Meçela

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Meçela is a nation located on the eastern coast of the western continent.

Meçeli culture is first and foremost a warrior/hunter culture. You must be self-assured, patient and trust in your companions to succeed during a hunt. Furthermore you must share your hunt with the farmer, the carpenter, the fisher, etc. You cannot survive on your own. Shame and regret do not help you, they only burden you with doubt. If you are to take from the tribe without giving back, you are to be shunned. Anger is an emotion you need to control, as it makes you rash and impatient. An angry woman will make a lot of noise and rush to the kill, leaving her family hungry.

Ama Aguapua Ala Mipimaçapa, first Tugu Laguapa of Meçela, is the current ruler/uniter of the province and founder of Meçela. She is known to be patient and cunning, ruthless towards her enemies but kind to her people. After founding Laguapa, her first big decision was to create a vast network of canals to irrigate farmland around the burgeoning city, creating stability and the means to quickly grow her population.

Meçela is a matriarchy; woman hold most positions of power and are in general seen as of a higher class. Men have less rights in Meçeli culture, though do still hold important roles.

Basic Statistics

## Geography

Meçela is bordered by Haar to the south, with Menaskor further to the west and Argata to the north. It has a coast along the Sea of the Three Islands. It is a hot tropical landscape, with a rocky coastline broken up by dark brown beaches. Past the coastline, Meçela is relatively flat, with gently sloping hills hidden under the thick plantgrowth. Scattered throughout the dense jungle are patches of rocky dry landscape, consisting primarily of lime- and sandstone. No rivers run through Meçela, but groundwater hides just below the surface in many areas, making irrigation a lucrative prospect.

Meçela contains 2 provinces, Laguapa and Iga Hasa. Both regions contain a city, with Laguapa being the capital.

### Fauna

Giant Fanged Ferret - Named "Sossa" by the Meçeli people, these large ambush predators are prized for their pelts, meat and bones (for medicinal use).

Deathblood Wyvern - Named "Seçosa" in asalagameç. Feared and respected by the Meçeli people as they believe a deathblood wyvern attack is caused by disrespect or imbalance on the Meçeli peoples' part.

Lordwhale - Named "Atomu" by the Meçeli people, these massive and elusive beasts are seen as the ultimate lifeform. It is the main goal of most devout Meçeli to be reincarnated as one.

## Languages

### **Asalagameç:**

·         Every consonant must be followed by a vowel, except ç.

·         No 2 consonants can follow one another.

·         Smaller amount of consonants: P, T, L, S, G, M, H, ç (the CH in the german Ich)

·         Vowels: A E I O U

### Grammar:

Verb-Subject-Object-(subobject) sentence structure:

**Gemeç Tula iga amuaga. - Eat Tula one apple: Tula eats an apple.**

No use of pronouns or gendered words.

No use of determiners, just the amount of a noun is given.

To specify past or future tense, the words pela (past tense) and ula (future tense) are used.

**Michael gave his father some food. - Gile Miçaele lo gemeça aguame pela. (Give Michael (some) food father (past tense)).**

### Numerics:

There is no concept of zero, but there is the concept of “no number”, which is “lo”.

One = Iga

Two = Sala

Three = Mele

Four = Gali

Five = Oha

Six = Sigi

Seven = Polo

Eight = Lola

Nine = Gigi

Ten = Uga

Higher numbers use repetition to be described: 11 is iga iga (one one), 27 is sala polo, etc.

### Common words:

Mother/woman = Laguapa

Father/man = Aguame

Food = Gemeça

Eat/drink = Gemeç

Fresh water = Su

Salt water = Çu

Tree = Aelima

Leader/major/big = Tugu

Minor/small = Umigi

Law/rule = Agapila

## Politics

Ama Aguapua Ala Mipimaçapa, leader of Meçela, is an absolute monarch. Her title will most likely be passed down to her eldest daughter. Law enforcement is handled by the Laguha warrior women, who also act as the nation's military. Classes are mostly divided between the men who do lower class physical work, and women who do higher class work. Ama Aguapua has also assigned a group of men and women to be scribes and researchers. It is their job to record data, art and information in the central library of Laguapa, which also acts as a botanical garden, farm and school.

