-XXIV-
"The Valleys of Opportunity"
South of the lands of the Namals lay a variety of people living in the fertile river valleys of the region, the great plain of the Irame between the mountains and the lesser plains of the Kanawachi and Yanshuuji. Some referred to them as little but simple peasants and mere imitators of the high civilisation of the Imaru and Furuge for the Namals inspired their civilisation greatly, people of an "intermediate zone" between the Hillmen who surrounded them and the civilised peoples, yet each of these cultures held their own complexity and rich heritage. The lands they lived on permitted great harvests of crops and the hills around them held great resources of timber, pastures, and especially metals. The dynamic between the Hillmen of the highlands and the civilised villagers of the lowlands dominated the social and political outlook of this area, a dynamic becoming ever more important as the great trade route commonly called the Black Road that stretched from the Furuge to the Central Valley of South Fusania, became increasingly traveled. Great wealth flowed through here, and in this land of valleys amidst the forested hillside, great opportunity--and threats--always lurked around the corner.
Amims
The Irame River and its tributaries carves out a wide plain amidst the rugged hills and mountains of coastal Fusania. The greatest tributary of the Imaru west of the Grey Mountains, the vast floods at the end of the last ice age which formed the modern Imaru River and drained the glacial lakes of the Imaru Plateau overflowed into the Irame Basin and deposited vast amounts of lakebed sediments and volcanic soil from the Plateau alongside a great number of boulders creating some of the richest soils in the area. Replenished by regular flooding, the Irame Valley produced rich growths of plants which attracted its earliest inhabitants. Over time, they adapted to the rhythm of the environment and used controlled burns to produce a rich oak savanna akin to those found in South Fusania. The wealth this environment produced made it the most densely populated area in all Fusania with perhaps up to 20,000 people, the majority of whom were called the Amims.
Archaeology suggests the Amims lived a lifestyle different from their neighbours, being less sedentary and hierarchal and in many ways more comparable to South Fusanian groups. They were slower to adopt domesticated animals (especially reindeer) and switch to horticulture and later agriculture than the Namals to their north, which as population pressure and raids from the coast and interior grew resulted in Namal migrations southwards into Amim lands from the 5th century to the 10th century. As a result, nearly everything north of the Anmara Mountains and the mouth of the Hanjuku River [1] became territory of the Namals. South of this area to about the 45th parallel north lay an area of mixed villages and communities and south of that lay almost exclusively Amims.
This Namal migration into the Irame Valley changed Amim culture immensely. The Amims adopted many of the ways and lifestyle of the Namals. Intensive intermarriage between the two groups and even more intensive slave-raiding on both sides resulted in great cultural exchange. Amim nobility became replaced by Namal nobility through conflict who gradually assimilated into their new communities and those remaining Amim nobles intensely emulated their Namal influencers. Their culture became much more similar to a typical culture of North Fusania, with farming, earthworks, hierarchial societies, strong leaders, potlatching, and numerous other shared traditions. Village sizes increased and true towns and cities appeared. The Amim language itself became changed, incorporating a vast deal of Namal loanwords, calques (in particular those related to agriculture, pastoralism, warfare, hierarchy, class and government), and grammar patterns. Historian Gaiyuchul of Katlamat writes of the early Amim:
"In deepest antiquity the Amim must have been barbarians for their own legends claim they drank the blood of both animals and men after having declined from a civilised and noble people. For forgetting the laws of nature, their sun god Ayutlmeyi strengthened the spirit of the Namals so they might stand against them, take their land, and reduce them to a state of slavery as punishment for the crimes of their people but in his mercy refused to destroy them as had been in the four ages before the current age of the world. Yet after the Namals soaked the land with so much Amim blood and drove the Amim from their homes, they begged their sun god for the power to fight back and promised to follow the laws of nature. Ayutlmeyi replied to the people through a great and powerful shaman:
'Power I will give, yet understanding of this power I cannot grant. You may learn from the Namals, yet take heed of what you learn. For if you follow too closely the ways of the Namals then the entire earth will turn to black.' [2] The people did not understand his words at the time and followed the ways of the Namals. To this very day the Amim still debate the meaning of Ayutlmeyi's warning. Although they live so much like the Namals they hold a certain fear that one day they will find out just exactly what the prophecy means. Often these fears arise quickly and dissipate just as fast when whirlwinds, ash falls, and great tremors ravage the land."
Even with this loss of territory, the Amim remained the most numerous ethnic group in all of Fusania north of the Central Valley of South Fusania--perhaps 10% or more of the total population at any given time. With the exception of a few groups of Amim on the northwestern fringe of the Irame Valley centered around the lakeside city of Chachif [3], the Amim spoke dialects of a single language that formed a dialect continuum stretching across the valley making this language among the most spoken in all Fusania. The rich soils of their land, good fishing waters, bountiful habitat for grazing animals, and ample rainfall ensured that supporting this large population could be done seemingly effortlessly.
This amount of people in one area also meant the Amim became frequent targets for neighbouring raiders. The Amorera in the Grey Mountains, the Dena in the coastal mountains, the Atkhs on the seacoast, the Tanne in the mountains to the south, and above all, the Namals to their north all frequently raided the Amim for wealth and especially slaves. Perhaps no North Fusanian people suffered as greatly from slave raiding as the Amims. Nearly every society in North Fusania owned a sizable quantity of Amim slaves. The Amim language contributed greatly to numerous creoles and pidgins (including Trade Wakashan and the Imaru Trade Language) and also to typical speech.
Amim society held a fatalistic view toward slave raids as a fact of life, the fate of those who broke society's law or those with weak spirits. They secluded and protected their women, yet also encouraged women to learn skill at knives and with poisons so they might strike back against their enemies. They built tall watchtowers to search for enemy war parties and developed courier systems to readily raise a large force of warriors to counter them. While the Amim did not build as many or as complex defensive networks as the Whulchomic peoples did, the Amim still constructed many defensive palisades, moats, and secret paths across marshy fields to protect themselves from enemies.
Never a united people, many groups of Amims took advantage of this frequent conflict to strengthen their own position. They made alliances with Namal towns and even invited the losers of conflicts between Namal towns to live with them. These Namals intermarried and assimilated into Amim society and with them brought new contacts for trade and relations which gave the Amims powerful allies which helped stem the tide of Namal settlement in their lands. Further, the rise of Katlaqmap--called Waqanashis by the Amim--at the head of the Irame River and its wars against Namal cities to the south sent many more dispossessed nobles and others into the Irame Valley. While some joined with other Namal towns, many went to the Amim and over the years gave them a burning hatred of the Namals of Katlaqmap and those who might ally with them.
Amim states coalesced around charismatic nobles be they Amims, Namals, or other groups, with the lesser rulers titled ashambak and the greater rulers titled atlanakh. A leader gained a following by having both strong guardian spirit power and wealth in reindeer, shells, and other goods. They became a hereditary class of rulers who sat at the head of councils of nobles and powerful shamans.
