Worldbuilding Dwarves or How Mountain societies live and thrive

in this video I compare Fantasy dwarven culture to Caucasian highland cultures.
Video came about fom @Grungeon_Master video about Dwarves.
#fantasy #dwarves #dnd #folklore #history #mythology #caucasus
SUPPORT:
/ bordoshow
FOLLOW ON:
FACEBOOK
profile.php?...
TWITTER
/ bordobuilder

[@BreadBox.]

Should Dwarves not exist? A real dwarf responds!

[@KarolOfGutovo]

"Can dwarves exist? We asked a dwarf"

[@Sturmfall1]

Lmao

[@chaosmachines934]

the irony its just killing me

[@RashFever26]

Video so controversial the dwarves had to send out an ambassador to prove humans wrong

[@chaosmachines934]

@@RashFever26 dragons show fallow

[@OffYourTopic]

The second this man sat down I knew immediately that I should listen to whatever he says about dwarves

[@thelewddwarf28]

Who better than an actual Dwarf?

[@norielgames4765]

With his daggerphone he can stab you and listen to your heartbeat dwindle.

[@trancehuman1063]

He even laughs like a dwarf!

[@stephena1196]

​​@@norielgames4765he is very comfortable waving that dagger around, it's like he's forgotten he's holding it. No doubt he gets lots of practise during troll hunting season. However, I've been led to believe dwarves favoured battle axes. Ah yes of course, he dual wields with the axe in his right hand.

[@unrated156]

Feels like I sat down with a Caucasian Dwarf around a campfire and I asked him exactly one question and now he's going on a half hour rant. Love it.

[@thebordoshow]

My friends have to physically stop me sometimes from rambling on 😅

[@jamesgreen5298]

One idea that's been rattling around my head: Appalachian Dwarves. Dwarves whose culture is based on the rural folk of Appalachia, in particular, the coal fields and lumber-towns up here.

[@Jamhael1]

I want to hear their ACCENT - imagine, Dwarves speaking a hillbilly accent! Hey, even a new nickname for Dwarves from Appalachia: Hillbillies.

[@modernmajorgeneral4669]

“We folks here ain’t fixin’ to brew any beer. Moonshine’s good enough fer us!”

[@kopperbottom2803]

This is hilarious I actually just finished putting together a dnd campaign with this exact thing.

[@KevinWarburton-tv2iy]

That's way Cool. Making Dwarven Mead & running the booze to the Elven Speakeasies?

[@thebordoshow]

now dwarf bard with a bajo is stuck in my head!

[@IchigoGyuunyu]

Someone said dwarves shouldn't exist? That's going in the book.

[@YourLordAnon]

...which book?

[@jlstudio1050]

The book of grudges lad, every proper dawi carries one​@@YourLordAnon

[@IchigoGyuunyu]

@@YourLordAnon the Great Book of Grudges, a bit of lore from Warhammer Fnatasy. The Dwarves keep a record of every single slight done against them, written in blood. It can be as extreme as the murder of jundreds of dwarves or as minor as being shorted a few coins in a deal.

[@henrikaugustsson4041]

@@YourLordAnonthe book of grudges, where warhammer dwarfs write down slights and offences committed against their people that must be avenged.

[@WahnsinnsKasper]

​AAALL OF THEEEM!!!​@@YourLordAnon

[@levijackson767]

"Of course I'm biased, but I'm biased for a reason." Very cool, very based.

[@luuk341]

"Hope I haven't bored you too much" Man, this video has been the most interesting thing I've watched in a while! All I knew about Georgia is where it was, What the flag looks like, that its a very very christian nation. I knew all this because I know Lasha Talakhadze and a Sumo Wrestler (yes, really) named Tochinoshin. He was born in Georgia as Levan Gorgadze. He is now retired from wrestling and imports Georgian wine to Japan!

[@RovingTroll]

Using the "from the mountains of the Caucuses" clip is A+

[@krow5099]

Ikr that’s what got me into the video lmao

[@user-vy2bw5td9m]

Holding microphone with the dagger is legendary! I can surely say that he knows what he is talking about.🗡️

[@LowProfileGoat]

He certainly has a point!

[@obiwankenobi1277]

KZbin algorithm randomly recommending me the best worldbuilding video ever made

[@TheMadPoetHimself]

Same

[@chazaqiel2319]

Same!

[@iliasergeevich3815]

Same

[@hlibushok]

This man is so amazing. He transcended the very concept of cosplay. He is not pretending to be a dwarf, instead, he is a man who looks exactly like the standard fantasy dwarf, talks like a fantasy dwarf, has mannerisms befit of a fantasy dwarf, and most importantly - comes from a culture that is the closest to fantasy dwarven cultures. Seeing this man is what finally convinced me that dwarves in fantasy settings should take cultural inspirations from the rich and overlooked cultures of the Caucasus rather than the overused Nordic cultures.

[@svensvensson1085]

As a Nordic, I wholeheartedly agree

[@n0msayn]

This man has not only taken the Dwarf Pill but manufactures them as well.

