Lore questions about Miqo'te

[AnaviAnael]

I'm fairly sure the Miqo'te lore says they're NOT related to felines at all, actually. They may have some characteristics of feline cats, but they're not derived from cats directly, much like Au Ra LOOK like dragons, but they're not.

Precisely.

Hey there's that red dot again. KILL IT! KILL IT WITH FIRE! *pounce pounce pounce*

[Adire]

Miqotes are much more like Hyurs than cats.

[Velox]

Do the Miqo'te pur lore-wise like real life felines?
Some do, most don't. It depends on the miqo'te. The more "feral" ones do that we've seen in-game (Miah Molkot, Pawah Mujuuk, U'odh Nuhn) tend to portray more cat-like nuances in both speech and body language.
I'm assuming it's a genetic thing or just something that all miqo'te are born with but grow out of when raised in a more urban/sophisticated setting.

Is their tail and ears (and arguably hair) the only furry parts of them?
Most likely

Do they hiss when they're angry like RL cats?
Some do, most don't. (see answer to question 1)

Do their entire bodies stiffen when angry/attempting to intimate and their hair stand on edge?
Some do, most don't. (see answer to question 1)

Do they have a superb sense of balance like RL cats?
Yes. They have the highest natural balance of all the races, which is part of what makes them excellent hunter-gatherers (along with other traits like high dexterity, agility, spatial awareness, and sense of smell).

Why do they not have whiskers? Or do they just not on their face?
Because they aren't cats and are a race of man (thus being more man-like than feline-like)

Are their noses generally wet like RL cats?
Most likely not

Do they have a superb sense of smell/hearing?
Their sense of smell is the best of all the races, and their ability to hear is second best (iirc, elezen boast the most acute hearing). The one benefit a miqo'te would have though is their radial hearing is better due to being able to pivot the ears, while the superior elezen hearing would be limited to the front/side.

Do they have night vision? (I'd imagine that moon ones would at least)
Correct, keepers of the moon are naturally nocturnal and would have exceptional night vision. However, that most likely comes at a cost of poor day vision since their pupils are always dilated to some extent due to genetics (vision during the day probably isn't comfortable, or is blurry). The diurnal seekers of the sun would be the exact opposite. Superb day vision, horrid night vision due to permanently constricted eyes.

What is their average life-span? Comprable to Hyur?
Unknown. I don't think we have too much lore on race life expectancy (at least, I haven't seen or remember seeing anything in the 2.0 and 1.0 forums about it in detail). All we have are vague details about certain races (like how elezen have the naturally longest lifespans). If I were to hazard a guess though, I'd say miqo'te lifespans are probably shorter than hyurs based on their genetics (their bodies probably consume more calories due to their naturally active lifestyles and biology, as well as increased muscle mass). This would make their bodies suffer more wear and tear as they age. Of course, we don't know the exact lifespan of each to really speculate.

Why are they (both males and females) so over sexualized in Ezorea? Most races tend to find them attractive. Is it some kind of pheromone they release?
Males aren't really overly sexualized in Eorzea (from a lore-standpoint) simply because they don't really exist. Part of miqo'te genetics is that they are more likely to give birth to females rather than males. Taking what little info we do have (total number of miqo'te NPCs, total male/female ratio in existing miqo'te camps, etc.), we can speculate that there's a 1 male born for every 10-15 females. This makes males more of a coveted resource in tribal life. The difference in how this resource is treated varies between the clans though.

Seeker females see males as powerful, and thus, view them as natural leaders. The strongest male is worth breeding with as females want those traits to be passed onto the children. The males of the tribe tend to protect the tribe as a whole, and the tribe is one large family (since most the children have the same father(s) and females have the same mate(s)).

Keeper females see males as objects for procreation more or less. These males tend to life solitary, wanderer lives and only hang around when females want children, after which they are sent on their merry way until the next female desires children. Family communities (smaller than Seeker tribes) are run by females and children are raised by females without any male influence.

To answer your question about sexualization of miqo'te, I would say it's safe to assume that the reason females are viewed this way is because of how some of them desire it. In a society in which males of your own race are so rare, you have to seek outside help when those "urges" come along because males can't or won't always be available. They are either being shared amongst many females (in Seeker tribes, only a select few males even qualify for sex), or they aren't always around (in Keeper tribes, males don't live in the villages once they become of-age, so you never know when they are going to come around again). What this has created is a situation where female miqo'te have to regularly turn to the other races for "enjoyment." So it's not really a social-driven oversexualization, but rather a self-created oversexualization born out of necessity.

That all being said, what the community does isn't really "lore friendly," and I think it's safe to assume that many males/females have been oversexualized by the players more than the lore.

Responses in red

[Dualgunner]

I love your indepth answers, Velox

[Krissey]

Those fleas are also called lalafels and the worst part is those bugging little things always try to put their filfthy hands under our skirts.

When you look as beautiful as you do can you blame me? >3>

[myahele]

Did someone say popoto soup?

[Lukha]

Excellent post, Velox, I just have to correct you on one point:

Seeker females see males as powerful, and thus, view them as natural leaders. The strongest male is worth breeding with as females want those traits to be passed onto the children. The males of the tribe tend to protect the tribe as a whole, and the tribe is one large family (since most the children have the same father(s) and females have the same mate(s)).

While our sole in-game example (U'odh Nunh in Forgotten Springs) might seem to give support to this notion, it's unfortunately not correct. Per the naming convention post,

Nunh status does not equate to leadership within a tribe, and in fact, very few nunh ever become leaders.

