Majipoor inhabitants
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Majipoor, a giant planet, which is the scene of action of Robert Silverberg’s novels of Majipoor series, is populated by several species of intelligent beings. At the “present” time (time of “Lord Valentine’s Castle” novel) population of the planet is about 20 billions (three times more than lives on Earth today).
The planet is inhabited by ten species of intelligent beings. Of them seven are migrants from outside worlds who settled on the planet in the distant past; there also are three species of intelligent autochthons. Almost all inhabitants (with the exception of vroons and perhaps hjorts) are warm-blooded bisexual mammals of generally humanoid build, but very different in details: for example, some of them lay eggs while others have two heads. Structure of auditory and speech organs in all intelligent species is probably very near to that of humans, because no one of them experience any problem with mustering and communicating in Majipoorian language, which apparently origins in the earthling language of the first human settlers on Majipoor. It is rather possible that on Malipoor live, or had lived in the past, some other intelligent beings, whether native or visiting, since the planet, despite of millennia of settlement, is still poorly explored. Knowledge of the past is scarce and ambiguous; for example, in Alhanroel there are ruins of ancient cities, whose builders are not conclusively known: whether they were first human settlers, piurivars, or maybe some other space-faring race, whose colonization attempt remained completely unrecorded in history.
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[edit] Biological species
[edit] Aborigines
There are three native intelligent species on Majipoor: piurivars, forest-brethren, and sea dragons. Piurivars inhabited all continents of the planet before humans had arrived about 14000 years prior to the conventional “present time”, but turned out to be less fit in competition with more numerous and technologically superior invaders. Forest-brethren are very primitive tribe of aborigines of tropical rainforest of central Zimroel, biologically not related (or related very distantly) to piurivars. Intelligence of the sea dragons — giant aquatic mammals looking similar to whales — was not generally known until the time of Lord Valentine; until then sea dragons were considered not-intelligent animals and hunted for meat, hides and other commodities.
[edit] Piurivars
Piurivars (autonym, also metamorphs or shapeshifters) before colonization were the dominant intelligent beings on the planet, whose civilization originates in ages well before human arrival. In its natural form a piurivar is a slender long-legged humanoid with pale greenish skin, very sharp cheekbones, small bumps of nose, and slanted eyes without pupils. Their skin contains cells able to change its color and texture, and their bones are “not jointed like those of other races”; thanks to these features piurivars are able to change their outlook and shape in very wide range and keep the changes during considerable time. This amazing ability of piurivars allows them to create from their own body almost identical copies of other persons or animals, which are quite convincing and can be told from the original only by subtle differences in behavior, habits, speech or in other indirect methods. For example, in the story “The Soul-Painter and the Shapeshifter” (“Majipoor Chronicles”) there was a metamorph who imitated a young woman and even had intimate relations with a hermit artist who settled in the jungles of Zimroel close to piurivar reservation. Ability of piurivars to imitate other beings is limited only by their physical size; for example a piurivar cannot imitate a vroon because vroons are considerably less in size than humans or piurivars.
Majipoor's other intelligent inhabitants are hostile and suspicious to Piurivares and tend to avoid contact with them. Piurivars themselves also live apart from the others and seldom leave their reservation, though this is not forbidden. Their culture, traditions, and beliefs are mysterious, and their ways and purposes incomprehensible for the rest of Majipoor inhabitants, who, however, are not interested in them too much.
[edit] Forest brethren
Forest brethren are a primitive aboriginal tribe of rainforests in central Zimroel, a distinct biological species that evolved on Majipoor independently from piurivars. They have generally monkey-like outlook, but are hairless. Similar to some of Earth’s monkeys, they have prehensile tails and live arboreal life, descending to ground only rarely. Unlike the monkeys, forest brethren are undoubtedly intelligent beings, they possess own language and religious beliefs (worshipping dvikka-trees) and use tools and weapons (particularly, poisoned arrows), though their material culture is very primitive. Forest brethren are hunters and gatherers and live in tropical rainforest from time immemorial. Despite of forest brethren’s intelligence piurivars hunt them as game animals; their meat is considered a delicacy by piurivars, and in addition they are sacrificed during piurivar traditional religious ceremonies. Whether such relationship between two native intelligent species of the planet existed from the ancient times or was formed only after piurivars resettlement in the reservation, is not known, like many other things of planet’s pre-colonial history. There is no mention of forest brethren’s population outside Zimroel.
