Digitizing Tékumel, part 24: The Mssúma Delta

The Mssúma Delta

Latest work: I've taken my earlier attempt at sketching the delta and added my latest efforts at Nisuél. If you enlarge the image you might be able to get the hint that the splash of colour at Nisuél is in fact the cover image that I am tracing.

My older rivers are much wider than that in the cover painting. At least, as I currently have that scaled. Nisuél is about 600 meters from north to south along the river, measuring between the wall bastions. So the Nisuél map symbol shown above is about a kilometer across.

My initial canals now have to be re-thought out and re-drawn. And I need to decide how many other larger clan holdings are in the delta - and which clans they are!

The Red Marshes I've blogged about before >>> Here. I have to decide how large to make them...and how many forested areas to add as hunting reserves.

I also need to re-read the "Anatomy of a Peasant Economy" (LINK) to give me a better idea if I've scaled my Nisuél correctly. I can compare the real world example with the density shown in the artist's impression.

Edit: I just found a YouTube video from 2015 of  "Pila Laguna - Tansa and Tubuan".

Lots of footage of rice paddies and raised secondary roads; just ignore all the modern elements.

Barrio Tubuan, circa 1978

Nisuél, Seat of the Clan of the Golden Sunburst - Part 2

Gylph of the Clan of the Golden Sunburst

(Artist unknown)

Nisuél

Original Source: 

Thonburi 1767-1782

Artist: Suthichai Ritthapatichai

Muang Boran Journal

Vol. 43 No. 4 October-December 2017

Plodding ahead with detailing the Mssúma river delta, starting with Nisuél, seat of the Clan of the Golden Sunburst, I have started to identify some of the location names. Don't forget to use the tags to find the rest of this series, and the overall "Exploring Tsolyánu" series.

Ever since I happened across this artist's impression of the city of Thonburi (Thailand) by Suthichai Ritthapatichai I have become more and more convinced that this is what the Mssúma delta looks like. Thonburi is even described as being a "canal and garden (or park) district". Which matches pretty much with Professor Barker's description of the delta being "...the Produce-Garden that feeds Jakálla..." and how it is "criss-crossed with canals and secondary roads." 

Nisuél amounts to a good-sized village. It is located on the Dhu’ónin River (Golden River), one of the many distributary rivers that thread to-and-fro across the Mssúma river delta. Between them are networks of major and minor canals, creating a patchwork of fields and ponds, with woodlots scattered here and there, and secondary roads weaving throughout it all as best they can. The population of the delta is pretty dense, mostly employed in agricultural practices. It is a pretty safe district, with Tékumel's more dangerous denizens kept far away by vigilant warders and a millennia old policy of extermination for any that stray too near.

I've done a bit of research on the Clan of the Golden Sunburst. I've looked up personages in the various sources, principal of which is always the "Hardison Guide", as I call it. One thing that bothered me was that Alva lists the Clan Patriarch as being named "Nisuél"; bothered me until today, that is, when it finally dawned on me that they were just following the long standing practice used by the legions of the Kérdu taking the name of the traditional Kérdu. i.e. "Sérqu" is passed down through the ages, from one general to the next. Indeed, the Hardison Guide mentions that the "17th Sérqu" was a member of the clan. So I am reconciled with the idea that the Clan Patriarch is called "Nisuél" even as it is used for the community itself.  

If you click on the above image you'll see I've used this in my attempt at naming the features on the painting. 

Nisuél's Manse - which is the principal residence of the sitting Clan Patriarch. 

Also shown is the Bastion of Sérqu, "Swath of Red", a reference to that 17th Sérqu mentioned in the Hardison Guide. A similar defensive work is at the southern end: the Tower of Kokún Vriyón, named after an Éngsvanyáli "Hero of the Age". 

Other features I've tentatively - this is still only a first draft - identified are:

The Channel-Master's Station and the Canal-Master's Lodge, two of the clan officials charged with the smooth running of the Clan's business. I suspect the Channel Master out-ranks the Canal Master. 

