Kossith

A Horned Qunari.

Qunari are identified as a large humanoid race hailing from the island nations of Par Vollen and Seheron in northern Thedas. They have bronze-hued skin, white hair, pointed ears, and vivid eyes with colors like violet, red, or yellow. Qunari are considered physically more robust than humans.

In Dragon Age II, it is revealed that most qunari have horns. Some are born without them, but it is not considered a defect—on the contrary, those born without horns are considered special, as they are meant for a special role in qunari society such as a Ben-Hassrath or an envoy to the other races. Sten, as a soldier of the Beresaad, falls into this category. It is not uncommon for qunari who betray their beliefs to remove their own horns (as in the case of Armaas), though the reason for this act is not yet clear.

Qunari don't use names to identify themselves, but their titles. Their "names" are strings of genealogical information used by the Tamassrans for record-keeping. Qunari are rarely seen in Ferelden with the exception of some high-class mercenaries.

While all of Thedas identifies the horned giants as the qunari race, it is not an accurate depiction of a qunari. As qunari means "people of the Qun", its literal meaning is any who follow what the Qun teaches. Therefore, any and all who accept the teachings of the qunari, be it humans or elves, are themselves qunari.

History

Qunari Lineup.

The qunari are recent arrivals to the area surrounding Ferelden, having arrived by warships four centuries ago from unknown eastern lands. While in the past they threatened to conquer all of Thedas, they are currently involved in a war for dominance of the north against the Tevinter Imperium. The qunari are apparently more technologically advanced than the native Thedosian cultures, possessing cannons and an impressive navy. The Beresaad is the name of the qunari military division Sten belongs to. According to Sten, the Beresaad division serves as "the vanguard of the qunari people". The qunari lack mages in anything near the numbers that Ferelden has, however, and should they ever be seen to perform forbidden magic, qunari mages would have their tongues cut out. Several Exalted Marches have been waged against them and they've lost much land in Thedas. The qunari still hold Kont-aar in northern Rivain, but that is the only permanent non-island holding the qunari currently retain.

When the qunari invade an area and capture the current citizens, they offer them the opportunity to convert to their philosophy, or be sent to work in prison camps. Any who resists either one are slain without pity, but some of those who convert to the Qun claim to feel pity towards those who choose not to. When the qunari were pushed back by the Exalted Marches, the Chantry was disturbed to discover that a surprisingly large number of members of their faith had quite happily converted to the foreign religion.

Tales of the Destruction of Thedas

Qunari from the Dragon Age II Destiny trailer

Part 1: Arrival of the Giants

“While historians often cite the darkspawn as the greatest single threat to Thedas, most people outside of the dwarven lands would say they are a more remote threat than the invaders called the qunari. There has not been a Blight in over four centuries, after all, since the hero Garahel defeated the Archdemon at the Battle of Ayesleigh. Over a hundred years later, in 6:30 Steel Age, the first qunari ships were reported off the coast of Par Vollen in the far north, marking the beginning of a new age of warfare. Gold-skinned giants said to hail from an eastern land across the Boeric Ocean, the qunari are a mystery to most people. To some, they are hated conquerors whose deadly skill at combat and destructive technology nearly brought the civilized world to its knees. To others they are heathens, worshippers of a strange religion that seek to spread it to “lesser” races by force. Still to others, such as in the southern lands of Ferelden, they are a legend, strange creatures from the far north that have been seen only on rare occasion since the peace began. Almost before the rest of Thedas had heard of the qunari’s appearance in Par Vollen they were invading the mainland, striking first into Rivain and Seheron. The defenders of those lands were hardly a match for qunari discipline and technology. One shot of the mighty cannons, the likes of which our ancestors of the time had never seen before, brought troops to their knees. Qunari warriors in glittering steel armor carved through the defenders with ease. History calls this the First Qunari War, but it was mostly a one-sided bloodbath, with the qunari advancing far into Tevinter within ten years. It was a dark time for Thedas, with the nations of mankind being forced to once again unite against a common enemy… this one intending not to destroy, as the darkspawn did, but rather to conquer a land they saw as in dire need of enlightenment. The qunari proved themselves to be the most frightening sort of opponent of all: religious zealots.”-- an excerpt from “Tales of the Destruction of Thedas” by Brother Genitivi, Chantry Scholar.

Part 2: The Golden Masters

Chained and Masked Qunari Mages.

