Idan

About
The Idan, or Idan-Ridu (archaic: 'dän-rī-du), are a cultural, ethnic and linguistic group which currently reside in mass on the continent of Alteniquia. Their name literally means “People of the Stars”. The largest Idani settlement is Ersetu, within the nation of Yimmu-Audal, which it’s people are proud citizens of. The Idan were once largely nomadic and hail from a land far to the Northwest of Rathnir. This land, which very little is known about, the Idan left behind and travelled from for many years until they finally settled in the place they now call home.

Clans of the Idan-ridu
The Idan culture is separated into clans, each clan varies culturally, though they all share common aspects.

Scandus-mian

 * 1) Scandus-Mian (archaic: s’gan-dä-s’-mīn) was founded by a brotha named Talla Qisim-Baba (archaic: tül’ÿa č’sÿm-ba’ba), who lived in the ancient mystic land of Tarun ~80,000 years ago. He would neglect his chores and go by an old Joshua tree to smoke and commune with the divine spirits. He would grow to become one of the greatest philosophers in the Idani canon, while simultaneously becoming an unreliable slacker and dying when he was kicked by his horse.

Monshil-nak
The Monshil-nak clan is led by Asselli-nak ( dude4440 ) and the Rimuun Jirib-el, who passed away not long ago and who's duties will be inherited by his son Yazikk (Felix) Caicura-McSpiegal when he comes of age. the Monshil-Nak follow tenants which lead them to thinking in a survivalist and adaptable manner, Monshilli people generally try to adapt the best they can to any environment be that a desert or a metropolis. here are the 6 traditional "tenants" which covered (very broadly) nearly all aspects of pre-modern Monshil life, they are now not followed as strictly but still form a basic mentality within the Monshil-nak, they are known as the AŚ-GARZA.

Me-Kilib-Ba: this is the Core of the 6 Duties of our people. It translates roughly to “all function to survive”, it is the belief that for you to survive (and live happily) you have to work with your clan-mates to achieve a joined goal. This belief evolved as the Monshil-Nak came from the deserts, a hardy terrain to survive in, with many dangers and little food and water. It was important for everyone to function together to, find food & water, build shelter, move the herds (of sheep), fight predators, find camping locations and avoid natural hazards. Following This belief, the Monshil-Nak developed strong bonds with their clanmates. After the Formation of the Idan-Ridu (like most of these core beliefs) became less hardcore and without the danger of imminent death the Monshil-Nak's members had time to develop new skills, suited to their new, modern, way of life, though they still happily functioned with other members of the clan.

Kig-Du: this describes how Monshili (plural form of Monshil Nak) used to build their houses. It translates to (again roughly) “our Construction” it is the duty of building good shelter and, though in ancient times kept our ancestors alive, it now functions as a description of how Monshil (adjective) buildings look (and how you as an outsider can tell them apart).

Distinct Features to look out for:

Blue and Lapis Lazuli- the semi-precious stone Lapis Lazuli is considered a precious and spiritually important stone in Monshilli culture, this is because of its blue colour, reminding the ancient Monshil-Nak of water which was very important for living. It was seen as a good luck charm and a guide (for example finding lapis lazuli in a valley could indicate water being nearby). This belief comes from the ancient myth of Numun a Monshil-nak elder who during a great drought was set out on a quest to bring water to his village from the nearby mountain, after wandering for days and almost losing all hope Numun was camping in a gorge, when suddenly a stone fell from above, which upon contact with the rocky ground, broke in half and reviled the beautiful lapis lazuli hidden inside, he saw this as a sign and marched on, he quickly found a freshwater spring to which he led his fellow clanmates, saving the village. Blue hence can be found in much of Monshilli culture; there are clothes, tents, tombs and other buildings as it brings good luck.

Sandstone structures with flat protruding roofs- this has much more practical reasons for existing rather than spiritual. Even though many idani buildings are made out of sandstone the Monshil-Nak add their little flavour to it by adding protruding roofs. Though it was rare for the ancient Monshil-Nak to build solid structures, when they did it was mostly out of the sandstone (or whatever material was plentifully at the time), because of the fact they lived in the scorching desert, they also built overreaching roofs to provide shelter outside the building and help avoid sunburn, which was an unwelcome affliction in the desert.

Cave Houses- again this is an Architectural trend that has evolved, more out of practicality than any spiritual reason. When travelling the vast deserts, caves were always a welcome sight as they provided good, cool shelter in the desert. Many temporary settlements were a mixture of tents and cave-houses. So, if you see something built into a mountain, hill or otherwise underground there is a chance it is a Monshil-Nak structure.

Gud-Ibir: This is the Duty of warrior-dom the duty that if the clan is threatened by external forces (for example bandits or beasts) the clan must form a warrior group (who are selected by completing a specific set of tasks) to combat the threat. This is something only the elder can call to force. When the Gud-Ibir is called volunteers step up to join the Warrior group (called the Gilim). They then have to complete a set of 3 tasks listed below

1) Du- this is the show of physical skill, it [for example] involves the volunteer to run 10 km without stopping, lift a boulder (or another heavy object) and walking over hot coals and other tasks, these vary from situation to situation and ultimately depends on what the elder tasks them with.

