Abatwa

Abatwas are sentient, bipedal humanoids from Central Africa. The Abatwa are a ant-riding species that raises family above everything

Physiology
Abatwas are a small race that stands no more than 15 to 18 cm on average. Their skin is dark and rough from spending most of their time outdoors. They feature a pair of heavy-lidded eyes, the color of which is dark brown, with some individuals having dark purple irises. They have thick eyelashes.

Their hair is thick and curly and grows in a straight line on top of their head, leaving the sides of the head bare. The hair is black in color. The males can grow beards, but usually don't out of cultural reasons. They have thick eyebrows.

The Abatwa's faces are quite round, with flat noses and large lips. Their ears are round and large. They have two antennas sprouting from their forehead, with the tips fading to a dark red color. This antenna keep growing throughout their lifetime, and end up curling towards the back of the head at an old age.

Life cycle
The Abatwa are a short-lived race with an average life-span of around 40 years. Female Abatwas lay 10 to 15 eggs, of which 2 to 5 on average hatch into larva after 6 months. The larva enters a pupa stage after 18 months, after finally emerging as a teenage humanoid abatwa after a year. The community are caring for the infants together, and every part of the tribe is considered family.

When hatching after the pupa stage, the Abatwa is paired up with the elephant ant that was hatched the same day, and are since then connected throughout their lifetime. This bond cannot be broken, and if one parts dies the other will too.

From the age of 15, the Abatwa are viewed as full-fledged adults, and are considered in their prime around the age of 20. Abatwas are qualified as "middle-aged" by 25-35 and "old" by 35-40.

Behavior
The Abatwa are a shy people that rarely venture too far from their tribe. They value family and community over everything, and have a fierce loyalty to the ones regardes as family.

They are very insecure about their size, and if offended can easily become very proud and angry. They usually come up with some sort of payback, the severity depending on how much offence they took.

The Abatwa are a deeply religious people and are culturally linked to the religion of Vash'Nok, and prays to the Shining Mother. The leader of the Abatwa society is always a High Priestess.

Abatwas have a tendency to work in health care and farming, and make excellent delivery nurses, scientist, cattle farmers and butchers.

Abilities

 * Mind Link - Abatwas are from birth linked to an Elephant Ant. They are completely co-dependent on each other and if one is hurt or dies, the other does the same. The link is unbreakable, and they age together.

Demographics
The Abatwa originates from the Central parts of Africa, in countries such as Burundi, Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda, and this is also where you can find the most concentrated population of Abatwas. The Abatwa council can be found in Bukavu.