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chemnections · 6 months

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over the past few days the real music scandal i have been paying attention to is from one of my favourite artists and it has genuinely felt like a devastating blow.

when the cbc posted their investigation i read it hoping dearly this would be a simple hit piece that could be dismantled through fact checking, but the investigation was fair and thorough and the evidence put forward is solid beyond reasonable doubt.

and it hurts. i’m hearing so many stories from indigenous people who feel like they’ve had the carpet ripped out under them, buffy was a role model and a hero to them. she was someone to rally behind. her appearance on sesame street was part of their childhood, positive representation and some of the first. she made such positive change to help indigenous peoples, real activism.

but it was all built on a fundamental lie.

i am posting this here because i think some insight can be gained in why liking artists for how unproblematic they are may not save you from hurt or be a good idea for basing your identity on. because out of everyone in the music industry, buffy used to be a shining star. an indigenous woman with a story of overcoming obstacles and discrimination in her career, survivor of the scoop and sa, meaningful activism and wonderful music - she was so highly regarded and honestly the pinnacle of what the young generation is looking for in an artist right now.

but when we look for a perfect person, we can never truly find them because perfect people do not exist. so when we find a person who has the image of being perfect, that’s all it is. image. or lies. maybe the flaws are small, maybe it’s all rot behind the mask.

because sainte marie, who was considered to be the best of the best, is a fraud. never indigenous. she is claimed as kin by a piapot family, but the relationship formed after she was already grifting as an indigenous artist, it was a kin relationship formed on false pretences. and this is not a criticism of that family, what terrible circumstances they find themselves in.

she lied about her race and used the lie to propel her career and turn herself into an iconic figure. she got funding and opportunities intended for indigenous peoples. she hid her lies behind real issues that indigenous peoples who were taken away from their families in the sixties scoop deal with, disconnection and lost knowledge. she used it to create plausible deniability for the gaps in her ancestry claim.

there is now evidence that she threatened her brother, who had tried to expose her lies about her race, with a lawyer and threatened him with a manipulative lie that she would claim he sexually abused her, which silenced him all the way until his 2011 death.

and as an italian american, she also faked being canadian, and took funding and opportunities away from canadian artists. (i don’t expect non-canadians to understand cancon in depth, the gov gives can artists money and opportunities because we can’t compete with the american music industry, and there is a history of american radio stations refusing to play canadian music and artists stuff like that - it’s a whole thing). she is a recipient of the order of canada which is the highest civilian award. i’m sure she is officially canadian now, but she would have became canadian through claiming to have been born in saskatchewan instead of massachusetts instead of applying like any other immigrant.

and for some the truth will be too painful to accept so they will believe that the truth is the lie. and of course there is discourse on what makes someone indigenous, some believe kinship is enough but others base their rights on their ancestors - but i won’t get into that.

my main conclusion from all of this is like musicians for their music, and do not condemn real people for their flaws because it creates an environment for deceitful people to thrive.

#buffy sainte marie #cbc #i am tagging #ls dunes #because my points/conclusions here are relevant to asks I have gotten #nothing else in this piece is relevant to them #but is relevant to another mcr adjacent person

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fuckyeahilike · 1 year

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This is a post by Djuvlipen that I have screengrabbed and that I am reproducing here.

In it she pretends that Rita Hayworth is part gypsy - or as she always prefers to call them, a Romani, claiming that the word gypsy is an offensive slur - and that Hollywood white-washed her and forced her to have multiple plastic surgeries in order to fit in and to have a movie career.

1 - Radical feminists are correct to point out that constantly bombarding women with yassified, filtered images of women’s faces gives you an inferiority complex, and messes with your idea of what you’re even supposed to look like. That’s correct.

What do you think it does to be shown images of a woman who never underwent plastic surgery, and then be told that the differences caused by different grooming styles and age are actually the result of plastic surgery? That you can’t just look nice, unless you’ve had all kinds of shit done to you?

She never had any plastic surgery done.

You’re being gaslighted into seeing changes that never happened. The only modification made by Hollywood was electrolysis to her hair-line. Any other changes you see are caused by the grooming of hair and eyebrows, and by make up, along with the changes that naturally happen as you age.

2 - Any person who tells you that a descendant of white Europeans could never look like a dark brunette is a racist who wants you to believe that all “real” white people must look like Donald Trump.

This is what Silvia, the queen of Sweden, looked like as a young girl. That’s Sweden, the European country in Europe with all those white European people.

3 - Djuvlipen is a pretendian of sorts when it comes to the gypsy community.

According to wikipedia, a “pretendian is a person who has falsely claimed Indigenous identity by claiming to be a citizen of a Native American or Indigenous Canadian tribal nation, or to be descended from Native ancestors. The term is a pejorative colloquialism, and if used without evidence could be considered defamatory.”

Real gypsies don’t tell you that the only correct designation for them is Romani or Traveler. Gypsy, gitano, cigano, gitane... all these words are the exact same word in different languages. Gypsy is the word gypsies use for themselves in their own official institutions.

So what happens when someone passing herself off as a gypsy forbids you from using the correct word to call gypsies? You are left without the words to find the information you’re looking for... the information (gypsy) becomes invisible to you. Gypsies become invisible to you.

That is what she and other anti-gypsy racists want: they want to erase gypsies off the map.

How gypsies of Portugal call themselves:

How gypsies of France call themselves:

How gypsies of Spain call themselves:

You get the picture.

4 - Regarding Rita’s imaginary gypsy ancestry, this entire discussion is expressive of just how much there isn’t a single shred of proof to confirm it, and her own father (the one who is supposed to have been the gypsy one, remember?) always denied it, so who are we to call him a liar? Is it because we’re non-gypsy that we wouldn’t tell a lie but he would? Isn’t that a racist thing to assume about him? Aren’t racists the ones who accuse gypsies of being habitual liars?

It’s fine to be gypsy, but it’s not ok to gypsy-wash a famous movie star just because you’d like to claim them... or to make them invisible.

#rita hayworth #racism #gypsies #movies #feminism #mental health #women's health #health #misogyny #plastic surgery

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menalez · 2 years

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I think there's also something to be said about how the whole discourse around indigeneity has become chic in the past few years to the point where you now see zionists claim that zionism is an "indigenous" movement... except that the early zionist thinkers very explicitly talked about colonising Palestine.

And also, it's exactly like you said, the term "indigenous" only makes sense in the context of being specifically oppressed for being indigenous. Indian Christians and Muslims are oppressed by Hindutva, and those Hindutva see them as traitors who adapted foreign religions. You could call Hindutva an "indigenous movement" the way some people now use the word indigenous lol.

yeah a lot of people argue that zionism is an indigenous movement despite the fact that palestinians have been proven, over and over again, to be indigenous to palestine. while many jewish people do have middle eastern ancestry specifically in the levant region, enough evidence shows that palestinians' ancestors are of the people who never left the land, whereas jewish people that left (ofc this doesnt apply to the mizrahim that have been in palestine the entire time) have been linked to levantine ppl from 3000 or so years ago and thus have distant ties to the land. framing it as an indigenous movement is truly disingenuous, as it implies either that palestinians are not indigenous or that jewish zionists are MORE indigenous, both being blatantly false.

hindutva are absolutely not an indigenous movement considering there are actual indigenous people in india (adivasi) and they often face racism, casteism, and colourism by hindu nationalists as well.

but yeah this is why framing 'indigenous' as inherently meaningful, oppressed, and good is ridiculous. in germany ive seen people use the acronym "BIPOC" many times and its like.. okay and who are the I in the BIPOC? who are the indigenous people in germany? oh right...germans or "aryans" as they used to call themselves. so wtf does it mean in the context of germany? no idea. and it seems none of the people who use it here have any idea either! it makes absolutely no sense but people treat "indigenous" as = poc from a colonized country or a country with a large settler population and more often than not, they think "indigenous" only refers to indigenous americans. but im indigenous, from bahrain, and i have nothing to do with indigenous americans. some people are indigenous from india, and they have nothing to do with indigenous americans, etc. meanwhile some groups of people that are "indigenous" to their lands are absolutely not oppressed, in fact they're often the more privileged ones! which is why i think people really need to be more clear and not play into this intentional vagueness. "indigenous" alone doesn't mean much. it isn't a race or an ethnicity.