The Palace of Serene Repose, a guest-house for noble visitors.

The Domicile of Iron, one of the clan's own Temple and/or Mausoleums.

The Mansions of Resplendent Glory, the main clanhouse complex. 

The Halls of the Exhalted, more Temples and Mausoleums, including monuments dedicated to the Clan's greatest ancestors.

The Guild of Iron, one of the subservient clans I've identified, this being hereditary warriors and bodyguards. I don't think "Guild of Iron" has been used before, and while there are no guilds as such, the term guild has been used: the Temple of Qon's "Guild of those Who Repel the Dark" (Source: Mitlanyál, Vol. 1).

The Barracks of the Guild of Iron, barracks for the Household Guards, almost all members of the Guild of Iron clan.

The Palace of Heroes, being more palaces and monuments to the Clan's glorious past. Note that I think clan apartments would be scattered among these complexes for senior members of the clan to reside in. 

So that is my start. As I said, a first draft. Coming up with extravagant sounding names ain't easy you know! ;-)

Nisuél, Seat of the Clan of the Golden Sunburst - Part 1

Thonburi 1767-1782

Artist: Suthichai Ritthapatichai

Muang Boran Journal

Vol. 43 No. 4 October-December 2017

I discovered this image on the Patreon page of one Munkao: 

"Munkao is creating South-East Asian Fantasy world building"

I'm not sure how active he is anymore, but even if you do not subscribe you should take a moment or two (or three!) to browse his public posts. There is a lot of useful stuff there!

My first thought on seeing this image was: "Wow, that is what the Mssúma river delta must look like! And that is the village of Nisuél!" 

This is an area I have been trying to draw as part of my Digitizing Tekumel project.  I know it to be the seat of the Clan of the Golden Sunburst from the third solo game-book: "Beneath the Lands of Tsolyánu". (The one with the green cover.)

These books are Excellent!

Highly Recommended!

Nisuél 

Headquarters of the Clan of the Golden Sunburst

Located about 100 tsán north of Jakálla in the heart of the Mssúma river delta.

The village contains more clan houses than just those belonging to the Golden Sunburst; there would be subsidiary clans, hereditary vassal clans, perhaps a bodyguard clan, or a boating clan, and similar. Looking at the painting, I would declare that the large white buildings were Golden Sunburst clan houses. The other large buildings are those of subsidiary, or vassal clans closely tied to their senior clan. The lesser buildings are perhaps still other clans who are not tied to the Clan of the Golden Sunburst but whose clan business requires their presence. And of course there are workshops, storage buildings and the like as well. The buildings near the fields are not clan houses of course but are workshops or storage areas, or are intended to provide shelter to "Field Watchers" in the outlying areas.

The large river is one of the distributary rivers branching off the Mssúma river as it reaches the delta. There are dozens such rivers of varying size. Nisuél is on the Dhu’ónin River, the Golden River. 

Other river names I've come up with are:

Festival River Gohóimu River

Fever River Ubó River

Fear River Ssünrü River

Mad River Ssánga River

Eternal River Prazhúrin River

Red River Kárin River

Black River Mikárun River

Emerald River Jangáivu River

Green River Zháurun River

Grey River Tathén River

Wild River Baradá River

White River Abásun River

Exalted Emperor River Kólumeljarài River

Ever-glorious Empire River Kólumelbabàrkohàya River

False River Ogrún River

Golden river Dhu’ónin River

Ghost River Ssudú River

Forbidden River Tabár River

Gods Protect Us Sharé River

Some of these, such as the Sharé, Ssünrü, Ssánga and Ubó Rivers, I intend to use in the Flats. 

My existing sketch of the delta

I shall have to re-draw my delta to match the river shown in this painting!

