Mimbibl

* Flag
* Location

Mimbibl (or Mimbibble) is a relatively primative nation formed from the confederation of the tribes of the Blimblabolobobmz. Mimbible consists of tropical seasonal forest that rides astride the river Obthmong, a tributary to the Sea of Hope on the Western Continent.

Mimbibl is the sole nation of Blimblab People (Mindlibibibmz: Blimblabolobobmz), a peculiar race of humanoids (?) indigenous to the the north-eastern forests. Mimbibl is a young and isolated nation, which only in recent times has made contact with the outside world. All be it, entirely by coincidence.

Basic Statistics

## History

It is unknown how long the Blimblab have existed, nor is it known how long the Blimblab have had material culture and tradition. The Blimblab regard the Thlangmw, the race of trees whose fruit they are birthed from, as beyond ancient, but their origin and the origin of the Blimblab is hitherto also unknown.

The Blimblab lived peacefully in semi-nomadic tribal societies, moving around tribal territory as seasons progressed, hunting and gathering to survive. The first permanent settlement was the village of Imzim. Imzim was founded when a tribe of Blimblabolites chose to stay in the same place and tend to a Thlangmw grove, as opposed to finding groves and gathering new members as they travelled. This choice was seen as an overall good decision by the other tribes, so they too did the same thing, settling around and tending to Thlangmw groves. Villages would then begin to develop individually, trading with each other for resources and services.

An extreme monsoon flooded the village of Ziblim and destroyed it’s grove. Imzim was thus flooded with refugees from Ziblim, whom the people of Imzim welcomed, expanding the village to accommodate them and planting the recovered seeds of Ziblim's grove amongst the grove of Imzim. A fungus infected the grove of the far away village of Vlibl and they came to Imzim with no seeds and no way to carry on their lineage, so the village of Imzim took up their fashion, speech and style of rug and began to build with mud as the Vlibl did. Thus began the first fortified Blimblab city of Imziblimvlibl.

The Formation of Imziblimvlibl marks the beginning of the first year on the Blimblab Calendar (Meta-game Week 19). Blimblab traditionally count time by thlangmw flowering seasons, however the seasons may vary from flowering once or twice every year to once every two to three years (average 2.6). Assuming every meta-game week is roughly 26 solar rotations, as of week 24, it has been 130 solar rotations, equating to. 50 Blimblab Years. [Blimey 50]

Within the first year of the Blimblab calendar, and likewise the first year of Mimbibl's existence. the tribes of the Blimblabolobobmz grew exceedingly. Only upon the noticing of this growth came the realisation that the stretch of land the Blimblab were familiar with that seemed to be encompassed by a great excess of more land. Thusly, when the fruiting period came, tribes and various individuals took the Thlangmw seeds and journeyed west, planting new groves with them. When the Blimblab climbed atop of the heights of the hillier west, the Blimblab saw something peculiar. The Blimblab, since as far as they could remember, where the only dwellers of the known lands. They all knew each other and sought to maintain regular contact with each other to maintain pollination between the trees of each communities groves. Now, atop hills, they saw smoke, as if from a campfire, arising above the tree tops from the southeast and began to hear strange rhythmic drumming. However, as is their cultural ambivalence, they quickly returned to their business, only somewhat aware that another people existed. The Masati.

Expansion westward brought with it the occupation of lands richer in rocks and stone than the former Blimblab homeland. While flint was previously utilised, it became increasingly more accessible and thus became more widespread among the Blimblabs. Stone tool use was also accompanied with the influx of stone architecture building. Prior Blimblab dwellings were either the temporary humpies of the roaming tribes or the wattle and daub mud huts of the capital. Granite rocks were much plentiful in the newly settled westward lands so the newly landed tribes built larger, more permanent dwellings with stone bases. Imziblimvlibl was always built and repaired with local mud, however many residents sought to adopt the stone-masonry of their western compatriots. The people of the city however were mainly unpersuaded, thus led to a migration of urban Blimblabs westwards where they, in tandem with western tribes, established the city of Glomzbobz in Blimey 36. The influx of stone-masonry brought with it the curious practice of carving the patterns and symbols of rugs onto sheets of slate.