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jawad-blog1 · 6 months

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Six Nations artist's new play tackles false claims of Indigenous ancestry, with humour

http://dlvr.it/SygdlX

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fictionpickle-blog · 1 year

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Proving Native American Ancestry in Your Family Tree

A lot of people claim to have Native American ancestry, but not everyone can actually prove it. There are many reasons why people might falsely claim to be mixed indigenous, whether they’re doing it intentionally or not. Some people are unwittingly brought up with family lore that claims an ancestor was Native American, and some people are simply “culture vultures” who exploit different cultures…

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archae-heart · 2 months

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False Claims to Indigenous Ancestry as MirandaElizabeth on Nameberry

#false claims to indigenous ancestry #MirandaElizabeth #nameberry #chiricahua apache

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hellenic-reconstructionism · 3 years

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We Have A Folkish Problem Too: How Folkism/Ethnonationalism Works in Hellenic Polytheism and How to Spot it

People are well aware of the folkish problem in Heathenry, but did you know we have the same problem in Hellenismos?

What is Folkism?

Folkism is ethnonationalism, or an ideology where one ethnic group is held as better than others. In Hellenismos, folkists are usually white Greeks and Greek Americans who think that being of Greek descent gives them more say or more knowledge in Hellenismos. Often, people will claim direct ancestry from X nation state, or that paganism was secretly passed down (a common lie to give themselves false authority).

Maybe you've heard of the organization YSEE, which stands for the Supreme Council of the Ethnic Hellenes (in English). I'm not a big fan of pagan or atheist YouTubers, but Suris, Aliakai and Ocean Keltoi made a good podcast episode about it (it should be noted Ocean has retweeted Islamophobic content before). I agree with Aliakai that most Hellenic pagan folkism is dogwhistle-based, and not as overt as some of the Neo Nazi Heathens. The YSEE believes Greeks are superior, and that Christianity is bad because it is a foreign religion related to Judaism (they are big time antisemites). Hatred of Christianity for being a "foreign religion" goes back to the völkische movement which influenced the Nazi Party.

As you may guess by now, much like Heathen folkism, Hellenic folkism is all about hatred and exclusion. This is why the Xenia Declaration was made -- so people could have a better idea of tolerant organizations and such -- note that YSEE and Hellenion did not sign the Declaration.

It affects the community by wrongfully and unjustly prioritizing modern Greek ethnonationalist stances over the safety of POC and LGBT people in the community. It is also often antisemitic and islamophobic. Greek pagan folkism demands that non-Greeks 'become Greek', an unreasonable and strange demand incompatible with history and with xenia at large.

Example 2: servantofthefates

First, there is no logical way someone would know their ancient ancestry because genealogical records weren't kept. Being of Greek heritage does not give you more say or knowledge about this cluster of beliefs, and it ties into some weird fashy "paganism survived Christianity" bullshit.

Folkism is present on Twitter, on Patheos, on Tumblr, in local groups...etc. Angelo Nasios and Occultus, both mentioned in the podcast episode (now AtreiLeonidas on Twitter) both continue to spread Greek folkism.

Dogwhistles

Rants against "monotheism"; antisemitism (anywhere from overt to insisting on grouping Jewish and Christian beliefs together as "Judeo-Christian").

Saying hellenization is necessary to be a Greek pagan

Saying Greek paganism can be appropriated

Referring to Hellenismos as an indigenous or "ethnic" religion

Appropriating Indigenous politics

Referring to white Greeks as POC

Xenophobia (hatred of refugees and Turkish people especially)

Condescending on other cultures' deities (including Christianity)

Referring to Christianity as a foreign religion

Preventing Accidentally Coming Off Folkish

Sometimes people accidentally come off folkish without intending harm, but remember that it is well within others' right to be uncomfortable if this happens. In order to prevent such a misunderstanding, the best thing is to study and read about Judaism and Islam, and to read about how radicalization works so you can be aware of how that works. The most important thing is to understand that modern Greekness is not a requirement to being a Hellenic polytheist, and that Greekness was not a concept in ancient Greece -- the concept of Greece as a country is a little new (what we now call Greece was mostly a bunch of city-states for a long time). It would also help to learn about white supremacy in Greece, and the xenophobia currently happening there. Greece has been hostile to Rroma people for a very long time; Greece is also home to the fascist Golden Dawn party, and there are often debates and resistance to accepting refugees.

#hellenismos #pagan #hellenic polytheism #paganism #hellenic pagan #hellenic paganism #greek pagan #greek paganism #hellenic community

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zen-garden-gnome · 3 years

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Long post about whiteness

I’m seeing a lot of false-start questions based on a narrow understanding of whiteness. Whiteness (and recovery from whiteness) can be tricky to unpack because it has a lot of layers that have been added over the years. So you’ll run into a layer and may be tempted to stop there, but it goes deeper.

1) Racial identity was a vague belief before it was officially named, but it’s not as old as many think it is. Prior to European Expansionism, travelers and merchants and militaries alike have generally referred to people based on their place of origin or their language. The idea of vaguely lumping hundreds of ethnicities together based on a handful of physical attributes started to kick up when Portugal began capturing and enslaving huge numbers of sub-Saharan Africans in the mid-1400s. As slave traders and “explorers” brought shiploads of captured, multi-ethnic Africans to Portuguese auction blocks to be traded all over Europe, what set these enslaved people apart from anyone else there (including other enslaved people) was a) the fact that they were to some degree darker than the Portuguese despite displaying a wide range of skin tones, b) were from Africa at the time, and c) were enslaved. When Christian militant and royal biographer Gomes de Zurara was hired in 1453 to write about the life and “accomplishments” of Portugal’s most famous slave trader, Infante Henrique aka Prince Henry the Navigator, he officiated, in writing, the idea that all these newly enslaved people were their own class of people with no differentiation between them. Here, race is a burgeoning social narrative invented to praise European slave traders, and this racial concept is defined in relation to slavery, African origins, and skin tone. Racial concepts appeared in tandem with racist concepts, because races began to be envisioned in order to excuse the abuse of others. The ideas of whiteness and blackness were birthed simultaneously, specifically around slavery, and they became deeply entrenched beliefs before they were ever officially named.

