In anticipation of the Fire/Sky Book, here’s a few notes on farming in Dara Happa.
Dara Happa supports a diverse agricultural system shaped by its river systems, wetlands, and varied climate. The agricultural organization reflects a stratified society, blending small-scale subsistence farming with large estates geared toward surplus production.
Farm Sizes
Peloria’s farms vary widely in size reflecting its hierarchical structure:
- Small Farms (1–5 hectares): These farms on which about 55% of the free or semifree rural population live, typically supporting 6 people, are below subsistence level.
- Medium Farms (4–15 hectares): About 15% of the free or semifree rural population have farms averaging 9.5 hectares, but capable of subsistence.
- Larger Farms (15–20 hectares): 15% of the free rural population are on farms averaging 17.5 hectares, with 40 people per farm.
- Estates (25–200+ hectares): About 14% of the free or semi-free slave population, averaging 125 hectares, totalling 387,250 hectares, also supporting 150 people (including 110 enslaved free people).
- Vast Estates (1000+ hectares): About 1% of the free or semifree people are on farms averaging 5000 hectares, with 1000-2000 people (!) per farm. These are typically associated with the Imperial Household, satraps, or great temples.
Larger farms (25+ hectares) dominate, accounting for 54% of farmland, producing surplus for the Lunar Empire necessary for its very large urban population. Labor is a mix of free farmers and forced labor. This labor system ensures that larger farms can manage labor-intensive crops despite the region’s scale.
Dara Happa’s agriculture centers on barley, maize and domesticated wild rice, supported by its river system (Jillaro to Elz Ast) and irrigation canals:
- Wild Rice: Grown in wetlands and canal-fed paddies, it thrives in shallow, muddy waters (0.3–1 m deep) during Fire season (20–30°C), planted in late Sea and harvested in Earth.
- Maize: Cultivated on well-drained land, maize benefits from 50–80 cm of water (via rainfall or irrigation), following the same seasonal cycle as wild rice.
- Barley: Cultivated on well-drained land, barley benefits from 30–50 cm of water (via rainfall or irrigation), following the same seasonal cycle as wild rice.
- Irrigation: Canals maintain wetlands for wild rice and irrigate maize fields, especially in drier areas (e.g., Raibanth, 36 cm rainfall), ensuring consistent water supply across the steppe.
What of Dara Happan society remains despite Lunar domination? The Dara Happans ARE the core of the Lunar Heartlands. They are the same people. It’s like saying were there any indication that Sassanian or Parthian society remained in Mesopotamia by the time of the Seljuks despite the Umayyads and Abbasids? The answer is sure, but they are Muslim by then, now Zorastrian. Or like asking was there any indication of Hellenistic society in the Byzantine society of the Isaurians? Yes but they are Christians.
Now the acceptance of the Lunar Way in Dara Happa is easier than in either of these. But the Red Goddess is not viewed as some foreign our outside invader in the Dara Happa of 1625. She’s a native goddess and the Red Moon is right above you.
What percentage of land is cultivated to grow cotton and flax? maybe around 5% for cotton and less for flax. Barley, maize, and rice are the staples and cities like Glamour, Raibanth, Yuthuppa, and Alkoth require huge surpluses.
BTW, that’s likely a big part of the reason why the Lunar Empire uses forced labor on such a large scale. It needs a huge surplus of grain, maize, and rice to feed those cities. Force labor also helps maintain the far more extensive irrigation system. Those huge estates feed the cities.
About 15-20% of the area in Dara Happa (and I just mean Dara Happa) is wetland and marshes, used for fishing and hunting, but not allocated for farming.
As an aside, about 50% of Dara Happa is still uncultivated grasslands, and used primarily for grazing of cattle, horses, etc. Which is actually a lower percentage than in the Missouri Alluvial Plain or the Platte River Basin, which are probably among the better comparisons to Peloria out there.