'tribal' inspired nation

[HoneyBadger]

By the way, I understand that Machaka is supposedly based on the Zulu, but I'd like to contest that a bit: First of all, the Ashanti (from Ghana--the word "Ghana" means "Warrior-King", by the way--bordering the Ivory Coast, in West Africa, as opposed to KwaZulu-Natal, the home of the Zulu, in South Africa) are the people from whom stories of Anansi (the trickster spider-god) comes from. His father, Nyame, is their chief god. Other stories come from the Gold Coast, and Surinam; where Anansi-Tori (spider stories) are involved in burial rites (the stories are understood to be told *to the Dead*), which seem to tie in to the idea of a spider "death-god".

Zulu mythology, conversely, seems to involve a good deal of sky and nature. They have their own interesting myths and archetypes, including the tiny, fairy-like Abatwa who are very sensitive about their size. Insulting them or stepping on them evokes a death-sentence via poison arrow.

Another being is the draconic Inkanyamba, a terrifying water-serpent-who can also fly on the backs of storm-clouds. Both of these beings seem to have originated with the Bushman culture (The Bushmen worshipped and drew cave-paintings of a water-serpent who was their protector), which has mostly been displaced by the Zulu.

Zulu myth also contains the Intulo, a lizard-man, and omen of death/doom that some people have connected (a bit dubiously, in my opinion) with the "Reptilian Alien" UFO meme.