2. “Negro” became the first major racial term before “white” was widely used, binding the development of racial concepts even more securely with the practice of European slavery. In fact, race and racism became encoded in colonial-American law in 1640, when African servant John Punch ran away from his European buyers along with two European servants. He was eventually recaptured, as were his Dutch and Scottish companions. However, the colonial judicial system sentenced Punch to a lifetime of slavery, while the two Europeans had an extra year added to their initial servitude. This marks the first record of a Euro/American legal precedence for lifetime sentencing of enslavement based openly on race. John Punch’s African lineage and the other servants’ European lineage were the differences between their sentencing. Here, European origin was what freed a person from being of the “negro race” and therefore severely reduced one’s likelihood to enslavement. It was also the requirement for incoming settlers who wanted to be able to buy land. Only white people were allowed to develop inter-generational wealth, at a time when this continent was being carved up by land speculators for massive profits.

3. The concept of whiteness was officially named by Carl Linnaeus in order to rank Europeans as superior among other conceptual categories of people. It involved grouping hundreds of ethnic groups together to form white, yellow, red, and black races in he text “System Naturale" (1735). While primarily an introduction to our current taxonomy system, it included these racial categories. It was highly regarded by Europeans eager to cast themselves as superior because it a) created a popular “scientific” framework for excusing the most obscene (and profitable) crimes against humanity, b) officially outlined/invented the white race and identified it with everything good and the black race as everything bad, and then c) clearly defined Europeans as the basis of whiteness, “Homo sapiens europaeus.” Here, whiteness is coined to describe European ancestry, particularly in relation to “grotesque” non-whites.

4. An individual’s personal ideas of whiteness fluctuates with time and circumstances. As governments, social institutions, literature, etc all work to redefine history and clean up their image, people have different/less information to work with, but the effects are the same. The popular spoken definition of whiteness is often simply a reference to a relatively pale skin tone caused by European ancestry. Obviously there are pale people in other places around the world who aren’t European and weren’t related to the slavery of European Expansionism, so pale skin isn’t enough. The relation to Europe’s capitalistic global expansion is key. But what about European countries who didn’t go expanding this way, or whose involvement is harder to pinpoint? After all, most of the trading of enslaved indigenous peoples from Africa and North & South America were carried out by the Portuguese, Genoese, Dutch, French, British, Spanish, and Americans. Well, the rapid enrichment and development of the rest of Europe for centuries to come was specifically made possible by all the labor, resources, and capital brought in by this period of the European slave trade. European ancestry links every white person to privileges and developments born on the backs of black and indigenous enslaved peoples. Furthermore, simply being white makes one safer from these kinds of exploits, and today it also makes one safer from the effects of generations of racial prejudices and resource extraction on the global scene. Which brings me to...

5. Whiteness tends to involve one’s relative freedom. Freedom of movement, both physical and social, without immediate threat of policing. Freedom to explore one’s ancestral history without being blocked by 500 years of forced removal, renaming, forced childbirth, etc. Freedom to exist without having to actually know or respond to one’s racial identity. This one’s really important. Whiteness involves not having to think about being white, usually in relation to living in a country/region whose laws and norms are defined and enforced almost exclusively by other white people. Since whiteness and blackness arose mutually around the European slave trade, blackness is inherently tied to a lack of rights/freedoms and whiteness is inherently tied to an abundance of them. That doesn’t mean that every white person experiences these equally, and there will always be exceptions to the rule. But the exceptions don’t make the rule, and after centuries of globalized white supremacy, whiteness has become a subconscious signifier of power for people all over the place.

The big take-away is this: whiteness is inherently toxic. There is nothing positive to defend in whiteness. It was born out of ugliness and it is ugly to its core. That’s why it feels so bad. It’s why “white pride” is always ugly. However, the solution is not to disconnect from our ancestry. All that does is leave us trapped here, in an ugly set of circumstances, with no concept of who we are except what we’re living in, now. The real work to be done is to connect with our ancestry before whiteness, with the ancestors who related to the land as a living entity, before the land was limited in social memory to a source of private capital, servitude, and empire-building. This land, this Earth, is the backdrop against which all our relativity is measured. From this place of relative security, understanding, and development of the spirit, we can withstand the reality of our more recent ancestors, and finally heal from the last 1000 to 2000 years of trauma.

I know I’ve said this before, but now that I have this huge post, I’ll repeat it: Dr. Daniel Foor’s Ancestral Medicine is a really helpful book and/or course for this whole process. It’s not the end-all be-all resource, but it’s a great start! I’m also always down to talk about this stuff. Hit me up. I need to be able to talk about it, too.

(I should add, while blackness was created by white people and therefore was born out of the racism of whiteness, blackness was forced on people, while whiteness was claimed by the takers. It’s no white person’s place to have an opinion about "black identity.” White people started race, so white people are responsible for deconstructing our own race--no one else’s. We cannot be “post-racial” while everyone else is still living the violent reality of racism.)

#whiteness #race #ancestry

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womenfrommars · 3 years

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Debunking myths about Jewish history

1. ‘’Ashkenazi Jews are white Europeans’’

Let’s start with the claim that’s been propagated the most on the Internet. The claim is that some ethnic Jews are indeed Middle-Eastern (e.g. Sephardi and Mizrahi), but that the Ashkenazi Jews specifically are (white) Europeans. This claim simply isn’t supported by scientific evidence.

The results support the hypothesis that the paternal gene pools of Jewish communities from Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East descended from a common Middle Eastern ancestral population, and suggest that most Jewish communities have remained relatively isolated from neighboring nonJewish communities during and after the Diaspora.

(...)

The m values based on haplotypes Med and 1L were ~13% ± 10%, suggesting a rather small European contribution to the Ashkenazi paternal gene pool. When all haplotypes were included in the analysis, m increased to 23% ± 7%. This value was similar to the estimated Italian contribution to the Roman Jewish paternal gene pool. (Hammer et al. 2000)

About 80 Sephardim, 80 Ashkenazim and 100 Czechoslovaks were examined for the Yspecific RFLPs revealed by the probes p12f2 and p40a,f on TaqI DNA digests. The aim of the study was to investigate the origin of the Ashkenazi gene pool through the analysis of markers which, having an exclusively holoandric transmission, are useful to estimate paternal gene flow. The comparison of the two groups of Jews with each other and with Czechoslovaks (which have been taken as a representative source of foreign Y-chromosomes for Ashkenazim) shows a great similarity between Sephardim and Ashkenazim who are very different from Czechoslovaks. On the other hand both groups of Jews appear to be closely related to Lebanese. A preliminary evaluation suggests that the contribution of foreign males to the Ashkenazi gene pool has been very low (1 % or less per generation). (Benerecetti et al. 1993)

A sample of 526 Y chromosomes representing six Middle Eastern populations (Ashkenazi, Sephardic, and Kurdish Jews from Israel; Muslim Kurds; Muslim Arabs from Israel and the Palestinian Authority Area; and Bedouin from the Negev) was analyzed for 13 binary polymorphisms and six microsatellite loci. The investigation of the genetic relationship among three Jewish communities revealed that Kurdish and Sephardic Jews were indistinguishable from one another, whereas both differed slightly, yet significantly, from Ashkenazi Jews. The differences among Ashkenazim may be a result of low-level gene flow from European populations and/or genetic drift during isolation. (Nebel et al. 2001)

Here, genome-wide analysis of seven Jewish groups (Iranian, Iraqi, Syrian, Italian, Turkish, Greek, and Ashkenazi) and comparison with non-Jewish groups demonstrated distinctive Jewish population clusters, each with shared Middle Eastern ancestry, proximity to contemporary Middle Eastern populations, and variable degrees of European and North African admixture. Two major groups were identified by principal component, phylogenetic, and identity by descent (IBD) analysis: Middle Eastern Jews and European/Syrian Jews. The IBD segment sharing and the proximity of European Jews to each other and to southern European populations suggested similar origins for European Jewry and refuted large-scale genetic contributions of Central and Eastern European and Slavic populations to the formation of Ashkenazi Jewry. Rapid decay of IBD in Ashkenazi Jewish genomes was consistent with a severe bottleneck followed by large expansion, such as occurred with the so-called demographic miracle of population expansion from 50,000 people at the beginning of the 15th century to 5,000,000 people at the beginning of the 19th century. Thus, this study demonstrates that European/Syrian and Middle Eastern Jews represent a series of geographical isolates or clusters woven together by shared IBD genetic threads. (Atzmon et al. 2010)

2. '’Ashkenazi Jews are the descendants of the Khazars’’

Another popular idea on the Internet, which is also associated with the alt-right, is that Ashkenazi Jews are the descendants of the Khazar people, from the Khazar empire (roughly 600-1000). This culture completely died out and there are no direct descendants, so genetic testing is a bit difficult.

