Angulutiun

The Angulutiuns were a human ethnic group living in the Angalpuk region of the Great Glacier. They were a nomadic race of caribou-herders, and were one of the peoples collectively known as the Ulutiuns.

Description
Like all Ulutiuns, Angulutiuns were short and stocky and had round and flat facial features. They rarely were taller than five feet (150 cm). Males usually weighed between 130 and 260 pounds (60–120 kg), and females were about 35 pounds (16 kg) lighter. They had short and thick legs with stubby fingers and toes. Their ears and nose were tiny, and they had especially wide teeth.

They had light yellow or brown skin &mdash;which was a little darker than the skin color of Iulutiuns &mdash;dark brown eyes, and black hair.

Angulutiuns had more fat under their skin than other humans and extra blood vessels in their extremities. Males could not grow facial hair. These adaptations gave them a special resistance to living in the frigid cold weather of their native lands.

These people tended to have greater strength and fortitude than other human races but, with their stubby fingers and shorter legs, lacked the speed and dexterity of other humans.

Angulutiuns wore layered snow suits made from caribou hide. Their parkas were pointed, not rounded like Iulutiun parkas. Angulutiun boots were especially well-crafted, having an extra layer of soft fur from fox or rabbit on the inside and an extra layer of scraped and notched caribou hide on the bottom for traction.

Personality
Angulutiuns were a dependable, honest, and virtuous people, but, as a rule, they were not very trusting of the Iulutiuns, because of the remembrance of the Keryjek Wars.

Society
The society of the Angulutiuns was intricately linked to their caribou herds. They relied on the caribou for food, milk, clothing, and other materials, and their year revolved around the migration patterns of the animals.

Most tribes had fewer than 200 members. The largest tribe in Angalpuk had 800 members. Every tribe maintained its own herd of caribou&mdash;from a few dozen to almost three thousand.

Larger tribes, with more than 200 individuals, would maintain permanent villages called skotuk. The term skotuk referred to both the people and the animals. They remained in these villages over winter, when the ground was too frozen for caribou to feed. The caribou remained in the forest during this time.

When the village migrated with their caribou, beginning in the spring, they were called iskotuk, while the weak, very young, and elderly left behind were called aiskotuk.

A full migration, one year, was called an ikili. During this time, a herd and its tribe would move slowly, wandering and feeding, covering between ten and twenty miles (16 to 32 kilometers). The herders would ensure the protection of the caribou from predators and guide them to the best feeding grounds where the ground was least frozen. They would also help with the birthing of calves in the summer months. New calves were branded with a wakiak by clipping patterns in the ears or cutting marks in the hooves. In the fall, they would journey home, where some caribous were selected for breeding purposes and others were slaughtered for meat.

Caribou were not often used as pack animals, but they were sometimes used for carrying small loads of food or goods from house to house while in villages. Mothers often placed their babies in baskets hung from caribou, and as the animal wandered about, the rocking would help put the child to sleep.

When they did construct buildings, they made snowhouses, quaggi (feasting houses), and ukujik, as did other Ulutiun peoples. During an ikili, they made temporary snowhouses when possible, but there often was not enough snow in Angalpuk for snowhouses, so they also made tents of caribou hide called rissik and viit or temporary earthen and wooden houses called minikitak.

Government
Every skotuk was self-governed. The larger ones were often governed by an iquemelum of five kiam. During the ikili, usually half would travel with the herd while the rest would stay with the aiskotuk.

In addition, Angulutiun tribes had a pimataung and an iniagok. The former was an older man or woman who was the manager of the herd. To become one, this individual must have participated in at least 20 herd migrations, be nominated by the iquemelum council, and be approved by the votes of all adult members of the tribe. The position was held for life.

An iniagok was a sort of morale officer for the traveling herd and its herders, whose job it was to schedule entertainment and such for the iskotuk or the aiskotuk. Most tribes had one iniagok for each. These roles were chosen by the iquemelum from among the most outgoing and creative members.

