Nuchanun

Nuchanun

Three Nuchanun village heads in traditional clothes.
Total population
Around 2 to 4 millions in 2010
Regions with significant populations
Template:Country data Kalakora
Religion
White Path
Related ethnic groups
Mutun peoples, N’yuho-Diidxazá peoples, Pulaui

The Nuchanuns (tb : Nuchanunob) are a Kalakoran ethnic group descended from the Oxidentaleses but also Ochraneses settlers that first arrived during the period of the Mutulese Ochran, between the 17th and 19th century. Their identity as Nuchanuns developed much later, after contact with Belisarian and native peoples. Contrary to other ethnics groups, they are not characterized by a common ancestry but by a common religion, the Sakbe (tb : Sacbih), and a common language, the Tibih or ”Language of the Road” which is their mothertongue.

Nomenclature

The name Nuchanun is derived from the Tibih word Nuch which generally means "joined" or "together". As such, the name is generally translated as "Those who are together" or "They are together". They gave themselves this name after the Second Expulsion, replacing the previous name of Bihuinichob, Peoples of the Road. The transition between one name to the other is not clear-cut, and for a long period they could be used as synonym or, in the case of Peoples of the Road, could also be used in reference to the Tsurushimeses who had been victims of the First Explusion. The Kalakoran Arhturistan Authority and then the Republic of Kalakora referred to the Nunchanuns as "The Mutuleses" in their census and other public documents.

Geography

After the Second Expopriation, the Nunchanuns came to occupy a large territory centered around the Romney River Valley. They were gradually pushed southward down this river, and are now especially present alongside the southern borders, in the regionq surrounding the cities of Lordsburg, Kaiemi, and Altine. However, smaller populations are spread throughout the country due to recent population movements before 2010.

History

Nojpeten Yajawil

Originally, what would become Kalakora was a distant colony of the Tsurushima serving as a refreshment port for both its trade and war fleets in the western vespanian sea. The Tsurushimeses authorities maintained friendly relationship with the Austronesians natives, who would sell them sheep, cattle, and vegetables which would then replenish the ships reserves of food. Sailing equipment and reparations were manufactured or performed by the artisans of the coastal colonies themselves, alongside other services to sailors who were recuperating from their long travels. In that, the first contact of these colonies with Mutuleses Lakamnahob wasn't outside of the ordinary, participating in the greater Vespanian Trade Circuit and the Maritime Jade Road.

After the Kirishtan Uprising, the Takita Shogunate started to seclude itself from the rest of the world and left its colonies in a state of de-facto autonomy. These colonies then sided with the Mutuleses traders during the War for Kahei and were thusly integrated to the Mutulese "Market System", gaining the status of Batabils.

Initially, the Lakamnahob had no intention of planting a permanent Oxidentalese settlement in Autearoa. It devoted as little attention as possible to the development or administration of the colony, leaving the Tsurushimeses administrators in place. The Mutulese presence resumed itself to the Nojpeten Ch'ob, a council of the representatives of all the Lakamnahob who had invested in the colony. Thus the Batabils was operated under a strict corporate hierarchy, with the Tsurushimeses Batabob serving as a kind of CEOs answering to the Mutuleses shareholders.

It's only after the First Bandhaśēka Rebellion that the Divine Throne started to directly intervene in Vespanian Affairs. The Autearoa Batabils were thus re-organized and regrouped under a single administrative entity : the Nojpen Yajawil or Duchy of Nojpeten as it was often translated. The Tsurushimeses Batabils remained in power but now had to answer to the Yajaw, nominated by the K'uhul Ajaw, and the powers of the Ch'ob were greatly reduced. The Nojpeten Yajaw promoted the growth of the colony by offering farmlands to veterans who finished their service in the Mutulese Vespanian Fleet. It was understood as a way to develop the agriculture and horticulture of Nojpeten, to better serve the role of a refreshment port for all passing-by ships.

The Nojpeten Yajaw became a cosmopolitan region with the presence of people of Native, Benaajabi, Pulaui, Tsurushimese, or Mutulese origins. Mutli became the official administrative language of the colony and the lingua franca, while temples to Chaac and other White Path divinities were erected. The Colony's economy rested on its agriculture, producing vegetables, fruits, meat, and other foodstuff for the sailors and fleets, but also on its shipmaking industry, building ships aimed for private traders, with complement from its artisans population who produced goods and utility items aimed at sailors and their crews. The service industry developed around these ports, including hotels, bars, canteens, money changers, and others.

Arthuristan Dominion

Relations between some of the colonists and the new administration quickly soured. The Arthuristan brought liberal attitudes which were utterly alien to the colonists. New attorneys-general and judges had been imported from Arthurista and many of the preexisting Mutulese era institutions were abolished. Namely the Market Sysytem and the only vestige of representative government in Nojpeten, the Ch'ob. The new judiciary then established circuit courts.

The Arthuristan divided their new colony's society into three category with themselves at the top, the "Mutuleses" as secondary citizens, and finally the Tsurushimeses who were considered untrustworthy in the wake of the Tsuru-Arthuristan conflict and were thus denied most rights and full-citizenship. Tsurushimeses families that had ruled over the colony's administration for more than 800 years were ousted and replaced by Arthuristan bureaucrats. Riots and other protests followed but were harshly repressed and the new colonial authorities. However, because of the past conflicts and wars between Tsurushima and the Mutul, the authorities managed, through a subtle propaganda campaign, to build distrust among the two communities to the point that, when the First Expulsion happened, only a small number of "Mutuleses" opposed the expropriation and exile deeper inland of all people considered to be of Tsurushimese origin.

Nonetheless, the number of conflicts between the "Mutuleses" and the "Arthuristans" continued to rise as the latter became more and more numerous. Protests and riots against their status as secondary citizens and the privileges of the Belisarians were sparkling all thorough the colony. Perceiving it as a threat to their rule, the Authorities did not even attempt to negociate with the protesters and proclaimed an Edit of Expropriation of all people considered to be Mutulese by law, followed by an Edit of Exile forcing the Mutuleses to move inland, like the Tsurushimeses before. Thus started the Second Expropriation.

Culture

Religion

The vast majority of the Nuchanuns are White Pilgrims, with only a tiny minority having converted to christianity in contact with the Arthuristans. Religion is considered to be one of the three pillars of the Nunchanun identity, differenciating it from the Christians Belisarians and the Shintoists Tsurushimeses for example.

The practice of the White Path by the Nunchanuns has been marked by the Second Expropriation. It destroyed all form of organized religious practices, replacing it by a network of charismatic figures called "Teachers". These Teachers are often not only religious figures but also community leaders, especially in the more remote settlements. The Teachers can take different titles based on unwritten traditions and public recognition, from "Great Teacher" to "Oracle" or even "Prophet".

Beyond the breakdown of the vertical hierarchy, the Second Expropriation and the exile led to the re-interpretation of the White Path's teachings. A strong oral tradition was developed, specific to the Nuchanun peoples. Teachers have described the Nuchanuns as either the "Perfect Pilgrim", having followed the Great Path through Xibalba, or that on the contrary they are still going through Xibalba but will one day re-emerge to retake what was once their. This theme of the road and the passage of Xibalba is clearly visible in many Nuchanun festivities who often ritually re-enact it by having participants go through dark tunnels, stay in underground rooms to meditate, or run under a long corridor of ropes, or other, often colorful, objects, held by two rows of people. The idea of the journey, travels, pilgrimages, the Origin and the relationship of the people to it, are all explored in a rich yet obscure oral tradition.