CannedTech
Banned
Still working on this, but I won't be able to work again till Friday, so here's a small summary of the major states of Australia and PNG:
1: Samsaric Union - contact with Hinduized Merina and traders from the Tamil states led to several trading states being established near a rising Noongar union by said states - however the agricultural and economic clout of the Noongar eventually eclipsed these states. They were not left uninfluenced though, as they developed a syncretic faith between the local faiths and elements of Hinduism and Buddhism, elements of which include the cyclical nature of the world, with the Dreamtime acting as a place where the enlightened souls (mainly the oldest ancestors) go after ascending from Samsara. A competitor space power to the Union, Wiradjuri, Paredreme, and Papuans
2: Banjira Emirate - There used to be more considerable Islamic influence on the northern coast before the Samsarans moved in, now the Emirate acts as the last local Islamic power with some influence - Islam with a twist of course, Sufism and lots of esoterism, not radical, but still suffer from a local Deist* insurgency.
3: Wilga Confraternity (Mirning, Nguru, Ngaanyat) - In a former life, a humble trading confederation which dominated the south coast, in this current life, a militant religious defense union following a lightly apocalyptic version of Bidjanism, and constantly rattles sabers with the Samsarans
4: Great Uluru - The land of the Millions of Dreamers, the land watched over by the ancestors in the Dreamtime, the land of the Rainbow Serpent - carved out of several agricultural societies, the prophet Bidjan sought to unite the beliefs and customs of the tribes of Uluru into one canonical faith, and did so deftly, creating a religious order which has survived in central Australia to this day - maintains the Union of Dreaming Peoples, a pact against the other world powers, and much to the chagrin of various international powers, friendly to radical elements, as long as they are committed to the preservation of holy Uluru and the Dreaming. - collectively the Union is a massive space power
5: Yengedu Union - intermittently dominated by the Wangkumara, has been the proctor in the past of several holy wars against the Wiradjuri to the south.
6: Ngompon Hydraulist Union - Adopters of Pueblo autocratic thought, the constituents of the Ngompon are still staunchly Bidjanist
7: Gugu-Badhun Empire - an unofficial constitutional monarchy where the "traders council" is popularly elected, and the king has little power.
8: Harmonialist Union of the Serpent Men - More scary sounding than it is - adopters of Chinese religious *socialist doctrine, albeit through the lens of Bidjanism.
9: (did two) North-Union of the Sunrise - A union between several tribes, once almost eclipsed the Maori in trading clout, but the rise of space travel has marginalized them and made them draw closer to Uluru -- South-Kamilaroi Harmonious Republic - See the Serpent Men.
10: League of Brothers - a union of Torres Straits peoples which rotates the "head" nation every three years.
11: Scholars Republic of Garawa - A Chinese-influenced state, which was at one point China's springboard into Australia before taking advantage of the Republican turmoil to attain independence - still allied to China, and maintains a more "orthodox" Confucianism
12: Scholars Republic of United Gurindji Peoples - China couldn't make these guys tributaries, but they adopted Confucianism anyways - considered massively heterodox since the Dreamtime and Uluru mythos still figures in heavily.
13: Pitjunta League - Been through thick and thin, survived multiple waves of Chinese and Indian influence, and one botched attempt by Japan to best them - still a trading power
14: Wiradjuri Empire - Heavy Maori influence, though their power dwarfs the Maori nowadays - very religiously adhere to the Polynesian pantheon and are a space power of their own.
15: Paredreme Sphere - Small, but packs a massive punch - follow their own unitary religion separate from Bidjanism, but still very similar premises - a space power.
16: Republic of Kejjomal-Papua - Used to be a monarchy before a revolution overthrew the crown - one of the biggest Australasian powers, and was able to blunt Chinese and Japanese expansion to the south - followers of a homegrown messianic monotheist* faith known as Kemarism (monotheist in that there are a lot of minor deities, but one supreme guy/girl? controlling things), and also a formidable space power
