Ngerupic moiety
Ngerupic moiety systems refer to endogamous customary practices found among various Ngerupic cultures in which descent is typically and traditionally split into large kinship groups. Such kinship systems are most common in northern Akulanen, in some cases forming a complex weave of descent groups that overlap with caste systems; in contrast, these systems are much rarer in the south of the island. Outside of Akulanen such kinship groups are largely obsolete, being no longer practiced among Kwang and Termic peoples. Historical records indicate, however, that the practice was once vigorous in Ancient Terminia.
While the modern systems vary in both practical details and in how pervasive they are in society they share many commonalities and can generally be traced back to the system practiced by what is termed "Ancestral North Akulanen Culture", a contiguous and mostly culturally homogenous area that comprised most of northern [[ulanen in the first century BCE and included speakers of several branches of the Ngerupic language family; Ounyu, Mañic, Wu Eeendehen and Umic. It is most descriptive to start with how the concept of moiety existed in ancestral north Akulanen communities and proceed to describe the changes and the factors for change in the system in various regions until modern day.
Ancestral North Akulanen
Ancestral north Akulanen society was divided into between two and four moieties, depending on the region. The moieties were passed down matrilineally, and members of one moiety could not marry each other- that is, they were exogamous. The moieties were associated with different animal totems. For example, the two core moieties were the ‘tapir’ and ‘bat’ moieties, and were not allowed to eat the flesh of their own totem. By 500 BCE, the animal totem associations were being lost in most non-coastal areas, perhaps accelerated by the fact that the moiety names do not sound like the animal names and mainly Mañi-speaking people really preserved the totemic associations.
As previously mentioned, it is foundational to the moiety divisions that members from a moiety cannot marry with other members of the same moiety, additionally it was preferred that persons marry outside of their home settlement, tying into a practice of matrilocality- that is, the husband moved to his wife's family's place upon marriage.
The people of differing moieties were differentiated by different tattoo and earring styles.
Terminology
Several moiety related terms can be reconstructed, or are directly attested, for the various language varieties that comprised the cultural group in the period. Notably the Wanyima-Wanyoa forms *mangkanh (7), ‘moiety’, pluralized *mangkanhtha (11). The tapir moiety was known as *kamani (3/3, Inalienable) and the bat moiety was known as *rtuthúni (3/3, Inalienable). Other moiety terms were more regional and harder to reconstruct but seem to all follow the same noun class and alienability patterns. In Mañi, the terms attested are ñų̀mmąñ ju"'mma"j ‘moiety’ (3, In.), kamą kama" ‘tapir moiety’ (3, In.), and ŗùzu lu'zu ‘bat moiety’ (3, In.).
Magali
Superficially, moiety in Magali can be divided in two categories; the Inland systems used by populations of mostly Ounyu and Umic speakers display only two moieties, the bat (Yatååkåå xuthúni) and tapir (Yatååkåå kå'pmi) moieties, while the Coastal systems, used by Wuen and Ounyu groups in coastal areas, distinguish bat, tapir and shark moieties (Ngka words pending). Underlyingly however they have very similar workings and have both underwent the same historical processes.
Contrary to Shohai, Magali does not have a relevant nomadic population, and has not had one since at least the Letsatian Period, so this distinction has not been culturally enshrined in the moiety system, also resulting in a less trade-oriented system of moiety distinctions. The main social pressure that shaped the institution of moiety in Magali is the fact that, given their exogamic marriage practices, an individual has more marriage and kinship ties with other moieties than they have with other communities of the same moiety. As a consequence of this, historically most longstanding feuds, conflicts and political rivalries have been moiety internal, leading to the fragmentation of each moiety into several more or less antagonistic Sections. While it is not straightforward to reconstruct the division into Sections onto the Ancestral North Akulanen culture, some form of them has to have developed fairly early, as this fragmentation is also present in Shohai, if carrying much less social significance than it does in Magali.
With population growth, a continued increase in social stratification, and increased population movement through the Early States period, particularly after the establishment of the Iarisuko Dynasty and their agricultural reforms, the Section system and particularly the alliances between the sections of different moieties crystallized into a system of "tiers" of sections as ties between e.g. the Hawk Section of the bat moiety and the Cloud Leopard Section of the tapir moiety strengthened to the point of forming an effectively endogamic cluster. Historical evidence indicates the system had settled into tiers, at least in northern Magali, by the end of the Classical Magalese period in the early 14th century. These tiers are only very rarely made explicit by the magalese and it is virtually impossible to elicit any labels that enumerate specific tiers. As a concept, the most common word used for the tiers in Yatååkåå is urú (9) pluralized aurú (10) and literally meaning "link, alliance". Some historians and sociologists have argued that this added layer of endogamic practices did not become established in Shohai because given the much lower population densities it would cause there to only exist a very small pool of non-incestuous possible marriages within travel distance for any given individual. This view is supported by the fact more "magalese" intermediary systems are found only in the densest parts of Shohai west of Awkahingge.
| Tapir ~ Pig | Bat | Shark |
|---|---|---|
| Mountain ~ Wall | Sky | Sea |
| Snow Leopard ~ Tiger | Hawk | Shark |
| Tapir ~ Babirusa | Bat | Dugong |
| Deer ~ Pig | Sparrow | Stingray |
| Corn ~ Cassava | Cashew | Jellyfish |
While the system varies regionally, this is the most typical configuration, including the component of both the inland and coastal variants. It is formatted in order of status; it is possible to ascribe the label "aristocratic" to the mountain-sky-sea urú. The tapir and pig variants of the first column are in free variation, being distinguished only in specific regions and not by all people. Historically they were an alternative totemic association primarily found in larger urban settlements, but after the several layers of urbanizing and deurbanizing resettlement in Modern Thoughtist Magali they have become largely synonymous.
