Lands of Red and Gold, Act II

[Enigmajones]

Just a question and if Im wrong about this please let me know, but has this timeline been posted in Finished Timelines?

 

[Jared]

Just a question and if Im wrong about this please let me know, but has this timeline been posted in Finished Timelines?

No, it hasn't been posted there. Partly because it's not finished, and mostly because I've never used the Finished Timelines forum for anything. (DoD isn't there either; I archive it on the website instead.)

 

[Enigmajones]

No, it hasn't been posted there. Partly because it's not finished, and mostly because I've never used the Finished Timelines forum for anything. (DoD isn't there either; I archive it on the website instead.)

Okay, I post there so I can find it easier, but Im sure you don't have that problem with this thread.

 

[Cochlea]

That's a lot of ifs, and on reflection there's not much reason to think that the Nuttana would be best-placed for any of those, except transportation, and that only near the ocean.

The Nuttana are best placed for rapid agricultural innovation because - unlike southern Aururia water is not a concern for them. A major roadblock in agricultural experjmentation is availability of water, where water isn't readily available through rains or requires irrigation from rivers the rate of innovation is hampered because tightly controlled access to water (i.e
What happens with any scarce resource) means it's harder to innovate for most people, and people would tend to stick to traditional methods.The Nuttana, being in the tropical region, would find experimentation in agriculture to be almost risk free. Tropical agricultural techniques regarding such things as cultivation patterns and tropical agroforestry crop packages have developed very swiftly in tropical regions. This high rate of innovation is possible due to high availability of water, clear wet and dry seasons, and the tropical adaptation of the crops. In tropical regions, you also have the opportunity to improve the soil tenfold by encouraging certain animals like turtles, frogs, and earthworms on and around the farm, which is possible because the tropical biosphere is diverse enough to include several species with beneficial effects for farms. I don't know how many such biospheres can be created from Southern Aururian animals, and whether anyone would want to ruin the sanctity of their prime riverland farms by introducing animals on it.

But on the subject of Cannabis, I think the Nuttana do have many advantages as well over everyone else:

The Nuttana have no monopoly on selective breeding techniques, and indeed are not even the best in Aururia for it. The Five Rivers have practiced it on kunduri , aromatics and dyes for centuries; the Yadji have done something similar with certain fungi as part of fuelling death warriors, and on animals have done the same with wool dogs. Peoples across Aururia have been doing selective breeding on a small scale with some plants, such as the native species of tobacco, for centuries.

When it comes to the selective breeding of cannabis, the primary characteristics that are selected for in the modern-day cultivation of cannabis are content of psychoactives (THC, CBD etc.) and secondarily the terpinoid expressions which would not only define the aroma and flavour of the final product, but also have psychoactive properties of their own which interact with the effects of the primary cannabinoids, allowing for different strains with different expressions of cannabinoids and terpenes making them have markedly different psychoactive profiles between them ranging from stimulating, narcotic, euphoric, and hallucinogenic.

It took a large population of cannabis users in OTL to demand specific effects from their cannabis, which drove the production of different strains by different breeders. The Five Rivers will never have a market like India or parts of Asia (or possibly even Europe; see below) where the consumer base would notice the difference between different strains, and develop their preferences for certain strains.

One keystone moment in cannabis breeding history, is the cross-breeding of the Cannabis sativa varieties that are found across Asia and Africa, with the Cannabis indica varieties that are native specifically to the northern Indian subcontinent, and grow readily in areas with monsoons, and up in the Himalayan heights as well, so as a species they are generally robust and hardy. Indica varieties also make for the most productice cannabis crops due to the density of their flowers (and there are techniques to increase that as well). Here's something on one of the indica landraces "Hindu Kush", named such because of it's origin from around that mountain range.

I think the Nuttana are the only Aururians who would have traveled to distant corners of India and also sourced some local cannabis in the process, which they would, once they witness the potency of these cannabis varieties, given that these varieties were used for hashish production.

With the ability to hybridize indica with sativaa varieties (possibly already bred for higher potency) and produce a product that combines the energizing, anxiolytic, and analgesic effects all in one variety of cannabis. I think the Atherton tablelands would be particularly suited to both the cultivation of indica cannabis in general and could readily be used to grow hybridized strains. As well as being suited to agriculture in general.

And additionally, the Nuttana tradition and flair for branding their products, there's no doubt they would brand their particular strains of cannabis. I think that even Europeans wouldn't be able to resist a product at that level of refinement. The Nuttana could produce strains with different effects and market them for different purposes, i.e. for energy, for sleep, for pain etc. and given its own name. From the Middle East, to Europe, to Asia, the Nuttana can create a following for their own brand goods since no one else will be doing the same thing, leaving little competition for this brand recognition.

Likewise, curing is not a Nuttana monopoly. The Five Rivers took up curing techniques for kunduri long before the Nuttana had even been founded, and were adapting those techniques to smoking variants of kunduri from the late 1630s onward. Similar would apply to packing techniques, and the Five Rivers have an established land and river-based transportation network which can reach the majority of the Aururian population.

Curing cannabis focuses on maintaining the integrity of psychoactive components, and preservation of volatile aromatic compounds. The decarboxylation of THC is also part of the purpose, but smoking cannabis decarboxylates it with direct combustion. To make it orally usable, the THC needs to be decarboxylated to make it usable for cannabis-infused foods. Kunduri, being the most prominent drug cultivated in Aururia for history, does not require the same sort of curing, but certain techniques can transfer.

The Nuttana, I believe, will have an edge in packaging because they can copy techniques used to preserve certain perishable goods like tea, and develop packaging that can preserve the freshness of cannabis in trips half-way across the world. The Chinese used packaging of glass, metal, ceramic, china, and more, which the Nuttana can take inspiration from.

The Five Rivers won't have as much of a long-distance market and would never need to develop packaging of that level. And these same sort of packagings can be iterated on so that they can be made simpler so that a lot more cannabis can be processed and packaged industrially, with the construction of packaging itself representing an ancillary industry possibly if not done in the same factories.

The same would be equally true of the Five Rivers, and it is the Five Rivers who have a long history of producing aromatically-flavoured drugs. I'm not seeing any particular advantage for the Nuttana here.

The bigger constraint, I would argue, is not the knowledge itself, but the incentive. I don't think the Five Rivers markets for cannabis would be large and varied enough for the incentive for too much experimentation with the aromatic profiles of cannabis.

The Five Rivers and Durigal could easily do the same in developing premium versions. The particular landraces would not be the same as the Nuttana versions (dfferent microclimates etc), but the techniques to develop their own versions exist amongst both peoples

.