The Amims held a strong sun cult, worshipping their solar deity Ayutlmeyi. Ayutlmeyi's value to humans came from his rays which held the power of every guardian spirit--for this reason, the spirit power itself was known as ayutlmeyi. By fostering these spirits and observing correct rituals, Ayutlmeyi might continue to bestow his spiritual gifts upon the world. The strongest shamans were those blessed by Ayutlmeyi himself in the form of the sun--these shamans dominated spiritual affairs and played a powerful role in secular society as well. As typical in Fusania, worship of Ayutlmeyi occurred at shrines on sacred mountains, hills, or groves.
Ayutlmeyi's worship often occurred alongside fire worship, as fire was considered a sacred force granted by the sun. Travelers often noted smoke from distant flames on the hills and mountains in the Irame Valley from the perpetually-burning ceremonial flames. Amims danced themselves into a frenzy around sacred flames, often burning themselves with torches--an act which gave them no pain as they believed their guardian spirit power protected them from the physical harm. The greatest ritual was the ritual burning of the land, held once every year or so. Here, the Amim set fire to the countryside under supervision of a shaman to clear out brush. The fires smoked out all sorts of animals which the people hunted down while clearing and fertilising the land for better farming and prevention of wildfires. [4]
Other peoples feared the Amims for their powerful shamans. An Amim shaman, if strong enough, might strip a person of their guardian spirit power which left them weak and vulnerable, an ability unknown among many other people of the Imaru. Amim shamans sat on noble councils and the commoners believed them to be a check on the nobility--if a nobleman was corrupt and self-interested, a shaman might remove them through spiritual assassination. While shamans played a role in many daily activities, especially agriculture and construction of improvements like earthworks, throughout Fusania, the Amims brought it to new levels as they demanded their shamans be present during planting and harvesting, construction of all earthworks, and shamans even spending days of meditation and prayer to call beneficial spirits to nourish the plants, bring rain and sun, and other such features.
The Amims likewise were feared for their spiritually powerful weapons. While the Amims in the 12th century and earlier battled with clubs and obsidian-tipped spears and arrows with some copper/arsenical bronze knives, spears, and axes for their elite, the Amim shamanry knew of a great many poisons spiritual and physical. Amims often brought dogs, rabbits, or other small animals with them as they fought and stabbed them in front of the enemy to prove the power of their weapons, both sides watching the animal writhe in agony as it died. Few non-Amims dared to plunder their weapons, typically burning or burying them. Enough copper and bronze items were buried in this fashion that at one time archaeologists assumed the Amim of the 9th-12th centuries were at the forefront of Fusanian metallurgy and used metal weapons far more than other Fusanians.
Like South Fusanians and a few other Fusanian people, the Amim believed they lived in the Fifth Age of the world with four worlds before them [5]. In the First Age, the people and world were so perfect the gods became jealous and the people were transfigured into stars. The gods made the world harsh in the Second Age, but the disease, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, floods, and storms were so harsh life was miserable, and the gods in their pity transfigured the people into stones, with their nobles becoming the great boulders littering the valley. In the Third Age, the gods tried to find a balance, but the people grew wicked and the gods turned their back as they allowed the world to flood. A great shaman named Amhulukw transfigured himself and the people into the creatures of the sea who ruled this flooded world, swearing revenge on the land and the other gods. Ayutlmeyi stole the sea to weaken him and his followers but recreated the world anyway with barely any water so to keep the people under control.
In the Fourth Age, Raven taught the people to hunt and gather plants, but a brilliant youth, a prodigy of Raven demanded the return of the sea to strengthen the people. Raven taught him all he knew, saying the world he knew would end if he returned the waters to mankind. The youth accepted and traveled to the moon and sun on Raven's back in search of water. The youth used trickery gained from Raven to steal the water from Ayutlmeyi, releasing all the fish, sea animals, and sea spirits into the world including Amhulukw and his minions the atunqai, but Ayutlmeyi caught him after the deed was done. He transfigured the youth into the spirit of the Irame River itself and demanded he watch as the world flooded again and everything he knew perish, yet took pity and recreated the world, the world of the Fifth Age as the Amim knew it.
Amhulukw was a powerful god to the Amim, controlling the rivers and lakes of the Irame Basin and their supply of food and granting spirit powers to certain powerful shamans. If people did not appease his atunqai minions and the spirits of fish and water animals they ruled, Amhulukw withheld their blessings and the people starved. If enraged, Amhulukw sent floods to punish the people. He was jealous of people who gained sustinence outside of his rivers and sent curses to them and even cursed mountains, lakes, and rivers. Only a shaman might grant an Amim power to leave the Irame Basin, and very few, if any, shamans might protect against the curses set upon certain mountain passes, bodies of water, and other areas between the coast or Plateau and the Irame Valley. The Kobahan Mountains on the west-central edge of the Irame Valley held many places like this, although only a few areas held curses truly insurmountable to shamans. In general, the Amim refused to leave the Irame Basin in older times, and Amim slaves brought outside there often developed illnesses which Namal and other shamans typically needed to treat. [6]
All of this led to a traditional defensive mentality on the part of the Amims, a mindset which would not be broken for centuries. To an Amim commoner, their world was their village and the immediate land around it, led by an ashambak, or headman. Neighbouring villages they knew for their kin lay there, as they usually married into these villages. A larger town held the local atlanakh, the prince of their people, the title a borrowing from Namal. More distant towns held other atlanakhs, who may be hostile or friendly--the average Amim rarely ventured into these lands and often not without an entourage of warriors. Beyond the Irame Valley lay lands of dangerous peoples and spirits who with shamanic blessing and powerful guardian spirits might be coaxed into giving up great trade goods. Yet even the Amim merchants who visited these lands tended to be stingy--they needed to save resources to strengthen their home village or town.
The Amim lived on or near the important Black Road, one of two major pathways to Pasnomsono in South Fusania and its wealth in precious metals, finished goods, spices, slaves, and other products. While few traversed the road in its entirety in this period, the trading network along this road transported great wealth along it which enriched its natives. The Amim forced outsiders to pay tolls in their land, tolls which might be waved for relatives or other friends of the Amim. This gave a great incentive for Namals, Dena, and Atkhs to marry into Amim clans bringing with them wealth and potential allies--it also contributed to the increasing Namalisation of Amim society. Foreign merchants carried most of the trade in this area, as even Amim merchants rarely left their immediate area.
Unlike many of their neighbours, the Amims buried their dead and held no tradition of canoe or box burials. They raised burial mounds, some quite large, over the tombs of leaders, their families, and their possessions akin to those found in Eastern North America. On top of these mounds they erected carved effigies of wood and stone of symbolic meaning. Totem poles occasionally marked the burial mounds of particularly wealthy individuals, these posts telling of their life. Specially tended trees grew around these mounds. The largest of these mound sites occurred near Chapunmefu one of the most prominent early Amim city-states, with twenty mounds outside the city hosting burials of its leaders. The very name of the city had been changed in early times to its current name meaning "where hills are made". [7] These mounds were typically worked on over decades or even centuries and arranged geometrically. In the center of these mounds lay Great Chapunmefu Mound stands as the largest mound west of the Plains. Constructed from 950 to 1140, the mound stood at about 24 meters and was about 150 meters on either side at the base and entombed many kin of the Atlanakh of Chapunmefu before it partially collapsed in a major earthquake in 1700. Nearly every Amim village held at least one burial mound, and any town of note held multiple.