The establishment of a permanent settlement south of the Obthmong was what facilitated the Blimblab's first interaction with outside civilization. A regular expedition made to gather food and stone led to a chance encounter with Masati scouts. The Masati scouts were already privy to the presence of the Blimblab however it was not likewise. The initial few scouts the Blimblabs encountered attempted communication however the Blimblab party were dumbfounded with the various rhythms of their southern neighbours and thus simply watched in confusion. After this awkward encounter various members of the party found it upon themselves to begin drumming and told legends of forest spirits who spoke not with their mouths, but with drums. Thus began a tradition of drumming to appease the forest before expeditions were made.

Official relations between Mimbibl and Masat began in Blimey 47, wherein a Masati scouting party happened upon a Blimblab village in the early Morning hours. The Masati where previously aware of the presence of the Blimblab, recalling, upon coming upon the village, the last attempt at communication between the two nations. To avoid another situation of such awkward nature, the Masati prepared simple drawings and discussed how they would proceed through affairs. Their discussion, of course, was through drumming, which woke up the villagers. This brought the Masati discussion to an abrupt close, however the villagers were already somewhat prepared, they heard the drumming and saw the pale people and thought it only appropriate to bring out the drums and start, well, drumming. While, rhythmic, musical drumming at first, rudimentary communications were eventually established. This marked teh beginning of Mimbibl's interactions with the outside world.

Contact with Othenia became established in Blimey 54, with the arrival of a specialised delegation to the village of Bzgumbdb.

## Geography

The nation rides astride a river known to the Blimblab as the Obthmong. The Obthmong splits the country between the wet and heavily forested north and the dryer, flatter scrubland to the south. Mimbibl lies within a tropical climate zone and thus regularly experiences wet and dry seasons each year, with regular flooding of the riverbanks and swampland in the wet season. The scrubland to the south often faces small bushfires in the dry season. Blimblab were orignally confined to the northern reaches of the land before a tribe in the east began throwing Thlangmw seeds across the river. Eventually a tree grew and fruited on the southern banks and the Blimblab journeyed westward. As some southerly tribes journeyed west so too did the northerners. This brought with it the spread of the Thlangmw tree to the banks of the obthmong, far from it's original home. Mimbibl (as of 30/1/22) only borders one nation, Masat.

### Fauna

Various marsupials inhabit the forests of and around Mimbibl, such as Possums, Koalas, Bilbies, Wallabies, wombats and Numbats. Monotremes are also present in Mimbibl as they are on the entire western continent, including the platypus and echidnas. Short-beaked echidnas inhabit the drier, scrubbier areas south of the Obthmong as well as the more sparsely forested regions on the northern banks of the Obthmong, however the north is home to much larger echidnas. Echidnas of the north more closely resemble Long beaked echidnas (of new guinea) but reach larger sizes with more formidable claws and front legs like the anteaters of the western continent (Giant Anteaters of South America).

Another monotreme endemic to Mimbibl and the surrounding forests is an Animal known to the Blimblab as Umthimbd.
Umthimbd most closely resemble wolves in shape and stature but differ in many places. Their ears are larger and longer to sense for predators like the Higer, their legs are longer and thinner allowing them to stand above and survey tall grass, their tails are stubbier and most peculiarly are green and possessing of beaks. It is after this that their resemblance to wolves is entirely superficial as they are aforementioned monotremes, mammals that lay eggs. Their 'beaks', much like platypus bills, are not actually beaks but a specialised skin covering on their muzzle. Unlike the highly sensitive bills of the platypus Umthimbd beaks are leathery and thick, allowing them to withstand strikes from snakes and other more aggressive animals. They prey mostly on small marsupials, ground-dwelling birds and reptiles and their eggs. If a possum or koala were to find its way to the forest floor then they would like indulge themselves, despite the more aggressive disposition of koalas. Echidnas are also preyed upon, but other animals are much preferred. Umthimbd may feast on the left-over carcasses of larger animals they would otherwise have much difficulty downing, such as wombats and geese. Thusly they have developed strong stomach acids as well as large digestive tracts that are capable of consuming meat that may otherwise be harmful. Umthimbd are cousins of the larger and more aggressive Hellhounds of the north, which bear resemblances through being wolf-like, beaked monotremes, thus being part of the clade *Rostrulupus*.