As the solo game-book text states, the delta is 

"...lush and green. It is crisscrossed by canals and secondary roads, for this is the produce-garden that feeds Jakálla and its suburbs, Músa Jakálla and Pála Jakálla. The great clans that own these lands are old, wealthy, and - to be honest - stodgy. The peasants you meet bow humbly as your litters pass; the slaves tramp in endless columns off to the fields in the morning and back again at night; the Chlén-carts are laden with vegetables and fruits and grain; the tax collectors appear, obscenely sleek and well-fed. This is the Empire as it has been for almost two thousand years..."

The Clan of the Golden Sunburst

Primary Lineages:

hiQolyélmu

hiTétkolel

Clan-Patriarch: Lord xxx hiQolyélmu

Other Notables:

Clan-Elder Srikandómo hiTétkolel

Lord Dalkén hiQolyélmu, a son of the clan-patriarch.

Jórudu hiTétkolel, a distant cousin of Lord Dalkén hiQolyélmu. 

That's all for now!

I'll post more in part 2.

Digitizing Tékumel, Part 21: More on Appendix '0'...

The above map shows which pages of the report cover which sections of river, including those referenced in my last post.

It is important to remember the differences between the Mssúma and the Nile while trying to decide if there are any similarities. For one, the Mssúma river does not flow through a desert. There is a hot season, to be sure, but the landscape around the river seems to be more like plains with high levels of cultivation. It would have forests - possibly extensive forests - in parts.

If I had a useful description of the Ganges or the Amazon or even the Mississippi - before the US Corps of Engineers did their thing - I would look at that as well. This happens to be the most detailed report on the passage of a large river, and the obstacles faced, that I know about.

The map below shows the areas referenced in the pages immediately above. There is an extra cataract (marked "Upper Gate?") - I'm not sure if it is the gate described in the text or whether it was somehow left out of the report. The distances listed don't seem to fit...

Digitizing Tékumel, Part 20: Analyzing Appendix '0'

There are many questions about the finer details of M.A.R. Barker's world. How high above sea level does Béy Sü, the Tsolyáni capital, sit for example? I know the city has dockyards bustling with merchant ships but is is all just "clear sailing" all the way to the sea? Its a good 1000 kilometers and probably more - I don't have the time to look it up. Its a good distance!

I know the city sits in the midst of the Beranánga plains. IIRC in "The Man of Gold" the caravan travels "up onto the plain". When one consults the provincial map it appears that Beranánga Province might comprise the entire area of the plains.

I note that the southern border of the province is marked by a long bend in the river. Are the Beranánga plains a plateau?

Presumably there has to be some height difference between Béy Sü and the Sea. Or does there? The northern plains of India through which the Ganges flows do not begin to rise in elevation until very close to the Himalayan Mountains. Is that what the topography of Tsolyánu is like?

All these are questions I have been considering. Of course it doesn't much matter how the Professor envisioned how things looked. He may have considered those details but only a very select audience might have heard the region described. I have to go by published works. And besides, as the Professor said, My Tékumel is bound to be different from His Tékumel.

When I read the description of the first three cataracts on the Nile - Appendix '0' from the Official History of the Sudan Expedition 1884-1885 - I thought this might be useful in understanding what the Mssúma river might look like. Are there cataracts? We know from later published works that the river has a delta but it isn't shown on the maps and earlier works fail to mention it.

I think it would certainly be more interesting if there were cataracts. Borrowing a rule from Gloranthan gamers one could declare there definitely are cataracts because that results in MTF - "More Tékumel Fun"! (MGF = More Gloranthan Fun).

So...in My Tekumel I am thinking there are may be three cataracts. And if you have read Appendix '0' you know a cataract can be comprised of many sets of rapids, not just one. My initial intent is to locate the first cataract a little up river from the towns of Métlan and Jáyo (see previous installments of this thread for details on these towns). The second cataract will be a Usenanu and the third at the river bend marking the border of  Beranánga Province.

Having got that out of the way, below are my notes, page by page, analyzing Appendix '0' and picking out the "useful bits". The bits with extra MTF... :-)

More to follow...