These mounds often held vast quantities of expensive goods and occasional slave sacrifices (often by burying the slave alive). Like the box and canoe graves of other Fusanian societies, the Amim believed this kept the deceased away from the community (until their reincarnation) by giving them objects they knew in life so they might not disturb the living or worse, persuade them to follow them to the afterlife. Amim mounds were occasionally plundered by outside raiders so villages and other communities often placed watchtowers near these mounds to search for invaders. The Amims themselves treated the mounds with great respect and never visited them except under the supervision of shamans.
A number of polities sprang up along the Irame and its tributaries, operating as leagues of mutual self-defense and organisation. The most important centers, based on their economic, military, or spiritual might, ended up dominating the others as urbanisation increased. Amims traditionally held that in this era there existed twenty city states, but in all likelihood the number of independent polities was much higher. Several lists dating from the 15th century exist, but Gaiyuchul of Katlamat and many historians since questioned the veracity of these lists. By the end of the 11th century, nearly ever major tributary of the Irame fell under the sway of a single city-state.
Due to the kin networks between Amim villages, atlanakhs needed to tread lightly while distributing and collecting tribute, lest they infringe on the privileges claimed by other atlanakhs. War often ensued over offenses like these which claimed the lives and limbs of many promising fighters. These wars were strictly ceremonial, unlike the wars against the Namals and other raiders. Groups of warriors agreed to meet at neutral ground, supervised by priests and shamans, and at this place they fought until one side retreated or was annihilated to the man. After the battle, rulers rarely chose to continue the war, although further hostilities might result in years after.
The most powerful Amim city-state from the 9th to 12th century was without a doubt Chapunmefu. Located on the Ayamara River and reasonably sheltered from the worst raids by the Namals, Chapunmefu took in fleeing nobles and peasants alike who supplied the city with ample warriors and workers for the field. Hills and mountains nearby gave ample ground for reindeer pastures and areas for gathering useful plants, and Chapunmefu fought hard against nearby towns to ensure it got the better of the rights to that land. The Coast Mountains Dena gave Chapunmefu little trouble as Chapunmefu thoroughly crushed them in several campaigns in the 11th century. With a population of about 2,500 in the city alone, it was the largest city in the Irame Valley alongside its rival, Chantatawa far to the south. Although rarely itself attacked by the Namals, Chapunmefu often sent warriors to aid nearby cities against this threat. Chapunmefu surrounded itself with high palisades of earth and wood and in the early 12th century even constructed the first stone wall in the Irame Valley. Near the city itself lay the Great Chapunmefu Mound, the largest mound west of the American Divides, where the atlanakhs of the city lay buried alongside vast amounts of wealth.
Chantatawa took prominence early on as one of the most powerful city-states alongside Chapunmefu, after a legendary war around 1020 where its ruler sacked the nearest rival Chemank'lakwa with the help of the Coast Mountains Dena and destroyed it as a competitor [8]. With their location on the Irame River, their substantial amount of good land, and access to trade routes to the coast, Chantatawa greatly prospered and was able to bully weaker city-states using both economic and military muscle. Perhaps the second largest city in the valley after Chapunmefu, the rulers of Chantatawa entombed themselves and kin inside impressive mortuary complexes. While the Great Chantatawa Mound stood only about half the size of its competitor at Chapunmefu, the number of mounds at Chantatawa was somewhat higher. In general the Amims under influence from Chantatawa along the Anbineifu, Rakkamayu and Lower Anbaru Rivers [9] constructed more mounds than Amims elsewhere, perhaps because of the more peaceful situation in their region of the valley.
The city-state of Milpu at the southern end of the valley held particular note thanks to the Amim taboo against leaving the Irame Valley. They were closely allied to the Ach'gampdu city-state of Yankalat immediately across the mountain pass to the south and also allied with the Dena of the area [10]. Here, Dena traders bought goods from Amim merchants who refused to go much further past Milpu and carried it to Yankalat and further south on the Black Road. The friendly relations with the Dena also allowed Milpu to both exploit the mountains for their great quantities of precious obsidian and exploit the passes over the Grey Mountains and as a result it was among the most used crossings of the Grey Mountains south of the Imaru, bringing wealth from the east into the city and from there over the mountains and down the Inakkai River to Hitsihis, a major Atkh city on the coast which rarely raided Milpu but instead its enemies out of desire to keep trading relations good. [11]
Other city-states held great power militarily rather than economically. Chateshtan in the north of the Irame Valley faced constant attacks from the Namals yet the skill of its rulers in battle as well as their spiritual prowess drew prestige to the city and thus a constant supply of tribute. Many refugees from K'ashaksh settled in the surrounding area after its sack in 1049, assimilating to local culture and bringing a powerful warrior culture along with a burning hatred for Katlaqmap. At the Siege of Chimapuichuk in 1083, the Atlanakh of Chateshtan led his forces to victory against considerable odds, expelling the Namals from the city and restoring its exiled ruler to power, a decisive battle which marked the decline of Namal power in the valley. With Chimapuichuk effectively a vassal of Chateshtan, Chateshtan formed a powerful bulwark against Namal expansion south. [12]
Chamikiti [13] faced similar challenges yet overcame them through both success in battle and the ability to pick good regional allies. Often allied with Katlaqmap or even with Tlawiwala, Chamikiti opportunistically sought to dominate the villages in the hills of the Upper Hanjuku. They protected the villages from Namal and Dena raids in exchange for tribute from the ashambaks there and used Katlaqmap and Tlawiwala's influence to further keep away enemies. For this, other Amim cities like Chanhalpam [14], and especially Chamikiti's most bitter rival Chapunmefu detested Chamikiti and used any pretext to clash with them. They often allowed Namals to travel through their lands to raid Chamikiti and allied villages. A particularly successful raid in 1108 caused numerous villages to quit Chamikiti's alliance. In the ensuing war, Chamikiti lost several times in the ritual combats and forced a re-evaluation of Chamikiti's stance toward Katlaqmap. Now opposed to Katlaqmap, Chamikiti used a combination of diplomatic charm, personal support, and a series of victories in ritual battles to reclaim much of what it lost during the 1110s.