Placental mammals also live in the forest in and around Mimbibl but are less frequent, as they pose more threat and competition to each other than they do to the marsupials. Wapaloosie (Blimblab: 'Wabaluz') are hexapod mammals resembling be-antlered weasels that scurry among the underbrush of the drier south as opportunistic omnivores, eating mainly small rodents and reptiles however occasionally may dine on a large insect or a fallen Quandong. Many Blimblab would testify to having had seen a Higer, however their presence is highly doubtful and lacking in physical evidence. However, a large predator of some sort is known to inhabit the northern forests as suggested by animal droppings, tracks, the behaviour of wildlife and the Blimblab legend of the 'Zugmgund', a large, ferocious and toothy beast.

The Lantern Snake (Gmizbngud) curious reptile that calls Mimbibl's thick forests home. Unlike every other snake, Lantern snakes are insectivorous and feed on flying insects that peruse the night. They are, however, partial to meat every now then and through meat-based coercion sometimes taken in by Blimblab villages as a novel pet and alternative to a torch. They are pale blue in colour with a yellow tinted throat pouch, like a frog’s vocal sac. In it's trachea it harbours glowing, hydrogen producing bacteria. With that hydrogen they inflate their pouches and emit a glow that attracts night glowing insects. The snake's tongue acts as a trapdoor, letting insects into the chamber until there are a sufficient amount to swallow. They wrap themselves tightly to plant limbs, so not to float away. This floating along with the light production makes them great torch alternatives that free up a hand, as they grip onto you instead of vice versa.

### **Flora**

The **Thlangmw** tree or 'People Tree' is endemic and possibly exclusive to the forests of Mimbibl. Tall, with deep blueish foliage and pale bark, the tree fundamentally resembles eucalyptus trees, with the gnarled and immense root structures of mangroves and fig trees. Thlangmw grow in swamps, marshes, near ponds lakes as well as rivers and various other wetlands. If the correct environmental conditions are met, sufficient humidity and presence of nutrients, Thlangmws will flower. This flowering happens regularly every two to three years however extreme monsoon seasons can inflict flowering season to happen in quicker succession. Each new flowering marks the beginning of a new season and it is these seasons that Blimblabs count their lifespans by. Thlangmw have two sexes; male & female. Once the female flowers are pollinated it can take a couple of weeks to several years for those pollinated flowers to develop into fruit and ripen. Once fully ripe, the fruit will fall to the ground and split into segments, a young Blimblab emerging from the centre. At the apex of each segment, near the stem, there will be a seed. Traditionally the fruits themselves were pounded and mixed with grain to make a dough that would be baked and then eaten by the new generation. Recently however, Blimblabs have taken to storing the the fruit in hollow tree stumps, mashing them into a pulp and then being left to ‘mature’, creating alcohol.

Many species native to the north-eastern forest as a whole can also be found in Mimbibl and are often utilised by the Blimblab.

Plants with names 'in apostrophes' have no real-world name as they are fictional Plants.

## Languages

The official language of Mimbibl and (the only oral language) is Mindlibibibmz. The Blimblab tribes all speak Mindlibibibmz (abbreviated to Mindlib). Mindlib has no written language or script, however Blimblab tradition does bring about the ceremonial weaving of rugs, which can be woven to record information, however the information these rugs convey has no recorded linguistic value.

Mindlib word order is VOS.

Mindlib has three genders, Male, Female & Undetermined. As the Blimblab are a race without sex, undetermined is the most commonly used. Gender is expressed with vowel harmony and prefixes, thusly a noun has three forms for the three genders (e.g. the words for 'person' are 'Izib' - 'man', 'ezeb' - 'woman' and 'muzub' - 'person of unspecified gender'). Some nouns have taken to using one gender or are not subject to gender whatsoever.

Due to a cultural inclination against certainty, Mindlib. tenses SHOULD be translated as ‘was’, ‘is’, ‘will’ etc. when prefaced with ‘probably’. Likewise, imperatives do not exist in the same manner, and are instead equivalent to ‘could you do x’ as opposed to ‘you will do x’

Mindlib is notable for only using voiced plosives /b/, /d/, /g/, /z/, /β/, /dʃ/ & /ð/

Note: The following examples will use "mung" and "ungum" As the second and first person person singular pronouns, respectively. "Mung" and "Ungum" are in the undetermined gender. "Ming" and "Ingim" are the Male second and first person singular pronouns respectively. "Meng" and "Engem" are the Female second and first person singular pronouns respectively

Every village south of the Obthmong has at least one individual who "speaks" the Bahn language of Masat, however the Blimblabs make no connection between the drumming rhythms and oral communication.

