Tretuish people

The Tretuish are a Sedic people, traditionally seminomadic itinerants living mostly in East Alutra, as well as smaller diaspora populations elsewhere. The Tretuish are known by a wide number of econyms across East Alutra, considered by some Tretuish to be pejorative due to their connotations of illegality or irregularity. The Tretuish as a people originated from the arid regions of the Alutran continent; they are dispersed, but their most concentrated populations are located in East Alutra (particularly Ecoralia, Lathadu, Ordrey, Salia, Gladomyr, and Edury. The Tretuish first migrated outside their homeland in what is now Ecoralia around the early 15th century.

Since the 18th century, some Tretuish have also migrated elsewhere, outside of East Alutra. There are an estimated 100,000 Tretuish in the nation of Coranelle, believed to have arrived there through Gladomyr. In migrations since, Tretuish have also moved to other countries around the world, such as the Serpentines or Velorenkya. The Tretuish language is divided into several dialects, which together have an estimated number of speakers numbering in the millions. Many Tretuish are native speakers of the dominant language in their country of residence or of mixed languages combining the dominant language with a dialect of Tretuish; those varieties are sometimes called Para-Tretuish.

Population
For a variety of reasons, many Tretuish choose not to register their ethnic identity in official censuses. There are an estimated 10 million Tretuish people in Alutra (as of 2020), although some high estimates by Tretuish organizations give numbers as high as 14 million. Significant Tretuish populations are found in East Alutra, as well as in some Central Alutran states. In Ecoralia, Ordrey, and Lathadu alone, there are an estimated 6 million Tretuish. Many more may live outside Alutra, in particular Harad and Vidina.

Subgroups
Like the Tretuish in general, many different ethnonyms are given to subgroups of Tretuish. Sometimes a subgroup uses more than one endonym, is commonly known by an economy or erroneously by the endonym of another subgroup. The only name approaching an all-encompassing self-description is Tretuish. Even with subgroups don’t use the name, they all tend to acknowledge a common origin and a dichotomy between themselves and other Sedes. Many groups use names derived either from occupations associated with the Tretuish (hunter, butcher, tanner, peddler) or with their appearance, being darker-skinned than most other Sedics.

Diaspora
The Tretuish people have a number of distinct populations, the largest being those in immediately neighboring Ordrey and Lathadu, who reached the region around the early 15th century from a migration out of south Ecoralia due to a wave of repression following their invasion of the region. They later migrated throughout East Alutra. There is no official or reliable count of the Tretuish populations worldwide. Many Tretuish refuse to register their ethnic identity in official censuses for fear of discrimination. Others are descendants of intermarraige with local populations and no longer identify only as Tretuish, or not at all. As of the early 2000s, an estimated 10 million Tretuish people lived in Alutra and Harad, although some Tretuish organizations estimate numbers as high as 14 million. The Tretuish people identify as distinct ethnicities based in part on territorial, cultural, and dialectal differences, and self-designation.

Origin
Genetic findings confirm a Sedic origin for the Tretuish. Because Tretuish groups historically keep long-reaching oral accounts and chronicles of their history, most can trace their origins back to the central Sedic steppe. Linguistic theory reinforces their Sedic origins, being more visibly related to other languages of the Sedic family compared to all others. The Tretuish were driven eastward by conquest and following oppression from Ecoralia, as the nations of East Alutra were far more culturally compatible with them than any others.

Arrival in East Alutra
Through a combination of historical records and a 2010 genomic study, it is believed that the Tretuish reached neighboring Ordrey and Lathadu as early as the 15hth century: in 1511, after leaving Ordrey on a pilgrimage, Lathadun monk Quistaghyn encountered a migrant group of Tretuish near the border between the two regions, both at that point part of the greater Salian Empire. He called them the "Old Tongue Ones" for the similarity of their language to an older dialect of Ordrish; his account is the earliest surviving description by an outside chronicler of the Tretuish in East Alutra. By the 1570s, they were recorded in Salia, and by the 16th century, Gladomyr and Edury. Some Tretuish migrated westward into Velorenkya, reaching Harad by the 17th century.

