Some basic terminology

It is important to know some basic terminology that will be widely used throughout the site.

Toa, as noted, is the name of the planet. The planet is also a mother goddess and the head of a pantheon of six deities.

A number of prefixes may be added to the root word Toa. The most important of these are:

Le- which means language. Hence, Letoa is the name of the global auxiliary language. It is widely spoken throughout the planet.

Ro- this refers to a people group. The planet’s sapient hominids often call themselves the Rotoa in the Letoa language. They also consider themselves part of various smaller, more localised people groups.

The sapient hominids of Toa may also be called the Ike. This word refers to the people as a species. They are the Ike in biological and medical contexts and the Rotoa when considered as members of society and citizens of the global polity.

In a similar manner, us English-speakers call ourselves “people”, “humans” or “homo sapiens” according to context.

This site also makes regular use of the following spiritual concepts:

The Ota are nature spirits. They live on the planet’s surface and help the gods achieve their plans.

Pãõ is a subtle and mysterious energy that courses across the planet and through all living things.

One word that rarely appears on this site is international. This is because the Rotoa no longer divide themselves into nation-states (though they did when Letoa began). Instead, I prefer terms like global and planetwide.