Shohai
A few different pressures are responsible for the particularities of Shohai's moiety system's early development. While the system the Yakelukwáy (early Ounyu dialect/daughterlang and the language of the main population wave of Shohai) probably carried over the two-way bat × tapir system, societal change in the Shohai area was considerable in the first few centuries CE. The Letsatian occupation and its aftermath created new labour niches as the introduction of dates and camels changed the local economy.
In this period, new moiety groups arose, notably the camel moiety, and the moieties accreted labour and livelihood distinctions, specializing into different trades and becoming closer to what one might describe as guilds, all while preserving matrilineal inheritance, exogamy, and matrilocality. As the moieties specialized, not only in trade but also in manner of living- the camel moiety for example is traditionally nomadic caravan tenders, while the tapir and bat moiety are sedentary- other elements formed around that, most importantly in marriage and education.
Marriage and Education
Shohai marriage is a complex affair with many steps and intimately tied to the traditional education system. Marriage was still exogamic and matrilocal, while the typical medieval shohai settlement (or nomadic group) was composed almost entirely of woman of the local moiety and men of other moieties that married into the settlement. This meant that most if not all boys would eventually move out upon marriage, while girls remained with their matrilineal families. The effect of this in marriage was that couples were betrothed early, potentially as young as age five, both for alliances and politics between communities, but also to determine which moiety the men would move into as early as possible.
Women and men and zam received very different educations; female education was received from the female elders of their community, and was focused on the preservation and propagation of their moiety's trade. Male education, while also including knowledge of their birth moiety's trade, was more focused towards teaching them the ways of the moiety they were betrothed to marry into, and was received from other men in the community that were born to the moiety they were now marrying into. To exemplify: a boy born in a camel moiety community and betrothed to the tapir moiety would receive education in the trade of the tapir moiety from older men and zams born in the tapir moiety but married into his camel moiety community. Zam people were typically primed religious and leadership duties, but not necessarily, as zam identification could come until later and close to their coming of age, before which they'd be receiving either female or male education so in practice the zam had a broader range of potential roles.
Upon coming of age, men and zam betrothed to women move to their betrothed's community, but not necessarily permanently. There is a period, of typically one year, that could be described as a "trial" or "internship" in which they must prove their aptitude in their betrothed's moiety's trade, or she and her family might reject the marriage and send him back.
Terminology and Roles
As a concept, moiety is referred to in Yashuhay with ma'ang ma"qag (7/10 Inalienable, plural amáng ama"g). The names for individual moieties are listed in the table below, which also lists their lifestyle and main trade.
| Moiety | Yashuhay name | Lifestyle | Trade |
|---|---|---|---|
| Camel | Eekaange e":ka:ge | Nomadic | Camel herding and transportation of goods through caravans. |
| Tapir | Hamange ha"mage | Sedentary | Subsistance agriculture, typically cassava and cashew. |
| Goat | Yawnge ya"wge | Nomadic | Goat herding. |
| Bat | Aapange a":page | Sedentary | Date agriculture. |
While each moiety performed discrete functions, they are by no means to be considered separate systems, the exogamy guaranteed most people had family members of most moieties, and the nomadic communities commonly spent some time camped besides sedentary communities, during which period there were festivities and socialization. Additionally the different moieties were interlocked in a system of mutual trade involving the produce of their activities. These systems guaranteed continuous exchange of goods, peoples, and languages throughout the territory of Shohai.
While those four moieties represent the most typical system, the exact groups and roles varied historically and regionally, going as far as having some locations displaying entirely novel moiety groups. An extreme example is the Cow Moiety (Yashuhay: mo'e mo"qe, Yachanooli: mòngni mogni") that specialized in sedentary cattle keeping in the northeastern coast after cows were brought from Qonklaks in the 10th to 12ft centuries.
Quaxin Xun
Migration period Xuni culture was split into two moieties, bat and tapir. Moieties were inherited matrilineally and were exogamous. People were not allowed to eat the flesh of their animal totem.
Starting in the 4th century C.E., the snake and shark moieties emerged.
Marriage is (and always has been) restricted to two people of different moieties.
Tattoo, earring, and septum piercing style differs for each moiety.
| Moiety | Tattoos | Earrings | Septum piercings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bat | tbd | Thick wood/stone plugs | Thick stone/glass pincers |
| Tapir | tbd | Thin metal rings Thick metal weights |
Thin metal rings |
| Snake | tbd | Thin metal hanging designs Thick metal weights |
Thin metal pincers |
| Shark | tbd | Thick wood/stone hangers/talons | Thick stone/glass tusks |