However, there still has been done genetic testing that confirms this hypothesis to be false.

Employing a variety of standard techniques for the analysis of population-genetic structure, we find that Ashkenazi Jews share the greatest genetic ancestry with other Jewish populations, and among non-Jewish populations, with groups from Europe and the Middle East. No particular similarity of Ashkenazi Jews with populations from the Caucasus is evident, particularly with the populations that most closely represent the Khazar region. Thus, analysis of Ashkenazi Jews together with a large sample from the region of the Khazar Khaganate corroborates the earlier results that Ashkenazi Jews derive their ancestry primarily from populations of the Middle East and Europe, that they possess considerable shared ancestry with other Jewish populations, and that there is no indication of a significant genetic contribution either from within or from north of the Caucasus region. (Behar et al. 2013)

However, if the R-M17 chromosomes in Ashkenazi Jews do indeed represent the vestiges of the mysterious Khazars then, according to our data, this contribution was limited to either a single founder or a few closely related men, and does not exceed ∼12% of the present-day Ashkenazim. (Nebel et al. 2005)

3. '’Palestinians are indigenous to the land of Israel, so the Jews can’t be indigenous’’

First off, it has been established that Jews and Palestinians share the same ancestry:

Archaeologic and genetic data support that both Jews and Palestinians came from the ancient Canaanites, who extensively mixed with Egyptians, Mesopotamian and Anatolian peoples in ancient times. Thus, Palestinian-Jewish rivalry is based in cultural and religious, but not in genetic, differences. (Arnaiz-Villena et al. 2001)

If Palestinians are considered native, then so should Jews, since both descend from the ancient Canaanites.

Furthermore, the Hebrew Bible states that Philistines (’’Palestinians’’) came from Caphtor, which has been identified as modern-day Crete, an island that is part of Greece (see also Finkelstein 2002). Other contestants for Caphtor include Cyprus and Cilicia (modern-day Turkey).

Archeological evidence also supports this theory:

Modern archaeologists agree that the Philistines were different from their neighbors: Their arrival on the eastern shores of the Mediterranean in the early 12th century B.C. is marked by pottery with close parallels to the ancient Greek world, the use of an Aegean—instead of a Semitic—script, and the consumption of pork. (National Geographic)

This was more recently confirmed by DNA evidence:

Now, a study published today in the journal Science Advances, prompted by the unprecedented 2016 discovery of a cemetery at the ancient Philistine city of Ashkelon on the southern coast of Israel, provides an intriguing look into the genetic origins and legacy of the Philistines. The research appears to support their foreign origin, but reveals that the reviled outsiders were soon marrying into the local populations. (...) The four early Iron Age DNA samples, all from infants buried beneath the floors of Philistine houses, include proportionally more “additional European ancestry” in their genetic signatures (roughly 14%) than in the pre-Philistine Bronze Age samples (2% to 9%), according to the researchers. While the origins of this additional “European ancestry” are not conclusive, the most plausible models point to Greece, Crete, Sardinia, and the Iberian peninsula. (Idem)

Now, this doesn’t mean that modern-day Palestinians are mostly European, as the research also found that the Philistines were mixing with the local populations. This also explains why modern-day Jews and modern-day Palestinians are genetically very similar (see above). It is highly unlikely that modern-day Palestinians are the direct descendants of the ancient Philistines.

However, the name ‘’Palestine’’ is derived from ‘’Philistia’’:

The first records of the Philistines are inscriptions and reliefs in the mortuary temple of Ramses III at Madinat Habu, where they appear under the name prst, as one of the Sea Peoples that invaded Egypt about 1190 BCE after ravaging Anatolia, Cyprus, and Syria. After being repulsed by the Egyptians, they settled—possibly with Egypt’s permission—on the coastal plain of Palestine from Joppa (modern Tel Aviv–Yafo) southward to Gaza. The area contained the five cities (the Pentapolis) of the Philistine confederacy (Gaza, Ashkelon [Ascalon], Ashdod, Gath, and Ekron) and was known as Philistia, or the Land of the Philistines. It was from this designation that the whole of the country was later called Palestine by the Greeks. (Encyclopædia Britannica)

Modern-day Palestinians are the descendants of local populations who converted to Islam due to Islamic conquest. Likewise, Jews are the descendants of local populations who left the country. Despite this, both groups are genetically related to each other. This is because Jews have been a relatively isolated group of people, since the religion of Judaism doesn’t permit interfaith marriage (unless a non-Jew converts into the faith). In other words: the fact that the Palestinians may be indigenous to the land of Israel doesn’t negate the fact that the Jews are indigenous to the land of Israel.

Our findings corroborate previous studies that suggested a common origin for Jewish and non-Jewish populations living in the Middle East (Santachiara-Benerecetti et al. 1993; Peretz et al. 1997; Hammer et al. 2000).

(...)

According to historical records part, or perhaps the majority, of the Moslem Arabs in this country descended from local inhabitants, mainly Christians and Jews, who had converted after the Islamic conquest in the seventh century AD (Shaban 1971; Mc Graw Donner 1981). These local inhabitants, in turn, were descendants of the core population that had lived in the area for several centuries, some even since prehistorical times (Gil 1992). On the other hand, the ancestors of the great majority of present-day Jews lived outside this region for almost two millennia. Thus, our findings are in good agreement with historical evidence and suggest genetic continuity in both populations despite their long separation and the wide geographic dispersal of Jews. (Nebel et al. 2000)

4. ‘’Well, the Palestinians were there first’’

As discussed before, the ancient Philistines from the book of Deuteronomy are said to have immigrated from Caphtor, which has been identified as island in southern Europe. The ancient Philistines have no direct descendants because they mixed with local populations. The ancient Philistines are also mentioned in the book of Genesis, which mentions they came from Egypt. According to rabbinic sources, this refers to a different people from the Philistines mentioned in the book of Deuteronomy. As discussed before, modern-day Palestinians descend from neither of these people. Palestinians maintain they are the descendants of the ancient Canaanites:

Both Israeli and Palestinian politicians claim the region of Israel and the Palestinian territories is the ancestral home of their people, and maintain that the other group was a late arrival. “We are the Canaanites,” asserted Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas last year. “This land is for its people…who were here 5,000 years ago.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, said recently that the ancestors of modern Palestinians “came from the Arabian peninsula to the Land of Israel thousands of years” after the Israelites. (National Geographic)

As discussed, modern-day Jews and modern-day Palestinians are genetically very similar. This was again established by a recent study:

Finally, we show that the genomes of present-day groups geographically and historically linked to the Bronze Age Levant, including the great majority of present-day Jewish groups and Levantine Arabic-speaking groups, are consistent with having 50% or more of their ancestry from people related to groups who lived in the Bronze Age Levant and the Chalcolithic Zagros. These present-day groups also show ancestries that cannot be modeled by the available ancient DNA data, highlighting the importance of additional major genetic effects on the region since the Bronze Age. (Agranat-Tamir et al. 2020)

According to the Bible, when the Israelites left Egypt, they conquered the Canaanites, who were already living in the land of Israel. Joshua 10:40 mentions there are no survivors of the ancient Canaanites. However, the Bible was written much later after these events took place. The study referenced above supports the hypothesis of continuity, i.e. the ancient Canaanites were not completely wiped out by the Israelites. Instead, Canaanite culture slowly morphed into other cultures, including the culture of the Israelites. As referenced under 3., it is likely both Jews and Palestinians came from the ancient Canaanites.

