Dwarfism in Kiravia

Dwarfism in Kiravia is documented from ancient times. In Kiravia's hierarchical and deeply segmented society, persons with in Kiravia have in most cases been treated differently than people with normal stature of the same background, sometimes for the sake of their own welfare, but also as a form of discrimination and exploitation. People with dwarfism have made notable contributions to Kiravian society and Coscivian civilisation, and have come to enjoy greater equality and opportunity in the modern era, but many continue to suffer from various social ills on account of their stature.

Nomenclature
Dwarves or midgets are called by various terms in the various languages of Kiravia. The currently accepted formal Kiravic term used in academia and newer government sources is mùgorikuv or mùgorihan (lit. "pygmy" or "pygmy human") mirroring zoological and botanical usage of the term for congenitally smaller variants of wider species or clades. Older formal terms include dundrikuv (lit. “stunted one”), which now properly refers to persons whose growth has been stunted by nutritional/ environmental factors or infectious disease, but remains the most widespread polite term in the common parlance and in older sources. Dwarves may consider dundrikuv and dundrix mildly offensive, depending on the context. The National Association of Very-Very Short Kiravians prefers isnidalix isnidalikuv (”very, very short”) in Standard Kiravic and biþnidalix, biþnidalikuv (”deeply short”) in Literary Kiravic, but also deems mùgorix/mùgorikuv acceptable.

Terms analogous to “little people”, considered correct in the Occident, are considered inappropriate in Kiravia, as they more commonly refer to færies and other beings common in Kiravian folklore by infusions from its Celtic analogue.

History
Essentially nothing is known about dwarfism during Kiravian dark history or prehistory. The oldest human skeleton exhibiting signs of dwarfism yet discovered in Great Kirav was found inside Orixalkuv Cave in Livangebra County, South Metrea, and dates to the Society I period ([DATE RANGE]), though not in the presence of Society I artifacts, suggesting that this prehistoric dwarf was born into a more primitive inland hunter-gatherer band that coëxisted with the archetypal sedentary food collectors of Society I. In the absence of direct evidence, it is assumed that persons with dwarfism in early agricultural Kirav before the rise of the Lawful Commonwealth would not have survived long, even compared to the very short average life expectancy of the time, as they would have been disproportionately impacted by the scarcity of resources, widespread infanticide, and endemic warfare that characterised Kiravian tribal societies at the time.

At least by the time that the Middle Coscivian Mode of Production coälesced, the view that midgets were not fit to live among the normal peasantry and should instead constitute their own communities became common. This was based on the premise that the tuva is an endogamous group, and that marriage between dwarves and persons of normal size is improper, therefore it is more appropriate for dwarves to marry other dwarves born into different tuva Outcastification of dwarves was most commonly practiced among the majority lowland agricultural tuva (such as the South Coscivians and the Kir people) living on cleared plains and river valleys. Non-agricultural castes, minority groups, and silvicultural and silvopastoral communities did not share this practice. Midgets born into peasant households might be bonded into the village menial caste to secure a livelihood for them, sent to live among the harsitem (as was often done to children born with other deformities), or placed in midget colonies to live in peace among their own kind. Colonisation of midgets became the preferred practice over time, especially after Christianisation, though oblation to monasteries also emerged as an alternative to sequestration with the harsitem or bonding into village menial status. Colonisation would later become state policy under the Third Coscivian Empire, which set aside lands in every district for colonisation by midgets and laid down the Edict of Sirentius, which placed midgets and their dwellings under the personal protection of the Emperor. It was also during this time that talented midgets began to find their way into the Imperial Court and Imperial Academy. A few midgets were even able to rise to positions of influence as high as the Vizierate, as they were judged by the Emperors to be both more loyal and less capable of attempting coups than full-statured persons.

As midgets were more likely to be brought up in monasteries than normals, and monasteries were major centres of intellectual production in post-classical Kiravia, it follows that a disproportionately high number of post-classical Coscivian writers, artists, theologians, and master brewers were midgets. These include Duns Kirrus, an eminent and theologian who stood at a paltry three-and-three-quarters kènet in height but wrote masterful syntheses reconciling Shaftonist-informed and Aristotelian-informed processes of major Christian theological arguments. Though not formally canonised, he is something of a folk-saint and is celebrated as the folk-patron-saint of midgets among the more diminutive of the Kiravian faithful.

Midget colonies can still be found in many parts of Kiravia. Most are found in remote or secluded areas to avoid harrassment. The densest concentration of midget colonies is found in the pinelands of South Niyaska.

Social Issues
Despite the social advancement of dwarves in modern times and the impact of movements for midget equality, as well as the above-mentioned notable contributions of midgets to society, Kiravian midgets still find themselves subject to harassment, discrimination, and other forms of maltreatment by normal people on account of their stature. The Inclusive Development Office of the Kiravian Development Executive is highly concerned with the economic and social welfare of the dwarf population, noting in its studies that while midgets born into favourable economic circumstances and more advanced castes experience outcomes broadly similar to their normal-sized peers, the vast majority of midgets are at a pronounced disadvantage when seeking employment and education, as well as access to mainstream social institutions. Many midgets from less privileged backgrounds find few opportunities for employment outside of menial work and the informal sector, despite charitable efforts to connect unemployed midgets with lines of work where their diminutive size might be played as an advantage. Many midgets work in travelling shows, as waitstaff in midget bars, as vernacular professional wrestlers, and in exotic performances for the more degenerate among the Kiravian citizenry.

Midget colonies are regarded as local oddities and curiosities. Known midget colonies may be targeted for pranks (sometimes violent in nature) by nearby youth and general miscreants. Some midget colonies have faced threats to their existence from agrarian paramilitaries, extractive businesses, organised crime, or others seeking to take control of their lands, due to the impression that midgets cannot offer significant physical resistance and that colonised midgets will not take consequential recourse to the civil authorities or the legal system. As such, many midget colonies are now heavily armed and increasingly reclusive, demonstrating threatening defencive behaviour towards strangers.

Dwarf-tossing
is a popular folk sport among Kiravians, and is often played in pubs and at county fairs and similar events. Although some legislators have pushed for restrictions on the sport, such efforts have yet to yield any enacted legislation beyond some local ordinances requiring that tossed dwarves wear protective helmets.

List of midget colonies

 * Mùgorikivon ("Midgetopolis") - Located in Issyria, it is the largest individual midget colony in Kiravia, with a population of over six thousand. It is a fully incorporated city complete with its own police force, emergency services, and airstrip.