2) Ad-Amin: this is a trial by combat, in which the contestants prove their ability to do combat against each other. normally with each volunteer fighting all the others at least once (in one-on-one duels with preferred weapons) from this, the top few volunteers are chosen (normally between 3 and 7, though this depends on the threat with sometimes more or less being chosen)

3) Su-Lil: this translates to either “spirit test” or “great haunting” and it tests the volunteer's mental strength. It often involves the volunteer consuming a poisonous and hallucinogenic substance (often made by the elder or other members of the clan) or being bitten by certain types of snakes. After this, the volunteer is left in a cave (which is sealed for the duration) for 2 days without food or water and only a sharpened dagger. They are not allowed to leave. The dagger is meant to be used for the volunteer to commit suicide to encase they cannot overcome the mental toils. After the 2 days, the volunteer is taken out and is finally made a warrior ( Namesade in the old tongue).

Many see these as extreme ways to select warriors for a single threat but the ancient Monshil-Nak had this so that they only needed 3 to 7 warriors to deal with any threat, deeming that any more would threaten the longevity of the clan and most of the time the members who volunteered for this were preparing for it their whole lives or have done it before and generally few if any died during the tasks. And this process has led to the warriors dealing with all threats that challenged the Monshil-nak and were a vital reason why the Monshil-Nak still exist.

Es-Ibir: this is the duty of solving internal conflicts, whether it is as small as a dispute between two people over the ownership of a sheep to lack of faith in the elder, this duty is meant to ensure that these conflicts are dealt with swiftly without squabble and escalation. It calls for the parties involved to remain calm and understand each other's points of view and come to a sensible conclusion. A famous story of this duty being invoked (some duties like Kig-du and Me-Kilib-Ba, are not invoked and instead always followed, whilst other duties like Gud-Ibir and Es-Ibir are invoked when a situation calls for their use.) was of an elder in the ancient times ( whose name was forgotten to the ages but is often referred to along the lines of “ the bad one” or simply “ the stupid one”) would lead the clan on ludicrous expeditions across the desert in search of wild prophetic ideas, one none of which manifested, finally when he declared that they will look for a portal into the afterlife, the clan got so fed up that they invoked this duty and decided to try and remove him from his eldership ( leadership of the clan). After arguing for 2 days and 2 nights they finally persuaded him to leave his eldership and pursue his fantasies without risking the rest of the clan.

Biluda: this is the Monshil-Naks take on Ridumeh. Though many aspects are the same, the focus of Monshilli worship drifts towards, survival and adaptability as well as the following of moon.

The 3 Core Beliefs

Moon

All Monshilli should worship the moon and thank her for the gift of healthy flocks and fresh pastures. Though more importantly, it is to follow her ways of foresight and kindness. Just as the moon could predict when the time to change pastures came, the Monshil-Nak should know when to change camp, find fresh pastures and create new wells to get water (as the old ones start running dry, giving some time so that water is always available, which was important in a desert).

The warrior spirit, Ki-mah

this, though called the warrior spirit, encompasses many other aspects of monshilli life. Firstly (as the name suggests) what is expected of a warrior tribesman in the eyes of the ancients. Biluda teaches that the traits that the warriors of old had was: both physical and mental endurance (as explained in the section on Gud-Ibir), they believe that the warriors of old could lift mountains and survive any affliction of the mind and Monshilli warriors should also try to achieve this. Ki-mah also says that the ancient warriors were not only immensely powerful but also near transcendent in their knowledge of the land, flora and fauna. So, a Monshilli warrior should also hold immense knowledge of the terrain and creatures they will be facing, as well as a knowledge of herbalism. Furthermore, a Monshilli warrior should be able to wield the weapons of old, mainly axes and bows (though elders and other important persons should also know how to use a scimitar, which is generally considered as a weapon of leaders). And though these beliefs mainly are for warriors (so far) ordinary clansmen should also be sure to have a basic understanding of these followings. On top of this, a Warrior should be orderly, respectful and honourable. They should never take out anger on the innocent (or in other way harm innocent people) or destroy either nature or artificial constructs (such as trees and houses) without proper reason. Many more small followings can be found in ancient stories and myths but generally, they fall under being honourable and respectful, on the question of mercy there are many contradicting texts but the most followed belief is that innocents should not be killed whilst enemy warriors who are defeated may be killed and judgment should be left to the gods, this means that the Monshil-Nak used to execute any captured warriors ( though there are a few instances of prisoners being returned in a few contradicting texts)

Gabal

This is a contrasting belief on the use of certain substances. For example; Biluda states that harmful substances such as pufferfish, snake venom and strong alcohols are not used to go up to the heavens but instead a way of inviting the ancestors to test your mental strength. They believe that when such a substance is consumed, they call the ancients to come and test their mental strength whilst also harming and/or numbing their physical self so that only the mind remains, in this trance, they experience much pain (both physical and mental) and must resist ceding to the attacks from the ancients. Whilst other substances which do not harm the body or soul are used to connect with the ancients, making both strong and weak substances important in Biluda (though regular use of these substances is never mentioned and is more used for special occasions or if the elders need guidance).