The Sudan Campaign 1884-1885

I was lucky enough to get my hands on a copy of the reprinted Official Report on the Sudan Campaign 1884-1885, ie. the Relief of Gordon. Its quite an interesting read, even though it is largely about logistics. The whole thing seems to have been a logistical nightmare!

For example, after they decided to use whalers to transport the troops up the river it was found that to obtain a large enough number they had to commission them from many different boat builders. The boats were built to the same general specifications and came with masts, oars, sails and rigging, rudders, awnings and various spare parts.

When they arrived in Egypt there was a contractor ready to transport the boats from the transport ships to the railhead. Here they encountered a snag as the contractor declared that his contract was only to move the boats themselves, and not all their accoutrements. Eventually all these bits were put in storage and the boats were moved by themselves.

When the contract was finally amended to include the accessories it was found firstly that some of the equipment had "gone missing", and secondly that the equipment supplied by each manufacturer was designed to fit their boats and not any others! 

A fine pickle one might say!

There were other issues such as the loading platforms at the railhead having to be rebuilt to allow for proper and efficient loading of the trains. The problems just go on and on. Never mind the Mahdi!

My interest at this time is pertaining to the nature of the river before it was altered by dams and other engineering. There are so few unaltered rivers left in the World! I have heard that there is one left in Siberia that has no man-made additions. This account has detailed descriptions of the river and the obstacles presented by the cataracts. First there is Appendix 0 which is a report on the 1st through 3rd cataracts that was prepared as the expedition was being planned. There are also accounts of the trip up the river and back down.

My ultimate goal is to use this information as inspiration for what the Mssúma river might look like in the Tekumel campaign. And if I eventually do any Sudan gaming on the side that is just gravy! :-)

Some of the maps included with the book...

Appendix 0 - pages 141 to 157

Digitizing Tékumel, Part 19: a return to the Mssúma river valley...

After a long break, I am starting to look at my "Digitizing Tékumel" project again. Here is another look at the Mssúma river along the border of Urusái and Jakásha provinces. The sákbe road runs south from Usenánu and crosses the river at what, in My Tékumel, I am calling the twin towns of Métlan and Jáyo. Métlan is in Urusái province, while smaller Jáyo is in Jakásha province. For inspiration I am drawing somewhat on the early history of Budapest which was originally two towns on opposite sides of the river.

To the west, Jikutlár fief is visible. This fief features in one of the Solo Gamebooks - the one with the green cover, IIRC. I have located it according to the description in the book: approximately 200 tsán north of Jakálla. The other named places - Anján Wood, Cholúga, Máshtla, Diridé, and Chorkúda - all come from that adventure.

The other two named features - Lake Vejápa and the Abásun River - are my additions. I've stolen the name "Vejápa" from a work of popular science fiction that many may recognize. The word "abásun" means "white" in Tsolyáni, so the Abásun River is the White River. I haven't decided why it is called that yet.

The Abásun River is a dry bed during the hottest months of the year but as the rains come and the Mssúma River rises it flows south into Lake Vejápa. The lake itself gets quite shallow in spots during the summer. Note the small island in the middle. It is possible to wade out to it some summers if one knows the route. When the floods come the Mssúma overflows its banks and the Abásun disappears as the whole area is inundated. Lake Vejápa expands about ten times its original size and neighbouring villages exist as tiny islands or clusters of huts on stilts.

The Gulf of Perudáya

The Gulf of Perudáya

Diving back into the Digitizing Tékumel project after a long break. Here is a re-imagining of the sandbars in the Gulf of Perudáya. Those in my first attempt I just drew more-or-less at random. For these I have traced the shallows as actually marked on the Swords & Glory map.

These sandbars would be exposed to varying degrees at low tide. They would be constantly changing shape but would roughly the general shape as drawn. There would be a myriad of smaller channels cut through them that would also change over time. Local Knowledge suddenly becomes a very important skill! I expect that there are clans that specialize in providing pilots, which merchants can hire to navigate them through the channels. Some merchants might try to go it alone - at their own risk. And other times there might be pirates who masquerade as pilots to deliberately lead a ship astray, running it aground so it can be looted.

