Haradath: Culture and Politics

House of the Chanters - an example
 of traditional Haradath architecture. 

Culture:

Cultural life (upon which political structures revolve) is  based around the ascending hierarchy of Pods, Clutches and Musters. Pods are essentially family groups - the hatchlings from swarm masses. The swarms give rise to between 20 and 30 young of which 2 to 3 (traditionally would survive). Improvements in technology, nutrition, and the evolution of a stable society had pushed this survival rate up to between 50% and 100% - a radical shift, now creating population pressure.

Parental bonds with their young are weak. The surviving young leave their pod, and as they grow to adulthood the majority associate in clutches. A clutch is a gathering of Haradath based on aptitude - what in human terms might be termed a 'profession' or a group of associated professions, though the clutches are broader, and encompass many individuals of different levels of ability and inclination.

A muster is the Haradath equivalent of a nation, but not necessarily geographically focused, though the larger the muster, the more geographically defined it tends to become. It is more about assembling the 'functions' of a nation - a 'federation' of clutches (for examples see skills and careers).

A number of Haradath never find a home in a clutch, drifting to the edges of society, often living solitary lives, or co-existing in small groups for mutual support and survival, and the number of outsiders rises at times of economic, political and population pressure. Ironically, it is from these 'outlings' that radical thinkers, new philosophic, artistic and political revolutions and new technologies more often come. The raiders that brought down the classical empire of the Great Sky Muster, the impulse to settle other worlds in the Udcapin system, the original colonists sent to Faneron, and members of the few ex-pat communities on human worlds were all predominantly from these fringe communities. It has been observed from xenothropologists from the Collegiate Domains that the outlings act as a pressure valve for the ridged organisation of 'core' Haradath' society, but also the principal source of innovation and renewal for the wider culture.  

Politics:

Haradath society is highly structured and remains stable for long period of time, undergoing periodic change on a massive scale. This general stability does not infer, however, a lack of politics, quite the reverse. Haradath (unless they are outers) are highly respectful of existing hierarchies and political structures, but very conscious and jealous of their position within that hierarchy. This leads to intense Hierarchy between individuals for places of status within their pods, for competition between pods for status within their Muster, and for competition between musters. Completion is largely symbolic, however, and rarely results in violence and/or open war.

The exception is 'shatter fever' - a periodic semi-madness that can come on the Haradath as social structures weaken, and the Haradath equivalent of anything form civil disorder to full blown civil war. It should be noted that outlings don't suffered from the fever, and xenothropologists have concluded that the fever is a reaction to the usually tight structure of society - and outlings live, by definition, outside these constraints.   

Current Situation:

The Udcapin system is currently ruled by 'The Grand Muster'. This is an unusual innovation in Haradath politics, brought on as a result of The Space War. the Grand Muster is a loose confederation, rather than a restrictive structure. The in-system colonies have significant outling tendencies, and after victory in the war found themselves, along with the orbiting settlements, increasingly in a position of dominance over the defeated Chanters Muster. The Space War was the largest scale example of Shatter Fever in the history of the Haradath race, ranging over the whole system, and the extremely dispersed geography of the political situation that emerged, allied to the fact that the colonies were more significant and more organised examples of outling communities than had ever been possible in earlier times, mean that outlings have dominance over Haradath political culture for the first time. The fact remains, however, that the Chanter's Muster, whilst paying lip service to the post war settlement, is still a highly powerful and centralised state controlling most of the world of Udcapin. Unlike former times, when outling innovation had a tendency to reform existing structures, the Chanter's Muster is isolated from outling influence which is increasingly confined to the orbital and space settlements - the Chanters must is becoming steadily more rigid, traditionalist, and, indeed fundamentalist. In short, the situation in the Udcapin system is unstable, and an even greater time of shatter fever that even the Space War may not be far off.

Human Involvement:

Although an Amber system, there is a significant human presence here. The Fairport Convention maintains multiple consulates in-system, keeping communications open with the outlings, but also (though more cautiously) with the Chanters Muster. There are formal diplomatic channels open between the FPC and the Grand Muster, though the physical human presence on Udcapin itself is small, limited, and travel by humans is not permitted beyond a very restricted geographical area of the planet. In addition there is a permanent research base in-system maintained by the Xenothropology Department and the School of Haradath Studied of the Collegiate Domains.