I don't know how many of you guys already figured this out but Tsurumi is pretty much Genshin's version of Ainu culture and probably Hokkaidou itself.
Similar to how Watatsumi is likely Kyushu it looks like Tsurumi represents the other major indigenous group of the region before the modern Japanese people arrived. And just like Watatsumi the Tsurumese have their own belief system and their own god.
We're told the history of the Thunderbird who was nicknamed Kanna Kapatcir by a local named Ruu. Kanna is the name of the Ainu Thunder God Kanna Kamuy. (Kamuy is the Ainu word for god but in terms of their religious beliefs of shamanism. It is believed this religion is the basis for Japan's Shintoism and kamuy is likely the inspiration for Japan's pronunciation of 神 as kami.) But I think Kanna Kapatcir is actually something else. In their religion Kamuy saw the empty world and sent a bird god called Moshiri-kor-kamuy who then stomped down on the ground forcing pieces up which make up the island lands of Japan that the Ainu called home. (Moshiri is their word for earth.)
Side note: It was fun reading up on the Ainu because if you know about what Asia looked like in the super old days the Ainu are just one of a whole bunch of groups that existed at the same time. One of the most well known to us in the west is the Native Americans. A common theme among these groups is their belief in some kind of shamanism. This is true for the proto-mongols, the huns and also the groups that would eventually become the Koreans and the various ancient Chinese. Taoism in China actually breaks up into two parts a philosophical branch called 道家 which most Chinese still follow today and a religious branch called ** which has shamanistic features. This is likely the branch that was adopted by other groups in Asia including Japan. Taoism changed the Ainu inspired Shintoism into the Shintoism modern Japanese follow today.
A big difference though and I mean BIG is that Moshiri-kor-kamuy didn't end up killing all the Ainu like Kanna Kapatcir did to the Tsurumese. Yikes. (Funny enough though the misunderstanding between the people and their bird god does play out in many Japanese folktales about kami. Early episodes of this season of Yashahime actually go into that haha.) Also while blood sacrifice was common in shamanistic societies the Ainu aren't known to sacrifice humans. But other shamanistic cultures are for example the Aztecs so the Ruu thing might work.
What actually devastated the Ainu people was a campaign by the Japanese to dehumanize them, run them out of the mainland of Honshu to less habitable territories, cause disease, flat out attack them etc. You know something like this. Or this. Parallels! [emoji]
Most of you guys already know I have a theory about why they changed the story of Inazuma and how that relates to Watatsumi. The same probably caused Genshin's Moshiri-kor-kamuy to end the Tsurumese instead of the Inazumans.
And one last thing. I know Kanna Kapatcir translates to the Thunder Eagle (Kanna for Kanna Kamuy the thunder god and Kapatcir for eagle) but it's also known as the moribund violet glede. A glede is a term used on different birds of prey but not eagles. Anyway Kapatcir was just Ruu's name for it so I think it's safe to say it doesn't have to be an eagle or a glede. If we go with Moshiri-kor-kamuy then it's actually a Japanese water wagtail.
Isn't it fun how much real world stuff you can learn off of Genshin?
Tips and Tricks from a Super Casual Genshin f2p
