The island’s tribes are formed from loosely affiliated confederacies of four to six extended families, knit together by the shared worship of their patron god. Each family group usually commands its own territory of one or more valleys delimitated by high, mountain ridges, somewhere within which they build a small settlement; or perhaps where several territories meet, a large village. The average population of each tribe numbers between five and seven hundred adults, with half again that number of immature young. Despite their segregation by geography all of the tribes share a common patois, known as the Low Tongue, with which they communicate. Each tribe has a smattering of their own unique words forming a sort of tribal cant which can allow them to exchange hidden meanings while chat ting, remaining unintelligible to those of other clans. This obscure vocabulary normally refers to places or people, and was first developed during the rebellion against the High Folk where they legitimately feared sorcerous eavesdropping.
Law
Although the savages share a common pool of laws, possibly those engendered from before the cataclysm, each tribe has slowly evolved its own idiosyncrasies – the result of passing on the teachings orally through successive generations. Knowledge of the law is part of the sacred responsibilities of the shaman-priests. It is they who advise the hetmen and interpret the law on a case by case basis. When two settlements within the same tribe experience conflict, a kahuna of a third, neutral, village is asked to coordinate a peace gathering where a ruling can be made to decide the issue without unnecessary and wasteful blood shed. Normally the villages concerned abide by the decision of the judging kahuna, or else face losing the magical support of their own shaman. If trouble exists between two tribes, however, then the eldest kahunas of either side sit in conference for several days, debating upon the spirit plane where the honoured ancestors of both tribes sit in judgement. Such gatherings are very sacred and no violence is permitted to sully the proceedings. On the rare occasion that the shaman-priests cannot reach an accord then hostilities are permitted in the form of a limited war, whose parameters are set in the form of a finite number of hours’ duration and a maximum number of ‘heads’ to be taken. If these rules are broken, the offending tribe is set upon by all of its neighbours. The laws are learned as a series of ‘taboos’ that generally enforce certain social boundaries, punishing particular acts which would harm the village or tribe. Most castigation takes the form of fine, death or exile – the later punishment actually being dreaded the most. Death permits the chance to be granted absolution from the ancestors by dying bravely, whereas exile permanently bars the transgressor from joining family and friends in the Spirit World after death. In fact the likely fate of an exile is to be sacrificed to an enemy tribe’s god and have their soul consumed! It should be noted that whilst most tribal taboos forbid certain crimes against members of its own tribe, there is nothing forbidding violence or theft against members of other tribes. For example, one way to gain a mate is to steal them from another tribe. The only caveat concerns crimes against kahunas and holy places, which are considered sacrosanct by all savages, no matter the tribe or its strength, or how just may be the cause of their hatred.
Politics
Settlements are usually built in valleys delimitated by high, mountain ridges and connected to other valleys owned by that tribe. Some tribes live in less salubrious regions however, such as the central swamp basin, or the cliff terraces of the eastern coast. Since they are often separated by these geographical impediments, most tribes maintain hereditary boundaries with one another. Despite this disparate tribes maintain regular contact with one another via trade, war and even the sending of kahunas though the Spirit World. Although some tribes maintain alliances, the socio-political web of tribal relationships is exceedingly complex, based upon centuries of heroic deeds and treacherous betrayals. Most of the lowland tribes remain isolated from the insidious manoeuvrings of the High Folk. Only those bordering directly with the serpent people have started to succumb to subtle manipulation, for example the Mandahi, perhaps due to the hereditary influences of the python god.
