Future-Rome
15-06-2008, 01:00
The Suendri Tribesmen
Demographics:
Suendri: ~1,000,000
Outlander POWs: ~40,000
Overview:
The Suendri are a race of semi-nomadic warrior horsemen, who have little interest in the nations beyond their lands besides raiding them when "civilization" encroaches too close. They inhabit the mountain ranges and highlands to the north, and guard their lands against outsiders fiercely, being content with their territory and their way of life and desiring above all else to safeguard it from outside influence. Consequently, outlanders know very little of their ways and view them as brutish and barbaric, when in reality they possess a very developed and sophisticated culture.
Society and Culture:
The Suendri way of life is inseparably intertwined with their knowledge of and relationships with the myriad spirits and ghosts that they live alongside in their wild land; the Suendri understand that they are newcomers to the land compared to the supernatural beings, and are careful to give them the respect and the reverence that they are due. They are cautious about magic wielded by mortals, and prefer to leave mystical matters to the spirits. They believe that magic is the foundation and the all-encompassing fabric of the world, and that it has an order and a balance that must be maintained for the world to exist. They believe that the spirits are the guardians of harmony and of this natural order, and thus only they are capable of using magic properly. Mortals, the Suendri contend, lack the perspective and the understanding to use these energies without causing great imbalances and harm. Indeed, the concepts of balance, contrast and complementary opposites are central to Suendri culture, and crops up in many places in their society.
Suendri spirituality is tentatively related to animism. The spirits and the supernatural reflect what is observed in nature, since they are as much a part of it as the concrete wilderness of forest, stream, rock and tree. To them, there are eight core elements in the world: Earth, Fire, Sky, Water, Light, Shadow, Life, and Death. Each of these elements has a supreme being that embodies all aspects of the world related to that element, and is present in every physical and metaphorical manifestation of that element on earth. Each of these eight has a thousand forms in which they may appear to mortals (an exceedingly rare occurrence), and a thousand faces and a thousand names, of which the Suendri know many but not even close to all.
But, as in nature, nothing is wholly composed of just one element, and neither are these elements used to categorize the spirits. Elements merely describe individual aspects of every whole. The spirits are as varied, individual, and without categories and labels as human beings. There are spirits of the woods, spirits of the streams, spirits of the rain and the clouds, spirits of the dead, malicious terrors, benevolent guardians, ancient lords of the wilderness that roam the woods under the moon with their coteries of followers, powerful and vengeful beings tasked with upholding the world’s balance, and ghostly wanderers without purpose. The Suendri accept this apparent chaos and trust that it is all a part of the unfathomable system that allows the world to work as it does.
The Suendri people are divided into a number of tribes named for powerful spirits that are their particular patrons. Tribes are further divided into individual settlements and family groups. Suendri rely on hunting and gathering as much as they do farming, supplemented by the occasional sacking of any outlander village built too close to their territory. Because of the mountainous terrain, there is very little room for larger scale farming; clearing areas of forest is unthinkable, as it would bring down the wrath of the spirits inhabiting those places. The tribes that rely most on farming build terraced fields to maximize their growing space, and grow an assortment of grains and wild vegetables and fruits. Hunting is the primary staple, and a number of tribes even herd deer or elk.
Suendri tribes do their best to be self-sufficient, but they do trade amongst themselves in practical goods such as food, weapons, clothing, and tools. Trade with outsiders is almost unheard of, as is most contact, not counting occasional acts of war. But despite their xenophobia, the Suendri do make an occasional practice of abducting prisoners on their raids. These are usually children, who would die of exposure otherwise (killing children or having anything to do with the death of a child is very taboo), or women. Being outlanders, these prisoners’ status and degree of freedom in their new home is up to their captor; although outright slavery is very rare, it is not uncommon for them to be made servants or assistants.
Suendri society is relatively equal. There is no ruling class per se; Suendri give authority to chieftains, warlords, and wise men based on their reputation and the respect that they cultivate among their people, but these individuals get few special privileges and are held all the more responsible for their actions. Suendri towns and villages are led by a man and woman pair, each of whom is decided on by the settlement’s population of the opposite sex: the chieftain is chosen by the women, and the chieftainess by the men. These two people are then married and remain in power until both have died, whereupon a new pair is chosen. Decision-making is semi-democratic, with the chieftain and chieftainess having the final say but being expected to listen to the opinions of their people before making a decision. The only authority held strictly absolute is that of a warlord over his forces when they are on campaign.
Language:
Although the Suendri are a decidedly oral culture, the Suendri language has its own alphabet that reflects the Suendri myth of how their language came into existence. According to the myth, the spirits of the sky looked down and saw man wandering mute, and pitied him. They showered knowledge of language and of words down upon him in the rain, and he lifted his face to the sky and received it, and was glad. Because of this, half of Suendri letters are written from the top of the line down, and are called rain-letters. The spirits of the earth saw this and were jealous that the sky-spirits should have it all their own way, and rumbled yet more sounds and ideas up from the depths of the earth; man put his ear to the ground and received this as well, and was satisfied. Because of this, the other half of Suendri letters are written from the bottom of the line up, and are called earth-letters. The rain-letters, d f h l p s t and ch, are supposed to represent sounds of rain and water, while the earth-letters, b k g j m n r v and x, are supposed to represent sounds of stone and metal. The vowels a e i o u ai and ae have no association.
