Kariuna

Short introduction

Kariuna are a species of stag endemic to the continent of Mentzuul. It is divided into two subspecies, one on the mainland and one on the Khoil Gura, the three islands far up north. What makes kariuna special are their antlers, which are not bows, branching off into endings, but rather resemble fans. They are also the basis of the three Mentzuul Tuuqasleen tribes' economy.

Appearance, distribution and ecology

Kariuna are relatively large cervids with a shoulder height of about 1.6 to 1.9 metres and have a bulky build the better stand the cold. Their bulk stems from fat deposits which help them survive through times of food scarcity and also work as insulation against the cold. Kariuna are covered in light greyish-brownish fur. The mainland kariuna grow a winter coat during the short autumn, that is thicker and shaggier than their normal fur. The winter coat is shed in spring, to avoid overheating during the summer months. The island subspecies is smaller, to better cope with the limited island resources and space. They reach shoulder heights of around 1 to 1.2 metres. With the Khoil Gura being so far north, the island subspecies is not only smaller, but also more compact and does not grow a winter coat, but is covered in longer fur all year long. Another difference is, that the island form has shorter, but thicker and less intricate antlers.

Kariuna live mostly closer to the shore and avoid the continental climate of inner Mentzuul. In the south though, Kariuna wander up to the very center of the continent during the summer to take advantage of the prostrate shrubs of the extensive moorland of Ikhar.

Shrubs, lichen and moss make up the majority of the kariuna's diet. It is sometimes supplemented by bulbous roots, which can be reached by scratching the ground with their hooves. The island subspecies has to deal with a far less nutritious diet that almost exclusively consists of lichen. To get amino acids and minerals, they scour the beaches for washed ashore kelp and even molluscs or crustaceans.

Behaviour, cultural role and use

Kariuna always live in groups. These can be smaller, as is normal on the islands where a herd tops out at 30-40 animals. The herds on the mainland are also mainly made up of several dozen animals, but there are three herds, which are formed by around 500 animals. Depending on the herd size, there is one or several more or less dominant males which fight for mates and are able to reproduce.

Most herds have a general area they stay in where they change places every now and then when food runs low. At the borders of these areas sometimes herds mix together and exchange members. An exemption to the mostly stationary lifestyle is the population in southern Mentzuul with their annual migrations towards the centre of the continent during the summer.

Kariuna are alert creatures as there are some predators in Mentzuul which pose a serious threat to them. In the west and in the centre there are Baagogai, hunting in proximity to the mountains. Also snow wolves, brown bears, ice bears, the Mentzuul hyena and Mentzuul's two native dragons, the sonomegoi and ailkharmegoi. When a predator is spotted, one of the kariuna will start to run. The rest of the herd will join the one animal that started the flight.

Not all kariuna are wild. Some herds are half-domesticated and are kept by the groups of nomadic Tuuqasleen in the north and northeast. The same is true for the Kubolen societies from the Khool peninsula in the southwest and the nomadic human tribes which call themselves Kewenki in the southern area of Ikhar.

The kariuna are the main source of all resources the nomads and the sedentary Kubolen need. The Tuuqasleen make the most use of all the different parts of the animal. Their winter coat, when shed, is spun into threads or wool. Another use of renewable parts of the kariuna is the crafting of tools, jewellery, appliances and small objects for cultic use from the shed antlers. Kariuna can also be killed for food. This is often done before winter, to minimise the necessity to find food for the kariuna during the winter, when the weather is mostly too harsh for travelling. This also opens up a lot of other resources: bones are dried to serve as fire material or are worked to combs or needles, sinews are used for bows or for sewing, the skin is either worked to pelts or, after removing the fur, for making leather. The teeth are used to make pendants or the tips of pestles.

Talfaddo Dusze

The Talfaddo Dusze is the festival at the end of autumn where some select kariuna are killed. All Tuuqasleen celebrate this festival alike. Parts of each organ of the kariunas are sacrificed to Szolqanu, the god of the winter storms in a ritual performed by each tribe's fiyo - a shaman-like religious specialist. The amount of meat that is available cannot be consumed right away, so there are many conservation techniques used to prepare the products to serve as winter supplies.

Conservation techniques

Kariuna meat is preserved in three ways. The smallest part is prepared for medium term consumption. It is either smoked or - and this is especially true for the nutritious blood, parts of the fat and the tongues - processed into blood sausages. These are of course filled into the cleaned intestines of the animals.

Another part is buried in the ice and dug up when needed. This is the easiest way to preserve the meat, as ice and snow are readily available and cover the land all year long.

The Tuuqasleen also use salt to keep the meat from rotting. This is not mined or collected by the Tuuqasleen, but rather gotten from trade with the Kubolen. The Kubolen in return are provided with gobak products, as gobaks are more rare where the Kubolen live, but provide the societies with valuable fire material, like dried bones or Gobak gunk.

Bonding with kariuna

Kariuna can be bonded with. This is of course taken advantage of by the Tuuqasleen tribes, but also by the Kewenki. The community's herder forms a bond with one of the dominant males of the herd and can, through the bond watch over the herd much more effectively. This is very important, as losing the herd or a substantial part of it would spell doom on the society. Although herding rukha are used to keep the kariuna under control, bonding with the kariuna is preferred, as they sense danger far sooner and, in case they get spooked and run off, can be retrieved more easily.