## Government

### Politics

Traditional Blimblab tribes were led by a Mamlab, who made decisions on where community activities will take place, what practices shall be conducted where as well as where and what buildings shall be built. Additionally, the Mamlab also holds a spiritual role. Mimbibl as a nation is Led by the Mamlab of Imziblimvlibl.

The Mamlab is traditionally chosen upon the falling of the first Thlangmw fruit. The Mamlab is chosen by the eldest and most revered of the Blimblab community, the mamlab being the person they deem the most competent, compassionate and logical to take the position. The Mamlab can not command this council of elders, however the council cannot command the Mamlab. The Mamlab’s decisions must be verified by the council and ultimately the people at large, however they can be enforced without council mandate. The council are most actively engaged in the community and thus function as the mouth of the people to the Mamlab and are under obligation to speak on their behalf. The council has much respect and they give council to the mamlab and the people, however the council have no legal authority over the people.

Membership of council is automatically reached upon surpassing 18 seasons\*. The people, on paper, have the ability to elevate whoever they like to the council through whatever means and for whatever reasons they see fit.

\*As of the Year 1 on Blimblab calender. Equates to around 46 years of age.

### Law & Trade

Mimbibl works not on currency but through a system of favour and barter. Every good and service requires work, work was done to attain said good and work is put in by whomever is performing the service. Blimblabs, culturally, see that no one person should expect someone to work for them without having to work in return. Favours are the favoured form of transaction amongst close personal relationships. Nothing is required up-front for the good or service but you are indebted and thus expected to equalise the transaction at some point. For instance, if one works in the fields collecting grain and another works to mill that grain and another to bake it into bread and so on, they all expect to see an equal share of the bread. If someone outside this process asks for the miller's share of bread, they may have it, however they would expected to work the mill the next occasion bread is produced, and may continue to do so the following occasion to earn their share up front. Through this ongoing process no one Blimblab has a specialised roll, but the community may regularly cycle through each role, each member free to see their fare share of what comes as they have likewise worked for it.

Since Blimblab are humble and well meaning, any breaching of this procedure is by accident, however breaches will increase in occurrence with and increase people in the community. One exits this cycle after surpassing 18 Blimeys in age, whereupon they become an elder. Elders are the only members of society with hence permanent duties they are expected to uphold, but in return are allowed free reign over whatever they may need. [Since blimblab continuously grow over their lifetime, age is easily proven with size]. An elder works as a community leader, and should be ready and willing to give council on any subject at any time and is thus also expected to be well learned. The main task of the elder is to maintain the cycle of favours and mutual work so that equality is maintained and that if one avoids the task they are due to do or if someone is owed a task, that the transaction is completed. Records of this are kept through the weaving of a rug. Each member of a circle has a yarn of their own particular colour on a weave. Transactions are confirmed when the position of those yarns on the weave are switched. It is from this that a rug is woven, and all one needs to do to keep record is to see if all of a colour have equal space on the weave and are all at the same point on the weave. To remember who is due what task, you simply remember each persons task at the beginning of the weave. (Illustration will be provided)

## Religion and culture

### **Moral values and principles**

Blimblab culture has no belief in ‘certainty’. In Mindlib, words that are translated ‘yes’, ‘no’, ‘will’, ‘was’ etc. really mean ‘probably’, ‘probably not’, ‘maybe will’ & ‘probably was’ respectively. Blimblabs do not believe that anything is completely certain, in fact, the idea of something having an absolute outcome is alien and inconceivable especially considering their language does not deal in absolutes. This does not mean that confidence in the outcome of an event is impossible. One can be confident in something without necessarily believing it is absolute, only that it will ‘probably happen’. This in mind, surprise is an emotion that is expected in Blimblab society. One should always expect the uncertain or expect nothing. This somewhat nullifies the idea of surprise being an emotion, because you can’t be surprised if you are surprised all the time. While the effects of surprise are still the same, it lasts a considerable amount less than in other societies.

