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The Duenissai (also spelt Dweniziy) were an ancient ethnicity and mostly stateless nation whose influence affected many civilizations throughout the world. Due to a mostly nomadic lifestyle, remnants of the Duenissai can be found in Europe, Asia and Africa. Also, though hotly debated, there are claims of some artifacts found as far away as Oceania and North America. Today as many as one million people claim partial ancestry from the Duenissai, although this too is a topic of vigorous debate.
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[edit] History
It is common theory that the Duenissai began as a loose confederation of tribal herders, jewelers, and blacksmiths in northern Turkey and Armenia. The Duenissai were often subject to invasion by Assyrians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Mongols, Persians, Ottoman Turks and Russians. Many of these conquerers were intrigued by their different styles of language, dress, and lack of religion and placed them under special sanction while in power. They supposedly had good relations with their neighbors until Hecataeus of Miletus established control during the first state of Armenia. By this time being a rather anarchic people, the tribes in Armenia fled the state and traveled south to regroup with the tribes residing in Turkey. In Turkey they were subject to frequent expulsion thus causing them to leave in mass exodus and resettle in other places. It is assumed there were eight main tribes: the Agroz, Achimon, Ducherte, Vou, Wudd, Karba, Olcotte, and Reynag. Demi-tribes and minor splinter groups have often been the subject of romanticized fiction.
[edit] Travel
Due to imperial and religious conquest by Christian, Islamic, and Pagan forces alike, the Duenissai were largely nomadic for the span of their duration. Certain tribes would agree to travel in different directions to see if conditions were hospitable in the differing areas and would often stay and never meet again. If some did meet, they would often notice a change in their cultures and due to the generations that have passed since their separations. One notable aspect of this was recorded by a traveling Chinese merchant guided by a Dwenissai in what is now Kyrgyzstan:
The strong guide became jubilant like a child when he recognized his brethren of several years past. He politely introduced me to the surprised tribesman traveling from Mughal (India). The one from Mughal wore a long white robe and had skin the color of sand, like a Khmer. My guide wore a violet vest and short trousers with a matching embroidered hat. His skin resembled that of a Rus. Despite these differences, the two spoke the same language and both waved their hands violently when explaining their family lines.
Many more cultures would view reunifications of the separated tribes.
[edit] Culture, Religion, and Individuality
Although the tribes had undergone certain kinds of forced or voluntary assimilation, ancient historians commonly describe certain aspects that they retained. Most notably, a common lack of religion and a resistance to authority.
[edit] Dress, Diet, and Leisure
It was customary for full grown men to wear a copper-colored headband and to grow their hair to shoulder length. Women wore long elegant dresses and often did not tie their hair when not performing chores. The Dwenissai were never accustomed to wearing sandals and instead crafted leather boots made from animal hides. One activity performed by nearly all the tribes was sunbathing nude by both men and women.
