Indigenous Domini
The indigenous peoples of Domnonia and Antrium(see Alvésin) are the pre-Keeslandian inhabitants of the Easten Keeslands, their descendants, and many ethnic groups who identify with those historical peoples.
In Domnonia, many of these indigenous peoples retained a nomadic or semi-nomadic lifestyle until modern times, others lived in permanent villages and were primarily farmers. In some regions they created large sedentary chiefdom polities, and had advanced state level societies with monumental architecture and large-scale, organized cities. Scholars' estimates of the total population of Domnonia before Keeslandian settlement vary enormously, from a low of 40 million to a high of 200 million.
Many epidemics swept in after Keeslandian settlement, killing a large portion of the Indigenous Domini, causing one of the greater calamities in Domnonian history. Many seperate waves of epidemic disease swept through native populations between settlement and the early 20th century.
Generally, Domnonia is considered to have 7 modern indigenous groups that are ancestors of 3 ancient groups.
Contents
Domini
Domini, or more properly Damawēnowii(which is the tribal form of the word), is a self-description often used by people belonging to the indigenous Qu', Ca', and Hune peoples of Domnonia, who share closely related Domini ancestry and languages.
The definition of "Damawēnowii" is a reference to the idea of good humans, or good people that are on the right road or path given to them by their lineage.
The word Domini, over time, has come to refer to all citizens of Domnonia, regardless of ethnicity.
Qu'domini
The Qu' are the indigenous inhabitants of an area they refer to as Qu'maetagnais, which comprises most of what is Powysia and northeastern Algar. Their population in 2006 includes about 218,000 persons, of which 165,000 live in Powysia.
They are known to have lived on these lands as hunter-gatherers for several thousand years, living in tents made of animal skins. Their subsistance activities were historically centered on hunting and trapping Yns Caribou, moose, deer and small game. In the last 500 years or so they have practiced husbandry and have been successful in partially domesticating the Yns Caribou.
Their language, Qu'aimun, is spoken throughout Qu'maetagnais, with certain dialect differences. Qu'aimun is related to the language spoken by the Ca' of the same Damawēnowii ancestry.
The Qu' of Algar and those living on the wester shore of the ??? Bay have never officially surrendered their territory to Domnonia by way of treaty or other agreement. As the forest and mining operations began at the turn of the 20th century, the Qu' became increasingly settled in coastal communities and along the Powys River.
Ca'domini
The Ca' are the native inhabitants of the coastal and inland Cadara Mountain Range and the southestern coast of Lindinis, a region they refer to as Ca'darawnithit. This area is now part of the modern day eastern borders of Lindinis and the District of Cadorn. Their population in 2006 includes about 125,000 persons, of which 1OO,000 live in the Federal District of Cadorn.
Before contact with the Keeslanders, the traditional culture of both Ca' involved traveling downstream on their rivers in the spring, and back upstream in the autumn. When they had finished traveling downstream in the spring, they congregated in larger groups near the ocean, and planted crops, largely of rice, beans, poppy and tea. In the autumn, after the harvest, they traveled back upstream, taking provisions, and spreading out in smaller groups throughout the mountains to hunt game during the winter. Fishing was also a major source of resources throughout the year.
The Ca' customs and language(Ca'eqiyik) are somewhat similar to those of the neighboring S'amuna, and nearly identical to those of the Qu' tribes. They also shared some land with the S'amuna peoples. The Ca'eqiyik and Qu'aimun languages are similar enough that they are properly considered large dialects of the same language. The name Ca'eqiyik is derived from their name for themselves, Ca'dareqiyik, which literally means "those who plant crops in the mountains." This name was also associated with the river around which the people lived, and which is now known as the Domi River, which flows through both the city of Cadorn and has its source in the Cadara Mountain Range.
In the Preston Treaty of 1743, the Ca' were granted free travel along the Domi River, its tributaries because their territory was increasingly being settled. During the late 1700s, intermarriage between the Ca' and Keeslandic settlers was not unusual, particularly among the growing community of Cadorn.
Hune domini
The Hune were the native inhabitants of the Ardhill Mountain Range, the Domini Badlands and the Hiel Range of Domnonia at the time of Keeslandic settlement in the 18th and 19th centuries. They became extinct as a separate ethnic group in 1859.
