Jute

The Community of Jute
of Jute Flag
Motto: Life is hard, but worth it
Anthem: Mohomi ude savanhude (Living in harmony with water, land and air)
Capital		None, see 4.1 Government for details.
Largest city		Jute City
Official languages		Jutean
Recognised national languages		Jutean, Jutean Sign Language, Jutean Pidgin
Recognised regional languages		Jutean, Lahiri, Jute Pidgin, Samwati, Klambari
Ethnic groups		Juteans (45 %) Pales (20 %) Lahiri (15 %) indigenous minorities (10 %) Various refugees (5 %).
Demonym		Jutean, Jutese (archaic)
Government		League of independent, direct democratic communities
-	Community Leader (with no executive powers, mediative and balancing function)	Coconut Beach
Legislature		Community Meeting (local, regional and national)
Independent nation since 1723 (gained from Lahir)
-	First settlement	-1000
-	Oldest surviving written records	~ -250
-	Invaded from the north, 50 % of the inhabitants killed or made to serfs	-50
-	Fleeing of the remaining free populace to Ystal, founding of Laina	-50
-	Fire destroying a large part of Laina	~475
-	Island homelands become free again, return of the majority	~950
-	Lahiri Empire conqueres the island of Jute	1450
-	Independence recovered	1723
Area
-	Island only	63,297 km2 24,439 sq mi
Population
-	estimate	1,780,000
-	Density	28.12 (not including South Jute)/km2 /sq mi
Gini		10 low
HDI		0.69 medium
Currency		The Score (see 5 Economy for important details)
Time zone		JST (SCT+8)
-	Summer (DST)	not observed (SCT)
Drives on the		there are no cars in Jute.
Calling code		+672
Internet TLD		.jt (hardly used)

Jute (IPA: /ju:tɛ/, Native language: Jute, IPA: /jute/), officially the Community of Jute, is a confederation of communities, partly located on an island with tropical climate east of Írida Caésillan, and partly on the northern part of Ystel. A different, more traditional name is also "Ratelland", after the national animal, the ratel or honey badger, though it's also used to exclusively refer to the Ystel community, despite the lack of honey badgers there.

Known for its direct democracy, decentralized political system and pacifistic foreign policy, it is also home to a civilization going back about 3000 years, when the first ancestors of the present-day Juteans settled on the island. Six known languages are spoken on the island, two of them being the heritage of the colonial era (Anglish and Jutean Pidgin), and two indigenous ones, Samwati and Klambari, unrelated to the two Jutean languages, (Coastal or Standard) Jutean and River Jutean, legally still seen as one language.

Etymology

"Jute" literally means "this onward" in Jutean, referring to the exclamation of the first settlers roughly 3,000 years ago who meant "this shall be our home from now onwards".

History

Prehistory

In the beginning, a day in the first villages of Jute usually began with a short bath in the sea, followed by having some bananas and other fruit, like coconuts, for breakfast. These were collected either the previous evening or on the spot, since they exist in abundance here. After that, Juteans usually just did things they liked to do for fun like laying in the sun, swimming, going for a walk or just talking and chatting about various things (their language was already relatively developed, including names for some abstract concepts and things such as "meaning" and "being content with your life", they had a single word for that, Saandi.) such as the meaning of life and the possibility of an afterlife, even though they hardly ever found satisfying answers to these questions. Still they kept wondering, and soon they started making drawings in the sand to illustrate what they're talking about. This then developed into picture writing after a while.

Meanwhile, the explorers who instead liked to wander off in the wilderness (and fortunately, most of the time came back unharmed, too) had found some interesting herbs. After some time, they managed to figure out some beneficial ones and even some of their abilities in helping curing the sick and helping others to stay healthy. To give everyone not too much and not too little, they started giving names to different amounts and adding them together.

As the population grew and grew, what they could collect on a single day on their peninsula started to be insufficient to feed everyone. The swimmers proposed eating things from the sea, and while some didn't like the idea, in the end it was decided to try it out and after some time it became accepted with the majority and even liked. Soon the coastline and what each swimmer could carry on their own wasn't enough either, so they started experimenting with fallen tree chunks floating in the water. After some trial and error, they had their first boats and could go farther and carry a much bigger load.

Other villagers found out how to cultivate some of the fruits and vegetables, so more people could enjoy them, like it used to be. This was also done so as not to rely too much on seafood, since the swimmers, who now were referred to as seafood gatherers, had better and worse days when it came to bringing food on the recently invented tables. They started to grow sweet potatoes and other tropical crops, which quickly became popular in the still rather small community, which lead to a quick expansion of the farming efforts and more people becoming farmers themselves.