This idea around uncertainty, that you are always surprised and should not expect anything in certainty  brings with it a prevalent ideal of self-consciousness and humbling. While one can be proud of their abilities they can never consider themselves ‘the best’ in a certain area. This means that Blimblabs do not see a need for recreational competition and instead treat discussion on it’s own as an enjoyable activity. This also brings with it a passive view on life and that issues can be resolved without conflict. This does not, however, eliminate conflict in Blimblab society.

This passive and cooperative outlook on life has led to peace among the Blimblab tribes, and thus, they have never experienced any conflict more violent than a somewhat heated argument. Likewise, they have no weaponry meant for war. If they were to encounter such a violent conflict, they would use tools they would otherwise use for hunting.

Blimblabs do eat fruits and grains however they are most opposed to cutting down trees and using parts of trees that aren't the fruit, as they are birthed from trees.

### **Prejudices**

Blimblab’s problems with other peoples lies in

1. Their isolation and lack of interaction with other people groups entirely, &
2. Not so much prejudice, but an extreme apathy

Blimblab’s have not encountered any civilisations as of yet and are completely unaware of technological and cultural developments outside of their isolated society. For other races this would lead either to xenophobia or xenophillia, however the Blimblab disposition towards being passive, avoiding conflicting & accepting sudden changes would mean that if they were to make contact with another civilisation they wouldn’t really want to rebel, however being assimilated and colonised would not be to their liking. They would, most likely, consider races and cultures with a less passive world-view and with more bravado and pride as braggadocious and full of themselves, however the Blimblab would not see themselves as superior, they’d simply see other races as simply and misguided, with a need to be steered in the right direction.

As of yet however, Blimblab hold no prejudices as they are unaware of other peoples they could be prejudiced against.

### **Religion**

The Blimblab are animistic, believing that everything around them has a spiritual essence and conscious. The nature of Blimblab culture means that religious and philosophical ideas are never concrete and thus the Blimblab are flexible and accepting of various spiritual ideas, beliefs and stories. The most consistent aspects of Blimblab animism are the ideas that every object has, had or can have a spirit and that these spirits, much like people and other animals, are capable of being angered and being pleased. Spirits are known as Mungzud and of the different ways one could classify the many various Mungzud, none are fully malevolent or fully benign. This is in another expression of Blimblab culture's value of accepting the unexpected and their general universal apathy as a people.

### **Traditions**

Blimblabs will regularly meet within their community and hold a discussion, sharing knowledge, stories, etc. This is known as ‘Wamzimblv’ and is often held in tandem with various obligatory rituals, such as cooking & eating, trade, rug weaving, etc. Another ritual is the ceremony that creates more Blimblab.

Blimblab are sexless creatures, however the trees they are birthed from do have sex. If the correct environmental conditions are met, the Thlangmw Tree from which the Blimblab are born, will flower. Once the female flowers are pollinated it can take a couple of weeks to several years for those pollinated flowers to develop into fruit and ripen. Once fully ripe, the fruit will fall to the ground and split into segments, a young Blimblab emerging from the centre. At the apex of each segment, near the stem, there will be a seed. The flowering of the trees marks the beginning of a new season, and once the fruits begin to collectively ripen and fall this occasion is marked with celebration of music dances and feasting.

It is upon the first Thlangmw fruit falling that the village will celebrate with the festival of **Vombingvth**. The festival begins with the gathering of all the fallen fruits, and thusly, meeting the newly ripened members of the village. They learn Mindlib with ease and are then given food and drink in a feast. Alongside this they are taught how to gather food & prepare meals, the Blimblab way of life and the laws of the land, and of their origin from the tree . Traditionally the fruits themselves were pounded and mixed with grain to make a dough that would be baked and then eaten by the new generation. Recently however, Blimblabs have taken to storing the the fruit in hollow tree stumps, mashing them into a pulp and then being left to ‘mature’, creating alcohol. There is also the usual feasting, dancing and music, but the focus is around teaching the way of life to the newly ripened.

The latter part of the celebration is when the new generation are taught to hunt and taught about death. Any of those who have died in the previous year have their bones carefully separated from their body. The flesh is cooked and eaten at that time, but the bones, which must NOT be damaged, are removed and wrapped in hide and stored in a building amongst the Thlangmw orchard. At the very end of the festival the new generation will hunt and cook for the last feast and will then be given a satchel of bones, which they are to carry into the forest at night, without light or guidance, and bury. This is thought to plant new trees, but does not compete with the seeds of fruit for the sole cause, they are both seen as doing as such. Whether or not it actually works is unknown, but the Blimblab see it as an undisputable truth.

