Wow!
Writing this blog has been quite a rollercoaster. Most of the time it just putters along, read by a few stalwarts. Sometimes, however, it seems to strike a nerve.
The first was back in 2013 after I started, when I began writing about Weird Japan, and how to play in an authentic Japanese game, instead of just D&D in funny hats. I was pleasantly surprised when I started getting double then triple digit reads. The post were eventually taken up on Reddit, and even last week I got invited to speak about Japanese ghosts on a horror podcast.
After that, my work on sociological game design and Japanese D&D both got some attention. Most recently, my Stormbringer Redux series generated a ton of interest, and culminated with an invitation to appear on the Breakfast in the Ruins podcast to discourse with the affable Andy about all things Moorcock.
I truly am grateful and still a little stunned by all the attention, and validation that what I find interesting appeals to others. Returning to Canada has allowed me to celebrate my indigenous identity, reconnect as both individual and scholar, and now through NUNA and this blog, find a community
Nekumek! Thank you all for over 1000 reads.
Now, let’s dive back into the world of Makasing.
HUMOR & SPORTS
The next section begins with indigenous humour. All the Inuit I knew in Labrador were full of smiles, sarcasm & jokes, and having seen Wab Kenew’s The 8th Fire, I can say that a humourous worldview is definitely part of many indigenous people’s daily life. As my wise nan used to say, if you don’t laugh you’ll cry, and many times I saw her laughing with tears at the same time.
The authors move on to short poetry, and theatre as an outgrowth of fable telling. I dislike their use of the word ‘modern storytelling’, as it brings us to our world where stories are weaponized everyday. I would rather they say longform plays or tales. Once again, I am reminded of Japan and the seasonal kagura dances, where a mythic hero slays a giant snake, a reference that might have resonated with the authors.
We move on to sports, which is depicted as a more friendly rivalry than our sometimes cutthroat pro sports world. The authors state, “Beyond the elite professionals, sporting play and more friendly levels of competition run deep in all societies across Makasing.” I remember the leg kicking and other competitions of my youth and can attest to this, and as a sociologist I also know of sports as a way for cultures to train their youth in necessary physical and interpersonal skills for survival.
The list of sports, like festivals in the previous sections, gives lots of dimension to the gameworld and Makasing society, especially the lethality of some sports and the ubiquity of betting on them. It gives me Star Trek holodeck vibes, and really sells the indigenous futurism angle. Storytellers should make the effort to bring all this to life in their games.
(Once again, there is a cryptic yet enticing reference to yutsu technology used to reduce gravity for some games. I hope there is a pay off to all this build up in the rules section later.)
The reference to sports taking the place of war is a nice touch, and also reverberates with George Orwell’s dictum that sports are just war without guns. There are lots of adventure seeds in here, from escorting an athlete to a big match, to investigating a manager for fixing a match. This is contrasted with casual fun, such as board game bars, Sky’s Voice karaoke, and storytelling competitions. I love this indigenous exploration of nerdy fun, especially considering the Nerdy Native Creations movement right here in Vancouver
Makasing’s people are obsessive about dancing, and Cahokia boasts lots of clubs. I appreciate the genres of music they introduce here - Love Music; Thunder / Rapid Fire indie punk or metal, replete with drugs and violence; Lung music choir for elderly; and Psychedelic music for drug trips. This is very atmospheric and turns the associations of music and substance abuse on its head. There is also the Bragging Song, a kind of rap or Slam poetry, and the War Song, which I imagine is like the Maori Hakka. All this variety humanizes indigenous music, defusing the associations used in media to depict native drums as code for savagery. This is a very deep choice, and reflects multiple aspects of indigenous culture, such as pride, love, joy of dance, and psychological preparation for war.
Beyond music, Smoke Lodges act as a kind of social club, while sweat lodges cement trust & connection like the Japanese baths I enjoyed for years. Japanese would call bathing together ‘skinship’, and I really like its appearance in Coyote & Crow. Once again the idea of hierarchy is flipped, and we are given the humility of the sweat leader, who is both leader of the event and servant to participants. Sweat in Makasing is a kind of therapy, just as in real world where indigenous people now reclaim traditional healing as an alternative to colonial systems of medicine and law that don’t always lead them to recovery.
