River in what was once considered wilderness. In the subsequent years the expansion of both Enkaru and Darunite holdings have resulted in regular contact and normalization of relations between the two groups.
The Enkaru are a dark-skinned people with black hair and dark eyes. They are much taller than average, with long, graceful limbs. Though the Enkaru have settled into an agrarian lifestyle, they also retain the hunting traditions and animist beliefs of their forefathers, facts that make them more palatable neighbors than the Darunite to the Rahk Tribes.
The Enkaru are nature worshipers, revering the primordial spirits of wind, water, earth and plant. There are some parallels between the Enkaru beliefs and the primordials of the Daru Pantheon, though the two groups do not see things that way.
The Enkaru believe that the sun is the eye of the great serpent Daumaw, who holds the world within his coils, twisting away the course of days. Daumaw gave birth to the first primordial spirits, Lisu, the sky, Mawu, the earth, and Ohtu, fire. These three variously gave birth to or created all the other primordial beings, Gakure of of the plain, Masabo the beast master, Kolutu the spirit of the forest, and many many others.
Enkaru shaman invoke primordial spirits to strengthen their people, drive away disease, cause the crops to flourish, and to guide the warrior's hand in battle. There are two forms of spirit invocation in the Enkaru tradition. In the first they are invoked to assist with problems involving the spirit's own aspect. A rain spirit is invoked to counter a drought. A beast spirit to draw prey to hunters. An earth spirit to insure a rich harvest. The second case makes use of an individual's personal guardian or totem spirit. Enkaru believe each person has a spirit that is attuned to their soul. A shaman can find and invoke this primordial for the person's benefit, though the process is not without risk. Invoking a spirit in this manner weakens it, potentially making the person they guard vulnerable to possession by hostile spirits. Enkaru youth engage in a ritual journey of survival and fasting on their twelfth birthday to discover the true nature of their guardian spirit.
In death Enkaru believe they become primordial beings themselves, though if their guardian fails in its duty their soul may be consumed by one of the many demons of fire and smoke created by Ohtu.