Rift Protoculture

The Rift proto-culture diverged from the Sahelo-Abyssinian when a small group of the Sahelians branch of the Sahelo-Abyssinians discovered that the Kenyan highlands proved healthy for their cattle, which usually died from diseases endemic to tropical Africa. They quickly came under heavy competition with the Hunter-gaher Great Lakes proto-culture to their south, who frequently hunted Rift herds, bringing both populations into constant conflict. The resource shortage caused by the Ethiopian supervolcano Eruption further strained this relationship and began the slow migration of the Rift proto-culture first into the Sudd and then into the Ethiopian Highlands, as both they and the land slowly recovered from the eruption. It is here that they would replace the Sahelo-Abyssinians and expand to cover their greatest extent at 14,000 BCE before collapsing and splitting into several peoples due to the Beautiful Apocalypse event.

Cultural Practices
They are a pastoral culture, initially herding Aurochs and later adding first Buffaloes and the Ibexes into the fold. They migrate two to four times a year usually between neighboring areas and less commonly into new territories. Groups within this proto-culture in a sort of way occupy two territories at once, one where they feed their cattle and the other where they hunt and prepare to fodder their cattle there after migration. As such the area inhabited by a band of these peoples are called fodder and game areas respectively.

The game areas are prepared by burning down the area, cutting down trees and hunting/chasing off wild animals that could threaten them. Initially the local grasses and shrubs were allowed to take over from the forest, but over time certain more productive grasses were intentionally introduced after other plant life had been destroyed and driven off.

Because of this they put great strain upon the ecosystem, driving animals away from the prime lands for the hominids and their herds, and driving to extinction the creatures that cannot adapt.

From their predecessors, they learn how to mine and use Obsidian to create tools which quickly became used to replace most other bladed weapons and sharp tools but of course, its brittle an d uncommon nature meant that stone and wooden points were still used.

Violent conflict within themselves and the need to protect their cattle from the Great Lakes proto-culture's bands meant that they developed a martial element to their culture. This martial element initially expressed itself as increased use of wooden javelins in atlatl and slings but were later forced to adopt the spear and arrow from their neighbours to the south, whose use was limited by cultural hatred for theings associated with the Great Lakes groups.

They are obviously not completely uniform, with the Areas between them and other groups holding the most variation. For example their Coastal territories have fishing traditions and those in Eastern Sudan use the bow and arrow commonly, while those in Arid regions have Bonfire rituals so tame that those from the more wooded regions probably won't recognize it

Innovations

 * Domestication of the Forest/Savannah Buffaloes
 * Slash and Burn forestry
 * Furnance

Religion
Initially their religion was no different than the religion of the Sahelo-Abyssinians, but following the Ethiopian super-volcano eruption and their migration into the Sudd, they developed a reverence for the fires that they had been using to tame the land. Fire is considered the power and a part of a singular supreme deity and festivals. There is also an under current of disdain for hunting peoples, although never expressed as a divine position.

Seeing fire as sacred they develop Cauterization and in seeing its effectiveness preventing disease, they use fire for against other things that disgust/disease causing, burning disgusting materials (refuse, fungi/mold). Things that cannot just be burnt away are treated through the use of mixtures made by shamans, which typically have roasted or burn materials,often burnt to ashes.

This way of thinking also became adopted to Religious, Moral and Supernatural things with people that have committed taboo acts ritual cleansed of them, by 'going through the fire' a self described ritual and the corpse of those considered sinful being ritually burnt and then buried.

Festivals occur periodically where the shamans or neighboring bands would bring their bands together for their Bonfire ritual, whose main event is a huge bonfire done in the Night, where the shamans ritually manipulate the flames and entertain the people. Increasing complexity of these rituals eventually gave way to "Fire-Bearer", whose job it was to organize the event. Fire-Bearers were typically chosen from among the gold smiths of the group of bands that came for the ritual, as they had the most experience with difficult the to learn aspects of working with fire. As such there isn't a Fire-bearer in every band but there is in every group of bands that celebrate the bonfire ritual together, sometimes several.

The Fire-bearers first work is to govern the bonfire rituals, letting the Shamans first throw in their own plants and then throwing in their metals. the residue of the ritual is usually considered sacred but the majority of it "belongs" to the Fire-bearer and another significant amount to Shamans. They typically use these to create Charms that are sold to people. The Fire-bearers also create their own person Bonfires for various reasons, ranging from personal aggrandizement to rituals to experiment, but of course a single person could never gather the resources needed to make the grand bonfires.

