The jungle lands of Lungshi, known collectively as the Chaparral, encompass several peoples. Separated by differences in language and culture, the jungle civilizations nevertheless bear more resemblance to each other than to the cultures around them. The three largest groups are the Kuong Kingdom, the hill tribes of the Purang, and the Seng of Laothan.
Kuong, Laothan, and Purang
Laothan is the northern jungle area of Chaparral, sweeping in a curve from the Lung border to the Dwai River near Jivatsa, The region is covered with a vast rain forest, fed by periodical monsoons, numerous streams and rivers, and the constant hot and humid climate. The rainforest is light jungle in the north and east, turning to medium jungle in the Phu River basin west and south of Cheinang. The ground underlying this vegetation is hilly; ridges are steep-sided, and most farming takes place in the valley bottoms or on hillside terraces. The people of this region called the Seng, are racially similar to the folk of neighboring Lung, with epicanthic folds, brown eyes, and fine, straight black hair. Men wear simple loincloths when doing heavy manual labor or loose trousers and shirts. Women wear high-necked, form-fitting dresses with long slits up the side; village women and others who must labor combine a looser form of this dress with trousers beneath. Bright colors and hand-painted and dyed silks are favored by these people. Their food is hot and spicy, and their joyful approach to life is evident in the many festivals and celebrations they hold each year.
The hill country of the Purang lies between the dense jungles of Laothan and Kuong and the Lung border, extending into vast highlands between Kataburi and Feng Nu. Although rainforest-type vegetation grows throughout the Purang, this region receives less rainfall, is more temperate, and is more easily traversed than the jungles of the lowlands. The people of the Purang are racially different than those of Laothan or Lung. They have round, brown eyes, a darker skin color, wavy black hair, and speak a different language in many dialects. Disparagingly called the primitive people by their neighbors, these tribesmen wear loincloths and hunt with blowguns and poison darts. They are fierce fighters who jealously guard their hill country against incursions by others. Among themselves, they are generous and loyal but are suspicious of and inhospitable to most strangers. Their contact with outsiders is limited, and trade and travel through the Purang is practically nonexistent.
The Kuong is the southern jungle country of this region. The heaviest jungle in all of Chaparral is found in the coastal strip south of the Dwai River, and stretches to and beyond the southern
Himasla Mountains. Farther inland, on either side of the Kunong River basin, the jungle is of medium density and extends to the west along the Lung border. As in the Laothan, the underlying terrain consists of steep ridges and hills. To the south, high-elevation hill country feeds the Kunong River and delineates the southern boundary of the Kuong. The folk of the Kuong are racially akin to the Purang hill tribes. Like them, they are brown-skinned, round-eyed, and have wavy black hair. Their language comes from a different linguistic stock and is distinct from the other tongues spoken in Lungshi. Even in dress and temperament, the Kuong people differ from their neighbors. Their clothes are light silks and gauzy tissues; both men and women wear sarongs, billowing trousers of bright colors, and jewelry of gold and silver. A hospitable, industrious folk, the Kuong are notably more fatalistic than others of the Chapparal. They are obedient to authority and unquestioning of the hierarchy and caste system to which they are born.
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