Suluka
General introduction
Suluka is the probably mythological forefather of the Ipuram peoples of Andaperna. He is the protagonist of the epic Ensika Sirkug (holy and heavenly song), which tells about the gathering of the then nomadic Ipuram people, how they became sedentary and how Suluka consolidated the first permanent kingdom under the guidance of the god of the sky and of wisdom, Anutu, as well as what happened after his death.
Supposed origin
As the only information we have about Suluka stems from the Ensika Sirkug, it is best to take a gander at that text and attempt an interpretation:
And down he came from the mountain, guided by the one who is wise.
He bore with him the seed, he bore with him the blade, he bore with him the torch.
And as he was guided, so he guided himself, his wife and a dozen couples.
Down from the mountains, where lambs freeze to death in starry nights of the earliest summer month.
And from the mointains they came, he and her as a couple and a dozen others.
And Nineban took the seed, the husbands took the blade and the wifes took the torch.
- Ensika Sirkug, verses 63 - 68
The text clearly implies, that the Ipuram people were not autochthonous to Andaperna but rather came from the mountains around the area. This is nothing too exotic, as the Chawarasman, another Andaperna ethnicity, also originate from a mountain people as they likewise state in their mythology. Besides people, he brings objects that hint at civilization - seed to be sown in the fields, blades to harvest or to fight and fire, either a symbol for technology or the hearth of a sedentary people's house or both. The seed can also hint at other contexts, as it might be used to refer to the semen of the Men or to the wisdom the sky god shared with him, as wisdom is often metaphorically connected to plants, growth and vegetation in the Ipuram people.
One darker aspect of this part of the epic is the verse about the lambs. While the text is written in a more archaic form of sacral Ipuramkeme, different words exist to express kinship and family. Here the text goes out of its way to make sure it is couples coming down from the mountains while at the same time alluding to the loss of children as portrayed by the lambs - children lost to sheep.
Consolidation of power and state formation
The earliest sources of Andaperna history stem from a time before writing, in some cases even to the Early era of the Trees. These sources are reliefs carved in stone. The earliest of these are carved on natural stone surfaces, especially at well visible places like the faces of cliffs. Indeed the name Suluka appears on two cliffsides with heavily worn reliefs. These sources are anachronistic of course, as the reliefs are far older than the cartouches with the names. When and why cartouches were added to the reliefs is unclear, as well as whether the reliefs actually depict the individuals the cartouches mention. But at least one part of one relief is so unambiguous in what it shows and has a cartouche, that assigns a name to a figure that is mentioned in the Ensika Sirkug in a scene clearly identical to the one in the relief.
So if the reliefs can be takes seriously as historical sources or at least quasi historical sources, they complement and round of the events artfully and heavily idealized described in the epic. It seems like Suluka was not necessarily percieved as the saviour figure leading poor suffering people with few ressources out of the mountains as told in the epic. He rather seemed to have come as one of many, with him only later taking on a leading role among the Proto-Ipuram people. It cannot even be said with certainty, if the people who came down from the mountains were of one ethnicity or whether it was a band of different mountain dwelling people being forced into the lowlands by changing climate or other unclear reasons. Suluka became the leading figure eventually and with the people settling down, ruled over a not too small stretch of land and was well able to later extend his sphere of influence.
Historical impact and aftermath
Nowadays the Ipuram peoples are divided into seven major subgroups. All of these trace themselves back to Suluka. According to the Ensika Sirkug had seven children. After his death, the children each tried to get control over their fathers land. A feud among the siblings brought a lot of losses and chaos and eventually all agreed to split the land, people and goods evenly. This division of the supposed original Ipuram state laid the foundation for the seven Ipuram peoples that nowadays inhabit Andaperna among a plethora of other ethnicities.
Children
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