Blimblab folklore is entwined with religious beliefs and mostly covers the legends around various spirits.

### **Art**

Rug weaving is a common communal pass-time. The rugs of each village vary and have their own symbology and meanings but due to the recent union of several tribes the ‘Bingmiz’ pattern has come to represent the Blimblab as a whole and thus their sovereign nation of Mimbibl. Rugs have several purposes, some purposes with their own specific style. The Bingmiz is the only homogenous rug style when it comes to appearance and has come to represent the Blimblab as a whole. Znwubth rugs are used to tell narratives, the one represented [left] tells the story of a Blimblab defeating a monster that attacked a village. Gizgziz are used to indirectly express emotion, the example is a display of annoyance and dislike. Dnugungth serve as a method of tallying, accounting and other non-linguistic record-keeping. Zmedmgeg represent individuals, Izmlgezd represent Villages and Tribes & Ozg represent establishments (Apothecary in example). Dunbunbni are woven and placed at sites associated with spirits as offerings as well as serve to display that a site has significance. The example Dunbunbni is woven to appease Gnnggnng. This rug will be placed to mark the presence of nearby water sources or to serve as markers that someone had drowned in that specific water body.

The pattern displayed on the bingiz style rug is used on the flag to represent Mimbibl, if not a rug used instead of a flag.

Similar patterns and unique patterns are carved on the underside of cloaks, such as those made from the skins of Possums, Kangaroos, Wallabies and Umthimbd

### **Recreation**

Quickly after urbanization, the Blimblab realised that while age brought wisdom, the younger and older Blimblab differed in size moreso than in mental capability. It was with this that the younger, smaller Blimblab were often employed for jobs that the older could not do on account of their size, and likewise the larger for the smaller. Getting around urban areas could be immensely difficult for smaller individuals, so larger Blimblab will offer to transport smaller individuals around the city in a cart. Gimbvobl Zvomdbobl Gzbivd was an elder who disliked the noise that the carts made and suggested that, in their stead, large individuals would stand at street corners, and, with immense coordination, would throw smaller individuals to each other and catch them. Gimbvobl got as far as organising a group and beginning their training before other elders deemed the suggestion too dangerous. The group Gimbvobl had formed were named the Zbingldbumv and practiced by throwing and catching fruit. Even though they no longer needed "training", they continued the practice however and spread it as a game, Zbingldbumvimbli.

Zbingldbumvimbli is best described as team-based cooperative Juggling. Three players stand in triangular formation and begin by tossing a fruit to each other in consecutive order. A fourth person will then throw another fruit to a designated player, who must catch it and throw it to the next player without breaking the loop or dropping the fruit. This is repeated over and over, the aim being to get as many fruit in circulation as possible. It can be played with anywhere upwards of 3 players, and can be played competitively between two teams, the game ending at a designated time, the winning team being the one with the most fruits in circulation.

Blimblab music is not standardised in anyway and varies from person to person, community to community . Various instruments are commonplace but some, more inventive designs may be utilised in specific villages. Instruments would be made primarily from wood debris found on the forest floor, as harming a tree is highly frowned upon. Likewise, bones and other animal parts may also be utilised. The simplest and most common instruments of Blimblab villages would be percussive; drums of various sizes, shakers of knuckle bones, beans and seeds and on the rare occasion short, marimba like instruments. A shawm may likewise be conceived and shared by a more inventive Blimblab but percussive instruments would still make majority.

Due to the initial small size of Blimblabs, it is conceivable for a young Blimblab to ascend to the heavens with assistance of a Lantern snake. Thusly, a night time tradition formed if a lantern snake or more was acquired by the village. You take a piece of scrap wood and have as many young Blimblabs as can fit on top of it. Attach a rope or vine that someone grips tightly, before allowing lantern snakes to wrap themselves around each end of the piece of wood. While this is most often recreational, it has been used as a method of creating platforms from which slings can be shot at birds which are hence plucked from the skies. Recreation however, is the tradition's main purpose.