“Stories of how the qunari treated the lands they occupied, ‘kabethari’ being the term for those lands in their language and supposedly meaning ‘those who need to be taught’, are varied and difficult to verify. Some claim that the qunari were guilty of terrorizing the populace. They divided children from their families and sent adults to ‘learning camps’ for indoctrination in their religious philosophies. Those who refused to obey were forced into indentured servitude or sent to mines or construction camps to labor… often until they perished of sheer exhaustion or starvation. Those who resisted were slain, instantly and without mercy. Many who obeyed their new masters, however, claim that they were treated well and even given a large amount of trust provided they followed the strict qunari codes of conduct and laws. For every tale of suffering recorded, there was another that tells of enlightenment from something called the ‘qun’. This is either a philosophical code or a written text, perhaps both, and some claim it may even be akin to the qunari god. Unlike the Chant of Light it governs all aspects of qunari life, both secular and spiritual, and the qunari are devoted to following its tenets strictly and without question. Those who recorded their interactions with the golden masters tell of mighty creatures, a head again taller than a man, with frighteningly calm demeanors and a sort of sparkling fire behind their eyes. Some even said they have a certain kindness to them, or a conspicuous lack of cruelty, and one Seheran who converted reported pity for those who had not, as if the conquerors’ religion led to a sort of self-discovery. ‘For all my life I followed the Maker wherever his path may lead me,’ he writes, ‘but in the faith of the qun I have found the means to travel my own path. If only all my people could understand what it is the qunari offer us.’ It is said that the most complete way to wipe out a people is not with weapons, but with books. Thankfully, a world that had known and repelled four Blights would not so easily bow to a foreign aggressor. The New Exalted Marches were about to begin.” -- an excerpt from “Tales of the Destruction of Thedas” by Brother Genitivi, Chantry Scholar.

Part 3: The New Exalted Marches

“Taking their names from the Exalted Marches of the past, the New Exalted Marches were declared by the Chantry in 7:25 Storm Age after nearly a century of internecine warfare throughout northern Thedas. The Imperial Chantry in Minrathous (the only unoccupied major Tevinter city) marched against Seheron and the occupied eastern territories of the Imperium, and the Divine in Val Royeaux commanded her templars to lead the armies of the south into Rivain. It was the grandest mobilization of martial power since the Fourth Blight. The greatest advantage that the Chantry-led forces had against the qunari was, in fact, the Circle of Magi. For all their technology, the qunari appeared to harbor a great hatred for all things magical. They possessed mages, but these were little better than animals kept on leashes… and none of the qunari mages possessed anywhere near the skill that the Circle’s mages had. Faced with cannons, the Chantry responded with lightning and balls of fire and it proved effective indeed. For all the force that the qunari armies had brought to bear on the north, they also lacked the sheer numbers of the humans. As each year passed, the Chantry pushed further and further into the qunari lines. Dealing with those of the local populace which had converted to the qunari religion proved difficult, especially as some of these had lived under the qun now for generations, and the response by many armies was simply to exterminate all those who had converted. Officially the Chantry denies this, claiming most converts fled north into Rivain and Par Vollen, but the mass graves at Nocen Fields and Marnus Pell attest otherwise. Indeed, so many were slain at Marnus Pell that the Veil is said to be permanently sundered, the ruins still plagued by restless corpses to this day. Regardless of how it was done, by 7:84 Storm Age the Qunari had been well and truly pushed back. Rivain was the only human land that embraced the qunari religion after being freed, and its rulers attempted to barter a peace. Envoys from most human lands gathered to sign the Llomerryn Accord, and peace was made between the qunari and all human lands other than the Tevinter Imperium. Even there, however, the qunari withdrew. Humanity had, with the Maker’s will, beat back the invaders and returned to its rightful place as masters of Thedas. It is a shaky peace that has lasted to this very day.” -- an excerpt from “Tales of the Destruction of Thedas” by Brother Genitivi, Chantry Scholar.

Society

Concept Art for the Qunari in Dragon Age II

Qunari don't have "family units". They don't marry or choose partners. Qunari do not even know to whom they are related. A Qunari's "family" are his or her coworkers.

A qunari's personal name isn't what we think of as a name. It's more like a social security number. It's information that the Tamassrans use to keep track of breeding. It's not something they ever call one another. What a qunari thinks of as their name is their job title. The job titles are differentiated by rank and task.

The Tamassrans raise all the children, give them their general education, and evaluate them. Qunari are officially assigned their roles when they are twelve years old. The Tamassrans have some tests, but nothing requiring a #2 pencil. They also have something of a head start on the process, since they are the ones who control the Qunari selective breeding program.

The Tamassrans wield a huge amount of influence. It's also a female gender role (as all administrative tasks are) which might lead an outsider to conclude that female qunari rule their society. Qunari don't, however, look on rulership quite the same way. The brain could be said to rule the body, but so does the heart, the lungs, the stomach. They are part of the whole.