Meçela is open to dealing with outside forces, though its people believe that its beliefs are objective truth, and that other belief systems are rooted in delusion. As a warrior culture the Meçeli do not shy away from death and war. They do not take slaves, allowing foreigners and prisoners of war to either assimilate or fend for themselves in the jungle. The Meçeli do not yet have a deep understanding of foreign politics and history. They view most life as sacred and respect it, but will not pull punches when it comes to war. There is of course prejudice between men and women in their culture, as described before.

## Religion and culture

### Moral values and principles

Meçeli culture is first and foremost a warrior/hunter culture. You must be self-assured, patient and trust in your companions to succeed during a hunt. Furthermore you must share your hunt with the farmer, the carpenter, the fisher, etc. You cannot survive on your own. Shame and regret do not help you, they only burden you with doubt. If you are to take from the tribe without giving back, you are to be shunned. Anger is an emotion you need to control, as it makes you rash and impatient. An angry woman will make a lot of noise and rush to the kill, leaving her family hungry.

Sins:

* Anger
* Selfishness
* Shame
* Malicious Lying
* Lazyness

Virtues:

* Sharing
* Pantience
* Kindness
* Pride
* Trust

### Traditions

Every 9 months a “Laguapa Amigala” is held. This celebration lasts 7 days and consists of a combination of sport and games. There are 4 physical games and 3 mental games, switching every day. Only women are allowed to compete in the physical games, but men are allowed to compete in the mental games. The physical games consist of Archery, wrestling, Gamalua and swimming. The mental games include weaving, slaughtering and Guma.

Gamalua is a game where two teams of 4 must score points by throwing a coconut or other hard ball-shaped object at the opponents scoring pole. It is a very aggressive sport, but characterized by the fact that you may not grasp or claw with your fingers. Players may push, slap or chop, but must pick up the ball inside their elbow, with their feet or under their chin.

Guma is a simple board game where opponents must surround each other's pieces (oftentimes shells) to capture them, similar to Go.

### Religion

The people of Meçela (Meçeli) believe tn the **Lagumagulaguama;** that every object, word and concept has a “spirit” attached to it. Bad thoughts like anger, jealousy and selfishness are seen as “demons” that need to be removed from the psyche. When bad things happen, it is because these spirits have been angered and must be appeased or balance must be restored.

The Meçeli believe that the world is a mother that cares for us, but also punishes or chastises us when we make mistakes. Each woman has been gifted a fraction of the all-mothers power to create life. They believe that because women have the power to create life, they are the only ones that are rightfully allowed to take it as well. Should a man kill another, even in self defense, it is considered blasphemy.

Though Meçela culture is very matriarchal, only men are allowed to hold religious stantion. Because the women are blessed/burdened with power over life and death, they are more susceptible to having evil spirits. Men are not burdened by this, and therefore have more control over their spirits, and this makes them fit to be spiritual leaders. They also believe that this is why men must inseminate women before life can be created. Men must give their “pure” spirits to the future child, or else they will be born misshapen or not be born at all. It is believed that if a couple cannot bear children, it is because the man has not yet purged all of his evil spirits.

Meçela society is polygamous, with both men and women being allowed to have multiple partners. Child-rearing is a communal effort, though the mother has the most responsibility over the child.

The head of religion is most often the Tugu Aguame, the “main” partner of the leading woman; the Tugu Laguapa (Queen, for lack of a better term), or her eldest son.

The afterlife is seen as a path that must be traversed before reincarnating. This path is purely spiritual, where new spirits are formed to be used in the next life. It is important that evil spirits are purged before death, or they will haunt the person in their next life as well.

### Art

Most art is still very primitive, with rock paintings, pelt paintings, wood and stone carvings etc. Most art either depicts nature or people, though a lot of art also incorporates celestial bodies.

The most notable literature is the Laguapa Agapila, a 500 word text carved on a stone slab that describes the laws of living in Laguapa and greater Meçela.

Many children's stories are fables that warn children of the danger of evil spirits. It teaches them how to control their negative emotions and how to be a better person.