“He bore a sword in each hand, No battle did he fail to master, The blood of Gaels was on his blade, The blood of foreigners he swept aside.” From a 17th century praise poem for John MacDonald, chief of Clan Ranald (The Red Book of MacMhuirich)

fuck it, here is a Lee Kuan Yew edit.

Khampa Tibetan nomad with his sword

Tibetan enforcer monk with an insane ritual outfit. I don't even know what this is called

The Last Emperor (1987)

Parade for the Concordia Association in Manchuria

The blood feud is both the blessing and curse of mountain peoples Tibet, Chechnya, and Scotland have all been ruled by larger empires due to constant feuding and political disunity But the constant violence of feuds also preserved their martial culture and biological excellence

Warrior cultures can focus on empire building only when clan and blood feuds ends Genghis Khan, who united the steppe clans, began his empire with a simple blood feud against the Tatars to avenge the death of his father The only the strongest unite their peoples into conquest

In Scotland, women and girls chase out foreign invaders with axes and swords, as per Celtic warrior traditions of antiquity

Exact same case with Buryat Mongols in Russia Mongols will join foreign empires to get a fix of adrenaline in war

This is a very interesting point - the prevalence of certain ethnic groups/populations in national militaries is usually a reflection of how warlike those people are. The high rate of ethnic minorities in the Russian armed forces is a good example of this. Contra other

Victory Day parades in Tuva include a large cavalry component, from 2019

Local Japanese Buddhists decided to knit a wool beanie for a statue of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva to keep it warm in winter This statue is on the side of a road and protects travellers from traffic accidents

Going on a pilgrimage. I seek refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. May all sentient beings abide in perfect tranquility. Victory belongs to the gods.