Quote:I think it's been pretty well established that a Seeker tribe is made up of numerous breeding groups.ÂYeah, but "tribe" can be used both for the prefix-tribe and "tribe" as in a particular tribe, which is probably what S-E meant (so if X'ehl Tia is born into a tribe already lead by X'hyr Nunh, they're both from the X-tribe, yet if X'ehl leaves with a bunch of women and becomes X'ehl Nunh, they will still be X-tribe, but they will also be individual tribes, I assume, anyway).
Quote:I've been thinking about a couple of things with regard to Seeker breeding. We know that a Tia can become a Nunh by challenging an existing Nunh, proving himself fitter, and taking that Nunh's place. It's assumed that combat plays a part of this challenge, but is it there anything else?
Going off-canon and into speculation for a bit, I always assumed that of the elders of whichever tribe select possible new Nunhs from available Tia (and the ones left over/those chosen but not wishing to become Nunh yet generally leaving their birth-tribe). The one tribe we have a sample of, the U-tribe, already have hunting rites of passage for everyone, so I guess they would already be proven hunters. Their Nunh is also known for his mental (according to at least one NPC) and physical prowess and is also known for his time in the Company of Heroes. Maybe there's a test of wit/wisdom/experience as well.
It's possible that in these more open times (with Sun/Moon crosses and more and more Miqo'te living outside of tribal and clannish groups), being a distinguished hero/adventurer/mercenary might also be taken into consideration (maybe this is why that Tia joined the Scions).
We do know that there is a battle/duel, but not if it is considered ceremonial and traditional, or if it is a no-holds barred, sand-kicked in eyes, blows below the belt death match.
On the "sneaky fucker" thing and choices for the women; Miqo'te are not lions, they have their humanity going for them. I imagine that a Tia that is generally rejected by the women might find his way to challenging the current Nunh blocked by various obstacles (if there is no Tia to gatekeep an injured/sick Nunh, I could see a particularly dominant woman insisting on "testing" the Tia), and if he wins, he'll probably be either driven out by them, or a more acceptable Tia is encouraged to beat the snot outta him (seriously, any Tia trying to take over a tribe that wants nothing to do with him IS NOT thinking ahead, and his poor judgment would probably lead to exile from the tribe he believed he'd taken over, simply on the grounds that he has no forethought and is therefore a lousy protector).
Of course, once a majority-approved Nunh has won, he does not have automatic rights to every woman in the tribe. It is likely that a few put up with it because they don't particularly mind this Nunh (and I wont go into my theories about Miqo'te sexuality and norms, suffice to say that even humans in our world don't need love to have sex), and a few might sneak with a Tia behind his back, but my theory is that this is considered extremely rude and insulting behavior (in this case, it is more acceptable to elope).
Likely, most of the women not attracted to the current Nunh either bide their time for a better Nunh, or leave, either with or without a Tia of their choice, just like how Tia who are not considered Nunh material leave for greener pastures.
Okay, this became a longer speculation than I intended so I'll stop now.