I don't doubt that some landrace strains would develop and take hold in Durigal and Five Rivers, but I think they are very likely to end up cultivating those particular strains in the particular regions of their provenance rather than experimenting with different strains with different effects like the Nuttana can. Also that they won't be easily getting their hands on indica cannabis, making them unable to produce hybrid varieties.

The Dutch and English trading companies are searching for anything which can be usefully traded into Aururia. They tried both European and Asian goods early on - the instructions for the early exploration of Aururia ITTL were adapted with only minor changes from instructions given in OTL, and that included a wide array of goods, not just from Europe. While it's certainly possible that the Europeans miss early cannabis, they will probably notice as soon as the Nuttana start trading it. And the Nuttana trading would probably begin before they had really highly-selected premium cannabis (they wouldn't put that effort in unless they'd seen some returns from lower-grade versions).

The Nuttana wouldn't find too much profits in lower-grade cannabis, since that market was cornered by locally-grown cannabis, and the premium cannabis product market was usually occupied by hashish. The Nuttana would notice the steeper profit margins in selling a more potent product like hashish, but notice the waste of materials that go into the production of hashish, since the hashish is only the trichomes of the flowers, and the plant material is discarded. The Nuttana would notice, after coming across certain cannabis strains that are potent naturally given the environment of their provenance, and that they can just breed a stronger cannabis and not have to discard so much material. Hashish was also a way to make a potent product out of weak cannabis (which was most cannabis) by concentrating it, which the Nuttana wouldn't need to if they have a potent cannabis to begin with.

Even if the Europeans miss it themselves, the Tjibarri would certainly ask if they had any way to obtain it. And the European trading companies could obtain it, from India or elsewhere

.

The Europeans wouldn't care so much for the selective-breeding of cannabis, and if they notice that Aururians are demanding potent psychoactive cannabis, they're more likely to just sell them hashish from India or the Middle East.

I can certainly see the Nuttana selling a premium version into Asia. The elite market there is large enough in absolute terms to be worthwhile. (The elite market in Aururia, not so much, especially since Durigal or the Five Rivers could easily produce their own premium version within a relatively short timeframe.)

I can see the Nuttana maintaining a stronghold in any cannabis market based on the strength of their marketing acumen alone, with the branding that they can give their cannabis, I don't doubt that Aururian consumers of premium cannabis would hold high preferences for Nuttana cannabis.

There is some tradition of that amongst the Yadji, which was co-opted for death warriors but which existed before that. To a lesser degree also amongst the Atjuntja subject peoples, though not so much the Atjuntja themselves.

Would Plirites use it religiously, perhaps for their meditations and rituals?

 

[mojojojo]

I hope you don't mind me asking about your other proposed Australian centric TL
I just came across this on the speculative evolution board
http://s1.zetaboards.com/Conceptual_Evolution/single/?p=3113821&t=8163032
is this what you have in mind for That Humongous Strength ?

 

[Jared]

Lands of Red and Gold Interlude #14: The Twelve Days of Bunya

In the tradition of Lands of Red and Gold holiday specials, this is a glimpse of how an important time will be seen through the mists of allohistory.

* * *

2 April 1913
Cumberland [Geelong, Victoria]

Clements clears his throat. “And that, then, is the tale of the Divine War.”

“A shorter tale than many of those you have told,” Ashkettle observes. “That of the great crusades stretched much longer, for instance.”

“My involvement in the crusades was much more active than in the Divine War. I served in the former, albeit as herald rather than bearing arms. With the later war, I lived through it, but I did not serve in it.” Clements shrugs. “Besides which, I find that the older I get, the less I remember of more recent times. I remember Yigutji, the early Nuttana and the founding of the Dominion much better than events which happened a century more recently.”

“An intriguing truth,” Ashkettle says. Not the main question worth pursuing right now, but doubtless the intronoids [psychologists / psychiatrists] would be intrigued to learn more about how memory worked in a man who has lived through centuries. He will not let it distract from the more important story, and Clements will never discuss the facts with another, but he will follow up that point later if an opportunity arises.

“Before we move on, I have had lunch prepared.” He gestures to the kitchen, where the cook he engaged has been busy making sure that the smell of roast noroon [emu] wafts through the house.

“Hard not to notice,” Clements says dryly. “A pity you forgot what day it is today.”

“Wednesday,” Ashkettle says.

“Not even a Durigalese should forget what today is,” Clements says, nodding his head. “This is the first day of Miroonga. No meat is to be eaten, in honour of peace and goodwill to all men.”

“A Christian phrasing for a distinctly non-Christian celebration.”

“This is not a matter of Plirite or Christian, or even those of other beliefs. This is the time of the bunya nuts. A sacred time of peace and gathering.”

“So many have said to me, many times over the years. It has never meant much to me. I prefer to remember which Christian ceremonies I am not following, not to worry about which non-Christian ceremonies I am not following.”

“As may be.” Clement shrugs. “I follow this one. As all amongst Durigal did, the first time I visited this land. Bunya time is not a Plirite belief, no matter how widespread the mistaken belief in today’s world that it is the Plirite version of Easter. This celebration was widespread in all of the lands of the Watjubagan Empire, before the time of the Good Man. The Watjubagans spread it everywhere they ruled, though even they did not invent it.”

“What would you like to eat today, then?”

“Anything not of meat, as I said. For preference, nutmeat marinated in river mint and bird-peppers, but anything which had no blood is acceptable.”

“I will speak to the cook,” Ashkettle says, and he rises.

* * *

From: “Oldest Cuisine In The World: An Introduction to Aururian Vegetarian Cooking”

Introduction

Aururia possesses the oldest vegetarian tradition on the face of the globe, a truth disregarded by too many modern culinary authors across the globe. This humble work seeks to correct that misconception, by providing a true history of the various Aururian vegetarian traditions, their later fusion, and giving guidance on how to cook Aururian vegetarian meals.

The beginning of Aururian vegetarian cuisine, and the oldest meat substitute in the world, is the quandong nut. While early European visitors to Aururia commented more on the flesh of quandong fruit, both fresh and dried, in ancient Aururian tradition the quandong nut was the most valuable part. The quandong nut is about five-twelfths of the total weight of the fruit, large by the standards of most fruit, and is both tasty and nutritious.