[@sasha1mama]

"Relate to" indeed . You bloody well *are* a dwarf, near enough. From the Gray Mountains, by your accent. :D And yes, I'm glad someone is standing up for dwarfkind in the face of haters. Barûk khazad! ⛏🍻

[@Rok_of_itza]

Nice khazalid

[@thebordoshow]

Rock and Stone my friend!

[@michaelsivertsev8222]

khazâd ai-mênu!

[@Liam-lx8xb]

​@@thebordoshowCan I ask a question?

[@thebordoshow]

@@Liam-lx8xb sure

[@CaptainOfNoShip]

While trying to convince me dwarves are logical fantasy folk, he also completely sold me on the idea of moving to the Caucus mountains.

[@andreyradchenko8200]

An interesting detail is that in Warhammer Fantasy, the Dwarfen heartland and Karaz-a-Karak in particular is situated in the area that corresponds to real world Caucasus (directly east of Black Water, a very obvious Black Sea stand-in, on the border between Empire/Southern Realms (Europe), Badlands (Levant) and Dark Lands (Central Asia). I'm pretty sure it's no accident, because original GW people were pretty well versed in history.

[@Yingyanglord1]

As a fan of the table top Warhammer, the bad lands are more akin to the Balkans

[@andreyradchenko8200]

@@Yingyanglord1 Borderlands are the Balkans analogue, they even have a blend of Mediterranean and Germanic influences because they're both in Imperial and Tilean spheres of influence.

[@Yingyanglord1]

I may be in fact an idiot who mixed them up@@andreyradchenko8200

[@lettuceman9439]

The Border princes are the Balkans @@Yingyanglord1

[@thebordoshow]

I need to learn more about Warhammer Fantasy, Its overshadowed by 40K, but vibeswise its more my style.

[@rondanaso6034]

Hey Bordo, great topic. I actually used you as a dwarven armorer and npc companion. He was a really cool charicter, fought with a triple barrelled shotgun and a khajali. I kinda felt bad you immediately were a dwarf. Cheers for that inspiration and keep up the great work

[@thebordoshow]

I am very happy to hear that actually!

[@luelee6168]

When I think of Dwarfs I think of the Georgians of the Middle Ages and in later periods. Especially during the Crimean Wars. A bunch of riveted mail shirt wearing, musket wielding swashbucklers with thick long beards just comes into mind.

[@sebastiansilverfox6912]

Dwarves are from Georgia? Next time I am near Atlanta, I will have to look for them. (J/K) I actually think of them as being militarily more like the medieval Swiss who were renowned for their pikemen (autocorrect wants me to say pokemon instead of pikemen haha). Culturewise, I think of them as being like a nocturnal society who are sensitive to the sun (based on mythology) and as a direct result come across as mysterious to the world of men. Modern fantasy (to me) seems to have just ripped away all the things that made them what they were. There's so much amazing world building people could do just based on those starting points... Which is why the way most portray them seems a bit dull and too human to me.

[@bastait]

@@sebastiansilverfox6912 he means georgia the country bordering ancient iberia and armenia in the caucaus mountains.

[@sebastiansilverfox6912]

@@bastait That's why I included the "(J/K)" part of that... Because otherwise, someone might think I didn't know that. (but...Iberia... that's where Spain is right?)

[@bastait]

@@sebastiansilverfox6912 i just get my jollies by being informative.

[@bastait]

@@sebastiansilverfox6912 the iberian peninsula is spain the kingdom of iberia was in the caucaus mountains.

[@ratboi3553]

Step aside Gattsu, there's is a new Georgian KZbinr in town!

[@Mrmidknight-yx9pg]

Georgia sweet georgia

[@thebordoshow]

we friends don't you worry. Georgian national moddo is "Strength in unity"

[@kommimaniteja7790]

​@@thebordoshow Russia should leave good people of Georgia alone as an Indian both Georgia and Armenia have some sort mystic monastery vibes to me

[@EmilReiko]

As a danish person adficted to local folklore, i tend to frame Dwarfs and Elves as entities / spirits rather than living beings. We have alot of Dwarf lore ind Vendsyssel, but no mountains - so dwarfs tend to reside in Bronzeage gravemounds. But in a traditional fantasy setting i have always thought of Dwarfs as cultures heavily dependant on mountain Shepherding food systems

[@thebordoshow]

yes, Dwarves are earth spirits and elves are of nature and light, but I like to imagine it as old school fantasy trope of "this happened hundreds of thousands of years ago and before they became spirits they were once like us" trope that Tolkein and Howard use in the early days of fantasy.

[@Radagast49230]

@@thebordoshow I've long been of the opinion that dwarves are mythologized remnant memories of early human interaction with neanderthal relic populations. A short, stout, very strong people, who live underground, are reclusive and clannish, are known for their craftsmanship and their ancient knowledge? Fact becomes story becomes legend becomes myth.

[@Sneakyskald]

As a writer who has been struggling with making multiple mountainous cultures that are both unique in their own right, and also different from the ubiquitous tropes established by Tolkien, the ideas explored here were extremely helpful. You sir, have created one more student of Caucasian history. I look forward to researching this further and I thank you for your passion in bringing your fascinating culture to an otherwise ignorant audience. o7

[@Tageslicht]

As a fellow (north) caucasian who loves the idea of dwarves, I think I've just struck gold with your channel!