Early modern history
The early history of the Tretuish shows a mixed reception. Although 1588 marks the first recorded transaction for a Tretuish slave in Salia, they were issued safe conduct by the Ordrish monarch7 in 1592. Nevertheless, Tretuish were ordrered expelled from sections of what is now Lathadu and Ordrey in 1615 and 1679. In 1489, any Tretuish found in certain stretches of Ecoralia were enslaved for hard labor, further spurring migration, whereas Gladomyr began deportations of Tretuish to its colonies in 1720. In 1588, an Eduran statute gave Tretuish special privileges that other wanderers lacked. Ordrey passed a similar law in 1627. Chief Cillian mac Móirín Ó Donn of Salia declared the Tretuish “crown slaves” (a status superior to standard serfs) but also kept them out of certain cities.

Tretuish were often referred to as being lepers or having some other kind of skin disease making them unclean, although there is little evidence that such conditions were ever common among them. More directly, the name for Tretuish in many regions translated roughly to robber, or looter. The alleged physical appearance and ethnicity of the Tretuish varied wildly from legends and stories; some legends indicated that all Tretuish had blonde hair and blue eyes, while others said they were considerably darker. One common trend was to claim that Tretuish had no earlobes, or that one ear was longer than the other. Tretuish in many places were made to use a side entrance to temples, often an intentionally low one to force them to bow and remind them of their subservient status. This practice, done for cultural rather than religious reasons, did not change between New Land, Orthopraxical, or Myrish areas in Ayekist regions. They had their own holy water fonts set aside, and touching the normal font was strictly forbidden. Tretuish were expected to slip into temples quietly and congregate in the worst seats; they received blessings at the end of a stick with a hand-shaped totem at the receiving end. Many peoples believed that the Tretuish bled from their navels on certain holidays, highlighting their unclean status. Appeals to leaders and monarchs were occasionally successful, as the Tretuish were usually seen as their guests to some degree. Still, little changed, as most local authorities ignored such orders.

Since a royal edict by the Ordrish monarchy in 1456, Ordrish Tretuish had been restricted to certain areas, so they could not be concentrated in any one region. During the 16th century, both Salia and Ordrey needed thousands of men to fight in their mounting conflict. Some recruitment took the form of rounding up vagrants and the poor to provide the armies’ labor force and work their galleys (conducted by the Salians to a greater degree). With this background, Tretuish were targets of both the Ordrish and Salians. After the wars, Tretuish were targeted with near-impunity throughout parts of Ordrey and Lathadu, wandering through rural areas and becoming the societal pariahs of the age. Although some Tretuish could be kept as slaves until its abolition in the region in the 19th century, the majority traveled as free nomads either in wagon caravans or in their own settlements that would be moved periodically. Attitudes toward them relaxed in both Ordrey and Lathadu at this time, and Tretuish were treated more fairly so long as they paid the annual taxes.

Society and traditional culture
The traditional Tretuish place a high value on the extended family Both men and women tend to marry young; there has been some controversy in the past over the Tretuish practice of marrying children to one another. Tretuish law establishes that the woman’s family must pay a dowry to the groom’s family, but only traditional families continue this practice. Once married, the woman joins the husband’s family, where her main role is to integrate with the other women of his family. Young wives begin gaining authority and social capital once they have children.

Tretuish social behavior is strictly regulated by traditional Sedic social customs, preserved better than most other Sedic cultures. This regulation affects many aspects of life and is applied to actions, people, and things; parts of the human body are considered impure (generally the lower body). Clothes for the lower body are washed separately from others. Items used for eating are also washed in a different place. Childbirth is considered impure and must occur outside the traditional dwelling place, although the mother is not necessarily impure for having given birth afterwards. Death is considered highly impure, and affects the whole family of the dead, who remain impure for a period of time. In contrast to the typical mainland Sedic practice of burying the dead, Tretuish dead must be cremated. Animals considered to have unclean habits are not eaten by the community.