The hunter-gatherer forebears of Aururians recognised many millennia ago that quandong nut provided an excellent nutritional substitute for meat. Their ancient tradition was to collect the nuts from wild quandongs when available, either from the fruit or after the fruit had decayed, then dry them and keep them for later use. The dried nuts would then be consumed when meat was unavailable. This worked because the early Aururians, who were more attuned to nature than most peoples in the world, had realised that the quandong nut contained essential nutrients in similar proportions to meat.

When Aururians turned to farming, in frontier regions they continued to gather some wild foods alongside cultivated trees, including the quandong tree. The knowledge of quandong nuts was thus preserved together with the lesson that quandong nut could substitute for meat. In time, Aururians domesticated the quandong tree, and thus they had a more reliable supply of quandong nuts as part of their agricultural cuisine.

Aururian chefs identified the useful culinary properties of the nut. Its dried meat can be roasted to create an earthy, almond-like flavour. Better still, when soaked and ground into a paste it can be augmented with a wide variety of other flavours, such as Aururian spices like sweet pepper, white ginger and lemon verbena. Sometimes, they pressed the dried quandongs to release their oil for use in cooking, and flavoured the remaining nutmeal as part of their cuisine...

While quandong nut was the founding element of Aururian vegetarianism, its true gain in prominence came with the introduction of the bunya tree. The bunya is native to a few small pockets of forest in the mountains of north-eastern Aururia, where it played a key role in celebrations and social gatherings since time immemorial. The bunya tree was carried across most of the continent (except Teegal), and its veneration spread with it.

The bunya tree fruits at irregular times, not just the same time of year, and not always in every year. When it does fruit, it produces numerous very large cones (up to 10 kg) full of edible nuts. Since the earliest days of recorded history, and presumably much earlier, the time when the bunya fruits became a time for celebration, for coming together from many regions, and a time of peace where violence was abhorred.

The sacred time of the bunya meant that in time it became viewed as important to abstain from all violence, including the killing of animals for food. Feasting was still encouraged, but not consumption of meat. In an era before farming, the abundance of the bunya nut itself was sufficient to sustain the gatherings, but this did not suffice in the time of agriculture. Other foods were needed, too. This became the origin of Aururian vegetarianism, foods which could be properly consumed during the time that the bunya fruited.

Because the bunya fruited so unpredictably, Aururians needed to have foods ready which could be consumed during the sacred time. Quandong nuts served as the core of that prepared food, since the dried nuts could be stored for half a dozen years or longer. More, being both nutritious and easily infused with many flavours, it permitted a broad range of vegetarian cuisine to be constructed around it.

In Gulibaga, the nation which gave rise to the later Watjubagan Empire, a tradition developed to standardise the time when the bunya celebrations should be conducted. The irregularity the bunya fruiting was deemed unsuitable, since it could vary in different parts of the realm, and in some years it did not happen at all. So the monarchs of Gulibaga settled on the second cycle of the year [1] as the time for celebration. (This twelve-day period corresponds to 2 – 13 April in the Gregorian calendar).

This time was chosen because it was just after when the bunyas most usually fruited near the capital of Gulibaga [2], and allowed for the bunya nuts to be gathered together with the other foods and then turned into a time of celebration. It also avoided having to miss the celebrations and waste prepared food in years when the bunyas did not fruit. In Gulibaga, the second cycle of the calendar was renamed as the Cycle of Bunya Nuts, and the time of celebration itself was called Miroonga.

When Gulibaga became Watjubaga and expanded into an empire, the tradition of celebrating Miroonga spread with it...

With the spread of a standardised time for Miroonga, the predictability led to a more diverse, substantial development of vegetarian cuisine. This was augmented by a widespread, though far from universal, tradition which developed in the Five Rivers of consuming no meat on the last evening of each cycle, to inaugurate each change of the cycle with the hope of peace and good fortune for the cycle to come.

Together with the consumption of quandong nuts and bunya nuts, Aururian vegetarians turned to another delicious form of meat substitute: fungi. They developed the arts of cultivating or encouraging wild growth of many species of mushrooms and other fungi. By one count modern Aururian fungiculture uses over sixty varieties of fungi derived from at least twenty different species. Aururians have long learned how to cultivate fungi using a variety of locations, timber, manure and compost in order to obtain the best flavours.

One of the earliest and most well-known of Aururian cultivated fungi is that of the beefsteak fungus (Fistulina hepatica), as it is known in English; many names are employed across Aururia. This is a species of fungus which grows on wounds in trees, and has a remarkable resemblance to a slab of meat, in both its red colour and its texture. It even produces a red juice resembling blood when it is cut.

Beefsteak fungus had long been harvested by Aururians, as indeed it had been around much of the world, where it is widely distributed. But by fortunate coincidence, the time of Miroonga coincided with the time when beefsteak fungus was most readily available to be collected on woodland trees. Combined with its tastiness and resemblance to meat sufficient that it was also used as a meat substitute elsewhere in the world, this meant that it was widely gathered in the days leading up to Miroonga and consumed as part of the vegetarian diet during the twelve days.

Aururians learned that with proper management, beefsteak fungus could be encouraged to grow in many wild places where it could be harvested when needed. In its natural state, the beefsteak fungus grew on damaged eucalypts. Where it grew, it also could produce brown rot on the living wood.

Since Aururians had many managed forests, they took to cultivating the fungus on eucalypt plantations intended for charcoal. Two or three years before the forests were scheduled to be cut down, the farmers would cut wounds into eucalypts and seed them with beefsteak fungus. The fungus would grow during the next period, and be harvested just before the trees would be cut down. Since the trees were destined for charcoal, the damage done to them mattered not, and the Aururians had another highly desired option for their vegetarian cuisine.

Beefsteak fungus has a slight tartness, which to English-speaking audiences would be reminiscent of sorrel. It can be consumed in many ways, and Aururian vegetarianism uses all of the possibilities. A few prefer it raw, or served with salt, or sliced into thin strips and fried, or crumbed with cornnart [wattleseed] breadcrumbs...

Another major element of Aururian vegetarian innovation, and one of the more widely-known around the world, is kohunu. This is a fermented, earthy-tasting cake with a texture similar to meat. Traditional kohunu is made from cornnart grains, though some versions also include other seeds such as purslane, or yam or murnong startch.

Kohunu is made by first grinding the cornnart grains coarsely, soaking the flour, and then partially cooking it to form a thick paste. Once the paste has formed, an acidic preparer is added, traditionally ganyu [yam wine] vinegar, then an instigator [fermentation starter]. The paste is then spread into a thin layer and allowed to ferment for one or two days over mild heat.

