Tenerians

Tenerians

ⴽⴻⵍ ⵜⴻⵏⴻⵔⴻ
Tenerian men in traditional desert dress.
Total population
13,000,000
Charnea	9,000,000
Messidor	3,000,000
Tyreseia	450,000
Mutul	200,000
Alanahr	175,000
Latium	150,000
Languages
Tamashek
Religion
Kaharnic religions
Related ethnic groups
Other Amaziɣs

The Kel Tenere (Tamashek: ⴽⴻⵍ ⵜⴻⵏⴻⵔⴻ), also known as the Tenerians or Imuhaɣ, are a nomadic Amaziɣ group indigenous to central Scipia and have historically inhabited parts of Aɣmatia, southern Tyreseia, parts of Alanahr and the Charnean Empire. In the modern day they are less widespread and are found primarily in Charnea as the native people of the Tenere desert region. The term Kel Tenere translates to "People of the Desert" and is used by the Tenerians to differentiate themselves from the non-Amaziɣ Kel Eraahar or "People of the River", which encompasses the majority of the ethnic groups in modern day Charnea. In a more general context, the Tenerians refer to themselves as Imuhaɣ or "free people" , a term which relates them to their Amaziɣ cousins and distinguishes them from other desert dwelling non-Amaziɣ such as the Gharbaic Bedouins. Today most of those who self identify as Kel Tenere are have become urbanized and transitioned to a modern sedentary lifestyle, while a small minority retain the ancestral nomadic way of life. However, most Tenerians observe a version of the nomadic Tenerian culture including traditional music, festivities, customs, religion and other prominent features of the culture such as the martial art of Tebillant and a gun culture rooted in nomadic practices. The Kel Tenere united under a powerful chieftain Ihemod the Inheritor, who went on to establish the Charnean Empire in the latter half of the 14th century. These events represented a deep upheaval of the Tenerian social fabric, breaking down a large part of the caste system and begining a period of settlement and cultural exchange for the previously entirely nomadic and relatively isolated group. In the modern day, Tenerian society and culture is deeply defined by its role within the nation of Charnea and retains a system of clan membership and customs rooted in its nomadic past.

Society

The social structure of the Kel Tenere is matrilineal and matriarchal in strong contrast to the many neighboring patriarchal cultures. While Tenerian society retains strong gender roles which discourage women from participating in activities such as hunting, herding or perusing a military career, positions of political and social importance such as healers, priestesses, certain types of artisans and most importantly leaders of the family unit have contributed to the prominence of Tenerian women wielding significant political and social power compared to their male counterparts. Because of its contrast with surrounding cultures, the prominence of women within Tenerian and by extension Charnean society is viewed as a novelty and a unique feature of the local culture by outside observers. Historically, the society of the Kel Tenere was highly stratified with a nomadic warrior caste at the top, ruling over semi-nomadic vassals and artisans which crafted goods and tend the herds of goats and camels which sustained the nomadic tribes, and finally the slave caste which acted as the captive labor force for stronger noble clans. Some vestiges of the caste system can still be seen in Tenerian society, such as the division between remaining nomadic and semi-nomadic clans largely descended from old noble lineages, in contrast to the vassal and artisan groups which settled and later urbanized through the middle ages and the early modern era. In addition, the slave caste has since come to be recognized as a distinct ethnic group in its own right known as the Ikelan, formed from the merging of diverse cultures of those enslaved under the Charnean Empire to produce a culture related to and molded by Tenerian overlords yet unique and distinct from the Kel Tenere. However, the mobilization of the Tenerian population by the conqueror Ihemod and the subsequent upheavals of society as the tribes became intertwined with the governance of the empire led to the overall dissolution of the once rigid caste structure and general homogenization of the Kel Tenere society.

Clans

Among the Kel Tenere, membership within a clan or Tawset is defined by common lineage stemming from a mother ancestor called the Tasna Anna, which usually lends her name to the surviving clan. According to tradition, the legendary Queen Kaharna is the universal mother ancestor or Erban Anna of all Tenerians and sister Amaziɣ nations, forming a common lineage transcending individual clanic and tribal identity called the Kel Kaharna, from which the name "Charnea" is derived. The social structure of the clan is based on the female descendants of the Tasna Anna, as the clans are matrilocal and the clan's men will often join other clans through marriage while the clan's women remain within the group through the generations. Therefore, the intra-clanic structure is defined by a network of related women while the inter-clanic structure of tribes is defined by the movement of men from one clan to another through marriage ties which serve to link the different clans together and maintaign cohesion within a wider political confederation. The top of the clan structure is occupied by the clan mother or Anna n Tawset usually called Tamghart or "Elder" alongside her husband the Amghar. This chief pairing of the female and male clan elders provide the civil and military leadership of the clan respectively. In the modern day, clan mothers act as matrons of these extended Tawset family units and provide political leadership to the community, while their Amghar husbands often act as the equivalent of police chiefs or leaders of the clan's militia as they continue to play the role of protector for their clans.