During the 12th century, Amim lands were largely peaceful as former Namal enemies turned their attentions toward each other or toward their own external enemies. Namal city-states in the Irame Valley used this time to rebuild from the wars against Katlaqmap in the previous years. The main external threat came from the Atkh city-states on the coast, such as Hitsihis and K'ak'aakhtis [15], whose power grew immensely thanks to the wars of Kawadinak occurring on Wakashi Island. Full of displaced veteran warriors looking to re-establish themselves, they raided the Coast Mountains Dena for livestock, women, and slaves, and in turn these Dena often attacked Amim villages to recover animals. Yet these raids paled in comparison to those of the Namals in years prior, as many Dena tribes avoided making new enemies and instead focused on the Coastmen.
All might've been well had the ambition of man not arisen in the rulers of some Amim city-states. At Chapunmefu and especially Chantatawa and Chachinchel [16], the rulers noticed the weak position of the Coast Mountains Dena in their conflicts with the Atkhs. During the 1110s onward, they pushed aggressively against the Dena themselves in pursuit of livestock, slaves, and land for hunting and gathering. In some areas the Dena were practically annihilated while in many others they were reduced to a pitiable state of poverty. Yet in many places the Dena held on, in large part thanks to the general Amim taboo on crossing the mountains and leaving the Irame Valley. The Amim hired Namal and especially Coastmen mercenaries to assist them in these goals, yet this accelerated the coming problem. As the Dena weakened, the Atkhs noticed how much the Amim gained from these wars. Having treated the Atkhs at defacto (and occasionally actual) allies for years, the Amim cities only distantly imagined that the same force which helped them destroy the Dena might be unleashed against them in a way even worse than the most withering Namal raid.
Ach'gampdu
South of the Amim in the north-central parts of the Kanawachi Valley immediately south of the Irame Basin lived the Ach'gampdu, their ethnonym meaning "the people of omodaka", but also commonly called the Kimamduksh [17] after their Namal and Imaru Trade Language exonym. It was a meaningful name, as they were the first group in the Kanawachi to cultivate this plant, as they had been the first to cultivate the less domesticated relatives of the omodaka. The Ach'gampdu resembled their Amim neighbours culturally, linguistically, and societally, but the migrations of the Dena led to contact between the groups becoming sporadic, and the Namal migrations into the Irame Valley changed the Amim to become a distinct people. In time influences of the cultures of the Imaru penetrated to Ach'gampdu lands, but the Ach'gampdu interpreted it differently than the Amim north of them and thus arose the modern Ach'gampdu culture.
The Ach'gampdu carried themselves as the "true Amim". They believed the people of the Irame Valley had become tainted by the Namals and other foreign influences, and the "true" people fled to the lands immediately south to their own ancestors to carry out their ways. Although the Ach'gampdu raised earthworks, built broad burial mounds, farmed omodaka, camas, and other crops, and served powerful rulers and councils of nobles and shamans like the Amim, they emphasised their distinctions and tended to ignore the Irame Valley but for the southernmost towns of it such as Milpu, an important trading partner.
Surrounded by the Dena and their Tanne cousins in the mountains north, west, and east of the Kanawachi and occasionally faced with Nama or Maguraku raids from across the eastern passes and Wakashan raids from the west, the Ach'gampdu similarly developed a defensive mentality. But unlike the Amims, the Ach'gampdu much more freely left their land, and often did as they believed the best defense was a good offense. The Ach'gampdu likened their enemies to bears and wolves--dangerous to those weak in spirit and unfamiliar of their ways, but to those knowledgeable, perfect game for hunting. Gaiyuchul of Katlamat wrote in his Saga of the Peoples of the World:
"The commonfolk often speak of the Dena and their kin the Tanne as cruel and unfriendly to all civilised peoples of the world, a menace on their fields and herds and children little different than others speak of a disease or a natural disaster. Yet for the Kimamduksh these two groups are treated as good friends, and the Dena and Tanne of the area reciprocate these feelings. The Kimamduksh claim that centuries ago the Dena and Tanne raided their land with impunity until a young yet powerful shaman was told by his guardian spirit power, a bear, that they were no different than him. Like all bears, they might be killed through much the same method. The Kimamduksh warriors used this knowledge well and nearly destroyed both groups of people.
By the time this shaman died, not a single reindeer or goat might be found among the local Dena or Tanne and nearly every Kimamduksh family owned a Dena or Tanne slave. Women of those people populated the harems of the wealthy. The few survivors of the Dena and Tanne nearly chose to flee far away before the son of this shaman in all his magnanimity led the offering of peace treaties to every tribe in the mountains. From that day forth the Kimamduksh and the Hillmen of the mountains lived in peace with only the most barbaric rulers choosing to reawaken this old feud."
While elements of this story as recorded by Gaiyuchul may be fanciful, it is certainly true the Ach'gampdu considered the Dena and Tanne Hillmen as close allies. Livestock theft on a large scale can also be confirmed thanks to the genetics of Ach'gampdu reindeer and goats which hold more similarities to those of the Dena or Tanne than those of other groups. Yet more than anything, mutual self-interest likely cemented this alliance more than continual Ach'gampdu success. The Ach'gampdu competed greatly with the Valley Tanne, offshoots of the Tanne, who likewise held an ancient enmity with the Hill Tanne and served as good raiding targets for both them and the Dena. Further, the Hill Tanne and Dena patrolled the mountain passes and often blocked raiding parties of groups from beyond the mountains.
The main cultural centers of the Ach'gampdu lay in the valleys situated between the Gantsugamitsu and Gagonbitsu Rivers, two important tributaries of the Kanawachi. They rarely ventured into the Coast Mountains or the Grey Mountains, the former for fear of the Atkhs based at the coastal city-state of Ch'aninit, the latter for lack of need as the Hill Tanne gave them what they need. [18] The small valleys of their country separated by rough forested mountains and hills created a natural unity of these city states over their valley and the surrounding hills whil. In total, almost 2,500 square kilometers of land fell under the control of these Ach'gampdu city-states.
The Ach'gampdu relied heavily on their role as middlemen in the Black Road, one of the two great trade routes (along with the White Road east of the Grey Mountains) leading to South Fusania [19]. The Black Road crossed right through the mountain passes at the southern Irame and into the northern Kanawachi Valley. Along it lay three out of the four city-states of the Ach'gampdu, and with it came a great wealth from both the north and south in the form of acorns, spices, shells, jade, cinnabar, metals, slaves, and finished goods from fine cloth and blankets to sturdy Pasnomsono bronze.
The most powerful city-state was Yankalat in the northern portion of Ach'gampdu lands. Located nearest the passes over the mountains and into the Irame Valley, much trade flowed through Yankalat ensuring prosperity for its rulers. Further, a good distance separated Yankalat from its competitors which allowed Yankalat to secure rule over the nearby hills and mountains for additional areas of hunting, gathering, and pastoralism. This wealth and security allowed Yankalat's rulers to construct the largest burial mound (one of fifteen mounds) south of the Irame Valley, at around 90 meters on either side and 12 meters high.