Ancient history

Even though their day started being filled with getting enough food to feed the ever-growing population, they didn't forget about the talks and questions their ancestors had. In an effort to remember them better, they started creating short stories from what the older generations had told the younger ones. They started looking for some writing material that was more durable than the sand that had been previously used, and started using tree chunks, where they carved them in so they wouldn't have to rely entirely on memory. Since space was limited and and it was hard to draw the accurate pictures of their pictorial script, they started to make them more abstract and soon had a kind of wedge writing.

As time passed on and food distribution with the bigger population became an issue, as it was no longer as abundant as before, neither in the sea, nor the fruits, smart villagers developed new methods to fairly give everyone as much food as they would most likely need. These would today be called "subtraction, multiplication and division", and they soon had created new signs for their script to help them with that. This also helped to prevent arguments arising from misunderstandings, mix-ups and faulty memories.

After the food distribution and production problem was solved, at least for the time being, the population of Jute could go back and continue enjoying their favorite activities, discussing the world around them and more, tell each other stories or just explore the environment, after the day's work was done, of course. They also managed to create better writing material, using the long leaves of a plant they found worked well for the cause. A thick, undrinkable liquid squeezed from some inedible berries was pressed on the leaves using a short stick. Thus they could create slightly more accurate drawings and write longer texts. One of the explorers found a thicker branch that was hollow inside, and made a sound when blown. After some tinkering with it, the first flute was made.

They also started tackling their age-old questions with a more systematic approach, and tried to find connections between different questions and their answers, developing a lot of new abstract concepts and ideas that served in their new theories. Multiple of those existed, and almost everyone in the village now had some sort of opinion as to how the world had come to be, what the purpose of existence is, and what comes after death.

Meanwhile, the flutes were used more and more often, at first randomly, but over time it became clear how to generate the different sounds it was capable of making. The first melodies were created, and someone had the idea of letting the old drums play along them, creating a rhythm to match the melody. Now the people of Jute had something to accentuate their traditional storytelling in the evening, which often also included the mysterious stones around them. No one knew where they came from or who they made, some suspected a divine cause, some claimed them to be part of nature, some a combination of both. As far as they were concerned, they were the only humans on Earth.

Some of the Juteans preferred to expand their small numerical system, and give it some fine-tuning. They started experimenting with bigger numbers and developed some mathematical puzzles as an alternate pastime, meant to stimulate the brain and ability to reason. Some called them unnecessary, and were of the opinion, that brainpower would better be used answering philosophical questions, but other people thought they might be of help in answering the questions of life and beyond and in anyway where in no way useless, as according to their opinion, everything in the world has some purpose.

After a while, both disciplines had started to mix, and some began to philosophize if there is such a thing as the biggest and smallest number, and whether numbers had some special meaning inherent to them, and if they were all the same or had some special properties differentiating them. After some experimentation with division, a particularly devoted mathematician discovered prime numbers, and started to wonder if these extraordinary numbers could be calculated, or what other method there could to find more of them. Prime numbers were dubbed "divine numbers", as divinity was assumed to be a state of total purity, mental and otherwise, and these numbers, who seemed to be at the base of all others, seemed especially pure. Meanwhile, after an accident while exploring, a young woman needed help with a flesh wound on her leg. After initial attempts didn't seem to improve the situation and resulted in ear-piercing screams of pain, an older mother of three children suggested using some herbs she had used when her children couldn't sleep. Thus, they had the first anesthesia and could go about the treatment. The wound was cleaned as best possible with some fresh water and the oil of a plant they used for cleaning, and then stitched them with a needle from a tree that had long spines. That needle had been washed and sharpened and then had had a string of cleaned spider web attached to it. In the end, the wound was bandaged with some thoroughly cleaned leaves and more cobweb binding them together. The operation proved not to be a complete failure, the woman survived and could for the most part continue with her life, but she was permanently scarred and unfortunately, the pain in her leg never completely left. The local herbal advisor at least had a remedy against that, but even that couldn't make it go away completely.