[@thebordoshow]

My goal is to somehow popularize our unique world, so come aboard and see if I do it justice

[@ibroplatin4915]

Noxchi?

[@thevoidlookspretty7079]

The first twenty minutes of this thirty minute video is this guy talking about his mountain home. I loved every second on it, instant subscribe.

[@Ser-Vex131]

Considering humans have lived in mountains and caves throughout our history, it isn't unreasonable to assume Dwarves would happily live under a mountain.

[@Colonel-Sigma]

I just watched a video where a dwarf explains why his mountain has the most dwarvish dwarfs. He makes a good case considering he's a dwarf.

[@Grungeon_Master]

Mate, this is amazing. Thanks so much for reaching out and including me at the opening of your video. I had no idea you would have posted it this quickly, when it's so well-edited, shot, and everything else! I'm blown away. Truly amazing content, and it's always a plus to learn from someone with the experience to back up their words. Thanks Bordo! All success is well deserved. Huge congratulations on your brilliant video, and here's to more people learning about the Caucasian peoples! -Tom

[@thebordoshow]

Thank you too. I've been thinking of branching out to fantasy but never got to it, but your video inspired me to finally make one, so thanks

[@josephlongbone4255]

I love your voice, you sound like that one youtuber who makes giant elastic band powered automated crossbow and offers to "show me it's features."

[@thebordoshow]

I'm basically eastern Euro version of him

[@josephlongbone4255]

@@thebordoshow I also like that your model with the dwarves and the halflings quite closely matches Tolkien's design. With the dwarfs in the Lonely Mountain providing specialist goods and monetary services while the men of Dale and the Long Lake providing food and trade with the outside world.

[@YodaOnABender]

4:36 one thing I liked about the Hobbit movies is that some of the dwarves have northern English accents which could be seen as a nod to how a lot of northerners worked as miners for many years until Thatcher shut most of them down

[@jojobookish9529]

As a huge Tolkien nerd, "we shall put it in the Book of Grudges!" may be the most Dwarven phrase I've ever heard. 😂

[@Jamhael1]

The Scottish people already do something like this - they KNOW how to hold grudges...

[@dersuddeutschesumpf5444]

All these little Conan and other fantasy references inserted funnily really show how deep your appreciation for fantasy goes 😂

[@thebordoshow]

I actually cut a bunch of fantasy references for time but now I regret doing so.

[@xKeeganxxx]

Love the rambles! The distinction of hill and mountain peoples was particularly fascinating.

[@thebordoshow]

you can see it in Georgia very much. I'm personally a mix of lowland and highland Georgians and feel out of place in both communities

[@NightDangerRPG]

>8-20,000 years ago is more recent than Conan's Hyborian Age He was so real for this

[@jonhudson3568]

A place that has something similar to what you were talking about with mountain people alongside hill people, oddly enough is Hawai'I, because traditionally you have lots of fishing and trading in coastal villages, but as you go more inland from the shores, you start getting into people that did a more lumber cutting and hunting style living (or farming on the bigger islands) complete with their own form of gnomes, with the taller peaks being homes to various gods of their pantheon.

[@thebordoshow]

Thats why Learning about different cultures is important. You see what's unique and what's a universal pattern

[@jonhudson3568]

@@thebordoshow I agree, and why I'm glad I found your channel, because I get to learn more about a culture that I don't know much about

[@Jamhael1]

For some reason, I always saw Polynesians in general as the Goliath from D&D - a race who is dedicated to the activities of physical prowess, fair-play and impressive strength, whose bodies are marked by a strange set of lines that it is believed can reveal what is its fate. Or Orcs - have you seen the size of Polynesians? ABSOLUTE UNITS!

[@user-sz5mt8qq9h]

How could dwarves don't make sense? There is one right here on this video proving it real

[@longschlongsilver7628]

Me: * writing extensive lore about the history biology and culture of dwarves in my fantasy setting * This video: Me: * adds a duduk *

[@thebordoshow]

Don't forget a chiponi

[@anonperson3972]

Dwarves are basically if neanderthals survived into the middle ages and got really into mining and blacksmithing

[@peterdeak6932]

I used the Caucasus region and the cultures within as a base for worldbuilding not long ago. I must say that I learned more from you than all the research that I have done before. Thank you.

[@lucassmith7770]

Found this video to get a better grasp on how to make my dwarves unique. No prior knowledge of your history and the rich culture it has, but somehow made a near exact mirror. I am both even more inspired and yet perplexed. 😂 Thank you for your work.

[@thebordoshow]

Great to hear! My goal is to both share my ideas but my culture as well

[@connorperrett9559]

I trust anything this man has to say about Dwarves implicitly.

[@Atoll-ok1zm]

I aspire to such a level of glorious beardlyness. Also "forge priest" is just incredibly badass.

[@waltonsmith7210]

Im glad someone else sees their immediate surroundings in the same fantastical terms that I do. I live in the US state of Georgia btw. We have mountains too. I always used to imagine dwarves living in them.

[@thebordoshow]

2 Georgia's one heart!

[@Radagast49230]

@@thebordoshow From Kentucky here, I should send you some pictures I took on a misty morning after a nasty storm. Was out hunting squirrels and suddenly realized as I was looking at parts of the mountain and thinking about how many homes you could dig into that slope or this cliff face that I WAS the dwarf.

