All right, so here it is. Any questions and/or comments?
Leaders:
Kuzai Agung anak Suriawati, Chief of Batu Menangis
Sin Chik anak Murni, High Priest of Batu Menangis
Location:
Population:
700
Background/History:
Batu Menangis is a village of the Orang, a people indigenous to the region rather than descended from those migrating from the West. The earliest histories of the Orang are shrouded in myth and legend, but the Orang themselves believe themselves to have been founded by a warrior named Guntur and his 99 companions. They were born in the east but traveled west to carve out a land of their own, fighting and eventually exterminating a race of giants and claiming the mountains for their own. The women these men fathered children with would become the first matriarchs of the 120 clans of the Orang, massive extended families which spread throughout the Orang beyond the barriers of villages and bands. Batu Menangis is relatively new as a village, though the area has had the name for untold generations. The name means 'Weeping Stone' and refers to a great waterfall that pours out of a sheer cliff face near to the village itself.
Before the arrival of the men from the west, the Orang were simple hunter gatherers. They traveled from place to place, following game in an attempt to avoid starvation. Though they did indeed live in the mountains, there were also Orang who lived in the lowland regions. But no longer. For when the men of the west came, they desired land of their own. They claimed the more fertile land of the Orang, forcing them from their traditional hunting grounds and back towards their kin in the mountains. Today there are few, if any, Orang, outside of the great mountains that house them. However, the arrival of the western men was not without its up sides. Not all contact was violent, especially once the Orang were reduced to the mountainous land that the outsiders did not deign worth taking. And the outsiders brought the secrets of technology such as metalworking and agriculture, which the the Orang have begun to adopt.
However, the land in the mountains is not the most fertile and only the hardiest of crops will grow there. As a result there are still many bands of Orang who are hunter-gatherers and even the sedentary Orang must result to hunting and gathering to supplement what they are able to grow in the mountains. Batu Menangis itself was one of the earliest of Orang villages to spring up, thanks to its location alongside a lake and adjoining rivers making it more suited to agriculture than many other regions. It was governed much in the same way as the nomadic bands had been; a high priest dealt with spritual matters while wordly affairs were left to the chief. The high priest was chosen and trained by his predecessor while the chief was chosen by the village matriarchs, usually the eldest woman of each clan with members in the village. The earliest days were harsh on the Orang, as agriculture was a new concept to them and they had yet to learn anything beyond its very basics. Many died, but it was fewer than had been dying of hunger when they had traveled in nomadic bands. But as time went on the village would grow as the population boomed and nomadic bands decided to settle within the village, and other villages would be found among the Orang.
Though relations with outsiders are well enough that peaceful trading and negotiations are possible, there are a great many who are distrustful or outright hateful of the Orang. For the Orang are known to raid and pillage the villages of their neighbours as it is simply part of their way of life, and Batu Menangis is no different. But even worse in the minds of many is the fact that the raids are more than just that; they are also hunts. For among the Orang there is no stigma against the consumption of human flesh, in fact it is an everyday part of life. Unless one dies of disease traditional Orang funerals involve the ritual consumption of the deceased's flesh, and even after that the left over skin and bone are often used as crafting materials, as the Orang put no importance in a person's body once their spirit had fled it.
Batu Menangis
Leaders:
Kuzai Agung anak Suriawati, Chief of Batu Menangis
Sin Chik anak Murni, High Priest of Batu Menangis
Location:
Population:
700
Background/History:
Batu Menangis is a village of the Orang, a people indigenous to the region rather than descended from those migrating from the West. The earliest histories of the Orang are shrouded in myth and legend, but the Orang themselves believe themselves to have been founded by a warrior named Guntur and his 99 companions. They were born in the east but traveled west to carve out a land of their own, fighting and eventually exterminating a race of giants and claiming the mountains for their own. The women these men fathered children with would become the first matriarchs of the 120 clans of the Orang, massive extended families which spread throughout the Orang beyond the barriers of villages and bands. Batu Menangis is relatively new as a village, though the area has had the name for untold generations. The name means 'Weeping Stone' and refers to a great waterfall that pours out of a sheer cliff face near to the village itself.
Before the arrival of the men from the west, the Orang were simple hunter gatherers. They traveled from place to place, following game in an attempt to avoid starvation. Though they did indeed live in the mountains, there were also Orang who lived in the lowland regions. But no longer. For when the men of the west came, they desired land of their own. They claimed the more fertile land of the Orang, forcing them from their traditional hunting grounds and back towards their kin in the mountains. Today there are few, if any, Orang, outside of the great mountains that house them. However, the arrival of the western men was not without its up sides. Not all contact was violent, especially once the Orang were reduced to the mountainous land that the outsiders did not deign worth taking. And the outsiders brought the secrets of technology such as metalworking and agriculture, which the the Orang have begun to adopt.
However, the land in the mountains is not the most fertile and only the hardiest of crops will grow there. As a result there are still many bands of Orang who are hunter-gatherers and even the sedentary Orang must result to hunting and gathering to supplement what they are able to grow in the mountains. Batu Menangis itself was one of the earliest of Orang villages to spring up, thanks to its location alongside a lake and adjoining rivers making it more suited to agriculture than many other regions. It was governed much in the same way as the nomadic bands had been; a high priest dealt with spritual matters while wordly affairs were left to the chief. The high priest was chosen and trained by his predecessor while the chief was chosen by the village matriarchs, usually the eldest woman of each clan with members in the village. The earliest days were harsh on the Orang, as agriculture was a new concept to them and they had yet to learn anything beyond its very basics. Many died, but it was fewer than had been dying of hunger when they had traveled in nomadic bands. But as time went on the village would grow as the population boomed and nomadic bands decided to settle within the village, and other villages would be found among the Orang.
Though relations with outsiders are well enough that peaceful trading and negotiations are possible, there are a great many who are distrustful or outright hateful of the Orang. For the Orang are known to raid and pillage the villages of their neighbours as it is simply part of their way of life, and Batu Menangis is no different. But even worse in the minds of many is the fact that the raids are more than just that; they are also hunts. For among the Orang there is no stigma against the consumption of human flesh, in fact it is an everyday part of life. Unless one dies of disease traditional Orang funerals involve the ritual consumption of the deceased's flesh, and even after that the left over skin and bone are often used as crafting materials, as the Orang put no importance in a person's body once their spirit had fled it.