Of course, that does still leave Tias who might take leadership positions, but that would be mostly baseless assumption. The only two Tias we see in the context of a tribe do seem to be taking leadership roles, but they're also both members of the U tribe, which is clearly a Very Special Exception; given that their current Nunh is one of the few mortals to have killed a god and retained both his health and sanity, it's probable that the U have a higher opinion of their Nunh, and males in general, than the average tribe.

[AriaEnia]

the only question anyone needs to know about filthy cat peoples.

do they have flea's and many horrible diseases?!

yes lots in fact they are covered in fleas and nearly every disease found (even some not found becareful)

You know, once I found a worm inside a potato when cooking, it was disgustig.

[Sounsyy]

Do the Miqo'te pur lore-wise like real life felines?

There are several examples of Miqo'te purring in dialogue. Some do, some don't. In regards to "hissing" Miqo'te Naming Conventions mentions a harsh aitch sound found commonly in names that comes from the ancient Miqo'te language that other races are apparently unable to pronounce/replicate.

Heehee, the guildmaster has more than his fair share of lovers, that’s no secret. They say he only employs women he means to bed. Purrr, heehee!

Sounsyy, is it? What business do you have with meow? Apologies—a slip of the tongue. When I say “with meow,” I mean “with meow”… Grrr. Not meow—meow! …Bah! What do you want!?

Welcome, dear. Come to see to the furnishing of your basement, hmm? Purrrrrr… Come, look all you like. And feel free to touch the merrrchandise.

The extra aitches we see in names such as “Bhee,” “Kuzh,” and “Pahsh” represent a slight hissing/spitting sound that is made when the name is pronounced by the cat-like Miqo’te. Many of the other races in Eorzea cannot accurately reproduce this sound, so the aitches end up going silent when read (Bee, Kooz, Pash).

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Is their tail and ears (and arguably hair) the only furry parts of them?

When you put on the Dreadwyrm Tonban of Casting/Healing, the answer if very obviously yes lol. I mean, unless Miqo'te religiously shave/wax their entire bodies. Ow.


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Do they have a superb sense of balance like RL cats? Do they have a superb sense of smell/hearing? Do they have night vision? (I'd imagine that moon ones would at least)

The old racial lore should help answer these questions:

The ancestors of the Miqo'te made their way to Eorzea during the Age of Endless Frost, traversing the frozen seas in pursuit of the wildlife upon which they subsisted. Adaptation to a hunting lifestyle has fashioned them with a keen sense of smell, powerful legs, and a tail which provides them with exceptional balance. Miqo'te are known to be very territorial, and many individuals tend to lead solitary lifestyles, particularly males. The few Miqo'te who have made the transition to life in Eorzean society are predominantly female.

The Seekers of the Sun are a true miracle of evolution at work. Though lean and flexible, they possess immense strength and stamina, and excel at near any physical act─be it bounding amongst the treetops or swimming in rough waters. Above all that, their powers of expression are also second to none.

The nocturnal among the Miqo'te have dubbed themselves the Keepers of the Moon. Shying from the garish light of day, they revel in the shroud of night, with most offering their piety to Menphina the Lover, goddess of the moon. They are distinguishable from their diurnal cousins by their darker fur, larger ears, rounder eyes, more pronounced canines, and longer, skinnier tails. The ritual application of war paint to the face is still regularly practiced, as it is believed the vivid colors grant lunar powers. The Keepers are known for their reticent and brooding personalities, but are also respected and sometimes feared for their tenacity.

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What is their average life-span? Comprable to Hyur?

According to the Las Vegas Lore Panel, all Eorzean races have a similar lifespan to real world humans, with the exception of Elezen living a little bit longer and having a slightly prolonged development stage. So biologically, Miqo'te can live to be 100~120 years old, however, because Eorzea is a harsh environment with war, plague, poor healthcare, and hygiene most Eorzeans have a significantly lower life expectancy of only 30-50 years.

Here's the quote from Fernehalwes:

Q: What are the age scales of every race? How long do they live and how long does it take them to become an adult?

Fernehalwes: Okay, yeah I asked about this and I was told that age-scale wise the five races biologically have the same lifespan as we do here on earth. They can live one hundred, one hundred and twenty biologically. The thing is, here we have modern medicine, we have jobs that don't take us on to the battlefield, we have food in refrigerators not sitting in a barrel. And so we can live that long, whereas, in Eorzea its a much harsher realm. I wouldn't expect most people would live longer than like thirty years. That's the thing, so you get an average lifespan that is a lot shorter, y'know in the forties, fifties.

That said, Elezen actually do have a longer lifespan than the other four races. And this also appears when they go from child to puberty to adulthood. So which is why you'll see in 1.0 there was a bunch of Elezen children that appeared in some of the quests and they appear again in 2.0, and they're still children. And you think well it's been five years why are they still children? It's because again that childhood for Elezen can last much longer. And they end up living longer as well. Um, but for the most part it's pretty much just the same as us, but with more... fatality.

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It is likely they evolved from a cat like species that also evolved into modern cat like animals like the Coerl. So they could still have traits from that.

Are Miqo'te descendant from cats? Naturalists say yes, Miqo'te say no:

Despite convincing research by top academics from around the realm and beyond, most Miqo'te scholars refuse to believe that there may be some ancestral connection between their race and cats (fat or not).

Hope this helps!

[Mahri]

When you put on the Dreadwyrm Tonban of Casting/Healing, the answer if very obviously yes lol. I mean, unless Miqo'te religiously shave/wax their entire bodies. Ow.

The in-game graphics are a very poor indicator of body hair, seeing as how every single person, all races, all sexes, are shown 100% hairless below the neck. This is a (disappointing) graphical shortcut.

Yes, people in Eorzea have body hair. This includes the cats.

If you disagree, look at people IRL with thick eyebrows, and then look at my eyebrows here. What do they tell you? Exactly.