das
Regeneration In Process
Yes, it's great. Von Luschan colour signifies the prevalent skin colour, right?
PREVIEW: SymNES II
- Thread starter Symphony D.
- Start date
Symphony D.
Deity
Retroactive deletion.
Chandrasekhar
Determined
On the Features and Practices of the Nengal People
Location
What we in the present day recognize as the Nengal tribes roamed in the higher elevation forests, in the northwestern region of [Origin One]. This placed them in relatively close proximity with the culturally very different Tonga and Alarchean peoples[, I think]. In their lifestyle, the Nengal people were comparatively somewhat nomadic. Over the course of a lifetime, a single tribe might have traveled from one end of the Nengal lands to the other, and back again. Some tribes in the heart of the Nengal region might have remained more sedentary, but wanderlust was deeply ingrained in their culture and mythology.
This meant that Nengal tribes often interacted with each other, and also with foreign peoples. This in turn led to greater racial and cultural homogeny among those that we now recognize as "Nengal" - genes and memes flowed quite quickly among the tribes, contributing to their identity as a whole. It is likely that the cultural unity of the Nengal people, despite their independant ways, relied on this exchange. Without this frequent contact, the Nengal almost certainly would have fractured into several more distinct peoples.
Mythology
Though the Nengal obviously lacked a centralized religious hierarchy, and even individual tribes placed little emphasis on spiritual matters, the thriving cultural contact among the Nengal tribes kept their mythology fairly consistent. The most prevalent Nengal beliefs could probably be described as henotheistic. The god worshipped by the Nengal was a vengeful and perhaps even malevolent god, characterized by many tales of destruction, genocide, and enslavement against those who set themselves against him.
According to some traditions, this god created humanity and set them upon [Terra Nova] so that he could gain insight and satisfaction by watching them overcome the trials there. However, as he saw them become stagnant and weak, his pride turned to disgust, and he created the Nengal as a second attempt, to live as humans were meant to live - struggling for superiority above all other peoples. It is possible that this mythology is what led the Nengal to adopt their more warlike traits, but common scholarly opinion holds that it only developed as an afterthought, to justify the practices already in place.
Practices
The Nengal society was primarily a warlike one. While their lands were fairly hospitable, the dense forests were not well suited for the primitive agriculture available to them at their technological stage. This, combined with their cultural factors, caused their economy to center around raiding other peoples to obtain the crafts and commodities they required.
This is not to say that the Nengal produced nothing of worth for themselves. A common theme among the more warlike Nengal tribes was that of taking skilled thralls from defeated enemies. These thralls would be given a fairly respected position in the tribe's hierarchy, at least in comparison with slaves in other cultures. In this way, each Nengal tribe could have several skills, such as writing, carving, or building, to support their primitive economies.
The social structures of these tribes were fairly consistent. In practice, positions of power (which often didn't go beyond a simple chieftain) were passed along the patrilineal line, but some of the less warlike tribes in the heartland used matrilineal descent instead. It was not unheard of for this line to be broken in cases of obvious incompence, but neither was such a case terribly common. Thralls were almost always powerless in the decisions of the tribe, but the children of thralls (even those without a Nengal parent) born within the tribe were generally considered to be born free.
The concept of private property was also a constant theme in the Nengal culture. A dedication to the idea of individual determination may seem hypocritical in a culture that made use of slavery for its economic system, but apparently the Nengal people themselves had little problem with it. Thralls and their works were considered the property of whoever took them in battle, or of the chieftain if no owner was clear. In most tribes, there was an "arbiter" who settled disuptes over property, and this position was often separate from that of the chieftain.