The final product is the firm, hearty product which can be used in so many ways in Aururian cooking. Kohunu can be fried, marinated, steamed, or baked and used in a wide variety of dishes. It is in many ways a meat substitute, though some of the ways in which it can be used are distinct from meat. Together with quandong nut, kohunu formed the core of a diverse Aururian vegetarian cuisine...

A product similar to kohunu, usually called tempeh, originated in Java. It is made from fermented soybeans through a similar process to that of kohunu. It is not as well-known as kohunu, but has some uses in vegetarian circles [3]. Most historians have long assumed that the creation of tempeh was inspired by contact with Aururians sometime in the seventeenth century, but recent research indicates that tempeh was known in Java since at least the fourteenth century, and so must have been an independent invention...

Well before European irruption, Aururian vegetarianism was well-established through most of the continent, except for Teegal in the west, the hunter-gatherers of the interior and the northern coast, the north-easternmost farmers, some of the more isolated groups on the east coast, and in southern Thijszenia [Tasmania].

In the Neeburra, amongst the more isolated of north-eastern farmers, although they honoured the bunya, the tradition of vegetarianism during bunya fruiting never developed, and they did not cultivate the quandong. However, with the spread of the word of Tjarrling, the priestly class there adopted a stronger form of vegetarianism. Their dietary rule was that they should on all occasions avoid consuming anything which cut short the life of an animal. This meant that they excluded meat and complete eggs, that is, those eggs produced by a female duck which had been in contact with male ducks and so might have laid fertilised eggs. The only animal product permitted in their diet at any time was incomplete eggs, that is, eggs produced by a female duck which had not been in contact with a drake.

Neeburran ovo-vegetarianism continued even after European irruption, with the only early difference being that dairy products were also excluded as their consumption could still cut short the life of an animal either directly via denying calves milk, or indirectly as long-term consumption of milk requires that male calves die due to the need to produce cows. Chickens were added to ducks as animals which could produce incomplete eggs, but otherwise Tjarrlinghi priestly ovo-vegetarianism continued.

With the formation of the Dominion and its expansion to regions where quandongs were cultivated, Tjarrlinghi ovo-vegetarianism fused with quandong vegetarianism, producing an expanded cuisine which is the genesis of modern Aururian vegetarianism...

* * *

Taken from Intellipedia.

Nutmeat

Nutmeat is the name for the dried kernel of the quandong or peachnut (Santalum acuminatum). Nutmeat is widely used as a meat analogue in vegetarian cuisine around the world, particularly in Aururia and southern Africa. It is rich with both macronutrients and micronutrients.

Etymology

Nutmeat was how a nameless Gunnagal in Jugara [Victor Harbor] chose to translate the name of the quandong nut flesh, when asked about it by an early English visitor. Despite being neither nut nor meat, the name has endured.

Culinary Uses

Nutmeat can be used in similar culinary contexts to many other common meat analogues, particularly marinated, but it also possesses additional qualities [vague- clarify]. Notably, nutmeat can be smoked in a similar fashion to the common Aururian smoked meats; significantly, the flavour of smoked nutmeat was always intended [wordy – correct] to duplicate the flavour of smoked meats.

Nutritional Benefits

Nutmeat contains a great variety [weasel words] of essential nutrients, including many key ones in similar proportions to meat. In macronutrients, it is a rich source of protein, roughage, and essential fatty acids. In micronutrients, it is a strong source of calcium, folic acid, vitamin E, iron, zinc and magnesium. Like all unsupplemented meat substitutes, it is, however, deficient in vitamin B12. However, researchers [who?] have found that Aururian mushrooms, when prepared in the traditional manner, contain nutritionally significant levels of B12 absorbed from manure, and vitamin D created when they are sun-dried.

* * *

1 April 1988 [Good Friday, Western Christian reckoning; Miroonga Eve, Plirite reckoning]
Petropolis, Pembroke [Annapolis, Maryland], Alleghania

Walker did his best to keep a smile on his face. Appearances were important, and while there were currently no customers here in Welcome Wagons, you never knew when someone might come in. Besides, the other staff might notice, and comment. No need to give other people an excuse to gossip.

He heard a thump coming through the ceiling above him. It sounded as if someone had stamped their foot in anger, or perhaps in emphasis.

“Hey, Johnnie. Is something wrong up there?”

Walker turned to see Beam, a fresh-faced teenager in a faded, ill-fitting navy blue suit that had probably belonged to the boy’s father. “Morning, Jim. Didn’t know you were in today.”

“Jameson’s rung in sick.”

“Unlucky him. No, nothing unfortunate happening upstairs. Just business as usual.”

Beam frowned. “Banging on the ground is usual?”

“Of course. The owners are meeting.”

Beam did not reply, but he looked puzzled.

“That’s the boardroom up there. The whole board is up there. Not just this store. The board for the whole chain, every store from Kesteven to St. Augustine.”

Beam continued to look puzzled, and then even more surprised when another thumping sound came through the ceiling. This one sounded more like someone was banging the table.

Was I ever that young? Walker asked himself. He supposed he had been, but it was a very long time ago. “Have you met any of the board?”

“Not spoken to. I’ve seen Mr Wemba here at the store a couple of times, of course.”

Walker looked around the store. No customers were here, and the only other staff members, Haig and Daniels, were outside waiting to meet any strange visitors who felt a burning need to buy a wagon [car] on Good Friday.

“Take a seat, Jim.” When the younger man did so, Walker said, “The board are all Gunnagal.”

“I thought Mr Wemba was a Congxie.”

“Never call him that. He’s Gunnagal, as are all of the other owners.” The sound of raised voices penetrated through the ceiling, but Walker ignored it and kept speaking. “Why else do you think that the dealership is open today?”

Beam said, “I did wonder. Strange day to be open.”

“Easter means nothing to a Gunnagal. So of course they will open the store, for fear of missing out on possible sales.”

“But I have tomorrow off, when I usually work Saturdays. Why would they do that if they ignore Easter?”

The voices in the boardroom above were now raised far enough that they could only be called shouting, but Walker heard them merely as background. “Tomorrow is the first day of Miroonga, lad. A Gunnagal is always going to close their store then, and give everyone the day off.”

“Miroonga? Isn’t that like the Congxie version of Easter?”

Oh, you still have so much to learn, lad. “A lot of Congxie say that, but it’s just because Miroonga happens near the same time as Easter. It’s not the same thing at all. Much like, oh, Chanukah is sometimes thought of as being like the Jewish version of Christmas, even though it has nothing to do with it, just that it can happen around the same time.”

Above them, a louder thump came, as if someone had banged both hands on the table.

