Hyboria - WordPress.com - Yggdrasil Distro

Kushite
"Life flowed on its accustomed course in the filth-littered
streets of Punt. Giant black men squatted in the doorways
of their thatched huts, or lolled on the ground in their
shade. Black women went up and down the streets with
water-gourds or baskets of food on their heads. Children
played or fought in the dust, laughing or squalling shrilly.
In the squares the black folk chaffered and bargained over
plantains, beer and hammered brass ornaments. Smiths
crouched over tiny charcoal fires, laboriously beating out
spear blades."
- Robert E. Howard: "The Snout in the Dark"
The Kushites are the black tribesmen most often
encountered in Kush, Punt, southern Stygia, and the
Black Kingdoms, although their tribes dominate the
entire south.
Warriors of the Silver Isles
The peoples of the Black Kingdoms live in loosely organized tribes in villages hidden away in the jungles
of the south. Notable exceptions to this are the kingdoms of Keshan, Punt and Zembabwei, as well as the
Stygian-influenced kingdom of Kush itself. Several large tribes of Kushites dwell among the deserts along
and below southern Stygia, but most of these are nomads, who wander from one area to the next.
The Black Kingdoms are dotted with huge pre-Cataclysmic cities. Some are abandoned, empty ruins
buried in impenetrable jungle; others retain small remnants of their original populations, sometimes
horribly changed over the millennia; yet others are occupied by small groups of modern people who fled
from the "civilized" lands and took refuge in the ancient citadels.
The peoples of the Black Kingdoms are black-skinned, with many variations in height, skin color, etc.
Their eyes are brown or green, and they are strong, tall and usually very lean. They have little chronic
disease, as those who get sick quickly die. In Kush, the common people are dark-skinned (as in the rest of
the Black Kingdoms), but the Set-worshipping ruling class are the light-skinned racist descendants of
Stygian lords.
Tribal Kushites are adept at the use of the bow and the spear. Their communities govern themselves,
sometimes with the advice of an elder or shaman. They worship many gods and plants and animals,
many of whom are known only to specific tribes. Most of these gods are believed to dwell near the
villages of their worshippers and will come forth to protect the tribe, or punish it, should the need arise.
Each tribe has a distinguishing ritual scar or tattoo which identifies its members; in a society where little
clothing is worn, such marks make it difficult to infiltrate an enemy tribe.
The Stygians enslave a great many Kushites.
26