Relations
Among each other, the Nengal tribes were generally peaceful. This may be partly explained by their mythology, which strongly discouraged fighting amongst themselves, but may have also been related to the comparatively easy pickings among the neighboring peoples. Nengal tribes that met while traveling from place to place, or had picked neighboring locations to stay for any given amount of time, were far more likely to engage in commerce than warfare. Not only would valuable goods be traded, but it was also common for Nengal individuals (along with any thralls they had captured and any property they had accumulated) to leave one tribe and join another. As previously mentioned, this practice resulted in greater cultural and racial homogeny among the spread Nengal tribes. This also caused some tribes led by particularly able or charismatic chieftains to grow quite large - sometimes large enough to settle down and become sedentary.
Relations with the neighboring peoples were, predictably, less friendly. The frequent raids allowed some Tonga and Alarchean culture to spread to the Nengal, but they also took a toll on the settlements closest to the lands of the Nengal society. Further research will be done on how the Tonga and the Alarcheans adapted to the related hardship, but it is safe to say that the raiding Nengal tribes - and, by commerce, the sedentary Nengal of the heartlands - became quite wealthy by their warlike practices.
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I'm unsure how much of this is useful information and how much of it is just fluff, but here's how I've envisioned my people in this early age. I'm trying to avoid being too specific in my descriptions, but one can only be so vague before the worlds lose all meaning. In any case, I'd be glad to provide more information if more is needed this turn.
das
Regeneration In Process
I think that I'm mostly good for now; more detailed social descriptions could be useful, but I doubt that they are necessary, given the highly volatile nature of the first three turns.
Incidentally, if any such input might be useful, I think that the central patch of savannah in Origin 2 fits my starting location best.
Incidentally, if any such input might be useful, I think that the central patch of savannah in Origin 2 fits my starting location best.
Symphony D.
Deity
Retroactive deletion.
Colors: Not oranges or browns, or hot pinks or very bright yellows. Otherwise I'm good.
North King
blech
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2004
- Messages
- 18,165
Ah, I suppose I should finish up that little template.
Origin Location: One
Societal Name: Ardias
Language Family: Proto-Ialio-Ardian
Descent Rights: Patrilineal
Inheritance Rights: Ill-defined, with the dying often deciding where things go and the strong seizing it regardless.
Climate Distribution: Arid or Semi-arid, preferably with some hills and rather inland.
More detail than that should come fairly soon. They are still a fairly nomadic culture, and like most nomadic cultures living in harsh climates have a certain shepherdish mindset when it comes to deities. Thus, they have a rather Abrahamic ideal in that regard, though I'm thinking it more likely that they will have a trinity of gods, relating to earth, sky, and something else -- life, men, the sun, something like that. In language, as I've mentioned, they are their own little isolate, with about half of the most used words deriving from their original language, and half from that of Ialian. I find it singularly unlikely that they had writing until a rather late date in their history.
If you think you need something else defined before placement, then let me know and I'll provide it ASAP. Otherwise, I'll see where I end up before posting more material on the society.
Oh, and for a color, a dark green, brown, or red would be nice.
Origin Location: One
Societal Name: Ardias
Language Family: Proto-Ialio-Ardian
Descent Rights: Patrilineal
Inheritance Rights: Ill-defined, with the dying often deciding where things go and the strong seizing it regardless.
Climate Distribution: Arid or Semi-arid, preferably with some hills and rather inland.
More detail than that should come fairly soon. They are still a fairly nomadic culture, and like most nomadic cultures living in harsh climates have a certain shepherdish mindset when it comes to deities. Thus, they have a rather Abrahamic ideal in that regard, though I'm thinking it more likely that they will have a trinity of gods, relating to earth, sky, and something else -- life, men, the sun, something like that. In language, as I've mentioned, they are their own little isolate, with about half of the most used words deriving from their original language, and half from that of Ialian. I find it singularly unlikely that they had writing until a rather late date in their history.
If you think you need something else defined before placement, then let me know and I'll provide it ASAP. Otherwise, I'll see where I end up before posting more material on the society.
Oh, and for a color, a dark green, brown, or red would be nice.
jalapeno_dude
AKA Panda Judo Eel
I'm good with anything except magenta or pink. A deep purple would be ideal.
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