Communications
General news or warnings are often transmitted by the Great Jungle Telegraph, a novel series of stone platforms built at high elevation, atop which are placed huge drums made from the hollowed out trunks of enormous trees, over which are stretched the cured skins of giant, monstrous creatures. Drummers are often alerted to the beat ing rhythms by feeling the vibrations in their lower abdo men, rather than hearing the tremendous beats, since their ears have usually long been deafened by proximity to the instruments. When a message arrives they pass it on so that the next drummer station can relay the news. The rhythmic codes are based on an ancient version of their almost forgotten hieroglyphic writing, so that each word-glyph has its own unique drum sequence. This makes sending most messages a rather long winded affair unless the wording is kept short. Drummers possess a unique status amongst the sav ages, being considered sacrosanct and independent of any tribe. Those recruited to their ranks are usually voluntary exiles, who seek to serve their species as a whole, rather than be a drain on the resources of their family. Since the drum platforms are often quite isolated, there is little help available if the local fauna decides to take an interest. Thus although most are aged lizardfolk, they tend to be tough and resourceful individuals. The other method of communication between tribes are the jungle runners, generally young savages who have yet to claim high status. No convention protects a runner, so delivering a declaration of war to a neighbouring tribe is quite likely to cost the lizardman its life if the news is taken poorly. Despite the risks, young runners take extreme pride in the task, some of them winning fame and status from their almost suicidal bravery. Runners generally carry a feathered staff of negotiation to indicate their purpose. As part of the role, they are for bidden to carry weapons and eschew armour so that they may sprint faster.
Trade
Since the savages maintain a primitive level of society, the use of currency is unknown. Most trade is pure barter, exchanging surplus goods for items needed. Of course this makes things difficult when outsiders attempt to trade with the tribes, especially since apparent prices can fluctuate quite dramatically depending on local availability, seasonal effects and time passed since the last trade. Attempting to cater for every circumstance would require very complex rules. Thus every commodity traded on the island has a variable price which is rated in ‘quills’ – iridescent parrot feathers whose spine is filled with gold dust – the most portable trade good exchanged between the tribes and one which does not age or go stale. Other important commodities include: Ivory, Ebony Wood, Lotus Flowers, Shark Teeth, Turtle Shells, Medici nal Herbs, Obsidian Weapons, Sun-metal Jewellery, Precious Stones, Narcotics, Bird Feathers, Live Serpents, Fresh Fruit, Dried Fish, Fresh Fish, Petrified Bone, Woven Kilts, Dyes, Moon-metal Ornaments, Carved Jade, Animal Skins, Fire Stones, Butterfly Wings, Salt, Spices, Perfume, Insense, Mirrors, and Tattoo Inks. Trading occurs in two ways. The first is during cer tain holy days when warfare is strictly forbidden, on pain of censure from neighbouring tribes. The second occurs when an independent trade caravan is raised by several like-minded individuals, which then wanders about the island seeking out small settlements with which to barter. The second option is a far riskier proposition, since nothing prevents a tribe from attacking the caravan and looting it, save for the probable cessation of later trade expeditions visiting their region. Although each settlement is ostensibly a self-sufficient group of hunter gatherers, some families specialise in particular crafting skills, exchanging their handiwork for as much food and produce as they would normally garner if they were foraging for themselves. Thus each tribe has a number of expert roof thatchers, longhouse builders, stone grinders, statue carvers, weapon makers, cloth weavers, feather setters (feather cloaks and headdresses) and canoe builders. Despite these skills, the family members are not professional craftsmen, due to the rarity of such commissions. The majority of time they support themselves as per the rest of their tribe.
Warfare
The savages follow three distinctive forms of ritualised combat: raiding, battle and total war. Raiding occurs as a method of stealing supplies from an opposing tribe, providing a desperately needed level of subsistence or to produce a surplus with which to trade. It is also used as a way to build the experience of young tribal members in the skills of warfare and permit them the chance of achieving recognition from their elders. Since the purpose of raiding is to skilfully confound your enemies rather than take heads, deadly combat is quite rare; the raid being considered a failure if blood is shed. A raid needs no official sanction save from the hetman of the tribe, whom expects a share of any spoils won. Notification of the intended target is not required, although an alert tribe can usually foretell when a raid is probably imminent.