AmaTshani

The **amaTshani**, or simply **Tshani**, are an ethnic group native to the plains of central-eastern Sabrim. Years ago, they were united under the diNkosi gwaTshani - the country's name was derived from the Tshani root word. Nowadays, however, the amaTshani are a scattered group separated into local chiefdoms.

## Ethnogenesis

The amaTshani regard their ancestors as belonging to two distinct groups, who lived in the same area and eventually intermingled to become one culture. The first of which are the amaPirena, meaning "horsemen" in isiTshani, a nomadic people known for their equestrian prowess. The amaPirena (and their relatives and ancestors) moved around much of the valleys and hills of the greater gwaTshani region for millennia, even well before the introduction of domesticated horses to the region. The second group the Tshani consider their ancestors are the amaNimi, or "farmers". This latter group is not a single entity, consisting of various groups of settled agriculturalists who moved into the Kaliba River Valley at the advent of the iron age, mostly from the southeast. It is from the combining of the two cultures into one that the modern isiTshani language came to be.

It is not yet known exactly where either group is originally from, and what their relationships to other groups may have been. Some have proposed links to the Jungle Elves of Citrala, however this is based merely on conjecture and their shared skin tone, and does not explain why the elves are elves yet the amaTshani are humans.

## Culture

Many of the rural amaTshani retain many of the pastoral traditions of their amaPirena ancestors. They still live on horseback and consume milk and cheese as staple foods, supplemented with wild game, foraged fruits and vegetables, and of course the meat of their animal herds. However unlike in ancient times they will often stop and rest alongside settled villages, communing and trading with the locals. It is through the nomads that most internal and external trade in gwaTshani is conducted, and it is theorized that this tradition is what synthesized the amaPirena and amaNimi together nearly a millennium ago.

A plurality of amaTshani today live in villages in the countryside, farming wheat and root vegetables. Chickens, pigs, llamas, sheep, and cattle are also kept on communal pastures, though sometimes they are left for nomads to graze their livestock on. They also grow watermelon, a native crop to the Kaliba River Valley; watermelon is essential in the hot climate as it is a sweet and refreshing food consumed by the farmers as they rest from working, or for children playing. It is typical for farmers and other working-class amaTshani to work in the early morning at dawn and rest in the midday when it is hottest, then resume in the late afternoon until dinner.

The vast majority of urban and rural amaTshani live in thatch-roofed huts of varying material- wattle-and-daub, adobe bricks, wooden planks, terracotta, or stone, depending on which material is most abundant. Many of them even feature painted walls with intricate patterns, unique to each house; the painting style varies from family to family, and a trained eye can distinguish which clan an amaTshani person belongs to simply by seeing their house. Beehive houses, as they are called, are constructed out of wooden poles sealed with a mixture of clay and cow dung- though they are not as common, as they are not as aesthetically appealing and many contemporary people are not willing to work with manure, finding it unsanitary or simply disgusting to be working with it for hours at a time. Some amaTshani have opted to build beehive huts out of cobblestone or brick instead.

The amaTshani are generally quite superstitious, as their religion, Xoyanga, claims that all objects in the world possess spirits. They may carry amulets to ward off demons, or to attract good luck. They are very reverent of their elders, living or dead, and will pray to their ancestors' remains for aid, luck, and advice, and give thanks to them in good times and during festivals. It is integral to their religion as well to never take from the earth what is more than necessary, and even wealthy and powerful amaTshani are encouraged to live un-glamorously and down-to-earth. If a rich man is assumed to be too greedy, the local people may simply gang up and rob him of all but his most necessary belongings. They have a strong tradition of community decision-making, stemming from the days where ad-hoc elections would pick a local leader called an *unamandla* from among the tribe. While *unamandla* do not exist as political leaders today, instead having a hereditary aristocracy, exemplary citizens and leaders are un-officially called *unamandla*, and many of the rules and regulations of the old *unamandla* system apply to the aristocrats of contemporary gwaTshani.

The amaTshani define themselves primarily not by decent from the subjects of the diNkosi, or even by birth, but through adherance to Xoyanga and the speaking of the isiTshani language. While anyone who becomes fluent in isiTshani and worships *Tayanga* and the local spirits can be considered "ethnically Tshani" by the vast majority of the population, their language is rather difficult to master.