Superverse in Brief: Article 5
The Matriarchal Culture of the Minnima
Hi everyone.
Welcome back!
Note; while worlds, races and places of the Citadel 7 Superverse series are described here; no spoilers, secrets or main arc special moments are ever disclosed.
In this installment, I’ll be speaking about the matriarchal culture of the Minnima, in the southern jungles of the Ludd Continent on Planet Tora.
When a writer constructs alternate worlds, they have little choice but to do so through the filters of exposure that life has embedded in them in this modern world we live in. So, environments no matter far beyond the norm must indeed have some thread of empathy with what we know of things on Earth. The Citadel 7 Superverse has many worlds and cultures as previously mentioned. It was, is, a huge undertaking.
For me, each world, race and its cultural idiosyncrasies must also show a uniqueness. At the same time, they must provide immersion and intrigue for those who venture into the Superverse worlds to experience.
The culture of the Minnima on planet Tora for example are no exception. A matriarchal society, the Minnima have a teared structure where males always have the subservient role. At the top or seat of power is a Queen. In the case of the present age that we find them in the opening series, that individual is Queen Yazmin. She is the Minnima living representative of the creator of the Toran world, Thera. Below Yazmin are a group of advisors, all of which of course are women, including her sister, Nattai, who features in the available title “Coming Storm“.
Men in principal have no rights over their feminine superiors and must conform to all ideals handed down by Minnima law. Think of the Minnima a little like the mythical Amazons of Earth only with different powers. The men of the Minnima culture can be, slaves with no rights at all, or, “free slaves”, someone who has earned the trust of his mistress and enjoys certain basic freedoms unavailable to his lessor counterparts. The Minnima are a post-medieval culture skilled in ship building, star navigation and are excellent mariners. Since dense jungles of the Ludd continent’s south dominate three of their borders, the Minnima have evolved accordingly. They have their own form of writing, agriculture including ocean farming, and textiles. Jungle civil construction as well as a unique jungle medicine knowledge means they have much to trade with outsiders. Their military are amongst the most skilled of jungle fighters on Tora and have earned the respect of even the fearsome Scarzen in the north. They’ve even found a way recently to tame the sky. But possibly their greatest strength, and why the Scarzen identify with them most, is their innate ability as Empaths. Famous for their ability to read other’s mannerisms, speech, and for the most powerful empaths, even thoughts, the Minnima make formidable political allies and enemies. Those who venture beyond Hoch city, their capital, find this last skill to trade most valuable of all.
The Minnima play an important part in events that unfold during the times Commander Bloch finds himself on Tora. So, look out for them in the unfolding series, they are a cool and formidable force on the Toran world.
