Rythulians

The race of cloth people native to Rythulia is known as the Rythulians. The name was left out of the game because ThatGameCompany wanted things to be as open to interpretation as possible, but it was leaked by one of the developers. The name has since been adopted by the community.

Rythulians - or at least Wayfarers - appear to be able to sense when another is around, suggesting that they're sensitive to each-others' "light" (souls).

Rythulians are officially genderless, though fan characters are often gendered.

Development


Early concept versions of Rythulians were a lot more human, though they already had cloaks, and bird-like aspects incorporated into their design - including the masks and gliding, which made it into the final game.

Speculation
A likely reason for Rythulians being without gender is so that players can relate to their Wayfarer, regardless of who they are. Another likely reason is so that companion players can be more anonymous, also regardless of who they are.

Fanon
Though Rythulians appear to be made of cloth, they're often still interpreted, and portrayed, add being people in cloaks.

While there are no signs of Rythulians having different life stages, babies are still popular.

Because their language appears while "singing," they're often interpreted as having a tone-based language, and sensitivity to sound - or at least musical tones. Interpretations include having echolocation, perfect pitch, and being a race of music -> sight synesthetes (i.e. able to "see music"). These are not strictly mutually exclusive.