The population continued to grow, and they soon needed new farms to feed all hundreds of hungry mouths. Some trees had to be raided for those, and while some protested against this "crime against nature and what is holy" at first, they soon managed to get into an agreement after some discussion, pledging to plant a new tree for every one destroyed, and to have a minute of commemoration every day twice for everything the nature is providing them, during which everyone was also supposed to think about what they could do to better society while respecting the nature, and in the evening to review their day, what they achieved today and what plans they have for tomorrow. Over time, these rituals provided one of the bases for the religion that had long been developing. Saandi na trikki u mohomo harandi - being content with your life through numbers and harmony with wildlife. A rulebook, where the elders and others wrote down the guidelines on how to achieve this state of being was soon written down. It contained moral guidelines on how to live with society and how society benefits the individual, guidelines how to respectfully use wildlife, natural resources and how to achieve the desired mental state by continued study of philosophy and science (which at that point mostly meant mathematics)

After many peaceful years, one fateful day some of the explorers met foreigners in the forests. This first meeting of other people didn't go well for the Ratellanders. Seeing other people shattered their worldview, they had seen themselves as the only humans living on Earth. Stories that told of the existence of other tribes were dismissed as old fairy tales, and so they did not have an appropriate reaction when they were finally approached by them. Rather than attempting to building up contact and communication, the explorers froze and quickly retreated, never to be seen in the jungle again. Their entire civilization fell into a long stance of stagnation, with no new scientific or cultural advancements being made, even their common nightly activities got less and less. Their spirit was broken and they lost their curiosity for the world around them. A lot started to question their entire existence, and some even fell into depression, which the health experts of Ratelland were often unable to treat properly. Other fell into rage and started raiding and attacking their surroundings instead of their previously peaceful free time activities. Different leaders emerged, squabbling over the future of the people of Ratelland, and it only added to the crisis

This was made even worse later on by attacks from a hostile tribe in the North, who caused significant damage and could only barely be fought off. Reluctant to rebuild their shrines and other buildings to former glory, and with another threat on the horizon they were alerted to by a lone explorer who decided to take up the long stopped activity of exploration again, they decided to leave their former settling behind and escape on the sea instead. The following days were spent gathering resources, saving what could be saved from their cultural and scientific heritage, and building boats. Advanced boats, called "ships" that had already been developed before, but never used, since previously there was no need to sail on the ocean. A workshop was erected to build them more quickly. They considered burning down the rest of the village, now Jute City, but in the end decided it, heavy-heartedly leaving the remnants of their home behind as they set sail to find a new one behind the horizon. Some decided they couldn't leave it, hoping the others would come back soon and help restore it, but this proved to be a bad decision in the end when invaders came from the north, burned down everything and made the remaining population work as serfs on their fields.

After a long journey, the Ratellanders find some new land in the far west. It is unlike their old home, but inviting nevertheless. Rolling hills of woods and grassland, which seemed kind of beautiful despite, or maybe just because of the rain that was currently falling. They debarked near a small valley which seemed to have enough space for their first provisional housing. After having gathered their supplies and belongings, they quickly set to erecting their new settlement. With some repurposed tools and weapons, they cut down some lumber, ran some trunks into the soil and covered them with a waterproof cloth. This was to become their storehouse for things that should not be left out in the rain, and a place where they could lit their first fire to cook, dry their clothes and warm themselves up a bit. Having completed that for now, they continued to gather resources, food and constructing shelters until the night set in. In the evening, they continued their tradition of telling stories, adding new ones based on recent events, so that their past would not be forgotten. Some had brought some paper, and while some had become too wet to be used, some sheets had remained dry enough and so their first historical accounts were recorded. They wondered what might have happened to those that had decided to stay behind, if they were doing well, and whether they might go back to them at some point. A lot were homesick at the moment and missing the good tropical weather, but sitting together and talking lessened the suffering somewhat. The following days they continued the same way, constructing new buildings, gathering resources and foods, and preparing fields and fishing trips. A small workshop for the production of new and more effective tools was set up, and slowly, they started to understand the ways of metal working, too, starting with copper, which some explorers had found in a corner of their new world slightly more far away from their newborn village, now Laina. Some were curious about these new materials, and did some experiments with it, noting down anything that seemed important and might help their new small industry branch.

Politics

Political System

Jute was originally founded as a confederation or league of small, autonomous communities, focusing on personal freedom for everyone, while facing problems and challenges of the country, a town or a neighborhood in joint community efforts. Where everyone works not just for themselves, but for everyone else as well.