The Angulutiuns did not have written laws, but the matter of custom was very important to them. A major custom was the recognition of status in the tribe. Everyone was expected to honor those above them in the hierarchy, which was as follows: Status violations were considered egregious offenses, as wicked as theft or violence. Insults, disobedience, and failure to offer help were all consider acts of dishonor against one of higher status. Such a violation was punishable by death, though the accused was allowed to appeal to the iquemelum.
 * 1) A pimataung (even one from another tribe)
 * 2) A kiam (member of the iquemelum)
 * 3) A tuiskotuk (adult who has participated in more than a single ikili)
 * 4) An ituiskotuk (former tuiskotuk who was no longer able to participate in ikili)
 * 5) An aituiskotuk (adult who has participated in only a single ikili)
 * 6) An iniagok who has not yet participated in an ikili
 * 7) A kaituiskotuk (one who has not yet participated in an ikili)
 * 8) An ukeu (voluntary slave)

Every tribe was expected to have a unique wakiak (brand). Every caribou must have a wakiak, and no one was permitted to tamper with a wakiak. Wild caribou must always be checked for wakiak, and any lost caribou must be returned to their iskotuk if at all possible. Caribou whose iskotuk could not be found were cared for until the next sukkiruchit fair.

Every tribe also was permitted a favored pasture, or ujju, which was usually about ten square miles (26 square kilometers. Such ujju were agreed upon by the pimataung at the most recent sukkiruchit. The ujju was marked by scattering old caribou horns with wakiak over the area of the pasture.

Executions for crimes or custom violations were usually in the form of drowning or stoning. In the case of members of an iskotuk, abandonment to the elements was also a form of punishment. Because of the stiff penalties, crime was very low among Angulutiun tribes.

Economy
The Angulutiun economy was based on trade, and gems and gold simply were valueless to them. The most common trade item was of course a live caribou, and its value was roughly 200 gp for an adult. Calves were half that value, but a good male breeder could be worth ten times that amount!

Most trade occurs during the winter months of the skotuk, when clothing, sleds, and tents are the most common items exchanged.

The Angulutiuns would also trade with the Iulutiuns during sukkiruchit.

Combat
Because the Angulutiuns did not often need to hunt, they were not especially skilled hunters. They did use various bows and ekaa (barbed arrows) and spears, however, as well as garnok, ritiik, luqu, and various harpoons on occasion. One in two hunters also carried an iuak.

Language
Angulutiuns spoke their own dialect of the Ulutiun language, but they had no trouble communicating with the other Ulutiun tribes. Most could also communicate with the human groups living outside the Glacier as well.

Religion
While there were a few priests of Itishikopak among the Angulutiuns, most Angulutiuns followed the tenets of qukoko but were far less ritualistic than the Iulutiuns. Exceptions were rituals for the dead&mdash;equkoku and Opoqukoku&mdash;which were followed rigorously.

In addition, the tribes maintained a special ritual, called taatquoko, during which adults who had experienced multiple ikili (tuiskotuk) would wear masks. These masks were two-sided, with the image of a human on one side and a caribou on the other. Singing and dancing occurred while flipping the masks back and forth to symbolize the bond between caribou and human. These celebrations were held at the beginning of every ikili.

Magic
Anagakok were very rare among Angulutiun tribes, perhaps only one or two per population of 200. When an anagakok is present, she or he most often accompany the iskotuk.

Transportation
Angulutiuns sometimes used dog sleds or kupuk sleds, but most sleds were pulled by caribou. These came in several varieties&mdash;jakerek, uhkerek, and lakerek.

Diet
Angulutiuns ate caribou meat for almost every day of their lives. It could be boiled, dried, smoked, stewed, or eaten raw. They would sometimes supplement this diet with other meats&mdash;birds, deer, fish, etc. Caribou bones were also used to make broth, and caribou milk was drunk and used to make cheese or even mixed with snow to make a frozen treat.

History
All Ulutiuns were descended from migrants from Kara-Tur who came west over the polar ice caps. Their ancestors first settled in Faerûn in Sossal. From there, they explored further west. In &minus;1648 DR, a group of them became severely lost after having narrowly escaped death from an attack by a tirichik, one of the monsters native to the Great Glacier. These lost hunters eventually came to the shores of the Lugalpgotak Sea and settled there.

By &minus;1186 DR, a faction split off from the Iulutiuns and moved east to Angalpuk, becoming the Angulutiuns.

A fifty-year conflict, known as the Keryjek Wars, lasted from &minus;963 DR until &minus;913 DR between the Iulutiuns and the Angulutiuns. At the end of the war, the two groups made a peace treaty and established the custom of koatulit, which helped them to maintain peace for the millennia since.

Notable Angulutiuns
The largest tribe of Angulutiuns was the Hupiik tribe, which had a population of 800 persons with a herd of about 3,000 heads of caribou. One of the most famous Angulutiuns was the female warrior named Uhokkaki, the pimataung of the Hupiik tribe.