The authors also mention Yawpon drug tea houses to expand the mind, but also mention unsavoury shops that are open for abuse. Once again, they may not have the homeless and addicted sleeping in the streets like our world, but their people are just as flawed as ours.
I really appreciate that the authors leave in references to social problems. This makes the setting more real and avoids the trap of the ‘noble savage’ trope that has plagued indigenous depictions. Instead, we have indigenous people who are flawed individually like us, but who have a high context cultural underpinning that is more supportive and collaborative than our current system.
Sign me up!
MEDICINE IN MAKASING
It makes sense, considering the huge decline in North American medical care in both Canada, where most medical consults have gone virtual, and the US, where medical bills for routine procedures routinely put families in crushing debt, that Coyote & Crow would explore a radically different idea of medicine. Here is how they start their section on medicine,
“In Makasing, the lines between physical, mental, and spiritual wellness blur or simply don’t exist at all. While there are certainly specialists, most practitioners of healing in Cahokia recognize that their area of expertise is not necessarily the only path toward helping a patient.”
I know western doctors who have also travelled to Africa and Asia to add traditional medicine to their repertoire, and this is the norm in Makasing, where care is holistic, with experts in mind, spirit, and body all pitching in. This lacks the competitive nature of our current healthcare, and is more a whole body cure.
There are four streams of medicine.
First, free care is offered by the state, and focuses on prevention. This reminds me of Cuba, where dental care is advanced because they focus on foods that don’t destroy the teeth and toothpaste with ingredients that promote health.
Next there is paid care, which gives more comfort and status, with no significant change in outcome.
Here is where it gets nuanced. Third we have traditional medicine, herbs and prayers, that eschews technology but permits the use of Adanadi powers. In opposition to this is Cahokian modern medicine, which ignores traditional medicine to focus on science and use the Adanadi. In Japan, these also existed as the kanpo or herbal medicine system, which was equally respected and used for minor ailments and preventative cures. The authors also note that Makasing people also eschew prosthetics, preferring to accept their body in its natural form.
One intriguing section is the mention of a section of society which mistrust the Adanadi and see it as the root of all sickness and evil.
Adventure Seed - A group of exiled have created their own tribe which prizes cybernetics and technological advancements over traditional or Adanani gifts. These cause trouble by taking resources and could be a great set of antagonists, especially if some are unjustly exiled.
Adventure Seed - A cult of anti-Adanadi seek to remove the powers from the world. They may be working on some horrific ‘cure’ to what they see as a disease, and the PCs have to stop it.
SEX, LOVE, & MARRIAGE
There are some very interesting things here. Making sexuality an implicit part of the setting instead of an explicit message to players is a great choice, and doesn’t set off the whole knee jerk reaction some people have towards safe lists and trigger warnings. There is also the option of coming from a village with unique sexual norms, making the setting even more dynamic while giving players background choice.
Once again, the population boom of Makasing makes the setting a dynamic, changing society, and I really appreciate the efforts the authors have made. Child birth is mostly a choice, ensured by reliable by birth control. Introducing Ceremonial sex is also an interesting choice, and reminds me of the practice of rish from Larry Niven’s Ringworld books. It is a natural ‘alien’ sex practice, which contrasts with our world which prudishly hides all things sexual behind closed doors.
(Personally, I avoid sex in my games, but this might be worth exploring, if players are onboard.)
I appreciate the prevailing attitudes of the peoples of Makasing, who think “That's just what they do in that tribe. No one's getting hurt, so who cares?”
Minding one’s own business was a staple of my youth, and sometimes I wish more people today would practice it. I appreciate the reminder that “while the people of this world have the same ancient history we do, they also have different customs and perceptions, even from real world Native Americans.” Actually, just yesterday at work I heard a presentation from indigenous creator Anthony Johnson, a two spirit person who told us of the homophobia and violence in the real world community he grew up in. It is nice to see C&C redressing that situation by offering a glimpse of a kinder, more accepting world.
There is a summary on gender that says it all:
“To the people of Coyote & Crow, gender isn't just a spectrum, it's also less important culturally. Part of that is because gender roles are not as strictly enforced, but also because traditionally, those that do not conform to standard binary labels of man or woman have often been considered blessed or in possession of a greater connection to the spirit world… There's no real stigma around a person changing their gender identity at any point in their lives.”
