Tipani Info:

Quote:The largest of the Omec Clans; the Tipani are a fierce tribal people oft perceived as aggressive and feral due to their deep connection with the natural world and spartan society. They greet each other with eye contact and the word ezenisiri which literally translates to "with no concealed intentions or ambushes".

Deeply spiritual, their shamanic religion is founded in a basis of paganism and pertains to three main aspects: gyabire (the seat of intelligence, the brain), gyagbe (the seat of vitality, the heart), and gyarge (the house of emotion, the soul).

Although their society is essentially Neolithic, they have developed a vibrant, complex culture based on a profound spiritual connection to their world and its natural order, to one another, and to the deity they call Iio. They are superb artisans who celebrate the interconnectedness of nature through storytelling, song, dance and crafts.

The Tipani are highly social creatures with complex personal, family, and community relationship dynamics. They are polygamous, though usually mating for life - rearing their children together in one large, familial group. Strong social bonds determine the selection of mated pairs, and often social roles within the community are associated with the pairings. The most prominent example of this is that the Ditorro, or Clan Leader, is always paired with the Hagisi, or Shamanic Matriarch.

Social roles are not necessarily determined by gender. Females are known to be active hunters and clan leaders, while males often choose to focus on child rearing or core tasks, such as botany.

The arts are of vital importance in Tipani culture, with all individuals encouraged, even socially required, to be active in music, singing, storytelling, art, and dance.

The Tipani are generally not aggressive with each other, and have many strategies for conflict resolution, both within and between clans. However they are extremely fierce when provoked beyond the limits of these social limiters. War among clans is not unknown, especially when habitat changes rapidly, driving one clan into another’s territory, which can be triggered by stressors such as flooding, vulcanism etc. Tipani warfare is characterized by fierce fighting followed by immediate interactions to resolve conflict through bargaining and negotiation. Often religious ceremonies are involved in this, in which the ancestors and the Tipani diety are petitioned. Tipani warfare has never been observed to cause the unwarranted destruction of populations, as that is not the goal. The goal is to define the severity of the conflict and the worthiness of the combatants, relative to each other. Some researchers have gone so far as to call Tipani warfare “ritualistic”.