Ajima Steppe

People

People from the Ajima Steppe are generally referred to as “Ajima” or “Wildmen” by those not local to the region. Those native to the Steppe refer to one another either by tribal names, or by referring to the general place in which a group of people live.

The Wo’ogto-ai

The Wo’ogto-ai are the largest tribe in the Restward region of the Steppe. They are a mixed hunter/gatherer society who have settled in mud houses, but still send hunting and raiding parties out on journeys that can last anywhere from several days to a full moon-cycle.

Egalitarian

All Wo’ogto-ai are expected to learn how to hunt and fight, though most women set aside their spears as they become of marital age, preferring the quieter life of gathering and preparing food, and raising children. The tribe values the contributions of both men and women equally, regardless of how they choose to spend their lives. All who contribute to the tribe’s success to the best of their ability are considered equally valuable.

The Gan

The Wo’ogto-ai are overseen by a council of elders called the Gan, who are revered for their knowledge and wisdom. The eldest and most wise of the Gan is the Gan Mok, who is the spiritual leader of the tribe. The Gan are used to offer advice and share knowledge, and to help with problem-solving and dispute resolution. They also lead spiritual ceremonies and conduct dream walks, by which the future may be glimpsed, or fortune may be turned.

Gan knowledge of sacred herbs, rituals, and dances are shared only among those considered worthy by those already on the council. Elders who have not proven themselves worthy, or who have demonstrated a lack of wisdom or an unwillingness to contribute to the well-being of the tribe, are “given to the grass” – meaning they are exiled onto the Steppe and forgotten. This is rare, but is one of the ways the tribe ensures all members participate to the tribe’s success as best they are able, for as long as they are able.

Trophy Braids

Wo’ogto-ai teens “earn their braid” by participating their first kill on a hunt. Trophies are taken from prestigious hunts and raids, and are cut down and decorated to hang in a Trophy Braid, which tells the story of a Wo’ogto-ai’s life.

When Wo’ogto-ai women marry (or when they have their first child, whichever comes first), their braid is split in a Plucking ceremony. Other women important to the one being celebrated come together to split the woman’s hair into two parts – one of which is immediately re-braided and tied with her own trophies. The other half of her hair is left loose, and the tribe gathers together to feast, dance, and sing around the communal fire. Each member of the tribe plucks a single hair from the newly-formed part, helping instill it permanently in her scalp. These hairs will be woven and wrapped into beads and trinkets, which are hung in the woman’s home to bring Good Luck. Once the Plucking ceremony is complete, the woman’s new husband (or, in the case of unwed childbirth, the Gan Mok) braid’s the remainder of the woman’s hair. This second braid will be used to hang trophies of her family – gifts given to her husband to honour her, the first tooth lost by each of her children, and trinkets given to her by her sons when they are wed.

Tribes of Ajima

Blood Soil tribe

The people of Blood Soil are known as the fiercest warriors in Ajima. They are called “Blood Soil” because of the red dirt of their homeland, which lies at the Shatterward tip of the Steppe. Other tribes claim the land is stained by the blood of their warriors’ victims, though its more likely the colour is due to excessive minerals in the soil, which are red when exposed to sunlight. Blood Soil is the most arid place on the Steppe, and the ground is often so dry that deep cracks form within it.

Terrifying Foes, Honourable Warriors

Blood Soil warriors file their teeth into sharp points, both to display their bravery and willingness to withstand pain, and to strike terror into the hearts of their enemies. The Blood Soil people do not trade with other tribes, nor do they inter-marry. Instead, they raid villages and steal captives. Both women and men taken in this way may be claimed as part of a Blood Soil warrior’s family, to replace a relative lost to disease or war. Those who are not are sacrificed on bloody altars. Blood Soil warriors participate in ritualistic scarring, proudly displaying marks that commemorate the sacrifices they have taken and made to their brutal, sadistic god.

Brave warriors from other tribes may alleviate raids from the Blood Soil tribe by voluntarily traveling into the desolate region and engaging in a raid of their own. Such actions can buy a year or more without raids, if they are successful, though most Ajima tribes are not large enough to put together such raiding parties.

Faith

The god worshipped by the Blood Soil tribe is a bastardization of the religion practiced in Phairoux’s Exile. It is said in the days following the Shattering, the Red Priests sailed on great ships, spreading Rheyir’s worship across many lands. When they reached the Blood Soil, the holy men of the wicked tribe were much interested in the rituals of the strange, tall men in flowing red robes. They learned the sadistic arts employed by the Rheyir’s faithful, after which the Priests, themselves, were sacrificed.

Gender Roles

The Blood Soil tribe is strictly patriarchal. Women are seen as commodities, to be used and traded as their owners see fit. Women past child-bearing age are often sacrificed, though it is rumoured they are sometimes eaten in Blooding ceremonies in which a young warrior proves the hardness of his heart by killing, then consuming, his own mother. A woman who runs from a Blood Soil man will have her feet “shorn” - the soles removed, so that she can no longer stand. Any woman who survives this punishment is seen as extremely valuable, as she will save the next man the trouble of shearing her himself.

The Wa’ahli

The Wah’ali were a tribe that once lived on the Sunset edge of the Steppe, which was known to trade and intermarry with both the Steppe peoples, and the people of the Danjerie. They formed an alliance with the war-like Wo’ogto-ai two generations ago, but were wiped out shortly thereafter due to a disease that swept through their village. Neighbouring tribes with family ties to the Wa’ahli ventured into the village to bury the dead, but they, too, became afflicted with the disease, and so the bodies were simply left to the grasses.

Their story is told to young Ajima children, to teach them the danger of allowing Strangers into the village. It is considered Bad Luck to enter the ruins of the Wa’ahli village.