Manashin Confederation
In the past, the Manashin people were nomads across the northern tundra. They herded caribou, and rotated around summer camp sites and winter villages. Occasionally, bands fought with each other over resources. When the Forest came, half of them retreated into the mountains and the other half took their chances in Lake Jondush.
Within Lake Jondush is Jásk Island, which rises up in the centre to a rock cliff. Manashin legend holds that it was at the centre of this island that the Creator stood to make the world, and it is one of their most sacred sites. Throughout their history, Jásk has always been neutral territory, and a place to go if you are in need of healing. They hoped it would be their salvation.
Jásk served their purposes well. The refugee bands who made it to the end established settlements around the outside, and soon began to spread to other islands in Lake Jondush as well. For the first few years, they remained independent bands, trying to maintain their ways of life in their new, cramped location. With their lands drastically reduced, disputes between bands became more and more common, and fighting over limited resources was frequent.
In 615, Falla attacked Bujá, and island in a sub-lake just to the west of Jondush that had been settled by Manashins. Falla, which had only recently united the lands of the fallen Republc of Alabren under General Fal, was attempting to bring the islands of Lake Jondush into its realm.
Manashins quickly realized that if they did not unite with each other, they would soon all be living under Fallan rule. An emergency summit was held on Jásk, with 26 representatives of each band present. Over several days of debates, they eventually all agreed to a peace treaty to create the Manashin Confederation.
United, they were able to hold off Falla when it attempted to invade Lake Jondush the following summer. Their peace treaty created the Manashin Confederation, an agreement to work together to manage supplies and maintain their sovereignty in the face of their Veiamic neighbours.
Structure
Manashina has a loose organization structure. A map was drawn up at the original summit to divide the islands of Lake Jondush fairly among the bands. Within each band's territory, they have full control to run it as they see fit, with their own elected chiefs.
Each band also has a Confederacy representative, usually someone from the Magpie clan. These representatives cycle between living in Jásk for a month of meetings and discussions, followed by a month back in their homes. When negotiations must be made with foreign powers, the representatives decide among themselves on 3 - 5 to send to represent the Confederation as a whole.
Movement between the bands is common these days. People from the smaller communities or outlying islands in particular often move to the larger islands with a more urban lifestyle. However, one's band association is based on matrilineal descent, and they must return to their home bands if they wish to vote for a chief or representative.
Military
Manashina has no standing army. According to the terms of the peace treaty, they will only take up arms when the Confederation agrees as a whole to declare the need for war, and then each band must raise a number of soldiers in accordance to their population.
Founding Date
615 AK
Type
Political, Confederation
Capital
Alternative Names
Manashina
Demonym
Manashin
Government System
Democracy, Representative
Power Structure
Confederation
Economic System
Market economy
Currency
Fallan Rings
Official Languages
Controlled Territories
Neighboring Nations
Related Ethnicities