The Wuhdige Tribe

The Wuhdige tribe is a small tribe of Selka that have settled on Yentoi off the far-eastern coast of Atokhekwoi. The tribe consists of seven families: the Tokuan, the Yupa, the Dondweh, the Agoh and the Elu, the Julu and the Woiwoi. making up a 250 or so individuals. The chieftain is Tokuanhe's great grandson, Aloo of the Tokuan family, a mighty and at times rash warrior, while the current champion is Duhwah, grandson of Odende. Their capital and largest settlement is known as Hohm. In the late Age of Lords, during the period known as the Amazing Decade, the Wuhdige were joined by two more tribes, the Byuto and the Patum.

## History

The Wuhdige tribe's five families have long wandered together from the First Beach, following the southeastern coast through temperate summers and freezing winters. In the beginning, there were six patriarchs: Tokuan, Yupa, Dondweh, Agoh, Elu and Wogweh, all agreeing that to survive further south, they would have to stick together. So they followed the fish schools southwards, generations being born and dying along the way.

As they reached the eastern tip of the continent, they looked north to an island far off the coast. Tokuanhe, the new chieftain after his father, swam ahead with the males, but the Wogwehs refused to cross the strait, deeming the swim too dangerous after days of tiring treks. As such, they remained on the mainland.

As the remaining Wuhdige arrived on the island, they found a cave not too far away from the sea. There, they settled down.

## Culture

The Wuhdige have, first and foremost, a very strong family culture, one that permeates nearly ever daily action and decision made by its members. Their society has a patriarchal structure, with each family being led by the oldest or strongest male and decisions being largely made by males. They are also responsible for fishing and exploring. Still, females are respected and taught to forage and fish and maintain the home.

In terms of daily affairs, the Wuhdige often arrange family-wide or even tribe-wide games and tournaments such as stone lifting or stone throwing, running or swimming competitions or, more recently, painting games.

#### Pantheon

The Wuhdige (currently) have five major gods in their pantheon:

* **Old Yop in the Sky** (also known as Ol' Yop or Old Man Yop): Yop is the god of the sky, the weather and of throwing things really, really hard. He is most notably honoured for teaching the Wuhdige how to make fire - something he did when the Wuhdige reasoned that lightning makes fire because Yop throws lightning so hard at the ground that the ground starts crying or spitting with pain, which manifests as sparks. Yop is also a god of wisdom and knowledge.
* **Alae** (Wuhdige pronounciation of Arae): When Serenis visited the Wuhdige, she told them about her creator Arae, goddess of families. As family is extremely important to the Wuhdige, they decided to make Alae a matron goddess, holding her as their highest, most respected deity and frequently naming their children after her.
* **Killon** (Wuhdige pronounciation of Kirron; also known as the Red Boy or the Funny Pa): Killon is the creator of the selka, and treated in Wuhdige lore as a legendary hero and a master of fun and games. He is frequently honoured before great tournaments.
* **Lugo**: While Lugo has existed in Wuhdige lore since even before Tokuan's time as a god of the sea, fish and winter, there was a recent resurgence in faith and worship of this particular god, or more correctly, goddess. After Ashalla visited the Wuhdige tribe and was mistakenly thought to be Lugo, Lugo has become a goddess of paint and art as well as the aforementioned qualities, and is now second only to Alae in importance. The Wuhdige sacrifice painted fish to her every week.
* **Damasta**: Damasta is the Wuhdige pronounciation of the phrase "the master", which is what they were asked to call Shengshi when he first came to them. While Shengshi is a god of rivers and agriculture, Damasta has a reputation as a war god on account of him blessing the tribe with shields when they needed armour against the Elu-Wogweh attacks. When going to war, Wuhdige warriors paint a yellow, red and dark-brown reptillian skull on their faces in Damasta's honour.

In addition to the pantheon, the Wuhdige are stout users of Azura's Alma after they die, though they don't consider Azura as part of their pantheon, seeing as to them, she is a goddess of death and not really one to be worshipped.

## The symbols of the Wuhdige clans

Ever since Lugo (Ashalla) came by the island, the Wuhdige have deftly used the gift of painting to further develop their family traits.

Family is everything to the Wuhdige, making up the basic structure of society and mirroring itself in the names of most tribesmembers. Currently, the Wuhdige consist of seven families:

