Kepushay

Kepushay (pronounced Ke-poo-shay) is both a country and an ethnicity in Talmain.
The country of Kepushay lies to the west of the Nuareg Mountains and south of Hann territory. It is a rugged land and its people are equally rugged.
The Kepushay are typically small in stature, with black hair and copper skin. Casalonian's tend to look down on them as savages, calling them Wolfbloods or Copperskins. There is a legend that early Kepushay people were interbred with wolves, giving them heightened senses of sight, smell and hearing.
Their society is made of multiple clans, usually bearing the name of the animal each clan associates with. Thus the Wolf clan are more warrior-like and it is this clan that developed the warrior arts of Kai-shin. The Seal clan are fisher-folk, the Bear clan are foragers who live deep in the forests and mountains of Kepushay, and the Horse clan are nomadic herders and horse-breeders.
Kepushay clans have little formal hierarchy, though most villages will have a headman or headwoman, and a shaman. All adults have a say in the running of village affairs. Women are respected and seen as equals.