Qunari believe the genders are inherently better at certain tasks: No matter how much aptitude a male shows for management, he'd never be as good at it as a female, therefore; it would never be considered efficient to put him into a role where a woman would serve better. The Tamassrans would find something else he showed aptitude for, and have him do that instead.

Qunari have been bred for specific roles for a very long time. Parentage isn't really the issue anymore: It's more like pedigree. But breeding doesn't determine the assigned task. If a qunari was bred to be a soldier, but turns out to be more intellectual -- the Tamassrans may stick them in the priesthood, researching weapons technology or the Ben-Hassrath, policing the populace, or who knows what, depending on what roles need filled by someone with their specific traits.

All qunari have a tool that signifies their role in qunari society. For soldiers, those tools are always weapons. In the case of soldiers at least, losing this weapon brands the owner soulless and they would be executed on sight by the Antaam.

They have their own mages. The saarebas (from the word bas or thing/object) are considered defective tools-- but the qunari don't waste those, either. The qunari mages are literally kept on leashes, held by an arvaarad (their "handler"). Should they ever be seen to perform forbidden magic, their tongues get cut out to prevent a mage who has been possessed by a demon from communicating and possibly corrupting someone else.

Qunari do not have currency. "Merchants" in qunari cities have the job of making sure goods are distributed appropriately. Qunari don't buy and sell things amongst one another.

Qunari don't generally associate mating with love. They feel love. They have friends. They form emotional bonds with one another. They just don't sleep with each other to express it. And if they do, they get re-educated by the Ben-Hassrath. If such a thing occurred and produced a child, the same thing would happen to the offspring as happens to all other Qunari offspring: It would be raised by the Tamassrans, evaluated, and assigned a job. Qunari don't waste people unnecessarily.

Qunari society is based upon learning as well as military might. Few speak the common tongue that is used among Theodesians, and fewer speak it well. In a culture that strives for perfection and mastery, to possess only a passable degree of skill is humiliating indeed, and so they often keep quiet amongst foreigners, out of shame.

Duty is paramount in Qunari culture, and their society is seen as a living entity, whose wellbeing is the responsibility of all. Each person is a drop of blood in the veins of the being, and they must do not what is best for them, but what is best for the creature. The Qunari army is the eyes, ears, legs arms and hands of the creature, everything that one needs to interact with the world, and so most Qunari encountered by Theodesians belong to the military. One cannot understand somebody by simply studying their hand or foot, and so to truly comprehend Qunari society, one must vist their cities, where the heart and soul dwell.

The primary symbol used to represent the Qunari as a people is a triangle, which symbolizes Qunari triumvirate of body, mind and soul. The "body" is represented by the "Arishok" {the military), the "mind" is represented by Arigena (the craftsmen) and the "soul" is represented by Ariqun (the priests).

It is this Triumvirate that govern all of qunari society by acting as the three pillars, or their three primary leaders in all matters. The Arishok who leads the armies, The Arigena who leads the craftsmen, and the Ariqun who leads the priesthood. All three are the head of their respective "paths", and work in unison to complete the whole of qunari society.

The Qun

"In Seheron and Par Vollen, one can truly see the qunari in their entirety. There, the unification of the qunari into a single being is most evident. Workers, whom the Qun calls the mind, produce everything the qunari require. The soul, the priesthood, seeks a greater understanding of the self, the world, and exhorts the body and mind to continually strive for perfection. The body serves as the go-between for the mind, the soul, and the world. Everyone and everything has a place, decided by the Qun, in which they work for the good of the whole. It is a life of certainty, of equality, if not individuality.

–From the writings of the Seer of Qont-arr, 8:41 Blessed."

The qunari follow the philosophy of the Qun (kyoon), a sort of religion based on the writings of the ashkaari Koslun. The Qun defines the role of everyone and everything in the society of the qunari, regardless of whether it is spiritual or mundane. For example, some qunari are raised as soldiers from a very young age. They are expected to be strong, disciplined, and stoic, adhering without fail to the tenets of honor and duty as defined in the Qun. Fanatical in this devotion, the qunari are prepared to wage war throughout their entire lives as part of their attempts to "enlighten" all other races in regards to their philosophy.

The qunari live after the rules in the Qun unquestioningly, and see it as their duty to convert the unbelieving, giving them their rightful place in the Qun. Even qunari attempts at trade with other races and nations are done primarily to size up potential opponents, rather than to amass resources or wealth.

The qunari do not believe in gods and find the concept of invisible all-knowing beings who are interested in judging you after you die laughable. They tolerate deism in the converted populations in Rivain and Seheron, however, as they view their inhabitants as just beginning the path to enlightened self-knowledge, and that they will discard that sort of superstition eventually.

