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The Witz Machilob or Mountain Clans as they are known in Mutli, but generally referred to as Puxtjay ("People of the Machete") by its members is an Ayüükjä'äy - O'de püt is an criminal society originating from the Mutul, in the hills and mountains separating the provinces of Joy Chan, Muynal, and Kanol and dating to at least the 19th century. the Mountain Clans represent an especially secretive society which has proven especially difficult to infiltrate by the authorities. This is mostly due to their family-based recruitment, membership within the organisation is a purely dynastic affair, and only loose ties between Clans.

The Clan form the basic unit of the organization. Each Clan consider itself sovereign over a given territory, generally a village or a neighborhood. In their territory, they practice Racketeering, Prostitution, Gambling, and Usury.

History

The People of the Machete developed in the essentially tribal society of the 19th century western Mutul. The Ayukjay and O'de are two closely related ethnic group, themselves covering a range of around sixteen or so dialects. Following traditional tales and archeologic evidences, these groups are often considered to be the modern successors of the ancient Chakb'ah and Tzib’ah civilizations.

In the 18th century, Ayukjay and O'de people were mostly present in the highlands of the Yajawil of Yokok'ab and Yajawil of Muynal. Farming was their principal activity, producing raw materials for the artisans and enterprises of Yu. Poorer than their Yokot'an neighbors, many of these highlanders ended up migrating to Yu, to serve among the Great Companies as sailors or marines. But after the 1750s, an economic crisis from which the Mutul never entirely recovered greatly reduced the economic opportunities across the Divine Kingdom. Ayukjay and O'de people especially suffered during this time as they ended up constantly sidelined in favour of their Yokot'an, Nuu Davi, and Ben Naa neighbors. These same ethnies would become core components of the Noble Republic of Northern Oxidentale during the Sajal War. As a result, Ayukjay and O'de people would mostly side with the Royalists in that civil war, forming pockets of resistance against the Noble Republic' conscription and taxation. It's then that the expression "People of the Machete" first appeared.

In the aftermath of the Civil War, the Ilok'tab Dynasty wished to reward its partisans across the country, the Men of the Machete included. The idea of a "Witz Machilob" (Mountaineers) Vice-Kingdom was floated, but ultimately a different solution was prefered. Yokok'ab was divided in two, its highlands becoming the Yajawil of Joy Chan, which was still dominated by a Yokot'an aristocracy despite the greater powers acquired by the Ayukjay and O'de at the provincial level. ALthough most of the O'de people lived in this new state, the bulk of the Ayukjay population would remain in the Yajawil of Kanol where they acquired provincial-level autonomy.

In Joy Chan, inter-community violences would become the norm between the Yokot'an and the O'de, to the point the former would give the latter the name of Ok'ol, "The Mud". After the first wave of expropriation and redistribution of the lands that followed the Sajal War, during which Royalist troops played a key role in law enforcement, the region was left more-or-less to fend for itself by the royal authorities. In the void left, elites of both sides would recruit their own "companies-at-arms" to hunt down thieves, opposing bandits, and negotiate the return of stolen property. The O'de troops, obviously, were mostly made up of People of the Machete.

This proto ethnic war was ultimately won by the Yokot'an elites who secured the Yu - Sakulew railroad and the S'aa River waterway.