Example of Suendri script (http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b149/zniperrmunkee/suendriwriting.jpg)
Writing is reserved usually for bookkeeping, records, and commemorative carvings. Only rarely are the myths and tales that make up more of the fiber of Suendri culture actually written down.
Military:
Suendri military technology is on a par with other civilizations. They produce excellent plate armor and maille for their mounted knights, though they prefer to leave their infantry more lightly armored in leather or simple maille. Axes, mauls, and swords are common, as well as the three Suendri cultural weapons: the saika, a heavy cavalry spear, the kidacha, a thick-bladed saber, and the dasku, a five to six foot hooked broadsword. Bows and spears are ubiquitous, as most Suendri are able hunters and own one or both as a matter of survival. The Suendri see little distinction between warfare and hunting, and many of their tactics reflect this.
Cavalry is the mainstay of a Suendri tribe’s military, and is the most vaunted and revered form of combat. Mounted warriors are called kidareetch in the Suendri tongue, and are the only ones permitted to wield the saika. Foot soldiers are called pedareetch. Warriors display their experience and feats of prowess with decorations and medallions on their armor and weapons, and their rank with a system of braids and knots in their hair. Most Suendri have broad crests of feathers or horsehair on their helmets, and warlords are permitted to fix the great horns of a mountain ibex on their helms instead.
Because the defense and preservation of the ancestral lands against outsiders and even other tribes is such a strong mentality among Suendri, war and combat are strong elements in Suendri society. Armor and weapons are treasured family heirlooms that are passed down from generation to generation, and to lose one’s ancestral armor to an enemy is the one of the highest forms of dishonor and causes for grief, particularly among kidareetch.
Suendri military structure is somewhat fluid. Suendri do not maintain standing armies in times of peace, as every Suendri boy’s education includes martial training so that they may defend the tribe when called upon; more practically, they lack the numbers and the population density to be able to afford to do so. Every Suendri tribe has a group of experienced war leaders to whom command is given when fighting breaks out, and to whose banners the warriors of the tribe rally. Some warlords are so well renowned that warriors from other tribes will rally to them as well, hoping for a piece of the plunder to come. When the conflict comes to an end, the tribesmen return to their normal lives.
Will be expanded as time goes on.
Demographics:
Suendri: ~1,000,000
Outlander POWs: ~40,000
Overview:
The Suendri are a race of semi-nomadic warrior horsemen, who have little interest in the nations beyond their lands besides raiding them when "civilization" encroaches too close. They inhabit the mountain ranges and highlands to the north, and guard their lands against outsiders fiercely, being content with their territory and their way of life and desiring above all else to safeguard it from outside influence. Consequently, outlanders know very little of their ways and view them as brutish and barbaric, when in reality they possess a very developed and sophisticated culture.
Society and Culture:
The Suendri way of life is inseparably intertwined with their knowledge of and relationships with the myriad spirits and ghosts that they live alongside in their wild land; the Suendri understand that they are newcomers to the land compared to the supernatural beings, and are careful to give them the respect and the reverence that they are due. They are cautious about magic wielded by mortals, and prefer to leave mystical matters to the spirits. They believe that magic is the foundation and the all-encompassing fabric of the world, and that it has an order and a balance that must be maintained for the world to exist. They believe that the spirits are the guardians of harmony and of this natural order, and thus only they are capable of using magic properly. Mortals, the Suendri contend, lack the perspective and the understanding to use these energies without causing great imbalances and harm. Indeed, the concepts of balance, contrast and complementary opposites are central to Suendri culture, and crops up in many places in their society.
Suendri spirituality is tentatively related to animism. The spirits and the supernatural reflect what is observed in nature, since they are as much a part of it as the concrete wilderness of forest, stream, rock and tree. To them, there are eight core elements in the world: Earth, Fire, Sky, Water, Light, Shadow, Life, and Death. Each of these elements has a supreme being that embodies all aspects of the world related to that element, and is present in every physical and metaphorical manifestation of that element on earth. Each of these eight has a thousand forms in which they may appear to mortals (an exceedingly rare occurrence), and a thousand faces and a thousand names, of which the Suendri know many but not even close to all.
But, as in nature, nothing is wholly composed of just one element, and neither are these elements used to categorize the spirits. Elements merely describe individual aspects of every whole. The spirits are as varied, individual, and without categories and labels as human beings. There are spirits of the woods, spirits of the streams, spirits of the rain and the clouds, spirits of the dead, malicious terrors, benevolent guardians, ancient lords of the wilderness that roam the woods under the moon with their coteries of followers, powerful and vengeful beings tasked with upholding the world’s balance, and ghostly wanderers without purpose. The Suendri accept this apparent chaos and trust that it is all a part of the unfathomable system that allows the world to work as it does.