The Bible itself also mentions the Canaanites continued to exist in Judges 3:1-3 and explains the command to the Israelites was only given to teach them warfare (not to actually annihilate the Canaanites). It is more likely the Canaanites indeed continued to exist:

We show that present-day Lebanese derive most of their ancestry from a Canaanite-related population, which therefore implies substantial genetic continuity in the Levant since at least the Bronze Age. (Haber et al. 2017)

To put it differently, in the land of Israel, the ancient Canaanites were not destroyed, but rather subsumed by the Israelites. The Jews have maintained this culture and tradition. The Palestinians, on the other hand, have not. Palestinians didn’t maintain any tradition from the ancient Canaanites. Instead, their culture, tradition, and language can be traced back to the Hejaz, a region in the west of modern-day Saudi Arabia. This is also the birthplace of the religion of Islam.

Indeed, up until recently, Palestinians were not even called ‘’Palestinians’’. Instead, they were referred to as ‘’Palestinian Arabs’’. A report from 1946 gives more insight. In Chapter VI, titled ‘’The Arab Attitude’’, it states the following:

The Committee heard a brief presentation of the Arab case in Washington, statements made in London by delegates from the Arab States to the United Nations, a fuller statement from the Secretary General and other representatives of the Arab League in Cairo, and evidence given on behalf of the Arab Higher (committee and the Arab Office in Jerusalem). In addition, subcommittees visited Baghdad Riyadh, Damascus, Beirut and Amman, where they were informed of the views of Government and of unofficial spokesmen.

Stopped to the bare essentials, the Arab case is based upon the fact that Palestine is a country which the Arabs have occupied for more than a thousand years, and a denial of the Jewish historical claims to Palestine.

This report states Arabs have lived in Palestine ‘’for more than a thousand years’’, referring to the Islamic conquest of Palestine in the 7th century. Clearly, Palestinians are identified as Arabs here, by Palestinian leaders themselves.

Another report from the same year supports this view:

In addition to the question of right, the Arabs oppose the claims of political Zionism because of the effects which Zionist settlement has already had upon their situation and is likely to have to an even greater extent in the future. Negatively, it has diverted the whole course of their national development. Geographically Palestine is part of Syria; its indigenous inhabitants belong to the Syrian branch of the Arab family of nations; all their culture and tradition link them to other Arab peoples; and until 1917 Palestine formed part of the Ottoman Empire which included also several of the other Arab countries. The presence and claims of the Zionists, and the support given them by certain Western Powers have resulted in Palestine being cut off from other Arab countries and subjected to a regime, administrative, legal, fiscal and educational, different from that of the sister-countries. Quite apart from the inconvenience to individuals and the dislocation of trade which this separation has caused, it has prevented Palestine participating fully in the general development of the Arab world.

You can see the story changed overtime. The Palestinian claim to Canaanite blood is an ad hoc claim that is meant to predate the Jewish presence in Israel.

In general, the Palestinian claim to Canaanite roots also erases the fact that the Israelites drove the Canaanites out of Israel, to Lebanon. The remaining Canaanites were subsumed by the Israelites. Therefore, if Palestinians are native to the land of Israel, and if they descend from the Canaanites, then they must also descend from the Israelites. However, Palestinians attempt to bypass the Israelite link, claiming to not descend from the Israelites. I believe they likewise deny that the Jews descend from the Israelites, claiming that instead the Jews are just Europeans.

This wouldn’t be the first time the Palestinians changed their narrative either. They used to claim they descend from the ancient Philistines, referring to Genesis 21:34 as proof:

And Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines for a long time. (New International Version)

As such, the Palestinian PM argued they have lived in the land of Palestine before Abraham. (Video is in the article.)

As explained earlier, the Philistines immigrated from southern Europe, and the Palestinians are not directly descended from them, given the DNA evidence. The ancient Philistines have disappeared as a people, because they mixed with local populations. That also explains why modern-day Palestinian DNA is not mostly European, as would be the case if they directly descended from the Philistines.

Recommended further reading

‘’Are Jews Indigenous to the Land of Israel?’’

‘‘Jews and Arabs Share Genetic Link to Ancient Canaanites, Study Finds‘‘

‘‘The Canaanites weren’t annihilated, they just ‘moved’ to Lebanon‘‘

#juno speaks #jewish history #history #jewish #judaism #israel #palestine #israel-palestine conflict #israel-palestine #palestinian #israeli #politics

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madamlaydebug · 3 years

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👁DivineReRa

🗣HERE WEGO 👁KNOW YALL GONNA SEE THIS AND WILL NOT EVEN ATTEMPT TO 😳UNDERSTAND THAT READING IS FUNDAMENTAL. 👋🏽😱ITS HOW WE LEARN FROM BOOKS 📚 AND NOW EACH OTHER ON THIS INTERNET CONNECTION.

😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱

During the presidency of Jimmy Carter, Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski - a National security adviser and political scientist - wrote a paper that was sent to all state department government agencies telling them they had to do everything within their power to prevent African Americans from uniting with Native Africans politically, culturally, and economically.

( Dividing Africans globally strips us of our global numerical advantage and robes us of all hope of defeating global White Supremacy. ) To meet this objective, white propaganda designers were hired to exploit those of us that are ignorant, gullible and naive by creating false propaganda campaigns claiming that we African Americans are not Africans. However, DNA genetic testings reveal that African American average genetic makeup is 80% African, 19% European, and just 0.8% Native Americans.

There was also the discovery of three 500 year old frozen Native American children and physical racial type and DNA are consistent with the racial type of those that are currently recognized as Native American Indians. Their racial type is also consistent with many Indians found through the entire Americas. ( North, South, and Central America)

The claim that we African Americans are the true indigenous Americans is based upon ridiculous theories, speculations and conjunctures sewn together with possibilities, but it's still nothing more than a weak theory nonetheless. DNA's testings irrefutably confirmed that we African Americans are from Africa.

HERE IS HOW THE WHITE GLOBAL MEDIA IS BEING USED TO TURN NATIVE AFRICANS AGAINST AFRICAN AMERICANS:

The media images shown to Native Africans - of we African Americans- are those that depicts African Americans in a unflattering, buffoonery and culturally disconnected manner. Furthermore, African Americans are made to appear as criminals and thugs. And as being a part of a treacherous, frightening, and insane fringe. These images reinforces negative stereotypes about African Americans and produces fear of them in the minds of many Native Africans. It therefore, shouldn't come as a surprise that many Native Africans develop negative opinions of about African Americans. As a result of these media depictions, some Native Africans come to the United States looking down upon African Americans-- who could very well be of their own blood relatives.