Hune means "hill people" in the Hune language, Hu'othuk, as well as in other domini languages. The origins of the Hune are thought to have beginnings as a domini group who displaced a preexisting Ituri culture in the region around 1000CE.
The Hune lived throughout the region they called the "Utëki", particularly in the Hiel Range. Estimates on the number of Hune at the time of contact with Keeslanders vary; recent scholarship suggests that there were no more than 6000 people, who lived in independent, self-sufficient groups of 30 to 55.
It is possible that the Hune encountered Keeslandic explorers as early as 1000CE, since the previous inhabitants of the region, the Ituri, are known to have had contact with Keeslanders at that time. Later waves of Keeslandic arrivals, beginning in 1697, led to formal contact with the Hune and their subsequent extinction.
In contrast with other native groups, the Hune strove to avoid contact with settlers, and moved even further inland as settlements grew, only visiting settlements during to pick up metals and other items when settlers were sleeping.
Settlers and Hune came to compete for important natural resources such as Musk Pike and other fish, and these encounters led to enmity and mutual violence. The settlers, with superior technology, generally had the upper hand in both hunting and warfare. The Keeslanders certainly exhibited callous behavior toward the natives, but the Hune for their part seem to have had a strong cultural imperative toward revenge that also caused them to carry out apparently pointless attacks.
Hune numbers had dwindled to 400 by 1810, and by 1829, with the Death of Hanah, they were officially extinct, through a combination of factors:
* small initial population * loss of access to important food sources * diseases, such as tuberculosis, introduced by Keeslanders * violent encounters with settlers
Antria
Ituri
Alvési
- Navlanis
Sal'irmuis
The Sal'lirmuis are the largest group of indiginous domini in Domnonia with over 2,000,000 members. These large numbers may be due to the traditional Sallirmuis practice of being open to inter-tribal marriage. The largest Sallirmuis tribe, and the largest indiginous group in Domnonia are the S'amuna people in Lindinis and Sendar. However, interbreeding has led to very little differentiation between the common person with Keeslandic/Sendarian descent and those of S'amuna descent.
The Jonq'muis are a group of mixed Sal'irmuis(usually Stó:lō) and primarily Jontadain heritage, although it is generally accepted in academic circles that the term Jonq'muis can be used to refer to any combination of indiginous domini and mainland IDU lineage. Some Keesland-Jonq'muis are also of Sal'irmuis descent.
S'amuna
The S'amuna are a indiginous group who primarily lived in what is now Lindinis, the Province of Sendar, and formerly the Kingdom of Sendaria. Their immediate cultural influence went much further though, S'amuna artwork being found as far afield as Baranxtu. The S'amuna predominated in their lands from about 2200CE to about 1200CE and they are, in fact, claimed by many to be the mother culture of every other Indiginous Domini culture to come.
The name S'amuna is a shortened form of what they call themselves and their traditional lands, Synüdari Salamuna.
S'amuna culture originated at its base, Synüd, in what is today the city of Jedoor, where distinctively S'amuna features begin to emerge around 2000CE. The rise of civilization here was probably assisted by the local ecology of well-watered rich prarie soil, encouraging high crop production. This ecology may be compared to that of other ancient centers of civilization. It is speculated that the dense population concentration at Synüd encouraged the rise of an elite class that eventually ensured S'amuna dominance and provided the social basis for the production of the symbolic and sophisticated luxury artifacts that define S'amuna culture. Many of these luxury artifacts, jade and tnani, must have come from distant locations and suggests that early S'amuna elites had access to an extensive trading network.
It is not known with any clarity what happened to the S'amuna culture. The Synüd site continued to be occupied well until the rise of the Sendarian Kingdom in 400AD, but without the hallmarks of the S'amuna culture. Instead, most S'amunans lived similarily to the domini tribes of the time. Some researchers have labeled this period the "Post-S'amuna" culture.
Descendants of the S'amuna came to live as citizens of Sendar, and then later of Domnonia. Very little tribal elements of the S'amuna remain today aside from their "cousin" group, the Stó:lō. Scholars estimate that 1.5 million people living in Domnonia may currently have S'amuna ancestry.