Also, I should point out that a while ago I started some boards on Pinterest under the heading "Inspiration for Tékumel" with the aim of pinning pictures that I think somehow - sometimes in only the smallest of ways - offer some sort of inspiration as to what Tékumel might look like. It's hard, of course, because Tékumel is Earth but I think for the most part I've selected pictures that provide at least a tiny bit of inspiration. If only to ensure that people get out of the Medieval European mindset that prevails in most settings.

I've started adding more and more specific boards, targeting cities and geographic regions of Tsolyánu, for example. The most recent of these is the Gulf of Perudáya board which features the picture above. I am planning on integrating my digitization project with Pinterest even further as I go along.

The Flats of Tsechélnu - Digitizing Tékumel, Part 17

The Flats of Tsechélnu

My maps are based upon the Swords & Glory map, scaled to meters. In AutoCAD there is a tool called a polyline and if you draw an enclosed shape you can consult the properties and get the area of that shape (in square meters, in my case). So I traced the area on the map that is the Flats of Tsechélnu and a quick check returned the following statistics:

352526588986.0591 sq m 

= 352,526.589 sq kilometers 

= 35,252,658.9 hectares 

= 136 111.277 sq miles

Some RW comparisons:

170,304 km² = Florida
696,241 km² = Texas
20,000 km² = area of Tigris and Euphrates marshes (shared by Iraq and Iran). Note that this the original estimated area, not the current area. The marshes  were drained by Saddam and are only now slowly recovering.
357,168 km² = Germany

So, about double the size of Florida, half the size of Texas and almost the same size as present day Germany. And many times that of the Tigris and Euphrates marshlands.

Yesterday I posted a question on the Facebook Tékumel page, asking how many distinct ecosystems people thought might exist within an area that large. The above illustration is my first, rough guess.

Shown are nine regions:

1) In the far west. My thinking is that the Bútrus Gazetteer probably has this covered. :-)

2) This may or may not be a separate region. I have to re-read the Gazetteer to see what it says.

3) These are the coastal areas. Barrier islands, reefs, beaches and mangrove swamps. Look to the Everglades, or Kerala, or the Mouths of the Ganges for inspiration.

4) This region is described in one of the Solo gamebooks published for Tékumel.

5) Each of these three rectangles is 20,000 km², illustrating that there is a significant area that could be inhabited by Tékumel's version of the Marsh Arabs. The real marshlands have a sea of grass standing over head height in some places. If you did get up high enough to look over all you would see was a "Sea of Grass" extending off to the horizon in all directions. You might see the top of a sail on a boat moving down some distant channel. This is the Hméchànyukh, or "grass sea". :-)

6) This is the region where the flats transition to firmer ground.

7) The present day Mssúma river delta which I have been mapping. This is a relatively tame area of the Flats. The further west one goes the wilder it would become. I would say the sákbe marks the end of the "safe" area and the start of the dangerous sections.

8) This is a region that isn't grasses. Perhaps similar to #2 above. This is where the Mssúma river used to flow in ages past. This river course is now called the Nyélmeyal river (the River of Dreams). The ancient ruins of Ngála no doubt contribute to the character of this region.

9) The final region is Point Kuné. This includes the ruins of Hrúgga's Fortress. so I assume at least parts of the region have high ground or rock outcrops. But I also think it might have been part of the Mssúma river's ancient deltas.

Anyway, that is what I have so far. As always, comments are welcome...

The Kárinjàjzayal, or the "Red Marshes"

The Kárinjàjzayal

These marshes in the Mssúma river delta are home to a species of red grasses and are what give the Kárin river it's name. The word "kárin" meaning "red" in Tsolyáni.

Spring and Summer

Autumn and Winter