As the office of the Fire-Bearer spread, they became responsible not only for the ritual, but for actions associated with volcanos and involving the residue of Fire and Heat, metals, mineraloids and minerals. The Shamans on the other had began absorbing Shamanistic practices from the Kushites, they began associating more with the Sun, plants and Healing. This contrast and the growing influence of the Firebearers would eventually end in the breaking up of their montheistic deity into two aspects, a vibrant and changing Volcanic form and a stable and stabilizing Sun, their combination being Fire.

Mythology
They initially developed a myth of being saved by a holy ritual fire which they lit to protect them from the evil hunters and is the explanation of the layer of Ash all over them. Their ancestors being righteous Herders who where unburnt by the holy flames unlike the evil hunters. The story is ultimately derived from the Ash spread by the Ethiopian super-volcano and various stories of their fires being able to chase away aggressive bands of the great lakes proto-culture.

Rituals

 * Bonfire Rituals :- done in the Night that involve the gathering of many bands of the Rift proto-culture around a giant bonfire, from which shamans throw in salts, metals, drugs and other substances to make the fire change colour and dance, and the participants high. In this many metal ores, salts and native metals are thrown into fire to give it beautiful colours so that after the rituals, the ground is turned into layers to glass, mineraloids and metals. These are typically considered evidence of the shamans' powers as they resemble the supposed gifts of the gods. As such these residual materials are used as charms and those that aren't taken up first by shamans are scraped off by the people. Of these, a certain metal would gain prominence as Jewelry and a trade item for its colour and malleability, for sheets of this metal could be reworked by some force and a little heat. It is from these rituals that smiths would gain religious significance as their experiments with smithing gave them knowledge on how flames behaved and also no what to do with the residue. These would become the Fire-bearers. Millenia of Bonfire rituals have gradually changed and improved the nature of the rituals. These nomadic communities typically have bases or camps where they (especially the fire bearers and shamans who gather their implements) gather wood and create charcoal, typically located inclaves of small stone and during the dry season, they return to a shallow it where some of the earliest bonfire rituals of their people were done. This place is typically fairly Fertile, able to sustain a large population of people and cattle for about a week or more. Two great fires are typically burnt back to back for the ritual. To begin the ritual the Charcoal is dried and more wood and other matter are harvested and dried. The first fire is supervised by the shamans but are also aided by the fire bearers, this fire's main purpose is to burn herbs and drugs. It is cooler and the people dance around it, getting high off the fumes. The next day a larger and hotter fire is made, using most of the Charcoal. The fire bearers play a more prominent role, making the fire dance and change colours while the rest of the people stand away from it, watching it in wonder. This arrangement was decided fundamentally through trial and error, for it limited the exposure of the people to deadly fumes from the fire and the fire bearers to experiment with making more stuff.  Finally, this increase in activity and influence of the fire bearers than the following effects. They became more prominent in society, created more trinkets but came in contact with deadly chemicals, especially heavy metals. While these Chemicals had their effects but the short life span of stone age people and the few instances of these rituals (at most once a year and usually once in several) means that for the most part it was not noticeable.

Social Structure
They are organized into bands and bands into tribes, recognized by the bands that perform the bonfire ritual together. Each of these bands has a Shaman who performs duties that involve working with the natural world, as well as religious roles. Social roles are left to the Elders, the oldest people of the band, typically the only grandparents still surviving. Cattle is owned in common and everybody is involved in hunting, gathering and herding, even those involved in other important roles, like the Shamans. The work is divided softly along gender and age lines, with men and women usually doing different jobs but not actively compelled to. While hunting game is respected, due to its association with hated groups and their way of managing the earth, it is not only ungendered, it is also seen beneath herding and gathering.

Women typically gather, milk cattle, preparing food, raising children and process dairy products; Men typically are involved in leading the cattle to pasture, preparing meat and Hide, tool making, training children and protecting the group. Other related

Language
Like all other proto-cultures, they speak a variety of language groups, but the most descriptive of the Rift experience is the Rift language family that diverged from Sahelian about 50,000 BCE. Their migration back to former Sahelo-Abyssinian territories saw them incorperate most of the Sahelo-Abyssinian super family, but also smaller language families, like those in Sudanese Beja and on he Red Sea coast.

History and Collapse
Their collapse came swiftly as the First Revolution Agro-Cupric collapse event rocked the world. Their remnants either joined the Far Shore and Niilites or formed the Eritrean and Rwenzori