Three other prominent city-states existed. At the confluence of the Kanawachi with the Gagonbitsu River lay Chapalmanchal which took advantage of the flat lands and links downstream with the Valley Tanne. Downstream at the mouth of the Gantsugamitsu River lay Changantqabit, situated in the last sizable valleys downstream on the Kanawachi well off the Black Road [20]. This city-state was particularly defensive thanks to the threat of Atkh raiders, but just as often peacefully traded downstream with Ch'aninit via Hill Tanne middlemen which enabled it to be nearly as wealthy as the other three cities. The wealthy city state of Changamafa lay along the Gagonbitsu River [21]. This city-state controlled the most valleys and a sizable network of villages, but much of its potential was sapped thanks to the constant wars with the Valley Tanne city-states to the south over access to certain hills. However, this made the city a potent military power, and warriors from the city and its subordinate villages often joined mercenary bands.
These four city-states form roughly a rectangle, an observation not lost on the Ach'gampdu. They believed a fifth city-state located in exactly the center of their country existed in a previous age of the world after the Great Flood and ruled the entirety of their country under rulers of great spiritual power. Yet it's rulers grew so greedy that they demanded more and more, so Ayutlmeyi took away the sun and moon. The rulers, the nobles, and common people pleaded for help, so Raven came and told the nobles to gather together in the town center so he might find the one most suitable for negotiating with Ayutlmeyi. Unfortunately, it was a trap, and Raven transformed them into a mountain covered in trees, the ruler himself becoming a tree so high it reached into the heavens. There, a brilliant youth ascended the peak and climbed the tree and with Raven's help stole back the sun and moon.
The youth failed Ayutlmeyi's spiritual test by stealing from him, causing the sun god to find humanity rotten to the core with greed. Raven taught the youth how to speak cleverly and charismatically, so the youth persuaded Ayutlmeyi to spare his life. Ayutlmeyi instead forced him to watch as he ordered the spirits of the world to cause great earthquakes, landslides, and volcanic eruptions to once again destroy the world. The youth spent the rest of his life trying to persuade Ayutlmeyi to restore the world to no avail. Yet after he died, Ayutlmeyi took pity on him and restored the spirits of the world and thus recreated it anew, including with a new humanity. His body was sent back as well and transfigured into the mountain he had once climbed to reach the heavens, although in this era it was a low and humble peak to remind people of humility.
What this legend is based on remains unclear--the country at the center of Ach'gampdu lands is too rugged and remote to support anything more than small villages. It may be a memory of ancient conflicts caused by harsh rulers, especially during the early period of state society in Ach'gampdu lands during the wars with the Hill Tanne. Yet above all, it was both a morality tale and a tale of origins integral to Ach'gampdu worldview and society. It taught the obligations of the ruling class needed, it taught how the ideal person should act and aspire to, and it gave the Ach'gampdu a place in the uncertain world. On this holy mountain the Ach'gampdu maintained numerous sacred groves and communed with spirits amidst the rocks, cliffs, and trees. A few villages ringed the mountain yet the mountain itself was forbidden to all but the spiritually powerful. Only a few shamans and medicine men lived in these villages, accepting gifts from visitors and offering their own wisdom and mentorship in return. The villages themselves paid no tribute to any Ach'gampdu city--to even begin to consider they might was unthinkable in their worldview. The Atks, Hill Tanne, and others respected this neutrality, either avoiding the place out of fear of its powerful shamans or partaking in their own spiritual training there.
The four Ach'gampdu cities held more or less good relations with each other. They considered themselves four phratries of the Ach'gampdu people, with those of Changantqabit and Yankalat represeting one moiety and Chapalmanchal and Changamafa representing the other moiety, and alongside it all the typical imagery and attributes (directions, animals, colours, etc.) associated with such concepts. Societally the moeities were expected to marry each other, although this was often ignored for the poor (as travel and the bride price often proved too expensive) provided they married outside their village. They kept conflicts between each other strictly ceremonial, with disputes over land and trade taking place as pitched battles following a particular and formal script supervised by spiritually powerful people until the second the warriors were set loose. After the battle ended, the loser almost always gracefully accepted the results, believing it to be spiritually pre-ordained, and relations quickly improved.
By the 12th century, increasing population growth in their own lands and those of the enemy Valley Tanne caused ever closer links between Chapalmanchal and Changamafa as the cities ignored their past history of conflicts to face a greater foe. Similarly, the warfare in the north and increasing development of the White Road in the east came to affect Ach'gampdu lands as trade on the Black Road declined. The Ach'gampdu were keenly aware wealth was not increasing with the continually population growth and counteracted this through increased cooperation in their own land and an even more solid front against outsiders with even Yankalat contributing more warriors and wealth than ever before. Intermarriage between the four cities, their subject villages, and the Hill Tanne to their east increased. With their mentality always defensive and isolationist, adversity was uniting the Ach'gampdu.
Valley Tanne
The border between civilised and uncivilised was far thinner than the people of the Imaru Basin and the Furuge regarded it. If a group practiced the appropriate rites and lifestyle and held good enough relations with the majority of the peoples of the Imaru, and if that group held enough economic importance, than circumstance might call them civilised. Like the Yilhqanin Dena far to their northwest, the Valley Tanne were one of those few Dena groups regarded as civilised, in contrasted to their closest linguistic kin the Hill Tanne and Coast Tanne, called barbaric Hillmen, or superficially similar people among the Wakashans.
Valley Tanne history arises in the Dena Migrations, where several groups of Dena at the forefront pushed down the coast and into the coastal hills and mountains. There they became linguistically distinct from the northern Dena and adopted the lifestyles of the peoples around them, becoming the Tanne [22]. By the early 5th century the Tanne partially rejoined with the Dena and adopted their horticultural pastoralism and reindeer herding but kept their distinctions. They traded and occasionally raided nearby people for food and slaves and like the Dena patrolled the mountain passes to become skilled traders. The acquisition of wealth in the form of rare goods and livestock remained central to their society as it had in earlier years.
Several different groups lived in the basin of the Kanawachi and Yanshuuji before the arrival of the Valley Tanne, such as the Ach'gampdu, the Ancestral K'ahusani because their migration to South Fusania, and an enigmatic group called the Nachtetanne [23] by all Tanne peoples. The Nachtetanne seem to have been an indigenous people of the region who spoke a Penutian language perhaps most related to that of the Amim and Ach'gampdu. Culturally they shared similar traits, hunting, collecting, and fishing along the rivers and slowly adapting to the horticulturalism coming in from the north, the first in the area. Yet the Tanne advantage in pastoralism and warfare drove the Nachtetanne out of much of their land and resulted in their enslavement. The Tanne eagerly plundered them of their wealth when they could.
