The Trade Union of Isang Tribes
Nation Overview & Government
Known for their large navies, merchant fleets and mastery over the seas, the Isang Tribes of the Far East are a collection of united chiefdoms that fly under one flag with a council of at it's head. A powerful presence around the great oceans of Dysium, they frequently trade with the various nations on the mainland. Their wares of whalebone and oil, tropical fruits and silk-like materials give them fame amongst the elite. Also known for their supply of strong liquors and mind-numbing drugs, most find nothing wrong with trading such things to common people as they frequently use them as well. These illicit and potentially poisonous wares have been banned across many states but this rarely stops the common people and the elite from wanting to feel these "out-of-this-world" experiences these Isa people claim to possess.
A journeyman's culture, built from the ashes of an old island migration of their ancestors some centuries ago, many chiefdoms had grown stagnant in their use of drugs and are thus absorbed by the bigger and stronger tribes. The political world of Isang is still very barbaric. If one chieftain or his people showed weakness, they would quickly be claimed by another bigger tribe. Those who grew complacent and fat would be gobbled up and forgotten in history. This brutal process lead to only four prominent Chieftains left to control the Trade Union, constantly vying control over the main trade routes they possessed with other, much smaller tribes controlling one or two. These smaller tribes are much more likely to deal in the more illegal wares the Isa possess to keep up.
There are still deep, tribal boundaries separating the four main Chiefs that lead the Union. Some chiefs, such as the brothers Aquiano, are strictly against the use of recreational drugs, instead opting to trade other wares under their disposal. But the majority of them do not care for the wellbeing of the mainland people. As the great chieftain of Te Toa once boasted, feasting with his many wives and concubines
"Let these mainland wretches drink themselves silly and make them dependent on our fair drugs, I say! Let us feast to their empty pockets and limp tools!"Chieftains are mainly Dalawang, an offshoot of the Isa that possess light grey eyes. Usually explorers of great renown, these chiefs are loosely held together through the Union, acting as a "united" front for their island. However, the tribes still have independence and may have different objectives than the Union they are in. The Chieftains vote on laws and actions, drawing up trade routes and dividing these routes amongst themselves. There are four main tribes; Te Tika, Te Whakahonoretia, Te Pākiki and the Te Toa.
Ethnicity
The Trade Union is of one culture but many tribes. The Isa are a race of tan skinned tropical people, their ancestors navigating to their island from Quinso a millennia ago. Dark hair colours and brown eyes are the norm amongst Isang but most of the Chieftains of their people have been born with light grey eyes. They are called Dalawang. Those who have such eyes are seen to be pureblooded and have a destiny of greatness. Many of their greatest leaders possess such eyes so those born with them are respected but also feared. There are many cases of these grey-eyed infants being taken away and butchered for their threat against the current social hierarchy of a tribe. Strife can occur within a tribe if two fully grown Dalawang appear at once, usually ending in a civil war that destroys the chiefdom from the inside out.
Proud, mighty but curious, traditional Isa must follow the strict doctrines of their ancestors that dictate how they should act, how they should explore and how they should fight. These ancient rules are only loosely enforced by the Union and different tribes interpret these passages in a way to benefit them. They speak in their language of Hiligaynon, hard pronunciations of vowels and consonants with short sentences. The letters of "wh" form a harsh "f" sound, something that many foreigners mistake about their language is that they pronounce it as a "w" sound. They often speak in fast, short bursts as long winded speech is offensive towards them. To waste an Isang's time with compliments and extended language is insulting. Keep it short and sweet to avoid the blade of an exasperated Isa placed on your neck.
They view the other races of man with great interest but keeps them at arm's length. The Union are wary, ancient passages warning the Isa of colonialism and how such attitudes could affect indigenous people such as their own. Their own experiences with Albians has not helped this view. This is why you will rarely see any Isa amongst the mainlanders, sticking to their large boats, trimarans and their tropical island paradise. The island of Quiso is an exception however, many Isa move to their larger island brother to work and provide manpower to its growing industrial base, an industry that also provides for their people. In turn, Quisanos come to the southern islands for vacation, staying in places known for little to none raider activity. Adventurous and especially curious young Isa however roam the lands, leavings their island to experience the cultures of others. Many become independent merchants or are hired as navigators by other navies.
There is one more racial group found within the Union, a people with a sad past, shunned by the Union. The constant rape that happens within its lands has brought to light a problem amongst the tribes. Half-Albian and half-Isa, these outcasts are shunned, their blood mixed with the impure and savage northern-men. Most tribes have the pity to raise these children to their teenage years before being cast out, their entire existence a reminder of their failures. These misfits of society usually move to the more accepting island of Quiso, where they could work and live as any normal person without the pressures of past failures on their shoulders.
Geography
The Isang island is actually a part
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Culture/Society
Traders, merchants and journeymen, all Isa possess a mighty urge to explore the unknown. To feel the wind in your sails, gliding across the oceans with your brothers and sisters, that is what it is too be Isa. To be envelop yourself in the Goddess of Wind, to be one with your boat. This is the true nature of the Isang, a people who want nothing more but to satiate their ever-present curiosity. This inner feeling of wanderlust is quickly dulled however by the weight of their own history, filled with blood, rape, murder and pillaging.