[edit] Sea dragons
Sea dragons are gigantic aquatic mammals, whose intelligence was not generally known until the time described in “Valentine Pontifex”; throughout much of human history on Majipoor they have been hunted and killed from ships as whales on Earth.
Sea dragons are egg-laying mammals, but unlike Earth’s platypus their eggs are developed and hatched inside the body; calves emerge full-formed and able to swim and are fed with milk. According to hunters’ evidences a dragon may have size up to 100 m (300 ft) and probably grows during all its lifetime which can reach hundreds of years. They are called “dragons” because of giant wing-like fins, but sea dragons cannot fly. They are omnivorous, but prefer plant food — floating sargasso sea-weeds, which cover wide stretches of the outer Great Sea. Gigantic teeth and tusks of sea dragons are probably used only during mating season to fight rival males.
For all their lifetime sea dragons are migrating along the permanent migration route which girds the entire planet. This route runs between Suvrael and Zimroel on the west, then bends north and runs along the east coast of Zimroel up to the Isle of Sleep. Bending round the Isle, the dragons navigate southward, where they come between Alhanroel and Suvrael and leave the Inner Sea for the outer ocean on the east. It takes several decades for a sea dragon to circumnavigate the entire planet, but there are several great herds of dragons in the ocean which migrate separately along the same route, and due to that dragons pass inhabited coasts each year. Dragons’ route is most close to the coast near the Piliplok on the east coast of Zimroel. Piliplok harbors the great hunting fleet and is the planetary center of trade in sea dragon meat and other produces from them. The government of Majipoor issues quotas for sea dragon hunting to preserve the population.
Practically every part of a sea dragon body was used in one or another way in industry and economy. For example, dragon bone was used in construction owing to its being extraordinary strong (stronger than steel) and much more easily accessible on a planet so poor in metals as Majipoor; from sea dragon eggs medicaments were produced. The milk of sea dragon — powerful aphrodisiac — was prized as rare and astonishingly expensive delicacy.
Even before human arrival sea dragons were scared animals of piurivars who called them “water-kings”. One of the central and the most painful event in the pre-colonization piurivar history was sacrificing of two sea dragons in spiritual capital of piurivars Velalizier. Piurivars believe that invasion of Majipoor from space was divine punishment for this sacrilegious act.
In “Valentine Pontifex” it becomes known that sea dragons are exceptionally powerful telepaths, and that piurivars use them as biological transponders and amplifiers of telepathic signals to communicate mentally with their agents throughout Majipoor. In the end of the novel Valentine, the former Coronal which became Pontifex, using his own telepathic abilities and a magical artifact (dragon’s tooth) comes to contact with one of the water-kings and gets known about intelligence of this biological species. This dragon also tells Valentine that water-kings that were sacrificed by piurivares in ancient times, voluntary allowed them to do so, and that dragons do not regard this action as crime or sacrilege; they also do not object Majipoorian hunting them, because they are convinced that this is a natural process and “one of the facets of the Whole”. Dragons consider themselves gods of Majipoor, but this concept is not developed any further in other books of the Majipoor series.
[edit] Immigrant races
[edit] Humans
Humans are the most numerous Majipoor inhabitants. It was humans who first arrived to Majipoor and founded colony some 14000 years ago; other intelligent races settled on the planet much later, about 9000 years ago. Humans spread to all three continents and dominate virtually everywhere they live, though there are regions and localities where other races constitute majority of population. Only humans occupy positions of supreme rulers of the planet; they also hold the majority of regional and local governing positions.
In multi-specific Majipoorian society differences between human races (in the “narrow” sense of the term) are not significant anymore. Within human population of Majipoor all phenological types, wide variety of skin shades and eyes and hair colors can be found that had been known on Earth, as well as an assortment of mixed and transitional variations, but these distinctions are not of any social importance.
[edit] Skandars
Skandars are large, powerful, hairy beings about 2.5 m (7.6 feet) tall having general outlook of a bear. They have two pairs of arms and are known for their strength, quick reaction and coordination. They descend from some cold planet and are often uncomfortable on tropical Majipoor, though they are not given to complain. Their fur ranges in color from various shades of light-blue through shades of gray to pure white.