Around the 8th century, a few groups of Tanne began to permanently settle in the Kanawachi and Yanshuuji, merging with the embattled Nachtetanne and other groups to become the Valley Tanne. These people gave them many elements of their culture, from their religious outlook, their agricultural lifestyle, their political organisation, and even their language. By the 11th century, the Hill Tanne and Coast Tanne regarded the Valley Tanne totally alien, despite a somewhat mutually intelligible language. Historian Gaiyuchul of Katlamat writes of this in Saga of the Peoples of the World:
"The Tanne of the hills and mountains detest few more than the Tanne of the valley, for these Tanne who live in the valley of the Kanawachi and Yanshuuji have shunned their ancestral barbarism and adopted the rites and rituals of civilised peoples. The civilised Tanne of the valley inherited their wisdom from people called the Nachtetanne who formerly lived there whom they conquered. They claim that the trickster Coyote appeared to their ancestor later called Mabet'ine and his two brothers and told them he might make them whatever they wished. Mabet'ine wished to be a great and wise warrior whose vast armies might take all the wealth they wished. Yet a powerful priest warned his brothers of Coyote's tricks and they refused Coyote's offers. His brothers tried to stop him and persuade him to give back Coyote's gifts. But he ignored his kin and led his followers to conquer all the valleys before them. So much wealth they gained in this that many followers broke ranks with his brothers and joined him. Even their fathers-in-law joined him, taking with them the wives of their brothers who married this conquerer instead. He gained great wisdom in the land of the Nachtetanne as he ruled generously, listening to people poor and rich alike. He raised his sons and daughters among the Nachtetanne so they too might understand this wisdom. He most especially heeded the advice of the shamans of the Nachtetanne so he might spiritually understand the land he ruled.
Many years later the three brothers met again at the request of Coyote. 'Behold!' Coyote said, 'I have made your brother wealthy, powerful, and wise beyond that of any other man!' Yet they failed to recognise him, for he wore finery like that they had never seen, he spoke their tongue with a strange accent, and he indulged in strange habits. 'We do not know this man.' his brothers said. 'We warned him not to leave yet he insisted so he must have died long ago.'"
This origin myth held great value to the Valley Tanne, for it explained and emphasised their distinction from the Hill Tanne and Coast Tanne despite superficial similarities between them. The wealth gained by Mabet'ine symbolically represents the Valley Tanne integration into the growing regional trade networks centered around river valley farmers. The rapid increase of wealth and increased contact with groups like the Ach'gampdu, Amims, and distant Namals seems to have provoked a sort of cultural admiration and Namalisation of their society, a phenomena akin to the "Misebianisation" and emulation of prominent centers like Mihithega found in Eastern North America.
In many ways the Valley Tanne were transitional from the Amims and Imaru Basin cultures to those of South Fusania, particularly in terms of religion. They believed only shamans and priests possessed guardian spirit power, and like many South Fusanians, believed the spirit had been "shot into" them like an arrow, and they could use these gifts to cause or cure illness, influence nature, and many other effects. Unlike many North Fusanians, their shamans (but not priests) were almost all women, with men called to become shamans taking on the role of women. They placed their dead in decorated and well-filled boxes placed in oak trees, but after a time buried them in the ground with an offering of acorns. Few amongst the North Fusanians relied on acorns as much as the Valley Tanne (aside from the culturally similar Amims and Ach'gampdu), and the Valley Tanne took up the South Fusanian oak cultivation rituals generations earlier than other North Fusanians.
Much as the other Tanne (albeit with distinctions), the story of the god Kwananesha and his brother lay at the heart of their society. He created all the animals and spirits in the world who in turn taught him great knowledge, such as how to call the sun from its hiding place. After his brother created snakes from his hair, he transfigured the primordial snakes of the world into the world serpent that binds the world together. Although the balance was perfect, Kwananesha grew tired at needing to restore the balance his younger brother kept trying to disturb. One day, he met a beautiful woman, the Earth Mother, who sprang from the primordial ash tree of the south, and wished to marry her and have her become the ancestor of humanity. Yet his brother stole her from him and became the father of humanity instead. Infuriated yet unwilling to abandon humanity, Kwananesha left the world to his trickster brother to assume the power of the sun itself, reshaping the heavens so nothing might enter without his permission. The world itself fell off balance and humanity caught in a cycle of chaos, their spirits being sent from the Earth Mother to inhabit newborns, living their lives in an uncertain world, and then dying without the joy of immortality, their spirit returning to the Earth Mother.
The Valley Tanne practiced a variant of the World Renewal faith like the other Tanne, yet their variant held marked differences in practice and theology, especially in the dualism common in North Fusania. They believed in the importance of practicing the appropriate rites, rituals, and sacrifices, both communal and personal, to balance the world in place of Kwananesha. This balance allowed their priests to manipulate the world itself by using arcane charms and formulas and proper ritual. The dances, fasts, and other ceremonies such as those of the First Acorn and First Salmon kept the balance while also allowing the ideal men--wealthy, hard-working, and modest--to show off their wealth. They carried out worship on top of the highest mountains to be closer to the sun, so they might reflect on what their ancestors lost. Over a long enough period of time, a virtuous society strong in spirit and proper rites would establish enough balance and Kwananesha be persuaded to return from the sun to re-establish the true balance and complete his creation as he always intended to. He would destroy the current humanity and marry the Earth Mother and their souls would incarnate into their children, the new humanity. All the while, his younger brother would be so impressed at this new creation he would apologise for his deeds and live in perfect harmony with his older brother.
The priests supervised rituals such as the First Salmon Ceremony and knew many arcane formulas and rituals, some of which granted them power of nature, power that may be used to bless their people or curse their enemy. The priesthood was an inherited position, and the formulas considered inherited property, although for a great fee the priests might teach them to promising outsiders. Sometimes these outsiders lacked wealth and spent the rest of their lives in debt to a priestly family as effective slaves--these priests blamed their failure to acquire wealth on spiritual curses set by hostile shamans or priests.
Two great divisions of the Valley Tanne existed based on the river basins they lived in--the Kanawachi Tanne, or Ankwatanne, and the Yanshuuji Tanne, or Tutukwotmetanne. They found it difficult to speak to each other with their linguistic differences, but culturally were very similar. On nearly every side they were surrounded by Hill Tanne and also the Ach'gampdu, ancient rivals whom the Ankwatanne partially absorbed. Of the two groups, the Ankwatanne held more land and relied more on farming and especially pastoralism while the Tutukwotmetanne diversified more economically, with an economy more heavily based on mining, trade, and craftsmanship.
The Valley Tanne lay in a key position along the trade routes to the south allowing them to acquire great wealth. The pursuit of wealth held crucial importance in society, as the Valley Tanne believed that the rich held a spiritual purity to them, as the impure could never become wealthy. Thus, wealth and nobility was practically synonymous--unlike elsewhere, poor nobles lacking inherited positions lost their status as nobles after a generation or two, while wealthy commoners became elevated to the nobility. Custom required nobles to host potlatches (distinct from religion unlike amongst the Hill Tanne), secular feasts, and especially religious ceremonies, and to do this required great amounts of wealth to prepare the event, attract guests, and to leave the guests satisfied afterwards. The more events one hosted, the higher the prestige and greater the blessings, for the Valley Tanne considered the physical wealth one gained proof of spiritual blessings.