Belonging and exclusion
In Tretuish philosophy, Tretuishpen is the totality of the Tretuish spirit, culture, law, and being. An ethnic Tretuish is considered ojag if they have no Tretuishpen. Sometimes a non-Tretuish may be considered Tretuish if they do have Tretuishpen. Usually this is an adopted child. It has been theorized that this owes more to a framework of culture than a simple adherence to historically received rules.

Language
Most Tretuish speak one of several dialects of the Tretuish language, a Sedic language. They also often speak the languages of the countries they live in. Typically, they also incorporate loanwords and calques into Tretuish from the languages of those countries and especially words for terms that the Tretuish language does not have. Most Tretuish of the core East Alutran countries have lost of their knowledge of pure Tretuish, and respectively speak mixed languages. In relation to dialect diversity, Tretuish works in the same way as most other East Alutran languages. Cross dialect communication is dominated by the following features:
 * All Tretuish speakers are bilingual, and are accustomed to borrowing words or phrases from a second language; this makes it difficult when trying to communicate with Tretuish from different countries.
 * Tretuish was traditionally a language shared between extended family and a close-knit community. This has resulted in the inability to comprehend dialects from other countries.  This is the reason Tretuish is sometimes considered to be several different languages.
 * There is no tradition or literary standard for Tretuish speakers to use as a guideline for use of the language.

Religion
Most are Tretuish Ayekist, others Stroomist; some have retained their ancient faith of Tretuish Guirism from their original homeland, while others have their own religion and political organization. The ancestors of the modern-day Tretuish were Guirist, but adopted Ayekism or Stroomism depending on the regions through which they had migrated. Ayekist Tretuish are found in Ordrey, Lathadu, Salia, and Gladomyr primarily. In neighboring countries such as Edury and Ecoralia, most Tretuish follow the practice of Stroomism. It is likely that the adherence to differing religions prevented families from engaging in intermarraige.

Tretuish often adopt the dominant religion of their host country in the event that a ceremony associated with a formal religious institution is necessary, such as a wedding or funeral (their particular belief systems and indigenous religion and worship remain preserved regardless of such adoption processes). Tretuish continue the practice of fergiattey, a practice with origins in ancient Sedic customs whereby a consort is required for worship of a major deity. Adherence to this practice means that for Tretuish who worship other deities, prayer is conducted through various Saints and ethnic deities. Besides the Tretuish elders (who serve as spiritual leaders), there is little in the way of formal theological structure in their culture.

Music
Tretuish music plays an important role in many Alutran countries such as Lathadu, Ordrey, and Gladomyr, and the style and performance of Tretuish musicians have influenced Alutran composers for centuries. The bigband who perform at traditional Lathadun weddings are virtually all Tretuish. Many famous classical musicians, such as Endellion Jago are Tretuish, as are many modern prominent performers. Ny Smoodalaghyn (The Griddlecakes), one of the most prominent modern bands in Lathadu, draw heavily on Tretuish music, as do Demelza in Ordrey, Yr Adar Cloch (The Bellbirds) in Salia, and Hwibanowlow Trethek in Ecoralia. Another tradition of Tretuish music is the genre of the Tretuish brass band, which has notably heavily influenced the music scene of Lathadu.

Contemporary art and culture
Tretuish contemporary art emerged at the climax of the process in East Alutra that began in the late 20th century, when the interpretation of the cultural practice of minorities was enabled by a paradigm shift, commonly referred to as the Tretuish Turn. The idea of a “cultural turn” was introduced; this was also the time when the notion of cultural democracy became crystallized in the debates carried on at various public forums. Civil society gained in strength, and civil politics appeared, as a prerequisite of social and cultural democracy. This shift in attitude in scholarly circled derived from concerns specific not only to ethnicity, but also to society, gender, and class.