The people of Jute, organized in these small communities, each have their own elected communitly leader to help coordinating bigger efforts. A new one is elected every two years. These communities are organized in bigger regions. On national level, a general community leader exists as well instead of a prime minister and a president. Aside from organizing the community, they also are supposed to serve as mediators in conflicts, and are responsible for making sure laws are observed and enforced, but do not hold any political power on their own. Instead, political decisions such as the passing of new laws are either done via a local or state-level referendum, during an assembly called "Meeting of the Community", where also current issues are being discussed. Local ones take place every Saturday, regional ones last Saturday each month and national ones twice yearly. The latter two assemblies don't take place in the same location, instead everyone can submit proposals to the agenda in advance, which then will be discussed on each local meeting, with the results being sent in to a central department, where votes are being counted and the final result determined. (South Jute is slightly different in this regard, see below for details) Taking part in any of these meetings is voluntarily, but of course laws passed by it apply to everyone. Though since they're strictly open for everyone (above 16), too, in a way, everyone is part of the government.

Generally, citizens (and everyone living in Jute is under normal circumstances regarded as a citizen) are of course encouraged to solve problems on their own without the help of police or legislation concern every part of their life, and the involvement of the community leaders is seen as a last resort. Since there is no real police separate from society or any big prisons on the island, neighborhood watches are responsible for the safety. This is considered a community service and the position of the watchers is rotating every week.

There aren't many laws or regulations on Jute, as law is meant to be kept simple. Most other legislation is generally rather seen as a strong recommendation that one mostly should and is expected to follow, but can't be forced to. Usually others will seek a dialog with those, and talk to them about it. That is also the case if someone breaches one of the core nine laws, in which the delinquents have the choice to either change their ways or leave the island. Largely, only laws against the exploitation, mistreatment or endangering of an individual or a group of people, or law against engaging in some other misconduct clearly deplorable to society or individuals is enforced this way. Some things are judged on a case-by-case basis, and might be given more leniency based on the circumstances, other behavior is categorically seen as intolerable and refusal to admit to it and change is grounds to an immediate ostracism and/or punishment decided by the current community leader, the impartial in these kind of conflicts.

Housing in towns is mostly community-owned, with new buildings requiring the approval of the community meeting. New projects are being discussed every week there, with larger ones such as the construction of public buildings or large repairs after storms or the like being regarded as "common projects", where usually everyone is expected to help out in some way or other. Though everyone is free to leave a town and build a house on a previously uninhabited spot (given it's not part of a protected forest or something like that, of course). This can mean that they'll be missing out on most of the community services they're normally expected to render as well as that they'll have to do most things alone, and is therefore somewhat frowned upon by some Jutese, as it can weaken the spirit of the community, especially during the time of great projects. The same is also true on a larger scale. Every region and community, being independent, is free to ignore new or old laws and secede, however this loses them the benefit of being in the league (the shared defense and foreign policy, for example) and would probably be causing a conflict weakening the entire island. Therefore it would most likely be very much frowned upon and criticized by the other ones, but unless there are lifes or other communities in danger, they would have to accept it and not intervene. But the benefits of being together in such a loose confederation provide enough incentives for all regions to stay close to each other. This is rather obvious to almost everyone and overwhelmingly seen as the sensible option.

Differences in South Jute

South Jute has largely the same communal political system, with some peculiarities. For once, the entire region consists of only one community, the city of Laina, it being the only settlement of notable size in the region. It also has historically, being so far away from the island communities, not taken part in the political life of them and neither been affected much by it and thus largely people there have been making own laws in their citizen assembly, making the region even more autonomous than the local insular ones, since it's not only independent by law, but also by necessity, requiring it to be fully self-sufficient in every aspect. For most of the time, it was largely a very small, separate nation, hidden below the mountains in the north of Ystel, only connected with the island through a common history, language (that slowly was getting more and more different) and some trade. However, with the advent of more modern technology, it has been able to grow closer to the other communities again, and is now nominally part of the league, sharing a common foreign policy and diplomatic representation, but due to the ongoing difficulties caused by the distance, it largely retains its capability to govern itself alone and cooperates only sparingly with the other communities. Townspeople now have the (theoretical) possibility to appeal to the national impartial, who would have the right to intervene, but rarely does, only making sure basic principals and laws are being followed.

Foreign relations

Seeking peace and friendly relations with other nations, Jute will often seek compromises and pacts of nonagression with other nations, though in extreme cases, sanctions will, as a last resort, be imposed as well. Foreign policy is mostly neutral with no declared enemies, and no strong alignment with any side. Skateboarding is considered a form of diplomacy as well.