Confederations

Numerous clans of the Kel Tenere will associate with one another in broader confederations, which have in the past been viewed as nations unto themselves but are seen today as large regional affiliations within the Tenerian led nation of Charnea. Historically, the political structure of the confederations was based on a system of elective rule by which the many clan mothers of the member clan lineages would elect one clan mother from among their number to serve as the confederation's Queen or Tamenokalt a title meaning "woman of the tents" or more loosely "mother of us all". The rest of the clan mothers would serve as the advisory council called the Agraw Imgharan to the sitting Tamenokalt, and would hold a new election for Tamenokalt in case of the current ruler's death or abdication. The Agraw Imgharan of each confederation also reserved the power to override or remove a sitting ruler if the consensus to do so was strong enough among the clans. In times of pronounced conflict and especially war between confederations or against outside forces, the male leader of the confederation, the Amenokal, would become the paramount chieftain instead of the usual female ruler and the confederation would temporarily transition into a form of military rule under the supreme command of the Amenokal and the military leaders from each clan, the Amghars. The selection of the Amenokal is based entirely on the will of the Tamenokalt and the female clan elders however, preventing powerful Amenokals from naming their own successors and wrestling power away from the matriarchy in the long run. Since the foundation of the Charnean Empire in the 14th century, the importance of the confederations has diminished significantly, as the Empire itself became a sort of super-confederation of all Tenerian clans under the Empress, the Tamenokalt-Gaabikoyo. Under the Imperial system, an element of elective monarchy was retained as the clan mothers of the many clans of the empire, along with the key military leaders, formed an Imperial Agraw Imgharan which served as the legislative body of the Empire and elected the successor to the Empress from among the suitable female members of the royal clan.

Culture

Language

The only surviving Tenerian language in the modern day is Tamashek, a language originating with the historical Kel Awakar confederation in central Charnea. In the distant past, most Tenerian confederations possesed their own dialect or distinct variation of the root Amaziɣ language. However, through the homogenization and standardization which occured under the Charnean Empire, the diversity of the local languages was lost and only the Awakari Tamashek variation remained as the standard version across the Empire. Because of Tamashek's status as a lingua franca for many of the diverse ethnic groups residing in Charnea, many loanwords from the native languages of these non-Tenerian peoples have been adopted into common use in Tamashek, such as the Gharbaic word "sooq" meaning marketplace or the Zarma word "kaaruko" meaning horseman. The Academy of Tamashek Culture (Tamashek: Asinag n Tussna Tamashek, ⴰⵙⵉⵏⴰⴳ ⵏ ⵜⵓⵙⵙⵏⴰ ⵜⴰⵎⴰⵛⴻⴽ) headquartered in Agnannet serves as the linguistic authority over Tamashek, and collaborates with language organizations in the Messidor Union over matters of Amaziɣ language and education.

Cuisine

Main article: Charnea § Cuisine

Clothing

The clothing of the Kel Tenere is shaped by their environment, particularly the dangerous heat of their desert homeland and its frequent dust storms. The most notable feature of the traditional Tenerian dress is the prominence of the veil, especially among men. The iconic tagelmust turban used by Tenerian men includes a mouth-veil or litham which serves the practical purpose of protecting the wearer from inhaling airborne sand and dust particles but is also reinforced through cultural norms as Tenerian men are expected by custom to cover their nose and mouth around strangers and those of higher status than themselves as a matter of respect. Women occasionally wear a feminine version of the veil known as the tasuwart that covers less of the face, as the expectation to cover one's face in public does not extend to women. Although not all Tenerians continue to observe this tradition regarding the covering of the face, it remains commonplace particularly among the rural and nomadic populations as well as in the Charnean military, earning Tenerian fighters the moniker "veiled men".

