There are four tribes in Populous: The Beginning; all of them are identical in ability. Each tribe is distinguishable by different color, by a different shaman graphic, and by different building appearances.
The Shamans
Blue Tribe[]
In terms of coding, the Blue tribe is called the Player tribe as seen in Single Player saved games. In Single Player, this is the tribe that the player takes control of to aid the Blue Shaman on her quest, to destroy her enemies and become a god. Some players incorrectly call this tribe the "Ikani" (a variation on "Dakini"), though even the developers of Populous: The Beginning say it was never given a name.
Dakini[]
- Main article: Dakini
The Dakini are probably the most powerful enemy in Populous. When the player fights the Dakini, they have (50% of the time) their camp entirely complete.
Vaults of Knowledge[]
The Dakini have many powerful and useful Vaults of Knowledge. Their Vaults of Knowledge contain tornado, firestorm, Angel of Death, volcano, Warrior Training Hut and Firewarrior Training Hut.
Invasion of the Dakini[]
When the Dakini attacks, they use a good strike force. On a mission like Archipelago the tribe uses boats for an early, heavy attack. A Dakini attack force typically consists of 4 Preachers, 6 Warriors and 6 to 8 Firewarriors.
Chumara[]
- Main article: Chumara
The Chumara tribe wear yellow clothes and their Shaman's mask is shaped like a sun. In the level Unlikely Allies, the Chumara Tribe is your ally and the Dakini Tribe is your enemy. On the level, Human Shield the Chumara tribe is allied with the Dakini. You and the Matak Tribe are enemies with each other and enemies with the Dakini-Chumara Alliance. The first level where you will meet the Chumara is Crisis of Faith, where the discovery of the preacher takes place.
The Chumara tribe is popular for being on islands by themselves in Single Player. They are known for their use of preachers as well as some uncommon (by online standards) tactics to achieve victory.
They are on a island to themselves in these levels:
- 7: Unseen Enemy
- 9: Fire In The Mist
- 11: Treacherous Souls
- 13: Aerial Bombardment
- 14: Attacked From All Sides
- 15: Incarcerated
- 18: Head Hunter
- 22: Solo
- 23: Inferno
Vaults of Knowledge[]
The Chumara's Vaults of Knowledge contain "tricky" spells and buildings. For spells, their Vaults of Knowledge contain invisibility, hypnotise and Magical Shield. For buildings their Vaults of Knowledge include the temple and Spy Training Hut.
Matak[]
- Main article: Matak
The Matak are the green tribe in the game. They are usually the weakest on worlds where all 3 enemy tribes are found.
Vaults of Knowledge[]
The Matak Vaults of Knowledge include earthy spells and one very important building. For spells their Vaults of Knowledge contain erode, swamp, lightning, swarm, flatten, landbridge, and earthquake. For the building the Vaults of Knowledge contains the Guard Tower.
Demo Tribe Names[]
In the Demo version of Populous, the tribe names for Yellow and Green were switched such that yellow was called the Matak tribe, and green was called the Chumara Tribe. By placing units of the green tribe into a level played in the demo, users can confirm that the names were indeed switched.