Runit Tribes

Runit Tribes (Breheimian: Rønittstammene, Runit: Runmiklaanit) refers to the part of the Runit People who retain a 'traditional' lifestyle through nomadic animal husbandry and hunting. There are three distinct Runit Tribes in Breheim; the Esatorvaklaani, the Jäätikköklaani and the Sukuklaani. The Breheimian government estimates that a total of roughly 3,200 individuals are a part of one of the three tribes, while the tribes themselves claim they have nearly 5,000 members in total.

History

While the Runit Tribes claim to uphold the ancient lifestyle of the Runmi People, nomadic Runit traditions are only six centuries year old according to most historians, only becoming significant in the 17th century. Before the Runit were forced away from the fertile southern regions of the Breheimian Archipelago, most Runit had a sedentary lifestyle which they brought with them when fleeing northwards during the 11th and 12th centuries. Most Runit then made a living through fishing, as well as some animal husbandry and hunting. While heavily clan-based and lacking much in the way of hierarchial stratification, Runit polities couldn't be considered tribal in this time. The three currently existing Runit Tribes all date back to the 18th century, and started out more as a political movement led by former chiefs and warriors who had fought the Breheimian Invasion of 1801 which led to the annexation of all Runit lands. The Runmi Tribes initially fought the Breheimians utilizing guerrilla tactics, only later becoming a society beyond a military force (a process that was complete only in the 1860s).

Beliefs

'Tribals' shun most things associated with Breheimians and Breheimian domination, which include the consumption of fish and whale. Tribals also reject education and refuse to send their children to Breheimian schools, which has led to Runit Tribes having a high degree of illiteracy. They also reject medicine and treatment at Breheimian hospitals, instead relying on shamans and traditional Runit medicine to treat their ills. The only form of modern technology the Runit Tribes do not reject, is all kinds of weapons (with the logic that if it can be used to kill a Breheimian, it is a good thing).

In terms of religion, tribal Runits all follow traditional Runit beliefs, and have violently opposed both Christian missionaries and attempts by pagans to spread their beliefs among them. While only a minority of the Runit population still adhere to traditional Runit beliefs, all Runit Tribals do. However, the traditional religion of the tribals differ somewhat from both the religious customs of non-tribal Runit who still adhere to the old runit faith, and from evidence of the original Runit faiths per archaeological digs. Tribal Runit believe that fish, particularly 'noble' creatures like whales and dolphins, are the souls of those who have passed on. This is used as justification with regards to their opposition to eating fish, although the belief is most likely no older than two or three hundred years.

Tribes

While dubbed the 'Runit Tribes', the three tribes themselves consider themselves to be clans. Each of the three Runit 'tribes' are further divided into tribes, who move as one community, with the entire clan only meeting occasionally. The different clans also have different attitudes, politics and religious beliefs.

The Esatorvaklaani is the largest of the three clans, consisting of seven tribes (each of between two hundred to three hundred individuals). The Esatorvaklaani is considered the most 'moderate' or 'liberal' of the three clans, accepting emergency treatment at Breheimian clinics and hospitals if it is essential. The Esatorvaklaani does not have a taboo against learning to speak and write Breheimian, although only a minority of them are fluent.

The Jäätikköklaani is considered the most isolationist of the three clans, and is the only to extend the anti-technology beliefs to include firearms (both military and hunting rifles), instead using bows and spears for protecting their reindeer from polar bears. They also refuse to sell furs and meat to ethnic Breheimians, and even mixed-breeds, leading to them being the most economically backwards of the three clans. The Jäätikköklaani consists of only three distinct tribes, making them the least common.

The Sukuklaani is by far the most militant of the three clans, and its tribal leaders and shamen consider the War of 1802 to not yet be over. While they rarely outright attack Breheimians or structures, the Sukuklaani have been suspected of being behind some 'disappearances' in the north over the years. They are also known for training in small-unit tactics, and eagerly acquires whatever military technology they can get their hands on. The Sukuklaani are also suspected of being involved in organized crime, particularly dealing in drugs and tobacco. They are considered the most affluent and organized of the three clans, and consist of a total of five tribes.

Demographics

Tribal Runit are nomadic, but all three tribes move roughly in the area corresponding to the last Runit holdouts in the far north, primarily within the borders of Runitland and Jørland. The Jäätikköklaani in particular primarily stay within Runitland, while the Esatorvaklaani in Runitland and Jørland. The Sukuklaanit are known for travelling wider distances, occasionally even as far south as Svartskog and Fjordland. The total number of tribal runit are difficult to determine, as they as a rule claim they live in Storsir, the capital of Runitland. The total population of Tribal Runit are commonly estimated to be between three thousand and six thousand. In 1823, half of all ethnic Runit were a member of a tribe, including the now-defunct Itsepäinenklaani, while in the modern age only between 2.5-5% of Runit are part of a tribe/clan.

Economy

Tribal Runit are the most economically backwards people in the Republic of Breheim. Their primary economic endeavor consist of herding vast herds of reindeer, which they use for meat, hide, milk and bones. The total number of reindeer owned by tribal runit is unknown, as the Republic suspects that the tribes hide the vast majority of their herds whenever officials are sent to count them for tax purposes. As their faith and politics prohibit them from fishing (and eating fish and whale), this is off-limits to them, and their anti-technology and anti-foreigner views prohibit them from engaging significantly in tourism. The only other economic venture the Runit Tribes are known to engage in, is hunting, including Polar Bear hunting (which they revile as a nearly satanic creature). The Runit Tribes are also suspected of engaging in organized crime by the FSB.

The Tribal Runit are also known for refusing to use Breheimian Kroner as a medium of exchange, preferring bartering. The Sukuklaani have been known to utilize Menelmacari Credits in recent years, which have been used as backing for accusations of them engaging in organized crime. The Runit Tribes in general deal little with the rest of the country, only occasionally trading with sedentary Runits in the north, usually meats for southern food imports. However, due to their fierce stance against technology, trade with the rest of the country is often prohibited by individual chieftains.

Organization

Each tribe within the clans are led by a chieftain and a shaman in unison, the chieftain normally being the oldest male while the shaman is a former apprentice of a former shaman. The clan themselves have no leader, but in times of war the chieftains of the three clans elects a warchief (something which hadn't been done for eighty years when Matti Leino was elected to lead the tribes in the Runmi Uprising). The exact roles of the chieftain and the shaman varies between tribe to tribe, but overall the shaman is responsible for passing on the tribe's history, organizing religious and spiritual events, divining the future and other spiritual affairs, while the chieftain is responsible for more day-to-day administrative decisions. The practice of having shamen have come under the suspicion of the FSB many times, with there being nine incidents of tribal shamen being arrested for violating anti-magic laws.