Tenerian clothes are generally made from the desirable flax-derived linen fabric, as well as wool fashioned from goat, sheep and camel hairs. A wide variety of colors are present, ranging from the natural colors of the fabirs used, to bright dyes such as indigo blue strongly associated with warriors and men of high status in Tenerian society. A type of pagne known as afer is worn by women, while kaftans of many types are ubiquitous and worn by both men and women. Other traditional forms of shirts, pants and dresses are also commonplace, as are foreign style articles of clothing and headgear such as T-shirts or Tzonecahuilli.

Housing

Through the process of urbanization and settlement of the Kel Tenere, architectural styles and permanent buildings have been adopted by the group and become hallmarks of the Tenerian settlements found across Charnea and its former territories. Some Tenerians that retain the nomadic pastoralist lifestyle continue to live in the traditional tent, which is usually fashioned from animal hide. The term of this traditional tent, Ehaket, is also the term for "household" in the Charnean Tamashek language. Both these tents and their metaphorical counterparts in the form of permanent Tenerian houses are customarily the property of the wife and matron of the particular family. In the same manner as the historical nomadic living style, extended families are broken up into clusters of separate nuclear households referred to as a camp or amezzar, also a taddak. These Amezzar often share communal facilities such as a kitchen and bathhouse, and may take the shape of a cluster of free standing buildings that may or may not be enclosed with a perimeter wall or fence, or in more urban settings a small complex of individual apartments with shared facilities. A common practice among unmarried young women is to live in a tent in the courtyard of their parent's household, as a means of establishing a degree of independence and symbolically founding their own household while remaining within the confines of the family structure. The iconic Akalifri ground houses built by Tenerians in the Ninva desert also follow the model of the amezzar complex with several individual households sharing common spaces and facilities, generally all attached to the same pit courtyard.

Art

Traditional Tenerian art takes the form of items that can be worn or carried, such as jewelry, handicrafts and ornate weapons. Jewelry in particular is very prominent among Kel Tenere communities, and is frequently worn in both formal and casual settings. It is usually made of silver or gold which can be found in mineral rich regions of the Ninva desert, and occasionally features precious stones such as sapphire or lapis lazuli. An iconic type of Tenerian jewelry is the Azut Cross, an ornate stone or metal piece worn on the forehead over the veil or as a pendant around the neck.

Music and poetry are of high importance to the Kel Tenere are serve not only as means of artistic expression but also as social bonding activities regularly preformed by family and clan groups to reaffirm interpersonal connections and mark important events. Instruments such as the amzad and tanbour, bendir drums, as well as modern or foreign instruments such as classical and electric guitars are hallmarks of the classic Tenerian musical styles such as takamba, the most popular music and dance style in modern day Charnea. Songs and poems, usually preformed with musical accompaniment, are both ancient traditional melodies and newer or occasion-specific pieces. It is commonplace for singers or performers to sing original or modified lyrics over long established musical melodies and rhythms. In the modern day, this custom has led to the widespread trend of sampling of popular foreign songs and musical pieces by Charnean artists.

Weapons

Martial culture is of major importance to the Kel Tenere, especially among men. Owning and carrying weapons is seen as one of the key signifiers of manhood or male adulthood alongside wearing the tagelmust. The most common and iconic of the traditional Tenerian weapons is the tellak, a straight bladed double edged steel or iron dagger worn in a sheath fastened to the non-dominant forearm. Traditionally, adolescent boys would craft their first tellak with the aid of the clan's blacksmiths as a rite of passage, however in the modern day these tellaks are usually family heirlooms passed down from father to son rather than crafted by the son themselves. Another traditional weapon of significant importance is the takoba, a double edged straight sword with a meter long blade. Because swords are seen as martial weapons, these are generally not carried and remain in the household as treasured possessions, while tellaks can be worn on a man's person while they go out in public. The Tenerian recurve bow or taganze is an iconic weapon used during the founding wars of Charnea, retaining cultural significance and a modern day role in leisure hunting activities although its use as a status signifier is less than that of the bladed arms. Beginning in the 18th century, firearms began to be widely adopted by the Kel Tenere and displace the practical role of these traditional arms in the martial culture of the clans. Jezail syle firearms gained a similar role as a symbol of manhood as the tellak or takoba, a status which was eventually transferred to lever action firearms as well as modern styles of rifle. Bolt action rifles and even assault rifles fill this role in the modern day, kept by men especially those of high standing as symbols of their adulthood and their status as protectors of the family and guarantors of the community's safety. Tenerian martial culture is largely responsible for the high degree of personal armament found in Charnea today.