“What does Miroonga mean?”

“A time of peace and giving up meat. Anyway, the owners are Gunnagal. They’re not like Congxie, who understand how Alleghanians work, even if they sometimes dislike us. Gunnagal see the world differently, and always have.”

Two people were now shouting extremely loud, right above them. Enough to make out the words, except that these were in Gunnagal, a language in which Walker could only say please, thank you and that is my best price.

Walker gestured upwards. “And that is another example of what I meant.”

“Sounds as if they’re going to kill each other,” Beam said. “Or break up the cooperative.”

“Hardly. Wait and see.”

They remained seated, talking about inconsequential matters. Above them, a variety of thumps, raised voices, and apparent heated arguments continued for a while longer.

In time, the cacophony stopped, and then the board members began to appear in ones and twos, climbing down the stairs. They smiled and chatted amongst themselves as they waited down at the bottom of the stairs. One of them made a comment that set all of the others to laughing.

Mr Wemba came down last. He went to each of the seven other board members in turn, clasping their right hand with his own, while with their other hands the two men patted each other on the back. With each farewell, they exchanged comments. Most of those were in Gunnagal, but the final board member spoke in English. “Good meeting.”

With a few more smiling farewells, the seven other board members made their way out of the dealership.

When Wemba had gone to the front of the store, safely out of hearing range, Beam said, “Did I just see that? It sounded like they trying to kill each other, and then they walk out calling it a good meeting!”

“They are Gunnagal,” Walker said. “It’s how they are.”

* * *

[1] The Gunnagalic calendar divides the year into thirty cycles of 12 days each, together with some intercalary days at the end of the year.

[2] The bunya trees usually fruit from January to March in these lands, although with considerable variation.

[3] Historically, tempeh originated in Java and was originally made from soybeans, but could also include other elements such as coconut, peanuts or cassava. More recent efforts have also made a similar product to tempeh using grains such as barley or oats.

* * *

Thoughts?


Upcoming post notes

Lands of Red and Gold #113: With Fire and Blood

Hunter’s conquest of Daluming and east coast – negotiations with EIC and VOC – embargo of Five Rivers – response of Pinjarra

Lands of Red and Gold #114: The Time of Harmony

Hunter’s pause of crusades – development of internal Dominion governmental structures – establishment of Dominion law (cf canon law, traditional Confucian law) – further diplomacy

Lands of Red and Gold #115: [Title to be decided]

Diplomatic correspondence between Durigal, Tjibarr and Gutjanal – tour of Gutjanal porcelain works – view of the Goweerup school of Plirism – negotiations between Tiyanjara and French EIC

Lands of Red and Gold #116: For the Six Lords

Declaration of resumed crusade against northern Kiyungu and Nuttana – invasion of central QLD coast – sack of *Townsville – siege of *Cairns

Lands of Red and Gold #117: Answers for Tjuwagga

Invasion of Tjibarr – capture of Pinjarra – exploration of governance – sack of *Robinvale – exploration of terms

Lands of Red and Gold #118: [Title to be determined]

Yadji alliance with the Hunter – invasion of Tjibarr and Gutjanal – activation of Gutjanal and Yigutji alliance – mobilisation of Five Rivers armies – Tiyanjara declaration of war

Lands of Red and Gold #119: What Becomes of Dominion

 

[Enigmajones]

Great update, interesting as always.

 

[Dominic]

You should write a cookbook Jared.

Very keen for the full Hunter sequence. Any hard dates yet? Here's hoping they're ready for the WA school holidays.

 

[mojojojo]

“Not even a Durigalese should forget what today is,”

refresh my memory, just what is a Durigalese?

Chickens were added to ducks as animals which could produce incomplete eggs

Why not goose or emu eggs?

Beam said, “Did I just see that? It sounded like they trying to kill each other, and then they walk out calling it a good meeting!”

So just what was going on upstairs?

 

[Jared]

You should write a cookbook Jared.

A cookbook full of recipes which can't be made - quite tempting, actually.

Very keen for the full Hunter sequence. Any hard dates yet? Here's hoping they're ready for the WA school holidays.

No hard date for the publication of the Hunter sequence. The sequence itself is written (except for one additional idea I had which I will work in), but the problem is that events will be almost impossible to follow without supporting maps. Maps are in the works, but no date as yet.

refresh my memory, just what is a Durigalese?

A resident of Durigal. Durigal is the old name which the Yadji have for the land they rule. The borders of modern Durigal may not correspond exactly to the old Yadji borders, of course.

Why not goose or emu eggs?

Emus won't lay eggs unless there's a male around. Domesticated geese have not made it to the regions where the Tjarrlinghi lived at this time.

So just what was going on upstairs?

Just what it said - a board meeting. Gunnagal tend to have a rather emphatic approach to debating issues, including business strategy.

 

[Mark-ITSOT]

How space filling does The Hunter's empire get? And will it be divided between his sons at his death?

 

[Mark-ITSOT]

Is Poland under any threat from the Hunter's horde?

 

[PlotVitalNPC]

A cookbook full of recipes which can't be made - quite tempting, actually.

Hey, some of the things in the cookbook could at least be mostly replicated.
More with a few substitutions.

 

[mojojojo]

What is the origin of the word intronoids ?

 

[Jared]

How space filling does The Hunter's empire get? And will it be divided between his sons at his death?

The Hunter's two eldest sons take the names Space and Filling (translations, of course), and rule jointly to create the Space-Filling Empire.

No, seriously, that will be covered through the course of the chapters, when they get published. As may have been noted through the first chapters on the Neeburra, succession tends to fall to the strongest rather than through hereditary succession.

Is Poland under any threat from the Hunter's horde?

Only if Russia falls first.

Hey, some of the things in the cookbook could at least be mostly replicated.
More with a few substitutions.

Well, most of the recipes have actually gone the other way, where I've taken an OTL recipe and modified it somewhat based on how I thought it might develop ATL.

What is the origin of the word intronoids ?

From a mangled version of intro- ("looking within") and nous-> noid ("mind"). Roughly speaking, "those who look within the mind". Intro is Latin and nous was originally Greek, but was assimilated into Latin as in OTL, which led to the derivation of "paranoid".

 

[Cochlea]

I had written up most of this reply a while back and was sitting on it until the site updated and it all dissipated into the ether... Only got the time to rewrite it now, and I'm sure I'm forgetting to include a lot of what I had included earlier.

