Utama

The Utama are a loose federation of human clans who inhabit the Burkhdyn Gazar. The majority are nomadic, often wintering in Khuldani Purda or sheltering near one of the dwarven cities. A minority are more sedentary, working in mining towns such as Yul Fesh or making a permanent home along the Strait of Shandar: small fishing villages dot the coastline to the east of Khuldani Purda, with a bare few further west.

Government

The Utama clans each have their own leader. Each clan may be independent or may ally itself with a local power structure: some clans are located in dwarven territories, pledging loyalty to the dwarven Tena. Those in Yul Fesh or Khuldani Purda generally follow the city’s lead. A few — mostly a handful of hunting clans — are allied with orcish factions. And there are many that are independent or banded into small cohorts of human clans.

Commerce

With the diversity of locations comes a similar diversity of economy: hunting, fishing, mining, and industry are all practiced to varying degrees by the Utama. There are a relatively high proportion of herders among the Utama, and among these tribes their ability to spin fine, strong yarn is considered second to none: even the Iswari will trade for Utama yarn for their finest applications. Those who live among the orcs are often tasked with mercantile negotiation, especially in dealings with dwarves and non-Burkhdyn societies who may view them with suspicion.

The Utama are unique among the Burkhdyn cultures in their love of fishing and sea hunting: canoes are common for fishing, but larger boats are used during whaling hunts. Daring Utama will leap from the boat to a whale’s back with a harpoon to make the kill. More than one has been crushed to death between the sides of the boat and the would-be quarry, but the payoff merits the danger: a single large whale can ensure a successful winter for an entire village. Fine, strong fishing-line is wrought from the dogbane plant, a plant that is both toxic to dogs and prone to causing blisters among the non-Utama.

Inland Utama clans are primarily herders, though a few are hunting clans.

Culture and Entertainment

Much of their culture varies based on the specific clan, as they tend to adopt the habits of those they live with. But there are a things common to all Utama.

The mountain folk generally delight in storytelling, but the Utama have made it a competitive event: on epic anniversaries, multiple storytellers will recount the same tale, with gifts of food, drink, and trinkets bestowed on the one whose version is most compelling.

Their children play a “skein game”, twisting a pattern of yarn or line between their fingers, whereafter a friend picks certain strands to pull that twist it into a new pattern. Various patterns have names (the flower, the goose, the wolf, etc), and skilled players can go through a progression of 10 or more patterns without entangling the cord.

The Utama Festival of Night is a true spectacle, showing off their intricate candle-making skills: all sizes and colors of candle lanterns are used to form elaborate display patterns, often laid out for hundreds of feet in the snow around a village.

The Utama, unlike most Burkhdyn cultures, wear simple, no-nonsense woolen skull caps with little adornment.