[@WreckItRolfe]

George also comes from the Greek for farmer, meaning 'Earth-work'

[@RodrigoTheHappyDog]

This is a FANTASTIC resource, for both worldbuilding, and learning about a culture I didn't even know existed until now. Great stuff.

[@Kazen169]

it took me 30 seconds to realize that was a blade. I thought he had a really rad smoking pipe. that's it, this man is going to be the stereotype for dwarves in my games from now on. i love it not going to lie I'm learning a lot and am loving it. I could listen to this sort of thing forever and not get bored

[@thebordoshow]

glad to hear, I'll make more content like this for sure

[@purpleisthesneakiest]

this randomly showed up in my recommendeds and i love it! the enthusiasm in your voice makes it really fun to just listen to you ramble on about the caucuses!

[@thebordoshow]

thank the great unknowable Algorithm

[@chshizuru]

Got this video recomended to me semi-randomly, but watching this tall pure-blooded dwarf talking about his native environment with such joy is very entertaining :)

[@MinstrelTwinkletoes]

Ser, I have travelled many leagues and been visited by many beings in this miasmic space we call the internet. Thou, gentle blacksmith, are by far one of the humblest, kindhearted, and peaceful souls to be found here. Many pitfalls and snares are on the road, and twice as many that wish me harm, but thou art most richly adorned than all the vain creatures that stalk the threads of the net. May He who dwells in thee prosper thee, and may thy craft glorify He who crafted the universe.

[@danielgiovanniello7217]

The Dwarves of my Pathfinder setting that I'm working on come from a mountain society heavily influenced by Welsh culture (The Dwarvish name for the Kingdom is Teyrnas Carregaen, for example), but I might belt some influence from the Caucasus Mountains now!

[@TalesofDawnandDusk]

Very informative, and I very much appreciate the topic of mountain dwelling cultures being from the Rockies in the US, and currently living in Japan which is a very rugged country. Also, as someone who translates very very old Japanese tales and puts them on here myself, I absolutely love hearing about traditional stories from around the world. We are a storytelling species, and it is to our benefit to pass down these stories and the ideas they contain, both through the original stories, and the adaptation of the ideas into new works of fantasy and world building. Thank you very much my friend.

[@thebordoshow]

I wholeheartedly agree. Culture is alive when its still in living memory and people connect by sharing stories. I'm personally fascinated by Innu and find many similarities with Caucasian culture

[@BigAutisticDaddy]

great video Borbo, i enjoyed it very much. I'm in the middle of writing a post-apocalypse story where technology and society has regressed to medieval standards, your tales of Alhassan forge priests have inspired me to make gunsmiths hiding in the mountains of my ruined world.

[@thebordoshow]

our world has actually been through multiple "Apocalypses". bronze age collapse, dark ages and many more regional falls, like mongolic devastation of middle east and East Europe, Caucasus has been through it all and always managed to scrape by while empires got berried under the sand

[@AHeckman118]

An idea that I loved as soon as I heard about it was basing dwarves culture on Ancient Near Eastern culture, city states and proto-kingdoms like Babylon and Ur. Builders of an inscrutable scale, worshipers of a strange fire religion, and known traders. When those ancient city states started building walls, wars basically came to a stop, because nobody had invented siege engines capable of taking them down yet, and I think dwarven defensive engineering would be on a similar level.

[@flourchild9186]

Oh I have shared this to as many places as I could. You are incredible!

[@thebordoshow]

Thank you kindly!

[@henrikaugustsson4041]

I think many people see the fantasy races as isolationist and independent societies. That’s why dwarves “make no sense” as you can’t grow anything in the mountain tunnels they’re said to dwell in. It does, indeed, not make sense that dwarves could live that type of life without trade, and they certainly couldn’t have started out by living inside the mountain, because they’d have only mushrooms to eat at best. It makes a lot more sense if dwarves are a part of a greater world, one in which their skills provide things they can trade for things they don’t have. Protecting societies that live below the mountain, mining and crafting, and selling that craftsmanship makes it actually plausible. I’ve been thinking about this for a while, and the question of “dwarven ale” has been bothering me. Dwarves couldn’t possibly make ale, if they don’t farm the land and make it themselves, but now I realise, yes they can, if they trade for the ingredients and then brew it!

[@levan613]

Man i am ready to donate some founds so that you can build your dwarf mountain kingdom in the mountain somewhere near Tbilisi, like lonely mountain place with gigantic halls

[@thebordoshow]

all in due time! I'm actually trying to build up Georgia's ethno historical tourism with more modern fantasy flare so god willing We will have our mountain kingdom soon!

[@josefstalin8069]

you seemed to put yourself down about not being interesting with you history rant, while yeah its not for everyone, I, at least, was fascinated to a fault. You speak with such passion and love for the subject it's genuinely inspiring!

[@thebordoshow]

Thanks, I often rant at people who aren't as interested in history so i feel bad for bothering them, thankfully there are plenty of cool folks out there who are interested in it!

