BaranxtuFeb 16 2007, 07:27 PM If I may put a little southern perspective into this... as far as IC history goes, what is today Baranxtu was first settled by migrants from the north around 3000-2500 BCE (by what would ultimately become the
Masenasi and
Phip cultures), who were later largely conquered by a second wave of immigration by what would become the
Marani tribes (around 1700 BCE).
The
interesting thing is that I've always planned for both Masenasi and Marani religions to include totem animals (basically wolf, tiger, eagle and *bear*) with a backstory that sentient demidivine specimens of these "animals" were those who led them to these parts down here...
(The now dominating colonists didn't arive before the end of the 17th century... how exactly is another mystical mystery
unglasses: ) [/quote]
Re the two waves of ancient migration into your nation: Maybe the first wave consisted of hunter-gatherers (& probably fishers, too, considering their apparent seafaring skills) who?d been displaced from their old homeland by the expansion of the first cultures to adopt agriculture there, and the second of people from one of those farming societies seeking new lands on which to plant crops? Or maybe it was the first wave that consisted [?early?] farmers looking for good lands to plant, because their old homeland was getting overcrowded, and the second that was a tribe of hunter-gatherers who?d finally been displaced (from less hospitable terrain) by those farmers who?d remained in the north but who might have had more of a martial tradition (due to their fights against dangerous prey) than the original, peaceful settlers? Or maybe they were two separate waves of hunter-gatherers, or two separate waves of farmers?
We now have native populations of
Tigers in
Malabra & the southern edges of
Bears Armed, as well as in your nation: Given the shapes of this region?s land-masses, it therefore looks to me as though that species? natural range should also include most [if not all] of the lands that stretch from your eastern borders to the eastern tip of the land-mass on which it?s located?
Is the
?Halaoran Giant Hare? actually a
genuine native of your lands, having evolved thereabouts, or did some group of people import it from elsewhere (either the ?IDU mainland? or outside of this region altogether) at some point in history? This detail matters because it could affect which other groups of ?small mammal? species could plausibly be present there?
Re the ?totemic? animal-spirits: The notes that I?ve made so far about my Ursines?
?shabearistic? beliefs in such matters say that they recognise the existence of MANY spirits, of various types, but the most relevant ones for this would be the group who are collectively called
?the Seven Holy Helpers? and who ? possibly acting as subordinates to
?the Great Bear? (which is the usual name that Ursines use for the Creator?) ? sometimes provide us with advice & assistance:
The
Bear is a spirit who ? as far as the
Ursines are concerned, anyway ? helps with using & controlling one?s natural instincts: a philosophy based on this concept, and bearing some resemblance to [RL] ?Taoism?, is currently quite popular in ?Bears Armed??
He is usually visualised as a
?Phoobharr', a member of the
?Pygmy Bear? species (
Ursus minor), both because this is the one type of Bear native to these lands that has yet to produce any sapient members and to differentiate him as much as possible from ?the Great Bear?.
The
Pig is a spirit of companionship and loyalty: Ursines
do herd & eat pigs of some kinds, it?s true, but they treat these with respect and also keep some other breeds that employed as humans employ dogs. He is often depicted as a piglet, rather than as an adult, especially in his role as spirit of the pigs that live with Bear.
The
Owl is a spirit of wisdom and knowledge, although his advice is sometimes rather cryptic in nature. He may be depicted as an Owl of any kind that?s regularly found in these lands?
The
Donkey is a spirit of endurance, persistence, and caution. He is generally depicted as a small, grey donkey, of the type whose members ? presumably feral descendants of livestock that was originally imported into this area by the
Luvasian civilisation ? have managed to survive so far by taking refuge from predators in the fens.
The
Rabbit is a spirit of fertility and of hospitality, who also receives some propitiatory rites as a personification of the animals that the Ursine hunt for food. He is normally depicted as a ?Meadow? (or ?Brown?) rabbit, rather than as a ?Grey? (or ?Woods?) one.. Some clans also regard him as a ?trickster?, but others assign this mythic role to the
Fox ? who
isn?t a member of this group ?instead?
The
Tiger is a spirit of courage, hunting & adventurousness. He is normally depicted as a fairly young male of the ?Yordian Tiger?.
And
the Strangers, who are apparently actually two in number but who are always contacted together rather than singly and are therefore referred to as just a single entry in this list, are spirits both of family ties and of tolerance for the different. They are usually depicted as a mother & young child from a strange species of large, hopping mammal that is otherwise unknown in these lands
(although far-travelled individuals may recognise them as kangaroos
?)
(There?s also a mysterious spirit called the
?Kitt-rrobin?, visualised sometimes as a small bird of the species whose name it shares but sometimes as a humanoid [young, & either male or androgynous in appearance] instead, whose role in the mythology is rather more ambiguous?
)
