Mahannans

The mahannans¹ were Imkalans who ruled one of the earliest civilizations in Emlas during bronze age, specifically northern Imkala in the southern part of the continent. They were contemporaries of other early powers in Emlas such as the Ilaxarans and sóans to the east and northeast respectively, both of whom they were engaged with in long-distance trade and sharing of ideas, as well as the chiefdoms of Fjimrú Forest far to the west, though contact with the latter via the tribes of Þonnanó remained sporadic until relatively late in their history.
While mahannan metallurgy, pottery, mathematics, writing system and mythology had a great impact on the southern imkalans and other neighbouring tribes, their culture was quite different in many ways and has largely been assimilated or outright supplanted by the latter even in the area they once ruled.
Like the ilaxarans, their civilization declined largely due to a prolonged period of drought and resulting famines and wars, which caused most mahannans to migrate southwards and adopt the lifestyle of the southern tribes, who in turn founded new settlements near or atop the ruins later on.

Culture

Art

Architecture

Mahannan architecture was influenced by the cultures east of Imkala, particularly by the use of grid planning and mudbricks rather than wood as become the norm later on, with buildings closer to the swamplands being built on artificial mounds to avoid flooding. Caves to the north sometimes served as shelters for the inhabitants during extreme floods, but were otherwise used as sanctuaries to honour major deities.

Pottery

The mahannans made fine pottery, including vessels in the shape of human figures or beings from mythology and often painted with intricate designs. The use of red, grey and black colours remains a distinctive feature of imkalan pottery to this day, and certain designs are still used in some places for rituals.

Cuisine

Their cuisine was primarily based on native cereals, fruits (particularly those of açai palms), chickens, fish and wild game, while the use of waterlilies was introduced late in mahannans' history as new varieties emerged. The latter have since replaced cereals in northern Imkala, while açai palms are still cultivated to some extent.

Language

While the mahannan language is now extinct, the various writing systems used by modern imkalans all derive from the script invented by the former.

Religion

Mahannans were the first imkalans to make extensive use of a brew produced from Þáta -a flowering plant found only at certain altitudes in the Narannax- and Zamra Mountains- for religious purposes, believing that ingesting it would bring one closer to the gods.
The cults of certain deities also gained prominence among other imkalans after the mahannan migrations, as did the importance of stone for temples, derived from the practice of using caves to house sacred images, which evolved into the practice of hewing shrines out of living rock, from spires jutting out of the swamplands to entire hills.
Other aspects of mahannan religion have since fallen into obscurity, such as excarnation and subsequent burial of the bones rather more common cremation, and certain ritual paraphernalia once used by priests and priestesses which now only occur on images of certain deities.

---

¹Original icelandic: Mahannar, singular: Mahanni.

Parent ethnicities

• Imkalans

Related Locations
Imkala