For some Native Africans the programming against African Americans is so strong that some even insist that their children marries only other Native Africans. Many Native Africans have also given reports of being told by government immigration official upon arriving in the U.S. to stay clear of African Americans.

HERE IS HOW THE WHITE GLOBAL MEDIA IS USED TO TURN MANY AFRICAN AMERICANS AGAINST NATIVE AFRICANS:

To turn many African Americans against Native Africans the white media controllers negatively distorts the image of Africa; they turn it into a source of shame and humiliation for many African Americans. By only showing the poorest parts of Africa this is intentionally being done to make all Africans that have been spread throughout the diaspora by slavery to feel grateful that slavery happened because it took them away from the backward land of Africa.

African Americans are being shown, for the most part, only those images of Africa that our intentionally designed to produce shame of their African heritage. They are constantly subjected to seeing only those images of a war-torn, famine-ridden, rampantly illiterate, and disease-stricken Africa. Some African Americans have been so demoralized by the US negative distorted portrayal of Africa that they'll now accept any fable that allows them to separate themselves from Africa.

These deplorable depictions of Africa displaying only its poorest communities are in fact designed to make African Americans feel grateful that it was their ancestors enslaved and bought to America. These images intentionally conveys the subliminal message that African Americans were the lucky ones to have been taken away from the backwardness of Africa.

This propaganda campaign also prevents African Americans from pursuing the reparation debt that the U.S. government still owes them. This is because it causes many African Americans to perceive the enslavement of their ancestor as being more of a rescue mission from the terrible place of Africa rather than the true brutal Black Holocaust it truly was. This psychological warfare campaign is also designed to break down African Americans’ sense of Black racial heritage and allegiance towards Africa--thus meets the ruling white elites' divide and conquer objectives. This media campaign causes many African Americans to look down upon Native Africans.

To further turn many African Americans against Native Africans white historians also rewrote the history of the African slave trade to favor themselves. Their revision intentionally makes the white invaders appear more humane, and shifts the blame of the African slave trade more greatly upon native Africans. The history of the African slave trade taught to Diaspora African students deliberately hides the brutal massacre of countless African Warriors that died in battle trying to rescue their captured love ones from the slave ships. As the African warriors charged the beaches the ship's crew shot cannons and countless of bullets into their bodies. Leaving thousands of blood soaked Black bodies laying on beaches.

The number of Africans that died in battles fought against the white invaders far exceeded, many times over, the number of any African's that may have assisted in the slave trade. The hiding of these fierce battles and massacres is deliberately done to perpetuate the lie that most Africans were merely sold away. To further convey the falsehood that most African slaves were sold away by other Africans, several white artist were hired to create pictures of Africans selling their fellow Africans to the white invaders. These propaganda arts are design to shift the culpability of the African slave trade away from the white invaders and place that blame onto the native Africans. Reproductions of those drawings and paintings can still be found within America's school text books today. Therefore, every time that an African American students reads about the African slave trade those pictures are placed between the texts subliminally conveying the message that it was the Africans that wronged you and not the white invaders.

Furthermore, to believe that the greedy white invaders ( they that bloodily brutalized our Black ancestors during slavery here in the U.S.) went into Africa with weaponry advantage [of guns and cannons] but rather than maximizing their profits, they instead shown kindness, and mercy by purchasing most of their slaves is absolutely preposterous. Because such a claim totally contradicts over 500 years of demonstrated behavior by whites in regards to Black people and making profit.

Moreover, critically think, and ask yourself this question: If Africans owned all the natural resources of gold, diamonds, oils, minerals, and animal skins, fur, and wine, and Western money had no value in Africa, what then could the white invaders trade to get MOST of the slaves? What possible commodity did the white invaders have that was of such great value, and they possessed in such high abundance that they could give to the Africans in exchange for over 60 millions of Black people?

And why wouldn't the greedy white invaders maximize their profits by using their weaponry advantage of riffles and cannons to steal most of their slaves? However, yet through miseducation millions of these African Americans ( and even some Africans) have been brainwash to believe the perpetuated falsehood that most of their African ancestors where sold away by other native Africans. This shifting of culpability is intentionally done to create psychological feelings of hurt and resentment among many African Americans towards native Africans.

Some African Americans have been so demoralized by white media’s depictions of Africa that they will now accept any frivolous premise that allows them to claim themselves as being anything other than an African. This anti Africa media propaganda programming is so deeply entrenched into the minds of some that they continue to ignore the fact the millions of African Americans have taken DNA's testings that irrefutably confirmed their African ancestry.

THE BLACK HEBREWS

The Black Hebrew Israelites’ ideology has actually done more for the benefit of white global supremacy than any other organization in history. It divides millions of Black people in the US from the billions in Africa by teaching its followers that they're not Africans - although millions of DNA results have scientifically confirmed that's we are. They also base this division upon the story of Noah's sons Ham and Shem. They claims that Africans are of Ham and that African Americans are of Shem. However, Shem and Ham never actually existed, the Noah's ark story never happened. It’s not even a Hebrew mythology. It is a totally unadulterated falsehood. The men who wrote the Bible plagiarized it from a Mesopotamian story, “The Gilgamesh Epic.” That Mesopotamia story even includes the mythology that the first rainbow came after God flooded the world. As is typical for writers of mythology, the Mesopotamians took a natural phenomenon they didn’t understand, (the rainbow) and created a fantastical story around it. We also know the biblical flood never occurred, because there have existed great civilizations thriving during that time. They kept good records and never mentioned of a great flood that wiped them from the face of the earth. These civilizations included: The Chinese (Neolithic Dynasty), The Egyptians ( Dynasties 4,5, & 6), Mesopotamians ( Early Dynastic Period) Sumerians, Peruvians and more...In reality, there was never a flood that covered the entire planet and destroyed the world. It's a fairytale.

Furthermore, the Black Hebrew's claim that Africans are descendants from Ham is also totally debunked by the fact that according to Biblical scholars, the Noah’s Flood happened 4,300 years ago. The problem with this biblical timeline is that science have confirmed time and time again that Africans are much older than that date. In South Africa Scientists unearthed ancient bones belonging to at least 15 individuals. These bodies are estimated at between 20,000 and two million years old. There was also the remains called Lucy found in Ethiopia estimated at over three million years old. These findings of African bodies, that are much older than the fictional Biblical Ham timeline 4,300 years proves it irrefutably that Africans did not originate from Ham--because Africans are much older than the fictional Ham origin story. Therefore it's only by ignorance can anyone believe that Africans originated from Ham. Moreover, the Black Hebrews keep insisting that they're not Africans irrespectively of the fact that millions of DNA results have confirms that they are Africans.

Furthermore, when we critically and intelligently think of course the Noah's Ark story is totally untrue. For to believe that the story is true, one would have to believe the ridiculous premise that two of every animal walked from across the entire planet and fitted onto a large wooden boat built by a 500 year old man. That's ridiculous. Furthermore, how could one family repopulate the entire earth without engaging within incest relationships. Clearly the story is absurd. Any religion that promotes the division between millions of Black people across the world based upon a Bible that is easily proven to be false is very foolish.

When black people divide themselves over superstition they are forfeiting all hope to defeat White Supremacy. To renounce your associative power as a black person is to foolishly forfeit your numerical advantage.