If you do some Googling, you’ll find this is a very real historical precedent, and that countries like Thailand still accept very fluid notions of gender.
You might ask why bother with this focus on accepting gender. I have known trans people who have been put through the wringer by outdated beliefs and prejudices, and I am happy to see a gameworld that reflects a leap away from this. Just as women were accepted as equals in the original fantasy RPGs, I am happy to see all genders equally welcome in this one. The sections ends with the introduction of Tahood, or the third gender to include non binary and LGBTQ. People would accept this in sci fi fantasy, more than as a message in the real world, so I find its inclusion admirable.
Moving away from gender, marriage in Makasing is also broad, and diverse terms are communally accepted. It is non hierarchical and non permanent, and reviewed every few years. I have some younger friends who have very fluid conceptions of polyamourous coupling, and their marriages are non contractual, with mutually decided obligations.
Wish I had had this option!
Between the freedom of pairings and conditions, and lack of unwanted pregnancies, we can see Makasing as a world where family is a much broader concept. Add to that the acceptance of and lack of stigma around casual sex, and there is no home breaking or prudism. There were hints of that in my upbringing in Labrador, some people who practiced a more dynamic view of love and sex that escaped the imposed moral system of missionaries. In this fantasy world the missionaries never came, and love & marriage have naturally developed in their own ways. I appreciate the authors’ statement, “Many variations of love, partnership, sex or lack thereof, and marriage exist and are the norm”
This view of marriage also has ramifications for family life. The authors write, “The broad interpretation of marriage, as well as the intergenerational family living arrangements common in Makasing, allow for a person to work a job where they have to travel far from home, knowing that their spouse and children are being looked after while they are gone.”
I am so onboard with this. As a youth I saw many shared extended families caring for each other, but all this has fallen apart as many families transitioned to becoming Canadians and lose their indigenous identity. I am without support myself, and sometimes feel alone as a single dad. But in Makasing, this system of extended family care permeates all of society. We are told,
“Few people are raised by total strangers and no one would refuse to take in a child who was vaguely related… There are orphanages and elder homes in Cahokia and across the continent, but they are the exception, not the rule; strong social and medical support from the Cahokia government enables families to care for aging and disabled individuals within the home. Because of the governmental structure of Cahokia, no family goes hungry or without a roof over their head. While the land may be controlled by the city-state, there is no shortage of over-all space and most families have room to spread out and plenty of resources.”
Living in a city where I see many homeless, some entire families, and many who have gone through the orphanage to prison pipeline, I am all in with this gameworld.
This extension of family as social service also results in a very strong inter-family work ethic, with multigenerational homes being the norm. Moreover, the importance of lineage, which is stronger in Cahokia than reality due to dynamic family practices, cannot be understated. Even now, a trip to Labrador will involve an interrogation over lineage, and revelation of some distant connection. This extended family and social service of Makasing reminds me of rice planting and harvesting in Japan with my in laws. It was just as much work as reification of our connections.
Adventure Seed - Stop a monster ravaging crops and then help harvest them, with celebration and new connection as reward.
Makasing also has a matrilineal structure for record keeping of individual lineage. This reverses the Indian Act here in Canada, which was bureaucratically enacted genocide via erasing matrilineal indigenous identity, and made generations of lost indigenous, like myself, who had access to neither generational wealth of settlers nor the communal wealth of indigenous peoples, and are the most at risk Canadians according to researcher Heather Dicks. In Cahokia / Makasing, they were never lost, but in the real world they are slowly finding their way back to their lineage, and this game could be a great way to prepare for that.
CONCLUSION
Makasing isn’t our world, whether we are indigenous or not. It is an alien land that lets us see what would happen if our issues, such as homelessness and gender, were nothing burgers, where people don’t rally against others to score political points, and where live and let live is the order of the day.
It is refreshing, and if it were a sourcebook for a totally alien civilization, I think people would eat it up. Reading and parsing this section takes time, and I am looking forward to finishing it so I can see how the mechanical underpinnings support the setting.
SOURCE
Dicks, H. (2023). Beyond binaries: mixed-blood Indigenous inequalities. AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples, 19(2), 261-270. https://doi.org/10.1177/11771801231167654 (Original work published 2023)