The Suendri people are divided into a number of tribes named for powerful spirits that are their particular patrons. Tribes are further divided into individual settlements and family groups. Suendri rely on hunting and gathering as much as they do farming, supplemented by the occasional sacking of any outlander village built too close to their territory. Because of the mountainous terrain, there is very little room for larger scale farming; clearing areas of forest is unthinkable, as it would bring down the wrath of the spirits inhabiting those places. The tribes that rely most on farming build terraced fields to maximize their growing space, and grow an assortment of grains and wild vegetables and fruits. Hunting is the primary staple, and a number of tribes even herd deer or elk.
Suendri tribes do their best to be self-sufficient, but they do trade amongst themselves in practical goods such as food, weapons, clothing, and tools. Trade with outsiders is almost unheard of, as is most contact, not counting occasional acts of war. But despite their xenophobia, the Suendri do make an occasional practice of abducting prisoners on their raids. These are usually children, who would die of exposure otherwise (killing children or having anything to do with the death of a child is very taboo), or women. Being outlanders, these prisoners’ status and degree of freedom in their new home is up to their captor; although outright slavery is very rare, it is not uncommon for them to be made servants or assistants.
Suendri society is relatively equal. There is no ruling class per se; Suendri give authority to chieftains, warlords, and wise men based on their reputation and the respect that they cultivate among their people, but these individuals get few special privileges and are held all the more responsible for their actions. Suendri towns and villages are led by a man and woman pair, each of whom is decided on by the settlement’s population of the opposite sex: the chieftain is chosen by the women, and the chieftainess by the men. These two people are then married and remain in power until both have died, whereupon a new pair is chosen. Decision-making is semi-democratic, with the chieftain and chieftainess having the final say but being expected to listen to the opinions of their people before making a decision. The only authority held strictly absolute is that of a warlord over his forces when they are on campaign.
Language:
Although the Suendri are a decidedly oral culture, the Suendri language has its own alphabet that reflects the Suendri myth of how their language came into existence. According to the myth, the spirits of the sky looked down and saw man wandering mute, and pitied him. They showered knowledge of language and of words down upon him in the rain, and he lifted his face to the sky and received it, and was glad. Because of this, half of Suendri letters are written from the top of the line down, and are called rain-letters. The spirits of the earth saw this and were jealous that the sky-spirits should have it all their own way, and rumbled yet more sounds and ideas up from the depths of the earth; man put his ear to the ground and received this as well, and was satisfied. Because of this, the other half of Suendri letters are written from the bottom of the line up, and are called earth-letters. The rain-letters, d f h l p s t and ch, are supposed to represent sounds of rain and water, while the earth-letters, b k g j m n r v and x, are supposed to represent sounds of stone and metal. The vowels a e i o u ai and ae have no association.
Example of Suendri script (http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b149/zniperrmunkee/suendriwriting.jpg)
Writing is reserved usually for bookkeeping, records, and commemorative carvings. Only rarely are the myths and tales that make up more of the fiber of Suendri culture actually written down.
Military:
Suendri military technology is on a par with other civilizations. They produce excellent plate armor and maille for their mounted knights, though they prefer to leave their infantry more lightly armored in leather or simple maille. Axes, mauls, and swords are common, as well as the three Suendri cultural weapons: the saika, a heavy cavalry spear, the kidacha, a thick-bladed saber, and the dasku, a five to six foot hooked broadsword. Bows and spears are ubiquitous, as most Suendri are able hunters and own one or both as a matter of survival. The Suendri see little distinction between warfare and hunting, and many of their tactics reflect this.
Cavalry is the mainstay of a Suendri tribe’s military, and is the most vaunted and revered form of combat. Mounted warriors are called kidareetch in the Suendri tongue, and are the only ones permitted to wield the saika. Foot soldiers are called pedareetch. Warriors display their experience and feats of prowess with decorations and medallions on their armor and weapons, and their rank with a system of braids and knots in their hair. Most Suendri have broad crests of feathers or horsehair on their helmets, and warlords are permitted to fix the great horns of a mountain ibex on their helms instead.
Because the defense and preservation of the ancestral lands against outsiders and even other tribes is such a strong mentality among Suendri, war and combat are strong elements in Suendri society. Armor and weapons are treasured family heirlooms that are passed down from generation to generation, and to lose one’s ancestral armor to an enemy is the one of the highest forms of dishonor and causes for grief, particularly among kidareetch.
Suendri military structure is somewhat fluid. Suendri do not maintain standing armies in times of peace, as every Suendri boy’s education includes martial training so that they may defend the tribe when called upon; more practically, they lack the numbers and the population density to be able to afford to do so. Every Suendri tribe has a group of experienced war leaders to whom command is given when fighting breaks out, and to whose banners the warriors of the tribe rally. Some warlords are so well renowned that warriors from other tribes will rally to them as well, hoping for a piece of the plunder to come. When the conflict comes to an end, the tribesmen return to their normal lives.
Will be expanded as time goes on.