Qunari who have abandoned the Qun are called Tal'Vashoth and live away from the qunari homelands, often working as mercenaries, some of whom the Warden will meet in places. Qunari value their weapons highly and consider them part of their worthiness. A qunari soldier must never be separated from his sword; such individuals will likely be shamed and/or executed upon returning to the homeland.

Extract from the Qun

Shok ebasit hissra. Meraad astaarit, meraad itwasit, aban aqun. Maraas shokra. Anaan esaam Qun. (Struggle is an illusion. The tide rises, the tide falls, but the sea is changeless. There is nothing to struggle against. Victory is in the Qun.)

Language

General

Anaan: Victory
Asala: (the) soul
Asit tal-eb: Something that must be done.
Atashi: Dragon

Bas: Foreigner, "thing"
Basvaarad: One who is worthy of being followed.

Ebasit: A form of "to be."
Esaam: "Can be found in" or "exists in the location of."

Gaatlok: Powder.

Kadan: Term for something one values highly. Or sometimes the center of the chest. (Literally, "where the heart lies.") The Warden is called this for retrieving Asala.
Kabethari: Simple person. Term used for all recently-conquered people who haven't converted to the Qun.

Panahedan: Goodbye.
Parshaara: Enough.

Qunari: People of the Qun.

Saar-qamek: Poison gas. Sataareth : That which upholds Shanedan: Hello. (Literally, "I'll hear you.")
Shok: War or struggle.

Vashedan: Crap. (Literally, "refuse" or "trash.")

Social

Antaam: A Qunari order that watches over the population and enforces the Qun. Sten mentions the Antaam as he ponders his lost blade.
Arigena: One of the Triumvirate, the three pillars/leaders of the Qunari people, leader of the craftsmen.
Arishok: One of the Triumvirate, the three pillars/leaders of the Qunari people, leader of the army.
Ariqun : One of the Triumvirate, the three pillars/leaders of the Qunari people, leader of the priests.
Armaas: a merchant and/or craftsmen.
Arvaarad: "one who holds back Evil", leashholder of the saarebas
Ashaad: An infantry scout.
Ashkaari: "One who seeks". This refers to scientists, philosophers, or those who have found enlightenment.
Beresaad: Vanguard
Ben-Hassrath: Qunari tasked with enforcing religious law.
Imekari: A child.
Karashok: An infantry private.
Kithshok: A military commander of the Seheron army. They also are in charge of negotiating trade between the Qunari and foreign traders at ports.
Qunoran Vehl: Someone who has achieved a great victory in the name of the Qun. (most like a saint as one is only declared after death.)
Sten: An infantry platoon commander.
Saarebas: A Dangerous thing, the qunari word for their mages.
Tal'Vashoth: A Qunari who has abandoned the Qun, technical exiles.
Tamassran: A priest or teacher.

Sten's Battle Cries

Ataash qunari! – "Glory to the qunari!"
Nehraa Beresaad! – "For the vanguard!"
Katara, bas! – "Die, thing!"
Ebost issala! – "Return to dust!"
Ashkost say hissra! – "Seek peace with your gods!"
Nehraa kadan! – "For my brothers!"
Anaan esaam Qun! – "Victory in the Qun!"

Trivia

• The Qunari have been nicknamed “militant Islamic Borg” by Lead Writer David Gaider.

Note: This is not in reference to specific religious beliefs, but to qunari relations with other races and the political structure of Thedas.

• The qunari are quite likely based partially on the Ottoman Empire and Seljuk Turks, as they are mortal enemies of the Tevinter Imperium, the latter of which has been equated to the Byzantine empire. They possess advanced technology including cannons, are considered heathens by the Chantry and have been the target of multiple Exalted Marches, the Chantry's equivalent to a Christian Crusade.
• David Gaider has said that qunari architecture is influenced by Mayan architecture.
• When a female Qunari is turned into a Broodmother by darkspawn, she produces Ogres.
• The structure of qunari society is nearly identical to that of the ideal community outlined in Plato's Republic. In The Republic, Plato (through the voice of the protagonist Socrates) also draws somewhat upon the warrior culture of ancient Sparta when designing the "Guardian" class of citizens.
• In Dragon Age II a possible achievement is to earn the respect of a rival, the Arishok who leads the Qunari that are stranded in Kirkwall.
• Contrary to popular belief, The mercenaris of Arl Howe Jarvy and Tennant are not Qunari. The same applies to Armaas, as they are Tal'Vashoth whereas Qunari is a term used to describe followers of the Qun.

Notable Qunari

File:Sten.png

Sten, a hornless qunari

• Sten
• Arishok

Notable Tal'vashoth

• Armaas
• Tennant
• Jarvy