[@josefstalin8069]

@@thebordoshow I also noticed you you say Caucasian (kaw-ka-see-an) as opposed to how I'm used to hearing it (kaw-kay-zhun) and I think this allows me to finally differentiate between Caucasian as a term for white people an Caucasian as a term for the mountain peoples

[@Zeithri]

I was not bored. I was amused by the fast forward segments. I found the relations between low lands and high lands to be fascinating and gave me some considerations. However while that sounds all good and well, I can't help but to feel it'll inevitably lead to a case of the upper class stomping on the lower class " _We fight and protect you, you should be glad and just shut up otherwise you'd be dead!_ " which is a sad re-occuring thing of humanity. I'll definetly check out a few others of your videos that I spotted over the days.

[@thebordoshow]

Class struggle is a great source of drama. World building should help create conflict for the story so perfect and all good societies are never as interesting to explore as flawed ones.

[@Zeithri]

That's a good point! I wasn't thinking of it in those terms when I wrote that comment, only seeing the way it'll break down but not the drama from it, even though that is a source I myself am incorporatng in my story! Thanks for the headbutt!

[@FernandoSanchez-fx4os]

I live in the mountains of south spain, and its very cool how the arabs made us be a society more agrarian, due to the developement of irrigation and water keeping, mainly in coparation to the people of the norther mountaisn of spain, that are more miners societies, but also fishing societies

[@thebordoshow]

As another (east) Iberian, Iberian peninsula is another underrated world to dive deep into

[@OsoPardove]

It's very interesting to me as a Venezuelan Andean considering how different peoples from Spain settled in different places of the Americas. So where I live most families had Galician, Basque or Canarian origins and there's a lot of focus on combining our indigenous hill farming practices and fishing in the rivers with big livestock farms in the plains around the rockier mountains, with cows and bulls being brought from Europe. Before Europeans came we did not have any big animal to help carrying or dragging things like horses or bulls so our societies were very isolationists, the indigenous Venezuelan Andean languages being even considered an isolated language family without relationship to those around it. With those animals we could actually start moving around and became more connected to the rest of the world

[@Jamhael1]

@@OsoPardove dude, imagine the Inca people! They built an empire on the slopes of the Andes!

[@tryllon4774]

I once found a copy of Ossetian version of Nart Sagas in my high school library. I was extremely impressed and still are. It was like reading a work of Tolkien but it hit much harder since it was an ancient text. So much wit, so much creativity, so much lessons, so much more. Kurdalægon smiles on to you, gamarcoba from your south-western neighbour my brother in wolf 🐺

[@thebordoshow]

Gaumarjos! Nart Sagas and many other Caucasian stories are amazing and I hope to bring more attention to it

[@tostimir]

Jokes aside, I'd love to sit with this guy on that porch and have a few beers. Greetings from the rocky hills of Herzegovina.

[@marinecor23]

20:00 I'd say you were successful. As an American I had no clue about your countries history or origins and I got so wrapped up in it I forgot I was watching a video about dwarves

[@scelonferdi]

When making up a world (just recreationally for myself) I had my dwarves being inspired by the swiss. Fierce defenders of their lands, known for their mountain culture and wealth. That being said, Mycenians with their military and mercantile centers in the heavily fortified mycenean palaces and known for their craftsmanship at the the time are also a great inspirataion.

[@thebordoshow]

I use Swiss for Goldbeard dwarves, who are more cunning and business oriented, holding the world gold reserve. its fun to use different inspirations for different variants of a fantasy race, so not to keep it stale and one dementional. not all humans look and act the same, so why should elves and dwarves.

[@GlitchyBluenette]

I’ve been working with a friend who is making a fantasy D&D type game with some worldbuilding for a specific race- The Galanshr (Giants| lit. Stone men) Instead of dwarves in the mountains, I took the creative liberty to do Giants. And I have been creating a conlang for the giants.

[@thebordoshow]

you can check out my video on Devi, who are Caucasian Giants

[@EpicDM]

The history lesson including Conan brought a smile to my face! Great video!

[@Zamtrios245]

I fully believe at least part of the sped up bit was a detailed explanation of how primates evolved

[@miriamluthi1306]

