Baltazim

The Baltazim are the most settled of the native Dalanyan peoples, living in stable villages. Some of the larger clans actually support a few of what might be called towns. Most of the Baltazim are simple farmers and herdsmen, working crops of grain, citrus fruits, and keeping sheep and cattle. Their settlements are scattered throughout the coastal lowlands and river valleys with the densest concentration around the river mouths.

Along the coast and rivers many Baltazim support themselves through fishing. Baltazim fishermen are accomplished sailors, though most have never ventured beyond two or three days sailing from their homeland. Most fishermen also practice a limited amount of trade, using their boats to move goods up and down the coasts and rivers. A very small number of Baltazim work exclusively as traders, moving goods up and down the coast of Dalanya and occasionally venturing as far as Isynen, Xerium, or even Korlua and Karejia.

The most common Baltazim boat closely resembles the Azeryani Venar and is well suited to the local waters though it is not a good vessel for travel on the open ocean. The traditional Baltazim boat, called a Buyum, is very similar in appearance though it's construction is quite different, the hull being sewn together with coarse cord taken from palm trees. The hull is thus somewhat less durable, needing regular repair, but also more flexible than the more modern karvel-straking. Mostly this method of construction has gone out of favor since the Azeryani conquest, but a few clans here and there still practice traditional ship-building. These diehards insist that the hull-flexibility is essential when faced with the high probability of running aground in the shallow Dalanyan river and coastal waters.

Baltazim trade includes a unique custom, dubbed the Felthora Ring by Azeryani scholars, not found anywhere else in Western Lythia. All Baltazim trading sessions begin with a ritual trading of special carved wooden bowls and platters. These bowls and platters, collectively called felthora, are mostly acquired from the Agrazhim though some are produced locally. Felthora are an essential part of all Baltazhim trade, in fact many Baltazim trading sessions do not involve the exchange of any goods, just felthora. A group of traders will visit a nearby village, a small feast is held, and the ritual exchange of felthora takes place. Most felthora are fairly plain but some are beautifully decorated and may be painted as well as carved. They are never used for anything other than this ritual trade, ie they serve no normal utilitarian function. Baltazim carefully distinguish between the platters (Bariq Felthor) and the bowls (Tarqid Felthor) and each plays a particular role.

The owner of a particular Bariq Felthor or Tarqid Felthor may keep it for years or he may trade it at his next trading session. While most of the felthora are fairly nondescript those with more noteworthy artwork are known to all of the traders along the entire coast of Dalanya and may even be named. At any time most traders will know where each of these particular felthora is being kept, how long its current owner has had it, and who the previous several owners were. Ownership of one of these special felthora brings status and prestige, but trading it away is just as important. Wise use of felthora trading is crucial to the status of the coastal traders, affecting both their prestige among their peers and often their business success.

The most unique aspect of felthora trading is that it has a particular direction. Bariq Felthor always move from east to west along the coast, and Tarqid Felthor always move from west to east. Before the Azeryani conquest the Baltazim peoples of Menema also participated in felthor trade. At that time, Bariq Felthor always moved clockwise around the circle formed by the Meneman islands and the Dalanyan coast, and Tarqid Felthor always moved counter-clockwise. Each trader knew that eventually all Tarqid and Bariq would pass through his district, possibly in his lifetime.

When Baltazim culture on Menema was swamped and essentially eradicated by Azeryani immigration in the late fifth century, this pattern was broken. As Tarqid collected on the eastern end of the coast and Bariq collected on the western end of the coast, a small number of traders began long-distance trading, travelling from one end of the coast to the other specifically to move the felthora. While normal trade did not require such a long voyage, maintaining the Felthora Ring did. This group of more adventurous traders gave rise to the Baltazim trading clans who now actually trade outside the area. Most Baltazim still trade only with villages a short jump up or down the coast, but a few venture as far as Korlua, Isynen, Xerium, Arlanto, or even Karejia. These more adventurous sorts also serve to move the Bariq and Tarqid Felthor from one end of the coast to another, keeping this ancient custom alive.

