The Wandering Tribes are a group of dark-skinned human nomads who live in the Hadarac Desert and support the Varden. It was to these tribes that Eragon first brought the "stone" to determine its value. In the book Eragon, they are referred to as the traders.
It is not known how many tribes there are, the only known named tribe being the Inapashuuna Tribe. However, there is one supreme leader that rules all the tribes.
Fadawar was the ruler of all the tribes, until the Trial of the Long Knives, in which Nasuada assumed leadership and currently remains so.
Appearance[]
The Wandering Tribes that have been mentioned have dark skin, such as Ajihad and Nasuada, who came from them. Striking features uncommon in the Broddring Empire, such as broad shoulders and almond-shaped eyes, are also observed among members of the Tribes.
History[]
The Wandering Tribes arrived in Alagaësia by ship several years after King Palancar arrived and immediately began settling across the continent.
Settled areas[]
The Wandering Tribes dwell primarily in Surda and the Hadarac Desert. They are also found in the imperial city of Belatona.
Skills and advantages[]
The Wandering Tribes, with their dark skin, are well-suited to hot areas like Surda, better so than most humans or elves. They were also renowned for their craftsmanship, which rivaled the dwarves at its best. Many of the leaders were also quite wealthy. Due to them being nomadic and by necessity their ability to survive in the Hardarac, they were, as a rule of thumb, hardy and tough.
Culture[]
The culture of the Wandering Tribes is only glimpsed in the cycle but such rituals as the Trial of the Long Knives, the Drum Dance and the Calling of Names are mentioned or witnessed. It is possible that Paolini based their culture off pre-existing ones in the real world. They worshiped a pantheon of gods led by Unulukuna. The exact number of gods in the pantheon was unknown, but two, Unulukuna and Gokukara, were named.
The leader of the Wandering Tribes has a four-foot-long scepter made out of solid gold, as a sign of their leadership, and have much gold jewellery.
The common people of the Wandering Tribes also wear gold jewellery, which they adorn themselves with to proclaim not only their wealth but also the status and deeds of each individual and the skill of their tribe's far-farmed craftsmen.
Language[]
Little information on the language of the Wandering Tribes has been provided. It is known that outside of proper nouns, consonants and vowels alternate, that "i" is pronounced as a double "e" at the end of words and double letters are pronounced twice as long as normal but are otherwise treated as a single letter. Names are ordered with the family name first, the tribe name second and the personal name last.
The following words and names are known:
- Gokukara: a praying-mantis goddess
- katuro: Dragon Rider
- osati: you are
- no, ra: honorifics used as suffixes
- Unulukuna: a creator god