With their strong tradition as merchants and middlemen and their constant desire for wealth, the Valley Tanne gained a reputation for greed. They haggled over the smallest things to gain a price advantage and charged for nearly every service. The poor raised large families so that they might have more daughters to betroth to wealthier men or sons to sell as indentured servants or even slaves, but even the wealthy aimed for large families for daughters who might bring in great bride wealth payments. Customary law evolved to define a large variety of offenses, some as minor as looking to enviously at another's property or allowing one's dog to bark too often. They similarly defined laws governing contracts, torts, and other non-criminal offenses to ensure smooth functioning of society and most importantly ensure fair acquisition of wealth. In every case, the penalty was paid with a fine no matter how severe the crime, although sexual crimes and especially murder carried the stiffest penalties which in practice amounted to debt slavery. No one, not even a high priest or prince, was above the law, and many times society forced princes to pay at least token damages for their conduct.
People called kweshadnaka studied the oral law and traveled around the land and even beyond to other Tanne societies to ensure both their continuing knowledge of law and as mediators for cases. Unlike in other Tanne societies where anyone might act as a kweshadnaka in a legal case, in Valley Tanne society the role became more strictly defined as an occupation and non-trained individuals acting as one considered a sign of poverty. They acted as judges, mediating between aggrieved parties to ensure a fair outcome. Kweshadnaka also acted as mediators for important events such as diplomacy, trade deals, or even commonplace marriage contracts. Similarly, their knowledge of the law ensured any wealthy man retained one as the equivalent of a lawyer for their own dealings. "Kweshadnaka" was not a titled inherited or conferred upon, but one given based on knowledge and respect of the law. A kweshadnaka who made controversial decisions needed to have powerful protectors lest they be defacto exiled. Most kweshadnaka learned from kinsmen or occasionally paid an unrelated kweshadnaka for the privilege of learning the law. Typically, extended family groups included at least one kweshadnaka so a family often relied on their relative in their dealings.
Naturally, outsiders detested this to the point of frequently going to war with the Valley Tanne over issues of fines and unfair or extreme judgements. They placed tolls on their trails, enforcing them with bands of wandering soldiers, and fined any outsider who dared harvest their land's resources without permission, occasionally resulting in debt slavery. The Hill Tanne and Coast Tanne, who possessed similar traditions regarding wealth acquisition, often retaliated economically on Valley Tanne communities by imposing similar fines and tolls, trade wars resolved only through truces. The intricacies of Valley Tanne law kept most outside traders from visiting their land, a gap readily filled by the Valley Tanne's own merchants. His own Namal people considered greedy themselves, Gaiyuchul of Katlamat in his Saga of the Peoples of the World remarked in rather unusual bias for him of the Valley Tanne and their laws:
"Men from all over the world remark on the greed of the Namals, yet the greed of the Walamtksh [24] goes far less spoken of. Perhaps many wisely choose to avoid their land so full of maddening laws and men who track every slight against them such that they may use it not to seek justice but to seek personal gain. The Walamtksh see themselves as an industrious people whose markets brim with goods transported to them by their intrepid merchants. Others notice the mutilation of truth in this statement, for the Walamtksh devote their industrious nature to finding new ways through their legal codes to extort fees and fines from themselves and travelers alike. Full are their markets, but every ware found in those places can be considered little better than extorted from its original owner by merchants who put their industry to work in devising new ways to cheat others. One must never remark on this to a Walamtksh man, however, lest he suffer a fine for slandering the man's good name."
Relations with the Hill Tanne varied as both groups held a symbiotic relationship with each other. The Hill Tanne conducted most of the mining as well as breeding of animals (especially reindeer) and most importantly carried out much of the trade with the larger world as they controlled the passes and often held agreements that let them evade tolls and forage in Valley Tanne lands. Yet the Hill Tanne depended on the Valley Tanne to craft their ores into valuable goods and indeed for basic sustenance, as the Hill Tanne imported much of their food from the Valley Tanne. Despite this, warfare and raids remained a common fact of life--ambitious Valley Tanne rulers attempted to plunder Hill Tanne animals or even seize control of the passes for themselves, while Hill Tanne rulers raided the Valley Tanne for slaves and loot, occasionally even ruling some Valley Tanne villages and towns. Only the internal divisions in each group prevented one side from gaining the upper hand.
By the end of the 11th century, well-defined territories and city-states emerged amongst the Valley Tanne. In typical North Fusanian fashion, it was a two-tier system where headmen of lesser villages titled kheshkhaiyu answered to a few wealthier and more powerful rulers who took the title mabet'ine (literally "owner of houses") after their ancestor. The latter title seems to originate from the fact that a few families of powerful rulers who claimed descent from the legendary figure Mabet'ine all inherited the name such that it became more of a title than anything else. Only five mabet'ine ruled in all the lands of the Valley Tanne, ruling from Kw'eisedan, Kw'ahaha, and Talodan on the Yanshuuji and Hleadni and Kasikaitan on the Kanawachi. [25]
Beneath these rulers lay the typical assortment of nobles who formed the upper class, a nobility defined by birth but also wealth, as even a wealthy commoner might ascend to the ranks of the nobility should he marry well and make the right friends. Nobles sat on the councils of villages and towns who played an important role in deciding policy. Alongside them sat powerful priests who protected the people from spiritual harm be it from wandering spirits or evil shamans. Their knowledge of spiritual formulas and role in maintaining balance made them the most important figure in the local community, second to only the five mabet'ine or a particularly wealthy and respected kweshadnaka .
Ancestral legend states that in centuries prior, several more towns held rulers who claimed the title of mabet'ine. Yet these towns were nothing but pretenders to the aforementioned five Valley Tanne cities. For the crime of forging their ancestry, great harm befell the ruling families of these towns. They suffered defeat in battle, misfortune in family matters, and plagues upon their herds and populace. Some rulers claimed the title for decades, some only for a few years, but in every case their fortunes improved when they abandoned that title and paid tribute to a proper mabet'ine.
These five major Valley Tanne city-states began consolidating in the 12th century thanks to local deforestation, deteriorating economic situation, increased conflict with the Atkhs, Hill Tanne, and Maguraku, sheer human ambition. The increased ease of recruiting mercenaries from afar in this era no doubt contributed to this outgrowth in violence. In the north, Hleadni assumed greater control over the valleys of the Kanawachi and its tributaries, defeating several local Hill Tanne groups and severely reducing the amount of territory controlled by Kasikaitan. In the south, Kw'ahaha conquered Talodan in 1129 after a siege said to last through the winter, evidence of the utility of mercenaries in conducting warfare outside the traditional campaign season. Kw'eisedan pushed into the hills along the Dakube River, dispersing the Hill Tanne at the 1135 Battle of Maasrak'omdan [26]. The Mabet'ine of Kw'eisedan promoted the founding of several new settlements in this area, protecting his people as they moved into the area. In these back hills grew great amounts of sugar pine, important for both their pine nuts and especially their pine syrup, a valuable condiment and trade good.
