The kutsanya are nomadic mutumwa in the arid, eastern regions of Taggarus. They live in large tribes made up of 30-40 families. Each family has a patriarch, called a sekuru (great-grandfather), who is part of a council that leads the tribe. The sekuru of each family is in charge of the family's herds, warriors, and other resources, determining how much is shared with whom. Warriors and lead-herders usually get the most, and then healers and nziraziva, then wagon-leaders, then the others.

Tribes mostly herd (Taggaran) buffalo and sheep. Herders are the most common role in the tribe. Every herd is protected by four or five herders, including the mutungamiri (lead-herder) plus one to three warriors (kubaya).

Warriors use assegai, mostly, and wear protective clothing made of buffalo hide. They double as hunters for the tribe, but hunting is only done in order to kill predators that have been attacking the herds. If a warrior kills a particularly dangerous predator, they are granted its skin as a reward, and they wear them as symbols of status. In order of prestige, they are cheetah, lion, hyena, wild dog, and jackal.

Every tribe has wagons equal to triple the number of families. Wagon teams are led by a vhiri musoro, or head wagoneer. For every three wagons, there is a warrior who protects them, walking along side. There are two kinds of wagons: ones for carrying people and ones for carrying materials. The latter are large, long wagons covered in buffalo-hide tarps. The former are shorter in length, but taller, and they have special compartments for sleeping. Most of the tribe walks, but children, the infirm, elderly, and those necessary to watch over the children ride in the wagons. There are also spaces on the wagons for those who simply need to rest for part of the journey; however, the kutsanya take pride in their ability to walk for miles and miles.

Because they are changing bodily quite often, kutsanya do not equate biology with gender. Gender roles are fluid and have more to do with social interactions than work. Work is determined by what one can do. Social interactions are determined by gender and status. Men are considered superior to women, who are superior to other genders, but since gender is fluid, people's positions change. Status trumps gender as well; a female sekuru outranks a male warrior. A nonbinary lion-warrior outranks a female hyena-warrior, but a female hyena-warrior is equal to a male wild dog-warrior. The complex web of rank determined by status and gender is understood culturally by the kutsanya, but outsiders often become confused by it.

There is no such thing as marriage among the kutsanya. Instead, they have tichifamba pamwe chete, or "walking together." This is understood to be temporary; those who remain walking together for the rest of their lives are rare and considered odd. While two people are walking together, they are considered part of both families. Their children are only part of the family of the birthing parent, however. Children are raised by their families, which include all generations, and by the non-birthing parent (if known). When the walking together ends, however, the non-birthing parent has no say or rights to the child. They may still maintain a positive relationship with them, but they will not be considered family at that time.

Children are taught by their elders, and their role within the family is determined when they are in their early teens. The elders will begin focusing their education on the specific role they expect of the child. If the child eventually rejects the role, they must train themselves in a new one or be outcast from the family. By the age of 22, they should have taken on their role in the tribe fully, and at this time, they undertake a ceremony of adulthood called achisimuka, or rising. The ceremony requires that they run ahead of the tribe for seven days, resting only when they physically cannot continue. Moments of rest are not counted toward the time running, and thus, it usually takes most around a month to complete. Once they have run for a full seven days' worth, they are given a special drink made of buffalo milk and fermented fruit. This drink usually causes them to vomit, and that vomit is divined by the sekuru to tell the new adult their fate. If they do not vomit, this indicates a life of good fortune. There is then a feast held by their family.

When a kutsanya dies, they are mourned for seven days, then their body is placed on a special buffalo-hide canopy and left for an air burial. The spot where they are left is marked with seven stones, and when the tribe passes by next, they stop to honor the fallen for seven years after the death. After that, they scatter the stones (assuming no one else has). They call death akamira, or "when we are stopped."

The kutsanya mutumwa worship Mufambi Shamwari, a wandering god who is part of many, many stories. Mufambi Shamwari takes many forms in the stories, always something fast, especially a cheetah or gazelle. They are always "they," for they are considered to be many in one. They are partly a trickster, partly an ancestral guide, and partly a warrior leader. They provide wisdom through practical lessons, and they often send messages in the form of birds (and they never take the form of a bird themself). They also never take the form of a kutsanya, though they are considered one of the kutsanya ancestors. It is said the first kutsanya sprang from their blood and tears.

Each tribe has a vatumwa, or messenger, who is the spiritual leader of the tribe. The vatumwa gives up their family in order to be part of all families in the tribe. They lose their gender, they lose their rank, and they become equal to all members of the tribe, interpreter of messages from the birds, and adviser to the sekuru. They lead the seven ceremonies honoring Mufambi Shamwari, all of which are special races.

A vatumwa carries a staff adorned with feathers from many different birds. This staff is passed from vatumwa to vatumwa, gaining more and more feathers as time goes on, losing some occasionally. The staff allows the vatumwa to fly when necessary, though this is used only in the most sacred races or during times of war.