The Saambu are a compact people, with reddish hair, fair skin and stocky, muscular bodies. While one would not call them primitive, they do seem to have little interest in the industrialized world inhabited by the rest of Zyem's peoples. Their intelligence is the equal of any other race's, but it does not tend to express itself in the hard sciences or engineering.
The Saambu live in three major regions, corresponding to three major cultural groups: the northern latitudes of North America (upper Canada in our world) and Eurasia (Eastern Siberia); the islands of the Carribean; and Micronesia and the regions around Australia. The group living in the Carribean has had extensive contact with the Thisbo and are not considered pure Saambu by many.
The Saambu speak many different languages, primarily of the agglutinating variety. The Saambu languages of upper Tihzanthi had a strong influence on Vogu, while those of the Carribean have been influenced by Thisbo.
The religion of the Saambu is shamanistic. Many of their practices and beliefs are kept secret from outsiders. They perform one of their rites at Wawatranu, in Kadanë lands. This they carry out deep within the structure, in the large rooms hidden there. Non-Saambu are not invited to these rites, but it is known that they involve drumming and animal mimicry. The purpose of the rites is unknown.
The Saambu of Tihzanthi are organized in political units that are not geographical in nature, but are based on tribal affiliations. These units are loosely grouped in the Saambu Confederacy. The Saambu of the other two regions have similar arrangements.
© 1997, Terrence Donnelly