Mifkotunaal

The city-state of Mifko is a city-state located on the shore of Shelusitashu.

Religion/Culture
Mifko functions on a religion similar to animism, where everything has a soul, including animals, plants, rivers, lakes, oceans, even the land itself. These souls, also called spirits, are known as "Letso," (the singular being "Tso").

If you are not respectful to the world, and give back what you take from it, then the Letso will be displeased and great misfortune will be cast upon you. The letso can also be pleased or displeased by certain behaviors and attitudes, greatly influencing the culture of Mifkotunaal.

When events such as storms or disease occur, it is because you are not being respectful, and not properly repaying the Letso or treating them right, causing them to be displeased.

When events such as rains and good harvest seasons, or general seasons of prosperity, it is because you are being respectful and therefore pleasing the Letso.

This applies both to each individual person and to society as a whole.

Major Spirits
Major spirits, or Letsotep, are spirits who are believed to have a large influence on the world, enough to affect the livelihoods of Mifkonians, and are thus greatly revered.

Shelusitashu
Shelusitashu has great significance within Mifkotunaal religion, as it is seen as the heart of the world, and the spawner of original life. Many prayers are given directly to the lake, who in turn doesn't flood their land, and allows them to farm on its shores and fish from its waters.

The Sun and Moon
The Sun (Kug) and the Moon (Fokug) are believed to be in a constant war for dominance over the sky. The Sun is seen as the symbol of light, warmth, and life, while the moon is seen as the symbol of cold and darkness. While some believe the sun to be good and the moon to be evil, most see them as equals, with neither being good nor evil, and both being essential for the balance of the universe.

Kotetunaal
While not a belief held by the majority of people, some believe Kotetunaal, (the "great uniter," and the founder of Mifko) to be a great spirit herself, and will pray directly to her, in hopes that she will maintain unity and peace to the nation.

Gender and Ethnicity
Ethnicity doesn't really apply, as there are not different races, however, different hair and eyes colors are often seen as inferior by many people—not to the extent where they will receive physical or verbal abuse or be actively shunned, but a general culture of not respecting those without blonde hair and blue eyes does exist. This often leads to people without blonde hair shaving their head completely, as that as seen as preferable to having brown or red hair.

While there are no pronounced gender roles in society and sexism is not a major problem, it is a generally accepted fact within society that women tend to be wiser and more in tune to the spirits, while men are dull but much stronger and more agile (though it should be noted that there are many exceptions)

Government
Mifko is governed primarily by the chieftain, or Kotsotep, though the Kotsotep is heavily influenced by the priests, (or Letsoluchaa), who choose the Kotsotep, serve as advisors, and can remove the Kotsotep.

Letsoluchaa
Letsoluchaa are the priests of Mifkotunaal, and while they do not rule directly, they have great influence over the nation, as they choose the Kotsotep, can remove the Kotsotep, and serve as advisors to them. They also serve as lorekeepers, being the few that are actually literate. They record and study history, and keep note of which actions please and displease spirits along with being the ones who write down the law, (despite not being lawmakers themselves.)

Choosing the Kotsotep
Whenever the Kotsotep dies, goes missing, or is removed, all the Letsoluchaa come together to choose a new one. Each Tsoluchaa may nominate one person, which can be anyone as long as they are a citizen of Mifkotep. After each Tsoluchaa has nominated someone, they all discuss, and eventually come to a conclusion on who to choose as the next Kotsotep. While there is no Kotsotep, no new legislation or guidelines may be made, and no military action declared, though the current laws are still enforced. There is no time limit on how long the Letsoluchaa may take to come to a conclusion, but the longest it has ever taken is 5 months.

Removing the Kotsotep
If the Kotsotep has become tyrannical or abusive with their power, has displeased the letso, or the Letsoluchaa believe that they are no longer fit to rule, they remove his connection to the spirits and cast him out from the nation. The ritual used to remove the connection to the spirits involves opening the chest and removing the heart, which is cooked to a crisp, and usually proves fatal.

Kotsotep
The kotsotep is the official ruler of Mifkotunaal, and is the sole writer of the law, and controller of all military actions.

Military
Being a nation whose founders were used to constant war, Mifkotunaal has a sizable military, without half the population either actively serving or in the reserves. Only a small portion, however, are soldiers trained for human-to-human combat, as most of the military is used for hunting, (though all branches are at least somewhat trained for human-to-human combat).

Po-uthaasheluchaa
Po-uthaagluchaa is the navy of Mifkotunaal, as it mainly serves on the water. It rarely finds itself in combat with humans, as it is primarily devoted to lakefishing in Shelusitashu. It has several boats, which have sharp bronze tips on the front, which are used to cut and carve a path through the ice, as the lake finds itself frozen over during the winter. These boats are called Lesheluguklapaa-u, which literally translates to "ice battlers." The soldiers themselves are equipped with armor made of polar bear hide, crafted to be water-tight and easy to swim in, (swimming being never a preference, but always a possibility) and able to resist the heavy cold. It is not great protection against other weapons, which in combat is a major flaw, but luckily not one that comes up often. They are also equipped with tridents, which are used for fishing.

Po-uthaagchaa
Po-uthaagchaa are the primary land hunters, and spend most of their time outside the borders of the city, hunting in the forest and tundra for bears, musk ox, reindeer, and other animals the nation can eat. They also have the job of patrolling the wildlands outside the nation to make sure the tribes that roam outside the city stay out of their territory. Because of this, they are proficient in human-to-human combat, (though not as proficient as the Paa-uchaa). They are equipped with hide armor, built warm and tough to protect not only from the cold, but from any animal attacks or battles with humans. They have bows for long range, their main weapon, but are also equipped with handaxes for close-quarters.

Po-uchaa
The po-uchaa are akin to guards, are stay within the city, patrolling the streets. They help maintain order and keep the peace, and are also tasked with hunting down and arresting criminals. They are the most heavily armored, and are trained specifically for human-to-human combat. They are equipped with bronze plate armor, good for taking and protecting them from blows, and are equipped with bronze swords, which are good for fighting and killing enemies.

History
(This will be updated and expanded upon)

A long time ago they were all hunter-gatherers in tribes, until eventually all the tribes died out, migrated away, or were absorbed by other tribes, until there were 3 very large tribes. These three tribes disagreed fundamentally on many things, and ended up warring against eachother for several years, staying a stalemate the entire time, one wishing to give up or stop the fighting in fear of being conquered and subjugated. This went on for many, many, years, up until a scholar known now as the great uniter, or "Kotetunaal" managed to find a way to cohesively fit all three seemingly incompatible systems together, and unite the three tribes. With the combined knowledge and skill from the three tribes, they were able to farm, hunt, and fish, all in one area, and were able to move from a migratory lifestyle into a sedentary one, and founded the city-state Mifkotep. Not all agreed with Kotetunaal's teachings, and instead of adopting the sedentary lifestyle and joining the city-state, split off into smaller tribes that still roam around the area.

Environment
Mifkotunaal is located on the southwest hemisphere, very close to the antarctic circle. It is in taiga biome.