The Falmer: An Anthropological Analysis (Part 5 of 7)

(With tons of deadlines for work, I've been very busy recently, but still finding free time at night to write. The entire text can be found here Enjoy!)

Neo-Falmer Culture: Blackreach

(This chapter is dedicated to Silus Varonus, a contracted guard, and Observer Erica Stout of the Bruma Enclave, who lost their lives to the depths of Blackreach in the pursuit of this project. With great exploration for knowledge comes great risk, and they knew that our work would reveal truths that have been hidden for thousands of years. It is because of these two that I am able to write this review.)

Our expedition committed nearly ten months to observing the Blackreach Tribe of the Neo-Falmer. While not as technologically advanced as the Salatsel Tribe, they are nonetheless one of the most advanced Neo-Falmer cultures to date, displaying the widest diversity of agricultural products. They possess a thorough understanding of the chasm they inhabit, taking quarters in nearly all of its spacing. While wide dispersed, they maintain some degree of a hierarchy, with higher ranked members occupying the fortress that lies in the center of the cave. During our stay, we witnessed four different times that randomly activated automatons caused conflict, meaning that the Neo-Falmer have yet to figure out Dwemer technology or even deactivate the remaining machines. Perhaps our most interesting find was a large population of captive Men and Mer. These slaves were tied into a large and organized infrastructure of out-going and returning raiding parties on regular schedules. We discuss how these findings connect to an overall picture of the Blackreach tribe and its implications for the Neo-Falmer population living in this abyss.

Our work in Blackreach was the first major undertaking of our expedition, an extremely dangerous project that required the best invisibility magicka available to slip undetected past patrols many times to enter and exit the cave system. The Neo-Falmer have colonized approximately eighty percent of the Blackreach, everything save one gorge dominated by a massive waterfall that has attracted many types of wildlife including trolls (perhaps a reason for their reluctance to move into the area). The population for the caves is estimated at around three thousand, the second largest settlement recorded to date. While smaller settlements across Skyrim are characterized by a low individual to house ratio (1:6), the Blackreach tribe appears much more advanced and has been able to house a higher ratio of individuals (1:3). The reasons for this ratio varies, and while it doesn’t directly indicate a societal shift towards housing its individuals, it certainly means that the Neo-Falmer there are more equipped for housing all of its individuals in the first place, as Chaurus are of more economic value alive than dead. Thus, we attribute this difference in housing to resource capacity and not the individual culture of the Blackreach Tribe.

The Neo-Falmer here, like many smaller settlements, have a rigid patriarchy. There is a sharp division of labor between the males and the females; the males are tasked with going on raiding parties and crafting tools while the females tend to the crops and the children. We never observed a female in a hierarchically superior position than a male, reflecting that the tribe still maintains a very primitive understanding of politics. Continued expeditions into Blackreach will need to investigate this phenomenon further, as even other primitive cultures like those of the Rieklings and Goblins still relegate important roles to females in religious ceremony and leadership.

The Blackreach Tribe has made considerable advances in agriculture, growing many types of mushrooms throughout the cave. In the northern blocs, they have dedicated large swaths of soil to cultivating White Cap, Fly Amanita, Blisterwort, Bleeding Crown, Imp Stool, and Namira’s Rot fungi along with their common glowing mushroom. These products are also fed to the Chaurus, meaning that they have a very sustainable crop to feed the settlement. Their exact understanding of agriculture, however, remains to be known; although there were no recorded instances of mass hunger in the tribe (or so we noted), this is not indicative that they are able to sustain crops over multiple generations, meaning that they could only be culturing these mushrooms in the short term.

The government of these Neo-Falmer appears to be a primitive tribal hierarchy, led by one warlord male. During our entire expedition inside the cave system, this leader was only spotted twice outside of the fortress, wandering the farms with two guards. He spent most of his time confined within the fortress or sitting on a dwemer throne atop a balcony built high into the cave walls, with dozens of slaves tasked to accommodate his needs. His reign, from an outside perspective, appeared remarkably stable, as there was no infighting to be seen between the subjects under his regime. While this is certainly not indicative of an effective governorship, it does suggest that the Neo-Falmer of Blackreach act as a unified entity rather than warring families or clans - a hierarchal symbol of a “leader” is sufficient to put the rest of the individuals in place.

The infrastructure of the tribe suggests not only that they do not live in isolation from the outside world but they also coordinate raids and expeditions for resources and slaves. These raids occur on regular two week intervals (how the Neo-Falmer are capable of perceiving time underground is subject to much debate and speculation) with the same amount of individuals going out each time (eight) and return with very standardized amounts of resources and slaves (six satchels of supplies and one to two slaves). For a settlement of such size, these expeditions appear to be very small, and their objective is still mysterious. We postulate that, instead of gathering consumables, they gather mushrooms and spores for agriculture and leather for crafting. This would indicate that the Neo-Falmer raids are calculated strikes with very specific objectives and also intending to keep as low of a profile as possible.

Our time in the depths of Blackreach has made significant advances in our understanding of one of the most advanced Neo-Falmer cultures. Though still having a primitive hierarchy, they have made strides in their organizational skills, possessing written language, complex agriculture, and a system for conducting raids above ground. They have managed to field a large amount of resources to maintain their population, and show potential to expand their culture even more. Further investigation is therefore necessary to research the Blackreach Tribe and learn more about their enigmatic culture.