Aururians have extensive, detailed knowledge and practical application of agroforestry, and have had for a long time. This includes things such as companion planting, using wattles at the edge of fields both as windbreaks and as habitat for small birds who control insect pests (or with a few trees in larger fields for the same effect), using wattles in rotation to replenish the soil, using wattle pods (very high nitrogen content) to feed to emus to produce even more effecive manure, using mulching techniques from wattle products, etc.

It makes sense that Aururian agriculture would have basically started out based on principles of agroforestry because the aboriginals of OTL practiced serious ecological management, including controlling forests and food trees, which we now have termed ecosystem management even though this was very ancient knowledge.

This would translate directly to to the utilization of all sorts of trees directly on farms, be they for food, timber, mulch, or other practical uses like windbreaks or soil maintenance.

Agroforestry can also replenish the soil, and prevent damage from rains, floods etc. It also makes agriculture possible on marginal lands.

Another advantage that agroforestry brings is providing a habitat for synanthropic animals such as birds and the like which would control pests and provide other benefits.

In fact it'd be interesting to connect a previous idea of koalas being raised on enclosures with agroforestry. If Aururian agroforests contain enough eucalypt trees, koalas could easily be raised by farmers, and over time koalas could be more accustomed to human contact. Perhaps koalas would even become as used to living indoors as on the trees if farmers build shelters for them.

Speaking of manure, I've heard of an effective fertilizer from India composed of fertilized gramflour and cow dung. Perhaps Aururians could come up with a similar product with fermented wattleseed, wattlepods, emu droppings, and cow dung.

There are specific acacia species I've heard of that are incredibly effective in agroforestry since they produce great mulch and good wood, such as the earleaf wattle (would only be available to the Nuttana though). So undoubtedly I would imagine a ton of non-food wattles would be a fixture on farms for mulch, wood, and other purposes. There are likely a lot more fertilizer trees around Aururia.

They use a variety of other trees for fruit, timber, aromatics, and so forth. One especially important technique is that the various sandalwood trees - both aromatic sandalwood and quandong, which is a non-aromatic variety - are root parasites and need to be grown near host trees for best growth. Acacias are the usual host tree of choice, although occasionally others are also maintained for that purpose.

Another advantage of agroforestry is that it would allow for rapid domestication of tree species as well as selective breeding, since more (most?) farmers would be able to essentially grow any trees they want and the selective breeding of species would be widespread.

I would imagine that basically any and all fruit-bearing trees would over time be bred into many varieties with different properties to the fruits. Same with lumber trees, and trees of any value.

Australian cotton can be - and is, to a lesser degree - also very easily grown further south in the lands of the ATL Five Rivers, along the Darling, Lachlan and Murumbidgee. At this point, while the Tjarrlinghi have not entirely given up agriculture, they are not really the best-placed to start up the sort of major irrigation works and mass cultivation which would be needed to start a textile-driven industrial revolution. The Five Rivers, in contrast, have both the irrigation expertise and the agricultural manpower needed to mass cultivate cotton, if they put their minds to it. (I doubt that they will, for reasons which I don't want to go into until Act III.)

Another option for cotton mass-cultivation that can support industry elsewhere is Durigal. The Yadji would also have the long-standing trade connections with the Nuttana on top of that.

As for the Tjarrlinghi, the areas where modern OTL Australian cotton production happens in interior Queensland would indeed be a poor choice to set up mass cultivation. I imagine they would look towards the littoral for that, that area sees enough rainfall for cotton cultivation.

But if the Yadji take up the mantle of prime cotton producer of Aururia, the Tjarrlinghi may not be able to compete even when they're able to take up mass-cultivation of cotton themselves.

If the Nuttana are relying on cotton for textile production, they would be best-placed by doing what Britain started, buying it from India. It's possible that the Tjarrlinghi will evolve into a form which allows mass production of cultivation in a century or so, but not in the short term.

Unless the Yadji take up cotton, I do think India is the only viable short-term choice. But the allure of the Yadji becoming the source of cotton would be their (as of yet) economic freedom from the British, which would be attractive to the Nuttana as well. Obviously whether it would be the best long-term solution isn't clear this point in the TL.

That said, having dug around a bit more I remembered that there are two areas of coffee production in modern Australia. There's the tropical production, which is basically in Nuttana lands (far north Queensland). But there's also subtropical coffee production, stretching from Noosa to Coffs Harbour. Or in ATL terms, from the Kiyungu lands to Daluming. This land is used for spice production ATL, but they have plenty of spare land. They can also grow sugar cane, but the Nuttana aren't sharing the plants and it's not as easy for them to import sugar cane. It would be entertaining if this land became a bigger source of coffee production ATL.

Coffee would make an interesting addition to Tjarrlinghi exports once they start making their newfound empire economically viable.

Speaking of coffee, do you know of kurrajong? It has a higher caffeine content than coffee and the beans can be roasted to make a substitute to coffee. Didn't find much information as per taste, but on the face of it seems like it would be perfect as the Aururian answer to coffee. No doubt it would have been cultivated and bred to be used as coffee was, didn't look too deeply into the species provenance and which specfic ones have caffeinated beans, so can't say much as to who would cultivate it first. But if someone did, no doubt the crop would have spread around.

Not major ones which are wholly mendicant. The idea of charity is an established part of Plirism - the fith path on the Sevenfold path - but it usually operates via a different method. Traditionally the temples support the poor in the community and rely in turn on donations from others to perform their work. This is not a monastic model, but it's not exactly a mendicant one etither - the temples preach to others, receive donations and then pass on those donations to the poor, keeping a little to support themselves. But they do have a fixed temple where they are based.

Does Plirism have something like zakat, then? Like, say, a temple asking for a sum of money, not necessarily a charitable contribution but perhaps more like a tax, regularly from those followers with the wealth to provide, and using said money to perform charity for the poor / needy, and using part of that money for the upkeep of the temple etc.?

Also, since Plirites allow priests to marry, what do they say about priests having an additional income apart from their work in the temple? Say, if a priest devotes time to a trade or perhaps if they have a talent like art they work for commision?

There is a small Plirite sect surviving in Gutjanal whose members have mendicant missions, where they go out to preach and guide the people and rely on alms when they do so, but they do have a home base where they live the rest of the time, so they aren't wholly mendicant either.

Do any of the other Plirite sects do missions like these sending priests out to proselytize? That seems like it would be the bread and butter of the Nangu / Nuttana schools and how they would have operated throughout their history.

Lands of Red and Gold Interlude #14: The Twelve Days of Bunya

Very interesting, out of laziness I'll just throw out my comments, sorry!