Military

There's no actual organized state-funded military, only some arms enthusiasts and few people who decided to be full-time soldiers are organized in a kind of society (calling themselves "Society of Modern Defense") commonly referred to as "the military". They are under close scrutiny of most of the rest of the island, which is rather pacifist and suspicious of military in general. Therefore, they often have to resort to things like bake sales to cover their expenses. In case of a threat, which fortunately hasn't often been the case in the history of the island, the people of Jute come together to quickly discuss the best way of acting. First, diplomacy and hospitality will be attempted. If that fails, allies will be asked for support and everyone's talent on the island will put to good use - anyone able to use a weapon educating others, full-time soldiers acting as makeshift generals and strategical advisors, paramedics helping any wounded, falconers and other animal husbandmen taking care of Jute's "air force" and faunal support forces, and the navy, consisting mostly of war canoes and will be set ready. While most of the population is, as mentioned, pacifist, learning how to defend yourself is seen as a important part of education as well, especially since there are a lot of dangerous animals in some jungles, and each year unfortunately a lot of people die either by them or by getting lost in the vast forests.

Special tactics, weapons and armor

Jute uses mostly traditional weaponry and armor upgraded and advanced to modern times, but the "military" also uses common modern armor and weapons. The majority however uses an armor made of extra-strong jute fortified with carbon fibre made from pyrolysed jute. This makes it both lightweight and effective. The material is also used to improve the abilities of the arrows of crossbows. Last but not least, the "military" has developed so-called graphite bombs. Taking advantage of the conductive abilities of jute carbon fiber, they managed to create a humane weapon that will only disrupt electrical infrastructure and machines, such as power stations or computers and is largely harmless to humans. This results in a usually huge economical damage and severely impacts, if not destroys a significant part of the civil and military infrastructure without any, or in the worst case, very few, human casualties. A special tactic is using the forces of the elements to their advantage, this includes for example the synchronous surfing on special war surfboards of hundreds, if not a thousand of jute carbon fiber-armored warriors on top the waves.

Economy

Important economic sectors

Jute production used to dominate the nation's economy and was used everywhere where it was possible. Examples include clothing, building, furniture, paper and culinary uses, among others. It became a such important of a then young nation that it was used simultaneously as the name of it. Thus, the community of Jute was born. Although other economy branches have since then become bigger and more important to the nation's gross national product, they still continue to use the jute fiber in their products and jute production remains one of the most important parts of the economy, cuisine and culture of Jute. Today, the fiber is also used as a symbol for the environment-friendly lifestyle of Jute, living in harmony with nature, to secure the future prosperity and of coming generations.

Other important crops are bananas and coconuts, which are similarly used in a variety of ways. Recently, bananas have started being used in the production of high-quality fiber for clothes and the like as well as for paper.

Economic system

Large enterprises are unknown in Jute, most of the economy is comprised of semi-public small companies or public services. Coins and bills are uncommon in Jute. The Score is mostly used as a help to compare the value of goods or services, but doesn't really exist as either coin or bill. Instead, everything bought or consumed is first chalked up (or "scored") and later re-payed. Meaning the economy works differently in Jute: Anything you buy or consume is something you figuratively borrow at first that you are expected to repay later. It is a system of redistributing goods, and could be summed up with "Do me a favor, and I'll do you a favor in return - If you give me these coconuts, I'll cut your hair in return next time you visit me." If you have a place in society, you get to enjoy the benefits of it. Since there is no real president or government with executive power, no one can force you, of course. But if you refuse too help others this way, don't expect support from them. In a way, it can be considered a sort of anarchist society. (Though which one of the many different kinds is probably debatable)

In the end, you usually only keep a small perchentage of your goods to yourself (for example, maybe 3 % of your coconuts), while the rest has been given away (hopefully you got some good deals here). This is why the average "income tax" is displayed as so high, it's a bit misleading.

Traditionally, agriculture and later tourism have been the largest economy sectors of Jute, but recently, books have been proven to be very popular abroad as well, which has lead to the Book Publishing industry becoming the largest one on the island, surpassing even the Tourism industry.

Transport

Cars are banned, public transport is free and covers almost the entire island. Oil, coal or gas are not used as a fuel to prevent a dependence on imports. Instead, electricity or animals are used. There's no real airport, just a quickly cleaned, rough field, since the expenses would've been enormous, and so the MotC always voted against it. A lot of tourists prefer to come via cruise ships or similar instead, or use planes capable of landing on water.