* Tokuan: The Tokuans are the chieftains of the Wuhdige, and have been since the very first generation with chief Tokuan. They are typically proud and strong, and perhaps especially focused on raising their children to be "true Wuhdige".
	+ Current family head: Aloo, son of Jotokan.
* Yupa: The Yupas are the best fishermen and gatherers among the Wuhdige. While the elders live in the Home Cave, the youngsters are encouraged to live on the fringes of the main settlement, especially by the ocean or by the forest.
	+ Current family head: Yup, son of Yuge.
* Elu: The Elu used to be one of the most beloved clans in the Wuhdige, its members kind and sweet and industrious. However, that all changed when Eel, the grandson of Elop, became family head. Eel was of the gluttonous and surly sort, but perhaps worst of all was his tendency to hide behind his larger brothers. While the Elus originally lived in the Home Cave, they were expelled after Eel was challenged by the Julu head Julo to a game over who could live in the cave, and then got disqualified. Eel's younger brother, Egii, had kidnapped Julo's daughter, Joppo, and held her hostage in an effort to scare Julo away from the game, fearing that Eel would lose. Since expulsion, the Elus have taken up residence away from the tribe, and while they are technically still members, they show animosity towards their former brethren, raiding the fringes and stealing fish and paint. Eventually, the Wuhdige had had enough, and the Elus were wiped out.
	+ Current family head: None.
* Dondweh: The Dondweh are the hunters and warriors of the Wuhdige, fiercely powerful already from puphood. From an early age, they are taught to wrestle, brawl and lift heavy rocks, as well as the basics of spear thrusts, slashes and throws. While the role of tribe champion, which is the chieftain's bodyguard and second-in-command, is technically open to anyone, none have challenged a Dondweh for the role and won out on top.
	+ Current family head: Duhwah, son of Donwah.
* Agoh: The Agohs have always been considered a little odd by the other families - many act awkward in social circumstances or are outright quiet most of the time. The males rarely grow particularly strong, so they are seldom selected for fishing and hunting groups. However, none can dispute the affinity the family has for song and painting. They are also typically very caring for their offspring, which leads many males from other families to want Agoh wives.
	+ Current family head: Alaa, son of Ahog.
* Julu: The Julus came to be as an offshoot of the Elus led by Eliap and his wife Joo. Due to their prolonged stay outside of the main Wuhdige settlement, one probably won't find any better survivalists among the tribesmembers than the Julu. While they currently live in Home Cave and show little love for the period in the woods, they see the use of the experience and still challenge their offspring to a year of camping in the woods alone with nothing other than their training to aid them. However, the parents always keep an eye with them as to not lose too many children.
	+ Current family head: Julo, son of Julup.
* Woiwoi: The Woiwoi came as an offshoot of the Agohs led by Aga and his wife Egwoi. They are currently the only family in the tribe led by a female. Woi'e is also known as the Beast and is among the greatest wrestlers in the entire tribe - much to the shame of many of the boys. However, the other family heads do not recognise her as the family head, so during sacrifices and ceremonies, the Woiwoi are represented by Woi'e's eldest male pup, Owo.
	+ Current family head: Woi'e, daughter of Hagwoi.

## The Byuto Tribe

The Byuto is a tribe of warriors and hunters. They are skilled with the bow and use seals as companions when fishing and hunting sea birds. They believe they are descended from the war god(dess) Byuto who wages an eternal war against death. To please them, the Byuto collect the animal, and sometimes selka, skulls to sate their hunger for bone.

Furthermore, they believe that strength can be measured in the number of mates one takes. Thus, Byuto warriors are polyandrous or polygamous. The chieftain of the Byuto, Kameyameya, has two wives.

The Byuto were driven out of their homeland by the Wogweh and sought the Wuhdige upon hearing rumours of their mighty chieftain.

## The Patum Tribe

The Patum is a tribe of pious builders led by Pilomo, a good friend of Aloo's. They are gifted housemakers and clothcrafters, known for making beautiful and comfortable fur cloaks. The Patum pray to their one god Patumkam-patum, guardian of their sacred homeland Patumkam. Once a paradise on Galbar, Patumkam was overtaken by the Wogweh and the Patum were enslaved. After the Wuhdige victory against the Elu, however, the Patum managed to escape and made their way to Yentoi to join the Wuhdige.

The Patum have a deep respect for the elderly, bordering on worship. They are not particularly effective warriors, but make for great gatherers and artists.

## Technology

The Wuhdige are not an advanced civilisation by any means, but their unique enclosed environment in addition to some visits from the gods have given them certain technological prowesses.

* **Bone**: The Wuhdige commonly use bone instead of flint when making tools and weaponry. These bones usually come from dogs, wolves, deer or boars.
* **Igloos**: After Lugo came to the Wuhdige, they have started making igloos in the winter for shelter.
* **Fire**: The Wuhdige are adept firemakers.
* **Painting and pigments**: With Lugo's blessings and help, the Wuhdige know how to find minerals and mix them with fats and special liquids to make paint.
* **Palisade**: The Wuhdige know how to make short, simple palisades that can stop an enemy charge.
* **Drying food**: The Wuhdige learned how to dry fish and other foods when they took the Elu camp.
* **Longhouses:** The Patum taught the Wuhdige how to make longhouses which typically host around 10-20 people.
* **Bows:** The Byuto taught the Wuhdige bowcraft and fletchery.
* **Seal domestication:** The Byuto brought along their domesticated seals.
* **Wickercraft:** The Byuto brought with them wicker quivers, which opened up the field of wickercraft to the Wuhdige.

## References

1. ↑ Byuto and Patum join the Wuhdige. https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/4960275
2. ↑ The Wuhdige land on the island.
3. ↑ Wuhdige discover fire. https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/4903496
4. ↑ Serenis visits the Wuhdige: https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/4893575
5. ↑ Ashalla visits the Wuhdige: https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/4919232
6. ↑ Shengshi visits the Wuhdige + the Elu-Wogweh alliance comes to light. https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/4931342
7. ↑ Julus challenge the Elus. https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/4906872
8. ↑ Elus get kicked out. https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/4909047
9. ↑ Wuhdige destroy the Elu. https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/4934668