"Oldest Cuisine" sounds only half-accurate for this TL, depending on the assumptions whoever says that makes. I'll just assume it's just what Aururian nationalists (or nationalists from Aururia) would say about their cuisine. Kinda like how Indian nationalists hilariously contend Sanskrit as the oldest language!

What's the background to Gunnagalese operating an auto-dealership in North America, were these immigrants? Them running their business as a cooperative was also interesting, what's the reason behind that?

Very keen for the full Hunter sequence. Any hard dates yet? Here's hoping they're ready for the WA school holidays.

Yeah, that's basically my fault. Life caught up with me as I was finishing up with uni and now dealing with both an internship and going to college for a technical degree. I'm working on them every chance I get.

So far I'm also looking to include more information than any previous map thus far, such as depicting known non-state entities such as tribes and city-states etc. because Aururia obviously isn't uninhabited outside of the major states, and there would undoubtedly be political connections between all of these peoples, so that can also be shown.

e: By "known" I meant those with contact with Aururian civilization, not e.g. uncontacted tribes in the Red Heart / Outback

How space filling does The Hunter's empire get? And will it be divided between his sons at his death?

Aside from what Jared said, I can tell you that it might surpass every other Aururian state in territory, and even that isn't spoiling much because many of our favourite Aururian players have also grown a bit since the last time you saw them on a map.

But that should be kinda obvious, a horde on horseback united under a charismatic leader tend to cover quite a bit of ground in the ol' conquering game.

 

[Jared]

It makes sense that Aururian agriculture would have basically started out based on principles of agroforestry because the aboriginals of OTL practiced serious ecological management, including controlling forests and food trees, which we now have termed ecosystem management even though this was very ancient knowledge.

Quite. Their elaborate systems of land management were mostly misunderstood by Europeans, who were much more familiar with (their own) traditional farming techniques. Hence they missed entire systems when the Aboriginal peoples managed the land and even transferred plants over vast distances to establish them into the ecosystem and then harvest them for food.

One recent discovery (for Europeans, obviously the Aborigines already knew) was about a plant with the common name of black bean. This is native only to a small region of far north Queensland, in the Cape York peninsula. But it turns up in odd places, mountain tops and the like, much further south, in high rainfall regions where it would grow, but where there was no obvious way to get there. Animals don't distribute the seeds, and while possibly they can be carried by water, the black bean shows up in mountain regions where there's no way that would have worked.

Genetic testing confirmed that the black beans in New South Wales (far from Queensland) were genetically similar - almost identical - and had been distributed by human activity. Based on this, European researchers spoke to Aboriginal elders (they could have just asked them in the first place, but I digress) who confirmed that the seeds had been deliberately traded and passed across vast regions so that the plants could later be harvested.

Whether that counts as farming or not is a matter of definition, but it certainly counts as intensive land management for food purposes. (See link here for details.)

In fact it'd be interesting to connect a previous idea of koalas being raised on enclosures with agroforestry. If Aururian agroforests contain enough eucalypt trees, koalas could easily be raised by farmers, and over time koalas could be more accustomed to human contact. Perhaps koalas would even become as used to living indoors as on the trees if farmers build shelters for them.

I figured that the more usual animal would be common brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula). These habituate to human contact very well, as is demonstrated where they thrive in cities today, and have a much more versatile diet than koalas. They can be used for similar purposes (fur, hides, meat) and really only need provision of a few nest boxes to allow them to become widespread.

Speaking of manure, I've heard of an effective fertilizer from India composed of fertilized gramflour and cow dung. Perhaps Aururians could come up with a similar product with fermented wattleseed, wattlepods, emu droppings, and cow dung.

There are specific acacia species I've heard of that are incredibly effective in agroforestry since they produce great mulch and good wood, such as the earleaf wattle (would only be available to the Nuttana though). So undoubtedly I would imagine a ton of non-food wattles would be a fixture on farms for mulch, wood, and other purposes. There are likely a lot more fertilizer trees around Aururia.

I don't know whether that specific Indian fertiliser would be adaptable to Aururian conditions, but certainly Aururians use a wide variety of effective fertilisers by the combination of ducks/emus and wattles (leaves, bark, pods, wattleseeds).

I'm not sure whether they would need so many non-food Acacias - though it's not impossible - since plenty of the edible ones also provide good mulch, timber and the like. There's also other kinds of trees such as Casuarinas which fertilise the soil too and which give excellent timber.

Another option for cotton mass-cultivation that can support industry elsewhere is Durigal. The Yadji would also have the long-standing trade connections with the Nuttana on top of that.

As for the Tjarrlinghi, the areas where modern OTL Australian cotton production happens in interior Queensland would indeed be a poor choice to set up mass cultivation. I imagine they would look towards the littoral for that, that area sees enough rainfall for cotton cultivation.

But if the Yadji take up the mantle of prime cotton producer of Aururia, the Tjarrlinghi may not be able to compete even when they're able to take up mass-cultivation of cotton themselves.

Durigal is too far south to be useful for cotton production. Here is a map of where cotton is grown in OTL; as shown there, it's only a small part of northern Victoria where it's possible, and that's part of the Five Rivers ITTL. Even that takes short-staple cotton and the cotton gin to be possible, which is not instantly available at this point ITTL. Plus the equivalent of several human generations of careful selective breeding of short-staple cotton varieties which can be grown in northernmost Victoria (the growing range has been gradually extended further south within Australia over the decades due to intensive selective breeding).

I think that the best bet for the Nuttana would be either imported Indian cotton, and/or cultivation of long-staple cotton in suitable areas. Long-staple cotton is a much more tropical crop, so required locations would be along the coast of the northern Tjarrlinghi domains, possibly some of the northern Kiyungu, and maybe some tropical Pacific islands (I'd have to check whether the rainfall is too high).

Speaking of coffee, do you know of kurrajong? It has a higher caffeine content than coffee and the beans can be roasted to make a substitute to coffee. Didn't find much information as per taste, but on the face of it seems like it would be perfect as the Aururian answer to coffee. No doubt it would have been cultivated and bred to be used as coffee was, didn't look too deeply into the species provenance and which specfic ones have caffeinated beans, so can't say much as to who would cultivate it first. But if someone did, no doubt the crop would have spread around.

I did look at some species of kurrajong, mostly the Illawarra flame tree (Brachychiton acerifolius). I figured that they would not make good staple crops because they are finicky to grow, irregular when flowering, yield lower than wattles, are more water-intensive, and the prickly hairs on the seeds are a pain to deal with (literally).