Their ancestors came to their island approximately one thousand years ago, an offshoot race from the old Quiso Empire. They carved their laws and history on five immense stone pillars in the middle of the island. These pillars dictate how Isa society shall work. To be an ever present collection of tribes, connected only by their race and religion. To praise the Goddess of Wind who's name was lost to history, praising her glory through sailing the seas, to let her carry them to unknown and unclaimed lands. To be wary of outsiders, their deceit and treachery may be the downfall of the curious Isa. But a Dalawang Chieftain must also bring gifts to his neighbours, asking for gifts back in return, to appease both his people and the wretches who threaten them.
These pillars gave the founding principles every tribe was founded on. Most of the rules and regulations have long been forgotten, eroded by the elements over many centuries. One of the most debated rules given in the five pillars is the "give to thine neighbour and thine neighbour shalt give unto you." Many tribes, both large and small, argue that this justifies the immense drug empire that they have laid across the land, that their gifts gave happiness to both common people and elite. More traditional tribes argue that this reliance on drugs has tainted their culture, that these gifts were cursed. The argument still rages on today but most of the traditional tribes had fallen already, Te Toa being the only large tribe to speak against their fellow chief's reliance on drug trade.
The Goddess of the Wind is the only deity worshipped among Isa and this worship can come in many forms amongst the various tribal states. Despite this, all can agree that the basic foundations of the religion is that the Goddess was not the Creator for there was no Creator. The world was just there and has always been there, existing forever and ever. No, the Goddess of the Wind granted the Isang the great wind to carry them forth into new lands. She was the reason they ever set off from Quiso and bestowed upon them their greatest gift, their curiosity. It was their curiosity that made them build their boats. It was their curiosity that made them travel the world to experience different cultures. It was their curiosity to know all things that willed them to drive forward against the Albian raiders, refusing to be stamped away from history.
Alas, with their greatest gift, also comes their greatest weakness. Curiosity has slain many young Isa, going beyond what was needed to reach newer heights. It is this knowledge, this restraint gained from maturity that older Isang tried to bestow upon their younger ones. Still, these lessons are never learned and many young ones rush to join the merchants, the seamen, the warriors, travelling diplomats to explore the world, some deciding to travel on their lonesome. The Goddess of the Wind is thus honoured and respected, prayed to during these journeymen's travels as they are carried by Her Eternal Wind.
Women are given equal opportunities amongst the men but are also seen as sacred. To insult or desecrate a woman's purity or love for her mate is a great offence against said woman's whole clan. There has been few female chiefs due to the lack of Dalawang women. However, Dalawang women have been rumoured to be extremely beautiful, wild with a curiosity that could never be satisfied.
Multiple relationships between the various countries of the continent have also shaped the island and culture. The most prominent of these relationships has been with Albians and has deeply impacted the Isang Island people.
The Isang's relationship with Alba has been somewhat... tense. For many a century, various Albian Jarls have conducted raids against the tribal peoples, pillaging and raping their women, stamping upon religious ground. They took crops, food and slaves frequently. Constant pillaging and killing, the smaller separated tribes of the island having little defence against such raids. Eventually, the tribes united to fight this force, stealing northern-men's muskets, forging
mere and
taiaha from hardened whalebone, constructing great fortresses of
pa. A deep hatred for all Albians linked these tribes together and are one of the only reasons this Union doesn't fall apart. However, some tribes have allied with friendlier Albian Jarls to work together against rival chieftains, hiring raiders to conduct rape and pillage upon their lands.
A famous example of this was the alliance between Salinas, the chieftain of the great Te Hara tribe and one of the various Jarls. Pillaging Te Whakahonoretia lands when their chieftain was away, setting fire to their great
pa and taking the beautiful daughter of the chief. To take a woman or desecrate the holy body of a woman is an affront to the great Goddess of the Wind, a deep insult to the men of the tribe. Unfortunately for Salinas, many survivors of the raid saw his warriors wreaking havoc with the Albians. Summoning a great war party, the Te Whakahonoretia chieftain destroyed Te Hara lands, a once mighty and proud tribe destroyed by an extremely angry father. Unfortunately, his daughter was already whisked away by the mysterious Jarl by the time his party got to the boats. Sinking to his knees, he wept.
The children of Albian raider men and desecrated Isang women were sent away once they reach the age of 13, left to fend for themselves. These outcasts of the Isa are typically very beautiful, fair-skinned with a large range of hair colours and light coloured brown eyes. A product of a most unholy union, if things were different, these half-breeds may have been praised for their beauty, not sent away because of what they represented. Occasionally, however, these half-cast children are sent to Wetlanders, a close ally of the Isa, to be raised and taken care of. This practice has seen a rise in popularity amongst Isa, almost as a friendly insult to the muddies.
"Let the awkward Wetlanders handle these half-casts. They might stumble at the sight of a baby with more beauty than their own."Economy/Industry
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