Excellent video! The way you talk about many different topics feel really cohesive and fluid, and has the vibes of sitting down with a friend and hearing them talk about the most interesting stuff you've ever heard. Anyways, I would like to add some points about the interaction between mountain societies and lowland ones from what I know of them in my corner of the world (Southern China and Mainland Southeast Asia), which might also be present to some extent in the Caucasus and other upland regions of the world. The perception folks I know have of mountain societies is that they're indigenous in a way that make "Them" separate from "Us". That people there in the highlands are a different sort of people, without such markers of Us-ness as sedentary rice farming and large population centers, and when They are the same thing as Us, they're "living ancestors," how we were in the past as opposed to how people are in the present. The truth is the mountains and the lowlands are in constant dialogue with each other, are of the same continuous group of people who interact and influence each other. One of the most common interactions happen when lowlanders and people in the foothills are faced with unacceptable taxation, conscription, or some form of oppression. They flee to the highlands where they're out of the state's reach. They abandon rice fields and cattle herds in favor of root crops and slash-and-burn agriculture (unlikely to produce much economic value to the state, and more difficult to be seized or destroyed). They live in less permanent settlements, making it even harder to be controlled by lowland states. (Tangentially related, but Hmong people often trace the etymology of the word "Hmong" to the one that means "free"). And highlanders weren't confined to a single language or culture, as a vast majority would be to some degree multilingual and dwelling on and around constantly shifting political and ethnic boundaries. In the ancient Chinese and Vietnamese classifications of peoples, a person's ethnicity depended less on how they lived (even less on what they looked like), and more on whether that person paid their taxes or not. "Raw" barbarians are those who lived outside state control (lowland history claim these as tribute-paying autonomous vassals, but they were more like trading partners), and "cooked" ones were direct subjects, but still barbarians who are on the first step of the linear path to civilization. On the other hand, lowlanders who "slipped" back into being highlanders are evil and devious people (in Chinese, 奸 jian) who betrayed their own kin and became one with the barbarians. Another important interaction happens when the highlands is of immense economic value to lowland states. Both of them can get by fine without the other, but they both prosper with trade. Aromatic wood, bezoar stones, tung oil, sap-based latexes, feathers, birds' nests, honey, beeswax, tea, tobacco, opium, and pepper for the lowland luxury market and its international trade routes; salt, seafood, ironware (okay this is the most uncharacteristic point for a dwarven culture), ceramics, pottery, fabric, needles, wires, matches, and kerosene for the highlands. Furthermore, the highlands themselves can offer as you said in the video, valuable and useful minerals (and aside from that, tourism and manpower). All you need is a labor force to extract it! Complete control is the ultimate goal, but without the distance-demolishing technology of paved roads, a lowland ruler is gonna have to settle for persuasion. The main thing they can offer to highlanders is a military alliance, a mutual partnership between equals. But the reality of political posturing turn a lowlander merchant-diplomat to a governor extracting tribute from an appointed "chieftain" (in reality, a particularly ambitious headman of a handful of villages eager for clout and valuable lowland products), while the lowlanders (from the highlander perspective) are naïve outsiders too preoccupied with putting themselves at the center of the universe to acknowledge the situation. Still a win-win for both, just one with political nuance that bolsters the position of both parties. Applying this to a fantasy setting is a bit fraught, since lowlanders and highlanders being at least the same species would conflict with the taxonomy of dwarves being distinct from humans. For this I propose something similar to the relationship H. sapiens (probably) had with H. neanderthalensis, where there would still be minor physiological differences, but cultural perception would be the main factor that's differentiating them. And… you know, so on. I ran out of juice writing this.

[@thebordoshow]

wow, for the most part you were describing the situation in Caucasus so perfectly I forgot you were talking about china 😅. the relationship you described between Imperial and free folk is basically the state that North Caucasus under Russia is and Georgia often found itself. I'm going to delve deeper on this topic when I cover more history, especially mountains as safe and free space. due to constant raiding and many attempts to wipe us out by myriad of empires many regions have sort of collapsible houses that can be moved, they had to pack up and leave as soon as the smoke rose over the hills. Highlanders were only "conquered" during soviet union when they finally built roads that can take their armies up there, before Highlanders didn't even recognize feudal system and only acknowledged the king as their equal. the similarities show that Geography plays such a heavy role in creating society.

[@sasstemir]

You made my day, friend! I thank the gods of youtube who brought me here. Best wishes and regards from your Circassian neighbor from other side of the mountains. You've just got a new (and very happy) subscriber

[@thebordoshow]

Mountain brother! Stronk together!

[@luckyshot522]

I feel like I'm listing to a dwarven sage teaching a class to college students

[@HA11EYS_COM3T]

I love how you can see the smile spread across his face when he mentions the Bronze Age

[@robertrabensohn3329]

Witching this video made me so happy and it makes me want to continue my world building i paused for a long time

[@thebordoshow]

Never late to continue what we love

[@JuanSebastianRamos]

As a historian I can say that this is amazing

[@thebordoshow]

Glad to hear it

[@iliasergeevich3815]

I really like that you're popularising your people's culture! Especcially in the context of story and world building, it just warms my heart even though im not caucasian or georgian or from there at all

[@CavemanBearPig]

I absolutely love the historical input you put in this video. All of these points are just amazing. Rock and Stone, fellow dawi! =D

[@thebordoshow]

rock and stone!

[@tjb3111]

I am amazed as i recently started a fantasy worldbuilding project with dwarves in mind, and had the exact same thought process of including elements of caucasian, tibetan and inca culture to make a more grounded version of this "moutain-dwelling" race we all know and love! It was an absolute delight to stumble on this video, and will happily explore more of your content as this video was as much informative as it was a pleasure to watch. It is an instant like and subscribe on my part!

[@Jamhael1]

Ok, now I need to see Dwarves throat-singing in the Himalayas...

[@anro8917]

I based the dwarves in my setting on ancient Canaanites and Israelites: matriarchal pastoralist nomads or semi-nomads, shepherds and highlanders with a charioteer culture, who have mountain-holds, fortified townships and communities for artisanal works, iron-smithing and bronze-forging, trade and some field cultivation in order to make bread, beer and linen.