However, I hadn't explored the caffeine angle in detail. If it has caffeine, the best species would be Brachychiton populneus. This is found across wide areas of eastern Australia, including the semi-arid regions of the Five Rivers, which would allow for early cultivation. It is much more drought-tolerant than some other kurrajongs, having the ability to store water in its trunk and taproot, and the seeds also stay on the tree for a long time (sometimes until next year), marking harvesting easy provided that birds can be kept from eating the seeds. It is on record as being used as a coffee supplement by early Europeans, but I haven't yet been able to confirm whether this species has caffeine in its seeds.

Does Plirism have something like zakat, then? Like, say, a temple asking for a sum of money, not necessarily a charitable contribution but perhaps more like a tax, regularly from those followers with the wealth to provide, and using said money to perform charity for the poor / needy, and using part of that money for the upkeep of the temple etc.?

Charity is an explicit part of Plirism (the fifth path). It's expected that all Plirites (except the destitute) will donate part of their income to others. In most Plirite societies, that means going to the temples who in turn will support others. Some schools distinguish between donations for the needy and donations for the temple itself. In the Nangu school, there is a set formula of one-twelfth of income to be donated as charity. Other Plirite schools encourage charity but do not have a set percentage.

This is not as explicit or organised as zakat, but does function similarly in some respects.

Also, since Plirites allow priests to marry, what do they say about priests having an additional income apart from their work in the temple? Say, if a priest devotes time to a trade or perhaps if they have a talent like art they work for commision?

No explicit rule forbidding it in most schools, though there may be concerns about a priest who has spent too much time on private work and not enough on their main religious duties.

Do any of the other Plirite sects do missions like these sending priests out to proselytize? That seems like it would be the bread and butter of the Nangu / Nuttana schools and how they would have operated throughout their history.

Yes, most Plirite schools send out priests to proselytise in one form or another. Except for the Yadilli, because living in Durigal has had the dangers of that drummed into them.

The question is how these priests support themselves while preaching to new schools. The Nangu often support the priest directly as a link to a trade mission, and once a small community of believers is established then the priests are supported locally. Other schools are less systematic about it.

"Oldest Cuisine" sounds only half-accurate for this TL, depending on the assumptions whoever says that makes. I'll just assume it's just what Aururian nationalists (or nationalists from Aururia) would say about their cuisine. Kinda like how Indian nationalists hilariously contend Sanskrit as the oldest language!

As with many such things, it's a question of how things are defined. The use of quandong nut as an explicit meat substitute probably is the oldest meat substitute in the world, having been a practice in central Australia for thousands if not tens of thousands of years. On the other hand, it didn't become part of an explicit vegetarian tradition until what's probably after when Indian vegetarianism started (the bunya tree started spreading around 800 BC, and Indian vegetarianism is probably older than that).

What's the background to Gunnagalese operating an auto-dealership in North America, were these immigrants? Them running their business as a cooperative was also interesting, what's the reason behind that?

The nature of the business being structured as it was is linked to the broader ideological context of the ATL twentieth century. I can't be more specific than that or for the reasons they were in North America without too many spoilers for Act III.

As a side-note, for Gunnagal that is the ethnic term. (It's not the name of a country). It gets confusing with, say, Durigalese, because Durigal is the name of the country and so Durigalese has been coined by English-speakers for the name of citizens of the country as a whole. (Junditmara would be one ethnicity within Durigal).

Aside from what Jared said, I can tell you that it might surpass every other Aururian state in territory, and even that isn't spoiling much because many of our favourite Aururian players have also grown a bit since the last time you saw them on a map.

But that should be kinda obvious, a horde on horseback united under a charismatic leader tend to cover quite a bit of ground in the ol' conquering game.

Indeed. In terms of what's claimed on a map, almost every Aururian state (the Atjuntja, the Yadji, Tjibarr, Yigutji, Gutjanal, Daluming, and now the Dominion) will claim more territory than they actually control. Yadji maps show them controlling territory where they haven't had a presence in over two centuries.

 

[mojojojo]

I hope you don't mind me asking about your other proposed Australian centric TL
I just came across this on the speculative evolution board
http://s1.zetaboards.com/Conceptual_Evolution/single/?p=3113821&t=8163032
is this what you have in mind for That Humongous Strength ?

So any hints about this one?

 

[Dominic]

Jared, have there been any (European) discoveries over the last ten years that have altered how you would have written LoRaG had you known them back in 2008?

 

[Cochlea]

...The Nangu often support the priest directly as a link to a trade mission...

I wanted to quickly mention one idea I had for how Plirism - or specifically the Nangu school of Plirism - could spread to Japan.

The merchant class of Tokugawa Japan would make the perfect vector for Nuttana proselytizing efforts. Read this paper on the state of the merchant class in Tokugawa Japan - they were monetarily richer than the nobility, but in their society they were treated as lower than the aristocracy.

Nangu Plirism is the perfect faith for a merchant. It has religious codes that assure fair trade and the protection of everyones inalienable right (especially in the eyes of mercantile folk) to not get ripped off.

I'd fully expect the disgruntled merchant class to be the people the Nuttana would use to spread Plirism. Merchants could be the first Japanese priests, who would in turn establish Plirite communities all over Japanese port cities and wherever the merchant classes have their holdings. With the money that the Plirite merchants have, they could very easily protect against the aristocracy - after all, they were a budding bourgeoisie, the same class that replaced the aristocrats in the French Revolution.

With the possibility of the Japanese proto-bourgeoisie becoming in large numbers Plirite, and differentiating themselves in by what religious community they belong in - there would be a massive threat to the Japanese aristocracy. It would be open defiance to the aristocracy's use of Buddhist religious institutions in order to control and monitor the populace and extract tax from them, since the Plirite merchants would be supporting their own temples, and pooling their own money together.

I think a Plirite community that emerged and established itself in the merchant class would be more successful than the Christian / Kirishitan community because the Jesuits tried a top down approach, first reach a few lords, and then the masses. As it turns out, it's easy to kill a few lords and keep their descendants from ever making the mistake of converting again. The masses, of course, were most easy to persecute, and were essentially disposable to the Tokugawa inquisitors, and thousands were killed and tortured at their mercy.

The merchant class though, their wealth will insulate them, they will be able to just buy the muscle and the troops that the aristocrats can only gain by feudal levy and through samurai. A Plirite merchant class would deal a real blow to the status of the Japanese aristocratic class, and cause some real social upheaval, since the merchants would remember their treatment under traditional Japanese society, and would now have theological reasons to directly oppose the state of affairs.