[edit] Ghayrogs
Ghayrogs are race of intelligent reptile-looking humanoids. They have scaly skin and snaky hair which slowly moves and coils as that of gorgon Medusa; forked tongue incessantly pops up from the mouth, as in Earth lizards and snakes; hair and tongue movements are unconscious and reflect owner’s emotional state. Odors that ghayrogs emit (often unpleasant for humans), also are uncontrolled emotional indicators and serve as a mean of non-verbal communication between individuals. Despite of superficial resemblance to reptiles, biologically ghayrogs are warm-blooded mammals; although they lay eggs, which are developed in special incubators afterwards, after hatching their kids are fed by female with milk from mammary glands (of which she has several pairs).
Ghayrogs do not have daily period of sleep; instead they sleep once a year during two or three months. Because their lifecycle is incompatible with the rest of Majipoor inhabitants, ghayrogs are more often to create racially homogenous settlements, though this is forbidden by Majipoor laws.
[edit] Vroons
Vroons are small (under 1 m [3 ft] tall) octopus-like beings with long tentacles and sturdy beak in place of mouth. Vroons are natural telepaths and telekinetics; some of them improve their natural abilities by special training and becomes practicing wizards.
[edit] Liimens
Liimens are short humanoids of uncertain biological origin, with flat “hammer-like” head, three eyes and seven bony fingers on each hand. They are generally employed as unqualified manual laborers, farm or mine workers, street vendors and hawkers. They are considered dullish and simple-minded by other races of Majipoor.
[edit] Hjorts
Hjorts are frog-like beings of plump shape and bulging eyes. Often they decorate their pebbly gray skin with spots of color. Hjorts are known with their abilities to accounting, bookkeeping, and financial calculations; due to that they are disproportionately well represented in lower levels of state bureaucracy.
[edit] Su-Suheris
Su-Suheris are mysterious race of two-headed beings. They are much less populous than the other races, and because of that they still are exotic in many regions of the planet. Su-Suheris are taller than average, they are thin and skinny beings with pale blue skin. Su-Suheris always have hyphenated names, with one name for each of their heads.
[edit] Others
Despite of comparative isolation of Majipoor from the rest of the Galaxy interstellar communications have never been broken altogether; there is a spaceport in Alhanroel, and members of other races from off world do occasionally visit the planet. In “Lord Prestimion” colony of a few hundreds extra-planet visitors is mentioned to exist in Sippulghar city in the southern Alhanroel; maybe the spaceport is situated somewhere close to it, though its location is never indicated directly.
“Lord Valentine’s Castle” mentions one of such visitors — Khun, who came from Kianimot, a stellar system relatively close to Majipoor. Khun is a humanoid with dark-blue skin, large mournful purple eyes, wide mouth with thin lips, long legs and exceptionally dexterous hands; he is presumably a typical representative of intelligent inhabitants of his world.
However, there is no mention of anything considerable immigration from outside the planet after Lord Melikand had initially invited members of six alien races to settle on Majipoor some 9000 years ago. It is possible that outside migration is strictly regulated or even forbidden by the government, though there is no direct mention of such policy either. There is also no mention of emigration, not even space journey to other planet by any of Majipoor inhabitants. Majipur itself apparently does not possess space fleet, even interplanetary, and Majipoorians are not interested in space altogether.
[edit] Settlement patterns
Population of Majipoor is distributed through planet’s surface unevenly; settlement patterns are defined by natural and climatic conditions as well as by development of social infrastructure, distance to the centers of power and history of population expansion.
Alhanroel is the most densely populated continent of Majipoor. Two of four Powers of the planet reside on this continent: the Coronal and the Pontifex. The most urbanized region of Majipoor embraces Castle Mount — a giant geological formation more than 50 km (30 miles) high; its summit protrudes far beyond the limits of atmosphere. On the Mount climatic machines create artificial breathable atmosphere and mild weather of subtropical spring, and its summit is occupied by the Castle — residence of Coronal. Slopes of the gigantic mountain are spotted by Fifty Cities of the Mount, each populated by more than ten millions. The lowland around the Mount is a wide agricultural region which provides Cities of the Mount with provision and row materials. Large urban agglomerations exist in other places of central Alhanroel and on its west cost, where great port cities maintain overseas trade with Zimroel and the Isle of Sleep. Pattern of urban areas alternating with rural supply regions is common for all densely populated provinces of Majipoor and especially evident in Alhanroel.