[@DefeatedRoyalist]

Amazing! I did something similar but with an Assyrian/Babylonian twist emphasizing siege warfare and fortification building due to the abundance of tribals (goblins, orcs, wild Dawes folk, beasts) on their borders! Same emphasis on metallurgy with mountain fort colonies established on their imperial periphery to support their plains’ capitals and trade with neighbor states :)

[@Marvin-sj9lr]

Funny enough, Tolkien himself said that his dwarves have some jewish influence.

[@thebordoshow]

I had the same Idea but for Gnomes, as semi nomadic dwarves with eye for engineering and trading

[@thebordoshow]

same here, there are different clans of dwarves settled in far off regions, one of the closest is in the land of fire (middle east equivalent) is inspired by Babylon. Fun fact: there is a lot of cultural link between Babylonians and Svans who are isolated group of Georgians for 3000 years, they share many linguistic and mythological links. Goddes Innana was worshiped in Georgia, lullaby we sing to our children is a prayer to her

[@anro8917]

@@Marvin-sj9lr Yes, that was my impetus for making them more explicitly coded as Jewish, up to worshiping a single god and being monolatric.

[@Gilnar13]

An absolutely fantastic video! Thank you! I've been listening to the History of Rome and History of Byzantium podcasts lately and those got me interested in the Caucasus region. Your videos are a very welcome discovery for me.

[@theodorebear6714]

*Bless the dwarnks.* Those who are borne of the stone will stand in the depths forever!

[@symbolman5359]

Finding your channel was like stumbling upon a great and valuable treasure. Thank you.

[@thebordoshow]

Very happy to hear it

[@dmitriyb5206]

Used to read Vazha-Pshavela a lot when I was in highschool and the rich history and culture of Georgia always blew me away. Such an endless source for world building inspiration too. Would love to see more of those rumblings :D

[@deadredherring]

I'm really glad I got this video in my feed. In the project I'm working on the dwarves take heavy inspiration form slavic and eastern european cultures. So what you discussed here makes very much sense to me. Thank you for opening the door to old Georgian history. It's also interesting how some things remind me of old nordic mythology.

[@thebordoshow]

I'm actually working on a big project too, making a fantasy dnd style world but taking inspiration from black sea regions and beyond. Slavs to me are predominantly farmer culture, when they invaded Eastern Rome, rather than pillage and leave they started farming, so the romans let them stay. I get halfling vibes from slavic culture, especially Ukraine and Poland.

[@deadredherring]

@@thebordoshow I understand what you mean. I don't have halflings in my setting, so things like that become much more of a cultural question overall. I watched the video where you talk a bit about your project and it sounds really interesting. Some time ago I was thinking of making a game like that but based in nordic culture and myth. But I decided to focus on the project I'm working on now instead but brought some elements along from the other one.

[@thebordoshow]

@@deadredherring I have very big issue with choosing 1 topic to work on so i get ya

[@laurentiuvladutmanea3622]

Greeting from România! This video was pretty great. I originally came for the discussion on dwarf culture, but the lessons on Caucasian and Georgian history, culture and mythology was pretty damn interesting.

[@Overlord99762]

You are the most apt to talk about true Dwarfness! You are an honest to god dwarf, a man after my own heart. ROCK AND STONE!

[@thebordoshow]

Rock and stone brother!

[@graveleater9746]

My ancestors fled to Ecuador from Spain during the inquisition so I've been fortunate enough to visit my extended family in Quito before. The mountain climate is absolutely wonderful once you adjust to how thin the air is. Even in the dead of winter it never dropped below 60°F. Almost all year long the mangoes are in season.

[@deavonw]

I once made a Dwarven style race for a more sword and sorcery style world. The dunnish, styled after ancient Himalayan peoples and cultures to explain why the lived in mountains and caves.

[@Yesnarxo]

ohh, to stumble upon your video was a blessing, your channel is a treasure for a (north) caucasian fantasy lover like me from your appearance i guess that you're georgian, so gamarjoba, brother, and thank you for your content greetings from the mountains of chechnya! :)

[@thebordoshow]

Hello hello. My goal here is to promote all of Caucasus, so I hope I do it justice

[@ert8968]

Interesting video, personally, I find your digressions and your cultural perspectives very intriguing. You've even influenced and inspired me to let my own fantasy play and invent my own background story for dwarves.

[@ert8968]

If anyone is interested in my new understanding of dwarfs: It began millions of years ago, in a time known only by the gods, dragons, and beings of eternity. The ancestors of dwarves, goblins, and halflings lived in a mountain region larger than all the mountain regions of the world combined. The proto-dwarves, as I call the last common ancestors of dwarves, halflings, and goblins, lived in family tribes and wandered this gigantic mountain. They were small and did not live longer than humans. They also had no cities, villages, farms, or other permanent settlements yet. Due to their size, the proto-dwarves could not cover long distances daily, so they fiercely defended every piece of land. If another tribe occupied a forest or a river, it often meant starvation for one tribe. During this time, a natural toughness developed among the proto-dwarves, which the dwarves never lost. However, wars between tribes were rare because the losses in such tribal wars were high. The proto-dwarves, therefore, had extremely complicated and long-lasting oral agreements with each other. A proto-dwarf tribe that did not adhere to agreements was considered enemies, scum, and cursed for all time. After thousands of years, a tribe found a system of caverns where warm water flowed. In this cavern system, with the help of a god, the proto-dwarves began the first permanent settlement. Wood, leaves, and bushes were brought into the caverns to cultivate mushrooms for food. Over the millennia, this proto-dwarf tribe began to build their own caverns and create new mountain settlements. The other tribes began to trade with this tribe. Wood, herbs, animals, and other items found in the valleys were exchanged for metals, weapons, mushrooms, and protection from the mountain tribes. The tribes that lived in the valleys began to become halflings, while the tribe that lived in the caverns became the dwarves that can be found today. The tribes that never settled and lived nomadically became goblins.