Baltazim political structure is more complex than Agrazhim, but still quite simple compared to their Azeryani neighbors. The clan is the central social unit and every member of society is defined by which clan he belongs to. The clans vary in size from as small as 50 to as large as 300, but most are in the neighborhood of 150. Each clan is governed by a council of all adult males, but strict seniority by age determines each man's relative influence in the decision-making process. The process is not democratic but rather of trying to reach a consensus, with the final decision being made by the current senior clan member. Clans settle their own internal disputes, usually by petitioning the current clanhead for a judgement, and when two clans dispute their differences are normally resolved through negotiation. The younger men may engage in the occasional raid during an inter-clan dispute, but mostly things are settled peacefully. Often elders in a third clan, not involved in the dispute, will act as mediators and suggest possible solutions. Their advice is usually followed, though it is never enforced. Felthora trade serves an important function in providing for regular ritualized discourse between neighboring clans.

Occasionally a particularly powerful clan will demand tribute from its neighbors, but this is fairly rare. In such cases the tribute usually continues for no more than a generation or two as the 'subjugated' clans might band together to force the larger clan to stop the tribute, or the fortunes of trade might change status and power such that the larger clan could no longer enforce its dominance.

Marriages are always arranged outside the clan, and while marriage for love is not unknown, most are political or economic arrangements. Baltazim society is patrilineal and patrilocal, much like the Agrazhim, though wealthier Baltazim will sometimes take multiple wives. While not widespread, this custom seems to be growing and is possibly an effect of the greater social disparity between rich and poor which has grown with trade with outsiders, particularly the Azeryani. Some of the smaller poorer clans are beginning to have trouble finding wives for all of their sons, as the wealthier clans end up with a slightly disproportionate number of the women. As of yet this has caused no serious problems but as the imbalance grows this may change.

Baltazim women are definitely second-class members of society and have little real power economically or politically. Women are legally prohibited from inheriting property or goods and hence are entirely dependent on the men. What power they do have is held through influence over the men in their clan. Baltazim parables are full of accounts of men who fall under the sway of their wives, follow their bad advice, and lose all prestige in the clan.

The Azeryani conquest of the Baltazim was relatively easy, from the Azeryani point of view. Most clans operated independently and hence could be subjugated independently. No clan was able to field an army of greater than 150 warriors, a tiny force next to an Azeryani legion. An finally, the plague of 460 decimated most of the Baltazim clans leaving them too weakened to consider active resistance. While the Azeryani population was fairly resistant, having faced the same plague several times in the previous 200 years, it was new to the Baltazim. The surviving population has made a remarkable comeback since the end of the 5th century, but has yet to reach its preconquest and pre-plague levels. In the area around Vitho and on most of the Meneman islands the Baltazim have all but vanished. The strongest surviving settlements on the islands are in the southeastern tip of the chain, the difficult local tides and nearby volcanic activity discouraging Azeryani inroads.

Ziryabism was introduced to the Baltazim at the very beginning of the 6th century and spread rapidly, quickly supplanting older religious beliefs. The Baltazim, like the Agrazhim, recognize Kayberath as the judge of souls but otherwise she has a very minor place in their pantheon. The 10 principle Lythian deities all play major roles in Baltazim belief, as they do with the desert Numec. Ziryabite doctrine preaches that Halea, Morgath, Agrik and Sarajin are all tools of the dark and should be shunned, their worshippers converted or killed which has led to frequent conflicts with their Azeryani and Ivinian overlords.

Baltazim Ziryabism has led to a stronger warrior class than existed previously. Whereas before warfare was something for only the young hot-heads, now there is a small and well-trained warrior class. To date this has not had any serious and obvious effects, but no doubt will be important in the future.

July 16, 2001

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