Ikambi

The Ikambi Tribe (AKA "Cult of Nuwanda") are from Pete Tamlyn's "The Horror of the Glen". They are an African tribe which worship a black-leaved, alien tree called Nuwanda,

History and Scope

The black-leafed, alien tree called Nuwanda seems to be incredibly ancient, and may have been worshiped as a local totem-god since prehistory - it was "dreamed into this world by the old ones", according to the Ikambi oral tradition. The cult of Nuwanda say that these "tree spirits" were the "first men" from which the tribe descended - their spiritual ancestors - and the tribe sacrifices human victims to their tree-god by hanging them up and bleeding them dry for the Gn'icht' Tyaacht - humanoid "tree spirits" spawned by the tree - to consume and to feed to "Grandfather Nuwanda", and in return the tribe says that Nuwanda will bless them with reincarnation into one of the tree spirits (rather than the more common trees and plants that unbelievers are surely reborn as!) To this end, the tribe uses Mythos magic and sacrifice to tame the Gn'icht' Tyaacht until these tree spirits mature in five years from spawning, from bloodthirsty monsters into relatively peaceful guardians of Nuwanda and its sacred grove.

Identification, Psychology and Behavior

The Ikambi tribe seems to take the form of a "primitive" animist cult, twisted by the influence of the Mythos: they hold their sacred tree to be the forefather of their tribe, and claim that the tree's faithful servants will be reborn after death as Gn'icht' Tyaacht, the favored children of "Grandfather Nuwanda". Unlike ordinary animist cults, this tribe's "tree sprits" are Mythos monsters, creatures that demand blood sacrifice of human victims to tame their voracious hunger.

The tribe is organized with tribal elder "witch-doctors" as its cult leaders, with the tribe's warriors holding an honored station in the tribe as those who seek out and capture victims for sacrifice and who protect the tribe and its "god". The sacrifices are killed and offered to the Gn'icht' Tyaacht - the spirit-children of "Old Man Nuwanda" - by the oldest warriors, who are next in line of succession to become the cult's leader; the sacrifices are accepted by these spirits, who consume the sacrifices, and feed them to Nuwanda.

The Ikambi believe that those who are blessed by Grandfather Nuwanda - the cult leaders and mightiest, most faithful and courageous and deadly warriors - will be reborn after death as the undying tree-spirits (Gn'icht' Tyaacht). Otherwise, the tribe's dead are reborn as trees, and sinners and unbelievers are reborn as lesser plants - the lowest of the low are reborn as mere cultivated vegetables, to be eaten by men for their crimes and lack of faith and respect for Nuwanda.

The Ikambi are today relatively primitive, but seem to have once lived in a thriving and fairly advanced civilization, now fallen and lost to the encroaching African jungle in antiquity; the ruins of the city, T'gaorl, still stand beneath the vines and trees near the sacred grove of Nuwanda, and the tribe's village.

The tribe hold the Sacred Grove where Nuwanda stands taboo, and guard it fiercely, protecting "Grandfather Nuwanda" from harm from enemies and fire. They tribe hate the Great Old One Cthugha, whom they consider to be an enemy of Nuwanda - it is said that in ancient times a wizard from the old city of T'gaorl had called upon Cthugha to burn Nuwanda with its unearthly fire, sparking the Ikambi's enmity for the Great Fire.

Resources

Tomes, Artifacts, Sites

• location: T'gaorl, a nearby lost city
• location: Sacred Grove of Nuwanda

Allies, Creatures and Deities

• Gn'icht' Tyaacht, violent and dangerous "tree-spirits" spawned by Nuwanda and tamed by the Ikambi

Other Resources

• Cthugha is considered to be an enemy of the Ikambi and their gods.

Heresies and Controversies

The Myth of Nuwanda

• The tribe's oral tradition holds that at the "dawn of time", Nuwanda was the First Man, a savage and untamed cannibal giant who strode across the newly-created world, insatiably hungry, eating everything made of flesh and bone that he could find, including his children. His children at last joined together to kill their father, who was reborn as the ravenous tree, and in that form Nuwanda placed a curse on his children: that they would fight among themselves until the end of days. Some of the children retreated to the forest to align themselves with Nuwanda, swearing allegiance to their tree-god in repentance for their patricide and dedicating themselves to restoring him fully to life so that he may walk the land once again to eat what he will, while the others turned their back on Nuwanda to raise up a great civilization around the mighty city of T'gaorl. It was at the height of the civilization that the followers of Nuwanda struck the city by night, capturing and sacrificing many of the city-dwellers to their father, nearly restoring him to life. But, one of the city-dwellers, a mighty wizard, escaped the slaughter, and invoked the Great Fire, Cthugha, to tame the tree-giant Nuwanda, killing many of its cultists, and searing the tree and its leaves black, and leaving Nuwanda to slumber forever, fearful of awakening, lest Cthugha be invoked again and possibly burn Nuwanda to cinders and ashes, leaving him Nuwanda to be reborn as a lesser, more common tree, bush, or - worst of all - a cultivated vegetable, to be eaten by his grandchildren, as Nuwanda would have eaten them. Grandfather Nuwanda and his cult, greatly weakened, sued for peace and made a pact that he would never again rise up to walk the earth, until the Final Days when the wills come around right for his awakening, at which time he will be free to eat all life on earth at his pleasure. Ultimately, the city of T'gaorl fell into ruin and was swallowed up by the jungle, while the cult lived on in a lesser form, feeding Nuwanda just enough to survive, and leaving most men free to live in relative peace, without fearing that one day they might be chased down and eaten by an ever-hungry tree-giant.... (YSDC)

Appearances

• Scenario: Pete Tamlyn's "The Horror of the Glen"