Zimroel had been colonized much later than Alhanroel and population density here is much lower; urban/rural alternating pattern is adhered less strictly and is apparent only in the most productive and densely settled localities, such as Dulorn Rift. Although in Zimroel there are a few megalopolises with population of tens of millions, considerable part of the continent is still wild and devoid of civilization. In the inner regions of Zimroel among tropical rainforests there is the reservation of piurivares — Piurifayn.
Most of the southern continent of Suvrael is covered by the Desert of Stolen Dreams. Suvrael is sparsely populated; considerable urban centers exist only on its north coast, by the foot of coastal mountain range which separates the desert from the sea. Beyond the mountains on the rim of the desert there are stretches of grasslands able to support intensive pastoral husbandry. Outside of coastal ports and pasture region the continent is virtually uninhabited.
[edit] Interracial relations
Settlement of the six alien races among human colonists took place about 9000 years ago, and although true assimilation between different biological species was not possible, in course of millennia Majipoorian society became culturally and linguistically homogenous. All immigrant races speak common Majipoorian language which perhaps origins in the earthling language of the first human settlers on Majipoor. All colonists practice common faith — belief in the nameless Divine; all of them worship four Powers of Majipoor: Pontifex, Coronal, Lady of the Isle, and King of Dreams; members of all seven immigrant races experience the feel of uncontrolled ecstatic elation at sight of the Coronal in course of his Great Procession (first-hand contact with the rest three Powers of Majipoor is difficult or utterly impossible for an ordinary person); all Majipoorians receive mental messages from the Lady of the Isle and the King of Dreams when sleeping. Although formally all seven intelligent races are equal, positions of the four Powers are traditionally occupied exceptionally by humans. However, this tradition has never irritated other six races, at least to the noticeable extent, because concepts of democracy and people sovereignty on Majipoor are apparently unknown, and self-government is rudimentary (see details in Majipoor government).
Despite of cultural uniformity relations between biological species are not always unclouded. Differences in body structure, appearance, lifestyle and behavior are too profound to be easily dismissed, and domestic xenophobia always existed in various, though in most cases not very significant forms.
Majipoor laws forbid creation of racially homogenous settlements and demand to provide for certain biodiversity in each community. It is not always possible, however. For example, for gayrogs, who do not sleep at night, it is not easy to live in the community of beings that are inactive for a third of each day. On the other hand, members of other races are not comfortable amongst the ghayrogs, who suspend their life activity completely for two or three months a year. Due to this reason percentage of ghayrogs in their cities and settlements, such as Dulorn, is much higher than normative values demanded by law.
[edit] Language
All newcomer races speak common Majipoorian language which perhaps origins in the earthling language of the first human settlers on Majipoor. There are dialectal differences between local variations of the common language, but all dialects remain mutually intelligible. Probably there is some standard of the literary language, but it is not clear by what means this standard is imposed: books of the series do not mention any general education system; mass media, whether global or regional, are not mentioned, too. However it is possible that unity of Majipoorian language is maintained by the influence exerted upon minds of the planet’s inhabitants by the Lady of the Isle of Sleep.
In the books of the series there are several mentions of “ethnic” languages, Skandar and Vroon in particular, but it is obvious that their usage is limited by the respective racial communities and these are exclusively domestic languages; there is no evidence of teaching these languages in schools or studying them purposely as the foreign language. On the whole Majipoorian society may be regarded as virtually monolingual. When in “The Mountains of Majipoor” in isolated mountain valleys human tribes are found which have lived without contacts with outside world for millennia and speak unintelligible language, concept of foreign language and studying it turns out to be completely alien and unusual for the main characters of the book.
Forest brethren and piurivars have their own languages, but all piurivars contacting with characters of the books are fluent in Majipoorian. Of the language of sea dragons (and of their way of communication in general) almost nothing is known, but it is probable that they do communicate with each other telepathically.
[edit] Links
| Books: | The Book of Changes • Sorcerers of Majipoor • Lord Prestimion • King of Dreams • Lord Valentine's Castle • Majipoor Chronicles • Valentine Pontifex • The Seventh Shrine • The Mountains of Majipoor |
| The planet: | Geography • Inhabitants • Cities • Government • History • Characters |
