Epics, Sagas, Fantasies, Mythos, Legends, Nations.

[HoneyBadger]

I don't think penguins are quite right for Australia...I don't think I'm the authority to judge what would be, though. Are there Australians or New Zealanders among us?

[JimMorrison]

Well it's mostly a matter of relative proximity. Though, I believe there is a variety of small penguins living off of Tasmania, but maybe it's just puffins. God I love puffins. >.>

I don't think any nation would have a strong case for penguins other than an Australian one, or Mictlan. Those two are seriously the closest you might get. Well, Machaka being Zulu, they come from more southern parts of Africa, right? Just not many people/cultures near the south pole.....

[AlgaeNymph]

JimMorrison said:
Machaka being Zulu-

I thought they were Shona (p.118).

[HoneyBadger]

Post deleted by HoneyBadger

[HoneyBadger]

Shona's a real possibility. My own theory is that they're meant to be Ashanti.

HoneyBadger said:
By the way, I understand that Machaka is supposedly based on the Zulu, but I'd like to contest that a bit: First of all, the Ashanti (from Ghana--the word "Ghana" means "Warrior-King", by the way--bordering the Ivory Coast, in West Africa, as opposed to KwaZulu-Natal, the home of the Zulu, in South Africa) are the people from whom stories of Anansi (the trickster spider-god) comes from. His father, Nyame, is their chief god. Other stories come from the Gold Coast, and Surinam; where Anansi-Tori (spider stories) are involved in burial rites (the stories are understood to be told *to the Dead*), which seem to tie in to the idea of a spider "death-god".

Zulu mythology, conversely, seems to involve a good deal of sky and nature. They have their own interesting myths and archetypes, including the tiny, fairy-like Abatwa who are very sensitive about their size. Insulting them or stepping on them evokes a death-sentence via poison arrow.

Another being is the draconic Inkanyamba, a terrifying water-serpent-who can also fly on the backs of storm-clouds. Both of these beings seem to have originated with the Bushman culture (The Bushmen worshipped and drew cave-paintings of a water-serpent who was their protector), which has mostly been displaced by the Zulu.

Zulu myth also contains the Intulo, a lizard-man, and omen of death/doom that some people have connected (a bit dubiously, in my opinion) with the "Reptilian Alien" UFO meme.

They could also concievably be Maasai, or based on Great Zimbabwe.

I'd love to see nations based on the Zulu, the Maasai, Zimbabwe/Great Zimbabwe/the Shona, the Lemba (with their Jewish heritage and possible connection to the Ark of the Covenant, the Nubian kingdoms (maybe once a colony of C'tis and then Ermor, and influenced by them, but with their own culture and take on things), the Pygmis/the Congo (African Pangaea? or a very unusual Hoburg nation? Both?), Aja/Fon/Dahomey/Benin (perhaps a blood nation not unlike Machaka?), The San of the Kalahari (perhaps centered on the Tsodilo site? Maybe something similar to MA Agartha, only with giant stone paintings, instead of giant stone statues, coming to life, in combination with sacred undead and spirits?). The Malagasy (and other tribes) of Madagascar (Lost World, anyone?), and Sheba/Zanzibar/Ethiopia (for an African themed nation that gradually becomes more Arabic, and then more Judeo/Christian-giving us a strong, relatively good nation in LA, and/or is influenced by the Kingdom of Prester John stories.)

[Endoperez]

Manual mentions that the Eye/Ear/Mouth is based on Shonai, and DryaUnda provided the page where this is stated. The military might have something from the Zulu. I know their Assegai spears were famous somehow, and Machakans have their own type of spears.

[HoneyBadger]

I don't know enough about the Shonai to speculate about that, so I'll have to do some research before I comment, but the Assegai spears were very short, with long leaf-like blades, almost like machetis or swords.

The Assegai spear, by the way, was originally a Berber weapon, that spread throughout Africa-and don't be confused, because the Zulu actually refined the original Assegai design, making the blade larger and broader, and naming the new weapon the "Iklwa" or "Ixwa". So, there's a little bit more to the story than was told in the Shaka Zulu miniseries (quite good, though) that ran when I was younger man.

http://therionarms.com/antiques/central_africa.shtml

This website has some nice pictures of African weaponry. There was also, years ago, a very good Dragon Magazine article (atleast for fantasy purposes) on the more unusual African weapons, but I couldn't tell you which issue it was in.

[JimMorrison]

Well actually I lifted the Zulu claim from that specific post, Badger. To be honest, I do think they are an amalgamation of African content (which complicated things, as numerous potential nations are already represented), and consider that with actual Hoplites, it would seem that one of the influences is in fact Nubian.....

Anyway, I think the penguin warriors should actually be a part of Kiwikuna, which would be a paradoxical blend of Zealand and Hawaiian cultures. The penguins would be their sacred, amphibious shock troops, of course.

[HoneyBadger]

Honestly, I've got to be one of the few people who just don't like penguins. I don't really dis-like them, but I dated a woman for a time who adored them, and as badly as that relationship ended, it forever tainted them for me. Not their fault, admittedly, but they don't really interest me enough to bother finding any special affection where I naturally have none.

[HoneyBadger]

That said, it might be interesting to see a sort of Arctic version of Kailasa-with anthropomorphized penguins of various sizes replacing monkeys, polar bears replacing gorillas, arctic foxes for scouts, and amphibious walrus troops.