Bukavu

At one point in the distant past Bukavu really was the unified kingdom it purports to be. All 12 tribes swore fealty to the Queen-Mother and united once a year to pay their taxes and to receive a blessing. This ritual is still observed, but they ring more and more hollow and are often attended by "allies" who are actively trying to destroy one another.

Bukavu is divided starkly by its interior and costal regions. The coast boasts of large city-states of fitted stone, sustained by continuous trade. The interior is harsher but more unified. The people of the interior rarely fight one another unless the situation is truly desperate. The peoples of the coast, on the other hand, always have something or other that they've decided is worth fighting over, and their fights often spill over to the interior.

The interior is speckled with rich iron mines as well as sources of more obscure metals whose value was not fully appreciated until the Sunrise Fleet discovered the New World.

## Politics of Bukavu

#### The Macro

Bukavu is currently ruled by the Queen-Mother who's power really only extends to the savannas of Greater Bukavu everywhere else within the empire they're more of a figurehead that unifies the nation rather than a true political entity. The power of Bukavu is heavily skewed towards the south of the country with the major urban centers of Timbukur, Bisigour, Ja'kaan and Samkur serving as the major seats of power in the Empire.

There are 3 major leagues in Bukavu.

* The Ahilijaziir (abrv. A.J.R): Is the most prominent league in Bukavu having a foothold in all major cities in southern Bukavu, they're primarily a trade league and offer offices to local merchant guilds and producers, They're responsible for most if not all the trade that goes on in Bukavu and they standardize and regulate the prices of goods and services take place in Bukavu. They are headquartered in Ja'kaan.
* The Shotella : The Shotella are a mercenary league primarily concerned with the quality and production of arms and armor as well as the enlistment of people into mercenary guilds within Bukavu. They're indifferent to the conflict between the A.J.R and the Angumi but are preferential to those who fund their mercenaries more than those who don't and as such have a better relationship to the A.J.R who often charter their mercenaries to prevent piracy of their trade goods. The Shotella are headquartered in Timbukur but have port offices out west in Tlemcore
* The Angumi : The Angumi are a league of whalers, sailors, and privateers who're primarily concerned with the hospitality and treatment of their workers and as such have a hostile relationship with the A.J.R because treating sailors fairly isn't profitable enough. They use their control over Ambergris, Pearl and other deep sea luxuries as a bargaining chip against the A.J.R but if that isn't enough they also have privateers who prevent illegal poaching and trading in Ambergris by ununionized sailors as well as interrupt A.J.R trading fleets. The Angumi also has an interest in promoting the rights of the Mashriqi and as such are able to have more sway over the Queen-Mother of Bukavu through forming alliances with tribal factions and getting Angumi union members elected to Grand Vizier in Samkur. The Angumi are headquartered in Bisigour but have offices in Tad, Samkur, Tlemcore and Alabari

#### The Micro

Each city within Bukavu has its own administrative set up, though there is some standardization when it comes to the less significant cities.

Notable Administrations

* Timbukur: Stratocratic Republic - (If you've served in the Shotella for more than 20 years are of distinguished enough service you're sworn into a congress and that congress elects a Marshal. The Marshal leads Timbukur until they're either deposed by congress or die).
* Samkur: Autocratic Republic - (If you're already leading a city within Bukavu or are leading a major tribal faction you're required to enter a summon after the Grand Vizier of Samkurs term ends (each term is 12 years) in this summon each participant must elect one of each other to represent the city of Samkur and the will of the Queen-Mother, The Queen-Mother's vote is worth 3 votes).
* Ja'kaan: Semi-Plutocratic Republic - (There are 5 counties within Ja'kaan, each county has a representative elected by the people and they all vote for a member of the 'Walimoullah' which are a group of Merchant Families who's leading members are eligible to become the governors of Ja'kaan)
* Bisigour: Unionized Democracy - (The city is led by a council of Angumi Union Members and the Leader of the Union leads the city)
* Tad: Commune - (due to the harsh environment surrounding Tad ownership is communal, the city behaves more like a settlement than anything else.)

## Ethnic Makeup of Bukavu

There are 4 major ethnic groups in Bukavu. The largest ethnic group are the Ahili, who inhabit the southern coast of continental Bukavu. The second largest ethnic group are the Jaziiri who inhabit the Island of Kisiwa-Tajiri (abrv. 'Kisiwa'). The third largest ethnic group are the Mashriqi who inhabit the vast savanna of Greater Bukavu and are primarily pastoralists. The 4th largest ethnic group are the Yinuin, they inhabit the far north of Bukavu and stick primarily to the icy coasts.

#### Culture of the Ahili & Jaziiri

Due to their shared history, Ahili and Jaziiri culture is very much intertwined with certain customs being shared between each other. One major similarity between Jaziiri/Ahili culture would be their perception of masculinity and femininity and how in Bukavu it is spectrum with masc and fem being at the poles and everything in between being androgyny. Another major similarity between the two would be heavy use of cosmetics among most people. They use these cosmetics because Ahili/Jaziiri standards of beauty are heavily intertwined with the spectrum masculinity and femininity that exists and as such it's considered rude not to make yourself pretty for the world to admire and pulls are person more towards the androgynous center of the spectrum if they choose not to wear makeup. Both cultures are very urban and as such theater and the arts are heavily appreciated in both cultures though, more so in Ahili than Jaziiri. The largest meal in both cultures is lunch and this is followed by nap around noon which ends at 3 or so. A distinct feature of Ahili culture are the traveling poets who sing the epics of old and hymns dedicated to Aqa and Lunarch. A distinct feature of Jaziiri cultural is the concept of the 'first barter' which is a trade practice in which they'll barter much less aggressively on the first sale of the day in order to bring luck and prosperity to them later (I.E if they're selling a barrel that they've marked up 50% they'll sell it at 25% instead). Both cultures are heavily reliant of commerce and maritime industry and have a very strong understanding of trade.

#### Culture of the Yinuin

Yinuini culture heavily centers around whaling and the family and generally most production within the northern cities are centered around family ownership of boats and supplies and such. Yinuini people much more reserved to other groups in Bukavu due to their infamy as Whalers. The Whale holds great significance in Yinuini culture and are considered near holy and when killed must be done so in a proper manner as not to summon bad omens or demons upon them and their crew. The crew of a Yinuini vessel is primarily composed of relatives of the Captain with sailors often being cousins or 2nd cousins of the captain. Due to the heavy familial elements of Yinuini culture, execution for criminal acts is considered equal to murder and as such is illegal in the Northern Cities, any serious crime is dealt with via exile to the south and has resulted in small diasporas of Yinuini people in other parts of Bukavu.

#### Culture of Mashriqi

Mashriqi culture is extremely hegemonic with the highest authority given to the Queen-Mother with Mashriqi people looking up to her as a messenger of Aqa, the lord of the universe. Cattle holds heavy significance in Mashriqi culture with cows and the products they provide being the primary bartering currency of the Mashriqi, they are very skilled at skirmishing and are renown for their hardiness and ability to survive the cruel savanna. The structure of their society is centered around the leadership of high guardians who act as spiritual leaders and servants of the Queen-Mother. High guardians are granted their title from spiritual journeys through the savanna that they must take every 10 years until they're succeeded through them succumbing to the savanna and this happens once they have not returned after the end of the 11th year of their absence. The High guardian blesses multiple candidates and once they die the oldest candidate succeeds and must go on their first journey.