[@thebordoshow]

glad to hear it. I'll do more fantasy mixed with history and anthropology videos and we can share more ideas on how to worldbuild

[@titanscerw]

I knew most of these informations already, thanks to my interest in history and Caucassian region previously, but you, sir you put is so nicely in one neat presentation, very pleasantly explained. Thank you, great work.

[@thebordoshow]

You can check out my other videos where I cover more niche topics such as Caucasian mythology and armor history in eastern Europe

[@TheMostBloatedOfBitterflies]

This video was really interesting! I've always compared Dwarves to Vikings and other nordic cultures but your argument is even better! Also I would love to see more videos on fantasy topics with real world relations!

[@daniellemons23]

“The Mountain provides” indeed, my friend! Thank you so much!

[@bore6505]

Another great video! I enjoyed listening to it while making maps for my own DnD setting.

[@thebordoshow]

love to hear it. I'll make more fantasy content and share my maps too

[@BranIzel]

what a great video! It's abundantly clear that you are passionate about your people and their history and it's positively infectious. Not only did you provide us a history and geography lesson, you gave us a wealth of information to speculate and imagine with for any wordbuilding projects. cheers!

[@thebordoshow]

Want to share my unique world to the wider world

[@weyjosh5213]

the history yapping section was hilarious

[@futurecaredesign]

Awesome insight into the history and culture of the Caucasus! Thank you!

[@Thunderwolf4]

Liked the vid Bordo! Much better take on how dwarven cultures could operate!

[@thebordoshow]

glad to hear it

[@galadballcrusher8182]

Damn straight mountain dwarves sources... Great vid. Now gonna go listen again to Wind Rose's "Army of Stone" right after i give another listen to their " I am the Mountain".

[@JValerianS]

Lovely ramble, keep it up and take care!

[@Ejtan]

This was very interesting. Thanks for recording and uploading :D

[@thebordoshow]

Thanks for watching

[@KimKhan]

Absolutely fantastic. You can tell this is personal, which makes the insights and comments feel all the more genuine and real.

[@KnifeCursed]

It’s really neat how a lot of the old stories about dwarves, faeries, elves, etc are told all around the world. I’m an Irish ancestry guy born in the US and my ancestor’s traditions are actually very similar to my wife’s Filipino ancestors traditions. It’s fascinating. She describes dwarves as little people, with beards, that live under the roots of trees and protect nature. When you walk near a tree you’re supposed to announce yourself and tell them that you can’t see them. That’s so you don’t step on one and make them angry. If you make them angry, they’ll mess with you.

[@thebordoshow]

Yes, many such universal tales sometimes makes me wonder are those stories at least partially true

[@KnifeCursed]

@@thebordoshow Wouldn’t that be amazing!

[@username7735]

@@thebordoshow Well at one point there were Denisovans, Neanderthals and Homo Sapiens living together in Eurasia, it's possible the Homo Sapiens interacted with them and it started the whole dwarf/gnome mythos. What makes me even more suspicious is that the Dwarf lore is only absent in sub-Saharan Africa where we have no traces of Dens or Neanderthals.

[@Radagast49230]

@@username7735 I think Dwarves are mythologized memories of interactions with neandertals. But you have to get very deep into the mythology and strain out the stuff added later, also in the last couple hundred years a lot of old mythology has been blendered together and lost distinctions between what used to be different entities.

[@seann4678]

In the middle of planning a new campaign and this video is quite the blessing. Loved your history of the caucuses, very interesting stuff!

[@cordak_Blaster]

Seeing him being so happy to talk about Georgia makes me happy

[@Dudereno1]

Best mic stand ever. Fantasic video, sir.

[@kimiyounasarukun]

Your accent is wonderful to listen to, your premise is immediately engaging, and your examples are a delight to listen to and learn from. Thanks for your contributions, I hope to see more from you on whatever topic you are inclined to share about going forward!

[@heatherwind]

This was incredibly informative and helpful -- thank you so much for your perspective, and sharing such rich insight into your home culture!

[@thebordoshow]

Glad to be of aid

[@TheCoyote808]

Google has dropped me on to your channel through the great algorithm. What a fantastic find! Bordo, thank you for bringing a passion ans love of sharing on a topic that maybe unheard of to many outside of one's home. I will do my best to share your video on this with friends who also enjoy fantasy world building for our D&D games for inspiration.

[@trailerparkwerewolf910]

In grade school I wrote a short story where Dwarves, Gnomes, Goblins, etc. coexisted with the American Westward expansion and become Lords over historic American Mining towns like Denver