Franklin Jones

Learn more at www.theblackpeoplematrix. Com

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vrepit-salt · 2 years

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You as a white person, CANNOT claim an ancient AFRICAN religion that is sacred to said Africans and their descendants. And then on top of that to proclaim that you are the spokesperson for that religion? Example of white ppl overstepping, gentrifying, and speaking over black folx

Hi there. I'm not white whatsoever. I'm Venezuelan and I'm mixed with afro-Caribbean ancestry, indigenous, and Egyptian. I'm also not a spokesperson for any religion, what on earth are you talking about??? If you're referring to me as being a kemetic pagan, I'm in no way claiming I speak for the religion whatsoever. I just practice it privately. I recognize that kemetic spiritually is an African religion and how it empowers black people, but the kemetic religion has always been open to others. So, please don't assume things about me or falsely accuse me. Thanks and have a good one.

#ask

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ohkraken-a · 3 years

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Q’hu’mhum’gah Culture Masterpost

so. it’s here. compiled below the cut is a combination of canon “tusken / sand people” lore and headcanons of my own creation; this is mainly for my use to easily reference but also to share with others my headcanons about the people of tatooine.

History

The Kumumgah were a technologically advanced species that lived on Tatooine.

Q'hu'mhum'gah, less formally referred to as Sand People or simply as Tuskens, were a culture of nomadic people indigenous to Tatooine. The term “Sand People” was given to them due to their existence in the desert, and was in use from at least around 4000 BBY; but the more formal name of “Tusken” was acquired much later, due to a period of concerted attacks on the settlement at Fort Tusken in 98-95 BBY. The name Q’hu’mhum’gah is an evolution, much like the people themselves, of the Kumumgah, the species from which they originated.

The Kumumgah achieved space travel among the worlds of the Outer Rim and beyond, attracting the attention of the Rakatan Infinite Empire, who conquered, enslaved, and annexed Tatooine in 25,793 BBY.

Some time before 25,200 BBY, the Kumumgah rose up against their enslavers, but were punished by orbital bombardment and left for dead.

The bombardment slagged the surface of Tatooine into little more than fused glass, which eventually crumbled into desert sand.

However, the Kumumgah had anticipated such an act, and survived by taking refuge in caves across the planet.

Over time, the Kumumgah evolved into two separate species: Jawas and Q’hu’mhum’gah.

The Q’hu’mhum’gah spent the next thousands of years as a nomadic society, attempting to come to terms with their new identity in a period they called the long walk.

After Tatooine was rediscovered by the Galactic Republic around 5000 BBY, early Human settlers were believed to have disrupted the water-supply of a settled cave-dwelling society known as Q’hu’mhum’gah culture, precipitating the transformation of the natives into what colonists called Sand People. To survive, they were forced to steal and adapt the technology of the colonists, forging the distinctive desert survival gear by which they would subsequently become so well-known. By around 4000 BBY, they were also engaged in endemic low-level warfare with the colonizers; the raids they led were among the factors that forced Czerka Corporation to abandon their attempts to operate Tatooine as a mining world.

Tatooine was largely forgotten by the wider galaxy for the next few thousand years, and the planet had to be formally rediscovered in 1100 BBY.

By the sixth century BBY, however, a mining colony had been reestablished, and the key moment in the history of the Q'hu'mhum'gah people and their relations with the outlanders occurred around 550 BBY.

Alkhara, an offworlder and rogue, was an operative of the colony's Bureau of Ethnicity and Socialization, studying the Q'hu'mhum'gah people, and falsely gaining their trust. Eventually, however, he turned against the colonists and occupied the desert fortress that was used in earlier centuries by the B'omarr Order, and in later centuries by Jabba Desilijic Tiure's criminal empire.

Alkhara later allied himself with a group of Q'hu'mhum'gah people whose bivouacs lay on the Great Mesra Plateau to wipe out a police garrison, then afterwards turned on his Q’hu’mhum’gah accomplices, and destroyed their camp. It is claimed that this was the source of a subsequent blood feud between the natives and the outlanders.

Permanent settlement by offworlders—or outlanders— resumed in 100 BBY, with the arrival of the settler ship Dowager Queen from Bestine IV. A new planetary capital called Bestine was founded, and a second settlement called Fort Tusken was established at the northern tip of the Jundland range.

At first, the new colonists seem to have been unaware of the Q'hu'mhum'gah people, but a series of attacks between 98 and 95 BBY forced the abandonment of Fort Tusken, and from that point on, the Human settlers of Tatooine referred to the natives as “Tusken Raiders."

Biology and Appearance

Q'hu'mhum'gah people were known to adopt settler orphans after raids on Human settlements and convoys, in a similar fashion to Mandalorians. There is no indication that Humans were present in any great number among the Q'hu'mhum'gah.

The lack of detailed knowledge about Q'hu'mhum'gah can be accounted for in part by the hostility of the Tatooine climate, and in part by the privacy of the Q'hu'mhum'gah themselves.

Q'hu'mhum'gah and Jawas shared common ancestry in the Kumumgah, who were taken off-world by the Infinite Empire to work as slaves by the Rakatans in the construction of the Star Forge.

Society and Culture

Q'hu'mhum'gah culture was defined by the climatic extremes of Tatooine: barren wastes stretching for days' journey on end, scoured by harsh, arid winds and searing heat by day; icy, deadly stillness after dark.

Practical survival was the first priority in terrain like this, and to protect themselves, the Q'hu'mhum'gah people learned early in their existence to cover themselves from head to foot in desert-colored rags and robes, leaving no bare skin exposed to the elements.

Their mode of dress was a direct expression of their way of life. The Q'hu'mhum'gah people never take off their robes except in the most private of moments. Even in death, they do not remove their robes.

The Q'hu'mhum'gah were divided into small tribes or clans, and roamed widely across the desert surface of Tatooine, but the focus of their habitation patterns seems to have been the Jundland Wastes, the one major area of rocky upland that rose clear of the shifting sands: in particular, the traditional sandstorm-season encampments of many clans were concentrated in an area known as The Needles.

Occasionally different clans would go to war over territory.

Sometimes tribes would form raids against offworlder colonizers through both the Jundland Wastes and the Dune Sea. Traveling on trained banthas, raiding parties would swiftly appear from the desert, riding in single file to conceal their numbers, and then disappear back into the cover of the dunes.

Due to a lack of understanding on the part of the galactic populace at large, many offworlders and outlanders regard Q’hu’mhum’gah people poorly.

Although Q'hu'mhum'gah garb varied from tribe to tribe, certain aspects of dress remained constant. The eyes of Q'hu'mhum'gah people were covered with goggles or visors which shielded them from the harsh sunlight. Covering their mouths, Q'hu'mhum'gah had a filter to help facilitate breathing in the desert. A constantly open mouthpiece covered the area between the nose and jaw, while a moisture trap worn around the neck humidified the air taken into the lungs. They might also wear elaborate jeweled masks with eye-slits, and torso-covering sand-shrouds.

Q'hu'mhum'gah people were also recognizable by their fierce gaderffii weapons. The gaderffii was incredibly integral to their culture. Every Q'hu'mhum'gah warrior created their own gaderffii stick, making each one unique. While rejecting most examples of modern technology, long-barreled Q'hu'mhum'gah Cycler rifles and stoves made of scavenged or stolen metal were not uncommon.

Although some Q’hu’mhum’gah people may wear what was once more traditionally masculine or feminine per their birth gender, modern Q’hu’mhum’gah people celebrate the freedom of choice amongst tribe members, encouraging them to choose whichever clothing they prefer so long as they still do not remove their clothing unless in extremely private settings.

