Who are the Ukhel:
The Ukhel are a predominately desert dwelling peaceful tribe, who gather on the Steppes once every decade or so, or sooner if a particularly large amount of bodies start piling up, to hold their celebrations, to which every tribe of the steppe, who has offered up their dead, is invited. During these festivals the Ukhel provide food, drink and celebratory music, and things such as marriage arrangements and birth announcements within the Ukhel are made. Due to the large amount of other Tribes, they can sometimes intermingle, including but not limited to, joint marriages, accidental conceptions, and the like (people will be people, and sex happens)
When the festivals are over, the Ukhel retreat back into the Shifting sands, sending out small parties from time to time to retrieve the bodies of the deceased from other tribes.
Due to their location, and habit of moving from oasis to oasis out in the desert, finding the Ukhel can be very difficult, unless you know where they are ahead of time. Many tribes who have taken issue with them, have met their end in the sands of the desert, left to be pecked at by the vultures. The Ukhel, not being ones to hold grudges, will often collect the bones they find in the desert, and add them to the collection.
It is incredibly rare that the Ukhel would leave the Steppes, but with so many other tribes leaving, some of the younger members may have taken an interest.
In general, the Ukhel are kind, generous and extremely protective of their rites. It is the Ukhel belief that to die or be buried in water, is to lose your soul for eternity in suffocating darkness, and never find your way to Nhaama's embrace. As such, each Ukhel knows how to swim, from a young age, and if a member of the "family" is lost to the water, the strongest swimmers will be selected to fetch the body back for cleansing rituals, and later burial.
The belief that all who embrace their rites are Family, extends to the other tribes, and as such, if an Ukhel meets with a member of a tribe which follows their rites, they will greet them as family, and extend all their generosity toward them. However, if a person is not considered family, the Ukhel will ignore that person. Only a few tribes are not considered family, those being the ones which follow their own funeral rites, and these tribes tend to be treated respectfully, if contact is required, but otherwise left alone and ignored. However, if one of these tribes wins the Nadaam, the Ukhel will gather their strength and join with another tribe of "Family" and help to usher the "non-family" tribe out of the seat of power.
How do I Join?
The Ukhel are a friendly and open minded tribe. They're dealings are with death, and anyone who thinks they could stomach that level of morbidity, is welcome to create an Ukhel and play as one. If you do, just send a message to myself here, or find one of the few Ukhel running about on Mateus. Don't worry, we don't bite... much.
Tribal Colors/Traditions:
The Ukhel are a colorful tribe, wearing clothing crafted of hand woven cloth dyed with local plant and animal dyes and often decorated with carved bone or shimmering stones and coins. They enjoy wearing clothing which makes sound as they move, because it is believed to attract good luck and good fortune to their camps. The tribal color, though not the only color worn, is a bright green derived from dried and powdered lichen and cactus napales. (Moss Green Dye)
