Geesh

Introduction

The Geesh people are the native inhabitants of the region of Tukturshta on Cipangu . They are part of the larger group of Cipanguans, more precisely they are considered Highland-Cipanguans. The people live both in the so called Geesh, the fertile river valleys and the open plains. On the plains they herd the Marush , while the people of the Geesh cultivate grains native to Cipangu

History

Early Beginnings

The Geesh have very humble beginnings. The rough and hostile landscape made human settlement complicated and before the rise of pastoralism, the plateau was only sparsely populated, if at all. There are only a handful of remnants which indicates settlement before around two thousand BC. Those remnants which are found, are limited to the river valleys. The ancestors of the people of Tukturshta came from the north and have their origins in the mountains regions of Cipangu. There they first experimented with pastoralism, not much different from the people of Tibet or those living on the Altiplano of the Andes. They arrived on the plateau in a single consecutive wave and spread over the entire Highlands. From early one the life of the Geesh people was marked by the eternal repeating journey of the transhumance, of the binary between the rivers and the high pastures. Each year the shepherds drove their herd onto the fields and each year they returned. While they are considered one people, but divided among themself by the act of transhumance.

The Meeting Place

Each year the shepherds went out and returned to the valleys. Over time this practice became so integral that it penetrated all parts of their lifestyle and their philosophy. The family lived as unit in the valleys, while they were separated when the herdsmen went out. Likewise the clans met at special meeting places. Holy places which served as places of communion and reunion. These places became integral in the rising political organisation of the Geesh. They were places for the nomads to rest. For clans to meet and for families to reunite.
Tukturshta became the land of holy places. Pilgrimage to these places became essential. Their importance grew over time. Yet one must not make the mistake to call these cities. Cities, that is large permanent urban conglomerations, did not exist on Tukturshta in the traditional sense. The Meeting Places are seasonal in nature. They contain a core, which is permantly settled and controlled by an elite, which resides within the river valleys permantly. Yet the largest part of the population is nomadic. The entire population of these places can exceed several thousands of people at some time in the year, while being almost a ghost town anytime else.
Cities proper did not arise on Tukturshta for long and neither did states. The Meeting Places had a local priestly elite and a loyal guard who kept order. Yet they had no subjects and no borders. The population was after all nomadic and movement was not restricted by anything other than distances from one holy place to another.

Contact and Isolation

Due to its remote location and hostile nature, the Geesh people have little contact with the outside world. They are surrounded by lowland jungles in the south and in the west and by impassable mountains in the east. Only a few corridors open up in the north, which allow trade to come in trough the Highlands. This is most likely also the direction from which the ancestors of the Geesh once came.
Until the first europeans came into contact with the Geesh, their only trading partners were the people of Atmure. Most of the time this trade was indirect as the Atmurenes were not always in controll of the Highlands and fought fierce wars with the Highlanders. Writing was introduced over this route in the first century AD. Buddhism too was introduced via Atmure in 746.
Souther trade routes only opened up sporadically since the 6th century. They were first explored by magellanesian thalassocracies which controlled the lower parts of the great rivers coming from the mountains of Tukturshta. While existant, these contact were for the most part only few and overall insignificant until the spanish arrival. Spanish conquerors laid claim to the entirety of the so called Magellanian Isles. Spanish conquistadors, aided by troops from Peru were sent to explore the Highlands and did not return. In fact the people switched sides and betrayed the spanish.

Faith and Governance

Theocracies

The most adequate term to describe the governance of Tukturshta is that of the theocracy. The state is identical with its religious establishment. In the case of Tukturshta there is no state, but a religious establishment. There are shrines, temples and monastaries, but no cities. The origin of these holy sites are the Meeting Places. Over time more and more people gathered seasonally at these places. The abundance of people required upkeeping and soon businesses were founded, likewise a military order was established to keep the law. A priestly caste developed which managed the holy sites.
Pilgrimage to these sites is both a practical and a religious concern as the act of pilgrimage bears sacred importance within the tukturshtan religion. The sites were kept running by donations of the nomadic population. They were not tributes nor taxes, yet they were paid in the knowledge of fullfilling a holy deed. Additionally the gathering places attracted business such as wandering merchants, who much like the herdsmen were nomadic. Taverns and guesthouses however were run by the Priests. The warriors which kept order at the sites were too considered priests.

Religious Theme Parks

Political controll was more ideological than territorial. Due to the nomadic nature of tukturshtan pastoralists, none of the holy sites had a large permanent population, at least none which they could use to controll territory and enforce their rule. Territories formed due to distances, yet they had no borders and holy sites in close proximity shared a population. Yet the priests vied for controll. They needed donations and for donations they needed to attract more people to come to their place. Some holy sites became to amass more wealth than others and soon a competition started. Not wars, but ideology and religious entertainment.
To attract more people, festivals at gathererings became more elaborate. More elaborate and spectacular festival attracted more worshippers. More worshippers lead to more donations, which in return enabled more elaborate festival, more imposing buildings, richer decorated shrines. The holy sites turned into religious theme parks.

Parent ethnicities

• Cipanguans

Related Locations

• Cipangu
• Tukturshta