Q’hu’mhum’gah often incorporated womp rat tusks into their attire. Although it varies from tribe to tribe, in many, everyone shares in the same roles; men can maintain encampments while women go out to hunt or scout. To each tribe did members serve the needed purpose.

Q'hu'mhum'gah children ( called Uli-ah ) wore unisex masks; gender-specific coverings were not allowed until they became adults.

Q'hu'mhum'gah were forbidden to take off their protective clothing in front of others, except in a few very specific circumstances: during childbirth, on their wedding night and during coming-of-age rituals ( two events which were often one and the same ), and as adults, only in the privacy of their tents with their blood-bound mates. Breaking this rule could mean either banishment or death, depending on the specific tribe’s rules.

It is due to this rule that hid the fact that not all Q’hu’mhum’gah were evolved from the Kumumgah of old: a small percentage of Q’hu’mhum’ga were Human, orphans or foundlings adopted into the tribes.

Social Organization

Q'hu'mhum'gah people organized into clans and tribes, the former being kin groups of between 20 to 30 beings, and the latter being larger affinities with no strict bounds.

In many tribes, adults of all genders assumed whatever roles were required by them in order to best suit the tribe’s needs; anyone could be a hunter and protector, and anyone could care for the camps and the children.

Often accompanied by guard massiffs

After completing the rites of adulthood at the age of eighteen, the uli-ah were granted full status within the tribe and often ( but not always, ) paired for marriage in a ceremony involving blood exchanges between the two members and their banthas.

The bantha was another vital element of Q'hu'mhum'gah culture: a large, shaggy-coated quadruped capable of surviving for long stretches in the harsh terrain of the deserts; some banthas roamed wild, but the Q'hu'mhum'gah people had learned to domesticate them. Every Q'hu'mhum'gah had their own mount from childhood, and they rode bantha-back for journeys of any length: small scouting parties of two or three mounts, or entire clan communities on seasonal migrations, they traveled through the dunes and rock formations on the shoulders of their mounts, in single file.

Q'hu'mhum'gah subsisted primarily on hubba gourds, but could become intoxicated on just a few sips of sugar water.

While leading a lifestyle that was primarily nomadic, when the hot season was at its height, semi-permanent camps would be constructed. Particular caves or hollows, spiritually connected to certain clans, were frequently visited, and were usually where the dead would be buried or special ceremonies would be held. Special water wells such as the one in Gafsa Canyon, sacred due to their rarity, were often fiercely protected.

In each tribe, a small number of individuals would be trained from birth to become Storytellers, orally learning the tales of their ancestry with perfect accuracy. This tradition was such a large part of Q'hu'mhum'gah culture that Storytellers were considered one of the most important members of a tribe. On the other hand, written communication was believed to lessen the value of Q'hu'mhum'gah history, and was often shunned by most tribes. There was only one accepted history across the many Q'hu'mhum'gah tribes, and if someone questioned or spoke even a single word of the histories incorrectly, it was considered highly disrespectful. Q'hu'mhum'gah history was passed down orally from generation to generation with almost no alterations in the material.

Mythology and Customs

The history of the Q'hu'mhum'gahs as passed down through Storytellers was considered a single, indivisible entity that took hours to recite.

Circa 4000 BBY, its contents related their entire known ancestry: their origins as the technology-loving Kumumgah, their enslavement by the Rakata whom they called "the Builders," which catalyzed the realization of the importance of a connection with the land, their revolt against the Builders and the subsequent desertification of Tatooine, a long account of tribal wars and their evolution into a desert people, and finally the colonization of their planet by the Galactic Republic.

Traditional Q'hu'mhum'gah history holds that, following the bombardment and desertification of their planet, their holy warriors drove off the Rakata oppressors through a heroic struggle.

The Q'hu'mhum'gah believe themselves to be a part of the land and regard anything that might separate them from it as a form of sacrilege. This leads them to accept only in garments that have been sanctified and only ride banthas that they believe retain a connection to the land. Any form of technology or clothing used by offworlders is believed to separate them from the land and is considered unholy. This leads them to often reject foreign technology, although they will trade metal and scrap they find with jawas.

They believe that Tatooine's two suns were beings called the Sky Brothers, with the elder having attempted to kill the younger. His failure caused him to start a lifetime of running, with his younger brother chasing him to kill him for his treachery.

Rituals

Many rituals held Q'hu'mhum'gah people society together. The most prestigious test of an adult was to hunt and slay a krayt dragon, and retrieve a pearl from its stomach. Oftentimes, members of the tribe would create spirit masks out of natural materials for use in the ensuing ritual and celebration.

The Q'hu'mhum'gah had superstitions about various landmarks on Tatooine. For example, the Q'hu'mhum'gah avoided Mushroom Mesa at all costs and always fired their blasters before passing through the B'Thazoshe Bridge.

The Q'hu'mhum'gah people and banthas shared a close, almost mystical bond. During initiation rites, a young Q'hu'mhum'gah was given a bantha and learned to care for it, with the pair becoming extremely close as the youth earned a place in its clan. When Q'hu'mhum'gah people married, their banthas also mated, and, should its rider die, their bantha usually perished shortly after. If a bantha died before its rider, its remains were placed in a large graveyard, which was treated with great respect by Q'hu'mhum'gah and other banthas. If a bantha died in the desert, the rider was often left behind to wander the desert alone. They held that if the fallen bantha's spirit wished for the rider to find a new mount, it would be so. If not, the rider would die amongst Tatooine's endless dunes. A Q'hu'mhum'gah who returned with a new mount would be held in great esteem by their tribe. The bond worked both ways, as accounts have been told of riderless banthas returning to tribes, to perhaps bond with another rider. The rest of the tribe considered the unbonded individual to be pitiable, but did not scorn them.

Language

The Q'hu'mhum'gah people spoke a guttural language known as Q'hu'mhum'gah. Many individual names were long and marked by numerous glottal stops, such as Grk'Urr'Akk, Grk'kkrs'arr, Orr Agg R'orr, Orrh Or'Ur and Orr'UrRuuR'R. However, shorter names were also recorded in some clans, and some Q'hu'mhum'gah bore patronymic / matronymic names formed from a parent's given name and a prefix: A' meaning "son of", K' meaning "daughter of”, and Q’ meaning “child of”.

As a rule, Q'hu'mhum'gah also possessed knowledge of Huttese and Jawaese, as they came into contact with these languages quite frequently.

Q’hu’mhum’gah people use a form of sign language shortened to QSL; this has been improperly noted by Human colonists as being called TSL for Tusken Sign Language.

The Q'hu'mhum'gah people did use a form of logographic writing system, but it apparently fell into disuse with the decline of their civilization. The complex writing had degraded into mere crude symbols. With no written language, the Q'hu'mhum'gah people thus relied on oral history to pass down the legends and stories of their people. As such, storytellers were held in the highest regard and charged with the responsibility of memorizing by rote the story of every clan member and piece of clan history. For apprentice storytellers, the pressure to memorize the stories precisely was intense. If an apprentice storyteller successfully recited a story perfectly, they became the clan's storyteller.

During the Clone Wars, a Q'hu'mhum'gah language pack was sold as an enhancement for protocol droids, which enabled them to acquire the Q'hu'mhum'gah language.

#; hc ( q'hu'mhum'gah )#long post cw

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