So, just curious. A question about Grubbs. They're native species too, yes? What are their relationship with Mudokons? We seem to know everything about Mudokons but not much about Grubbs at all. Curious to know if the wise old lore wizard can help!
YAYYYY GRUBBIES OMG GRUBBY GRUBBS!!!!!! THIS IS AN AMAZING FIRST QUESTION TO GET! YAY OKAYY OK OK here we go. Here we go.
Interaction between Grubbs and Mudokons is point-blank unknown. We've never seen them interact, we don't know if they ever have! Maybe they have. I mean, Mudokons are everywhere on Oddworld, canonically. So it's likely they have. Would they get along? It's complete speculation. Maybe? Maybe not? There might be some tention, as Grubbs did have "territories" just as Mudokons did. It's all a big maybe!
So yes. Grubbs are also Mudos natives, but specifically within the Mongo region on the west end of the continent of Mudos. They are amphibious creatures that have evolved from fish. They've always been dependant on the Mongo river for supplying them with food and water.
The Grubbs would deliberately built their homes along the high canyons of the Mongo river to avoid interfering with the flow if it. These homes would evolve into villages, tunneling into caves and canyon walls. Look up the "Cliff Palace" of Mesa Verde. Similar vibes.
Grubbs are a very spiritual race. Much like Mudokons, they believe nature has spirits. However unlike Mudokons, Grubbs find most of their spirituality within non-living things like the river and the valley itself.
They're very gossipy and typically know way more about what's going on in the valley than anyone else. They don't fall for propaganda and aren't an "enslaved" species, just an oppressed and endangered one.
Grubbs are craftspeople. They are known to adorn intricate regalia woven from the materials they find all around them. They're incredible at hand-making things like nets, weapons, clothing, etc.
While they use natural resources, they are far from primitive creatures. They are capable of very advanced engineering simply using stones, rope and wood, and are known to build longboats, effective fishing rods/nets, siege weapons, effective armour, durable housing complexes, the list goes on. Their riverside villages are very distinct from native Mudokon villages, in that they are built into mountainsides, while Mudokon villages are built from the ground up.
The most important living creature to Grubbs, other than the fish they eat, are the Steef. I mentioned this on another post, but to Grubbs, the Steef are like their Buffalo. They symbolize strength. Protection and safety. It was common for Grubbs to present the wild Steef race with sacred relics and handmade armour as gifts, and in exchange the Steef would serve as protectors of the Mongo river and the Grubb villages along it.
Steef appear in many Grubb folktales and in many wall carvings in ancient Grubb temples. Statues of them can be found in temples as well. They are/were very sacred, beautiful creatures to the Grubbs.
Grubb culture is heavily disrespected by settler species like the Clakkerz and the industrial developments. While many Grubb relics found in villages and on cave walls are "collected" (stolen) by "archaeologists" (thieves) that find them intriguing, the Grubbs themselves are often mocked for their spiritual beliefs.
The Grubbs are referred to by the industrialists and settlers as "hippies" and "tree-huggers" and the like. They are presented as cowardly and stupid, when in reality they are LITERALLY just trying to survive.
NOW. What happened to them?
Sekto Industries, a water bottling company, acquired the "rights" to the Mongo river through obviously shady business. Sekto himself sent his Wolvark "peacekeepers" through Mongo valley and essentially claimed it as theirs. Any Grubbs that refused to comply with the evacuation order were swiftly slaughtered, and all the abandoned villages left behind were raided for artifacts and then destroyed. Sound familiar? Yeah.
When Sekto Springs Dam was built to collect the Mongo river water and sell it bottled, the river began to dry up, leaving the scattered Grubb tribes now without a safe home or a supply of food and water.
Adding insult to injury, the Grubbs that did stay behind to salvage their villages would be left to deal with the travelling Outlaw gangs. Outlaw gangs would basically mug any group of Grubbs they saw, stealing food, relics, anything of value they could pilfer, they took.
The Grubbs have been left with only the remains of their former villages, making the best of what they have in the absence of the river flow.
Due to the Steef themselves now being an endangered species on Mudos (Steef are also native to Mudos) due to them being hunted by industrialists for the value of their decorative horns and pelts, the Grubbs also now have nobody to protect them. That is until Stranger swoops in, of course.
Here's some more lore tidbits;
Grubbs do not like wearing any sort of footwear. Anything even vaguely shoe-related they wear is always open toe.
They're described as "kinda squishy" in physicality.
Grubbs can naturally detect if a Steef in searby by the way they smell. Steef are known to give off a very musky odor, and the Grubbs find this smell comforting.
Much like Mudokons, Grubbs despise guns and anyone who uses them.
Dancing is a very popular Grubb activity. They love to wind down and relax too, when they can.
Aside from fish, Grubbs farm veggies as well. They love potatoes and onions.
Grubbs eat Wolvarks when they get the chance to. They apparently love the taste of Wolvark meat, and have adapted many different Wolvark meat dishes into their diets.
The "relocation" of the Grubbs was first done under executive orders known as the OGR Act (Official Grubb Removal Act) and the STA Act (Snatch the Agua Act), which allowed them to be essentially exiled and killed "legally". Oddworld is messed up.
But there you go! That's the Grubbs!