An important cause of this sudden expansion lay in the deterioration of the political and especially economic situation elsewhere along the Black Road. The wars of the Atkh prince Kawadinak of Tinhimha far to the north at the Whulge impoverished that area while the escalation of conflicts in the Irame Valley interfered with the trade coming from the north. More critically, the White Road on the other side of the Grey Mountains grew in value and use during the 12th century thanks to the policies of the "returned" Q'mitlwaakutl of Wayam pursued with the Maguraku during his rise through the ranks of Wayamese society. Continuing to aspire higher in wealth yet unable to get it, the Valley Tanne began to increasingly fight amongst themselves and with others over what remained.
With the deterioration of order, weakening status of many nobles, and sheer violence in the region, people increasingly looked toward the kweshadnaka for protection and a more peaceful way of resolving problems than the aggressive wars of the city-states. In some villages, the kheshkhaiyu became purely ceremonial with local or even travelling kweshadnaka dominating village affairs. By doing so, this directly undermined the influence of the mabet'ine to intervene in these communities, forcing him to rely more on his own kweshadnaka to keep a level of control there. The mabet'ine became forced to spend a great portion of his wealth on recruiting the best kweshadnaka as followers lest their own interests fall to the wayside. While the kweshadnaka ensured a sense of peace and order and mitigated the most bitter conflicts, the circumstances outside the realm of the Valley Tanne remained unchanged and continued to cause great unease.
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Author's notes
The OTL Kalapuyans did indeed build mounds (called
atudship), so it was interesting to imagine how a "mound builder" society might work in this context and the impressive architecture they'd create. TTL it's one of the most distinctively "Amim" cultural elements and not one emulated elsewhere in Fusania to any real degree. If you're wondering why nearly every Amim and Ach'gampdu town starts with "Cha[n]" or similar, it's because that's how you construct placenames in that language.
Valley Tanne society has many elements of OTL Takelma (the Nachtetanne) and Pacific Athabaskans, especially the Galice, Tututni, and Tolowa (who were the easiest to find solid information about). These societies OTL had some interesting views regarding wealth and ownership and the societal status it brought and were quite skilled at trading. One source describes them as having an almost "Protestant work ethic" mentality. OTL traders noted they could be challenging to trade with for this reason. As expected from this TL, I've modified and expanded this role to match the new conditions they face TTL.
This is yet another ethnographical/historical update that gets back up to the current time (12th century) for TTL. The cultures are similar and related enough that I felt like grouping them together, although maybe for length's sake I should be splitting these up. I'll be doing maps for this part of Fusania in time, at least once I can find a good and large basemap for this region.
As always, thanks for reading.
[1] - The Anmara Mountains are the Chehalem Mountains, here a Japanese toponym borrowed from Kalapuyan mixed from the rivers they lie between, the Anbarachi (OTL's Tualatin River) and the Ayamara (OTL's Yamhill River). The Hanjuuku River is the Pudding River of Oregon, a tributary of the Willamette
[2] - Inspired by an OTL Kalapuya prophecy regarding the white man coming to their land and plowing it up, although here the circumstances are rather different
[3] - This would be the Northern Kalapuyan language, here very marginalised by Namal migrations. Chachif is on the north end of the now-dry Wapato Lake between Gaston, OR and Forest Grove, OR.
[4] - The OTL Kalapuya are known for their use of wildfire to manage the Willamette Valley. They used their burning of the land to clear brush and make gathering easier and also to drive out deer for hunting, a ceremony which held great significance to them. TTL the ceremony has changed slightly (deer are extirpated from the area and it is no longer essential for hunting) yet still holds great importance
[5] - This story here is a modification of OTL Kalapuyan beliefs regarding the past of the world
[6] - OTL Kalapuyan groups like the Tualatin, Yamhill, etc. typically avoided leaving their homelands due to human enemies and in some cases spiritual enemies (areas translated as "bad country"). I have modified this belief based on TTL's circumstances to make it even more extreme due to the aggressive slave raids this area has suffered. The Kobahan Mountains are the Northern Oregon Coast Range, a Japanese modification of Northern Kalapuyan "Kopfan", meaning "midway" (between coast and valley).
[7] - Chapunmefu is McMinnville, OR
[8] - Chantatawa is Corvallis, OR while Chemank'lakwa is Albany, OR
[9] - The Anbineifu is the Mary's River, the Rakkamayu is the Luckiamute, and the Anbaru River is the Santiam. All are Kalapuyan regional endonyms loaned into Japanese
[10] - Milpu is Cottage Grove, OR, while Yankalat is Yoncalla, OR, the same root as the Yoncalla name OTL
[11] - The Inakkai River is the Siuslaw River of Oregon, from a Nuu-chah-nulth modification (originally Inak'ahahi) of a Siuslaw word meaning "river". Hitsihis is Florence, OR
[12] - Chateshtan is Dundee, OR while Chimapuichuk is Champoeg, OR
[13] - Chamikiti is Salem, OR
[14] - Chanhalpam is Jefferson, OR
[15] - K'ak'aakhtis is Newport, OR
[16] - Chachinchal is Dallas, OR
[17] - Roughly the OTL Yoncalla, the southernmost group of Kalapuyans and only group outside the Willamette Valley who spoke that language. "Kimamduksh" is Imaru Trade Language for "people of the omodaka" and will become the root of their Japanese ethnonym, "Kimanjuku"
[18] - The Gantsugamitsu is Elk Creek while Gagonbitsu River is Calapooya Creek, both tributaries of the Umpqua River in Oregon. Ch'aninit is Reedsport, OR
[19] - The Black and White Roads are named for a common directional symbolism TTL (recall the Grey Mountains), with White representing East and Black representing West. Black Road is essentially the OTL Siskiyou Trail (which itself was used by natives for ages before), the ancestor of I-5, yet only extends south to Pasnomsono [Redding, CA] rather than San Francisco. In the north it extends to the Shisutara River delta along roughly I-5's route. The White Road is roughly US 97 but at the Klamath River it follows that course instead. The two roads link around Hornbrook, CA.
[20] - Chapalmanchal is Umpqua, OR and Changantqabit is Elkton, OR
[21] - Changamafa is Oakland, OR
[22] - If it has not been made clear yet, TTL's coastal Athabaskan migrations occur earlier and in greater numbers, although most Athabaskans end up in hillier and less desirable regions like Coast Mountains or Cascades [Grey Mountains]
[23] - The Nachtetanne are the Takelmans, who I've made reference to in the past
[24] - "Walamtksh" is the Chinookan exonym for the Valley Tanne, originally being a Klamath term meaning "uplanders".
[25] - Kw'eisedan is Grants Pass, OR, Kw'ahaha is Ashland, OR, and Talodan is Jacksonville OR. Hleadni is Roseburg, OR, and Kasikaitan is Myrtle Creek, OR
[26] - The Dakube River is the Applegate River of Oregon while Maasrak'omdan is Applegate, OR