For air freight, a new vehicle made from jute and some other materials has been developed, carried by roughly 400 birds, which have received avian "air force" training, with a conductor on board. It will be able to carry 500 kg (about 1100 lb). Since this is an obviously not very efficient way of carrying cargo, research for an improved carriage are ongoing.

Traditionally, the rivers going through Jute have proven to be the most effective way to get to a town in the inlands, as no real road network has ever been developed in order to be able to preserve the thick, hard to cross rainforest which is covering most of the inner island.

Demographics

Ethnic groups

A colorful mixture of mostly indigenous Juteans (45 %), pales (20 %) and Lahiri (15 %), but also including various other ethnicities (5 %), and indigenous minorities, such as Samwati and Klambari (5 % each) Asylum seekers from all over Sahar also make up a notable minority (also about 5 %).

Language

The nationa language is Jutean, and Anglish is used for international affairs and business. Jute Pidgin is a legally accepted national language as well, and Samwati and Klambari have as minority languages a protected status.

Religion

Overview

Mostly traditional (Saandism) and Christian beliefs, which are often mixed, resulting in Saandism-Christiany syncretism being the largest religion on the island. Aside from those three, some other religions are present, too, above all Buddhism.

The native religion

Saandism comes from Saandi, meaning in the old language of Jute "being content with your life". The full name of the religion, Saandi na trikki u mohomo harandi means "being content with your life through numbers and harmony with wildlife", as mentioned in "Prehistory" above. The religion combines tenets of science, particularly astronomy and math, curiosity and philosophy with Linkgreenism and Linkcommunitarianism. (See also Linkeco-communalism)

Name and central philosophy

The name "Saandism" originates in the native Jutean (factbook coming soon) word Saandi, referring to a state of contentment with life, where nothing bothers you anymore, and you don't feel the need to change anything anymore. This concept has been a key part of the mentality of Jute since anyone can remember. The full name of the religion, also makes clear how this should be achieved, namely na trikki u mohomo harandi, translating to "through numbers and harmony with wildlife", meaning keeping an interest in the sciences, especially math while taking care of the land around you as well, thereby creating a balanced life in both the immaterial as well as the material world.

Tenets and daily life

Sacrifices are not encouraged, instead a self-reflective prayer twice a day is one of the most important aspects of it. In the morning, a minute of commemoration for everything the nature is providing them. During this, everyone is also supposed to think about what they could do to better themselves and society. In the evening, a review of their day was to take place, what you achieved today and what plans you have for tomorrow. The oldest rule, which initiated discussions on finding a way to respectably live with each other and with nature, was to plant a new tree for every one destroyed, after some trees had to be cut down to make rooms for new farms. Over time, this developed in a somewhat organized religion, complete with a "rulebook", where the elders and others wrote down the guidelines on how to achieve the achieved state of saandi that soon was written down. Important to note is that these weren't strictly "rules", more guidelines, that weren't forcibly enforced. Not following them didn't earn you any punishments, worldly or otherwise (the concept of "hell" was unknown and only later importer by missioning Christians) but would eventually lead to an alienation from society, and finally, ostracism, which was seen as punishing enough. Not that the book required any overly specific things from you, or didn't allow for any leeway. It contained more general moral guidelines on how to live with society and how society benefits the individual, guidelines how to respectfully use wildlife, natural resources. Any details were to be talked and agreed upon with other members of the community. Elder people could also often explain certain parts of it, and help you try to achieve the desired mental state, which involved continued study of philosophy and science, which at the beginning mostly meant mathematics.

The importance of numbers

After all, as mentioned in the history section, numbers were introduced already very early on to the existing philosophy, and quickly became an object of interest for many people, with mathematical puzzles soon establishing themselves as an esteemed and popular pastime. The discovery of prime numbers only furthered the admiration Ancient Juteans had for them. Those were seen as "divine" numbers because of their special abilities, as at first "divinity" was seen as a state of high "purity" and "originality", of which everything else was supposed to have developed. Even though that view changed a bit over the time, numbers are still hold in high regard, thought of as part of the logical half of the immaterial world, together with philosophical musings, with artistic endeavors, especially those more abstract and less realistic on the other side, similar to Linkmandalas.

Understanding the imperfection of the material world

When the telescope was first invented, scientists of Jute first noticed how the moon, previously thought of an example of an "perfect" material object, "pure" in a way similar to prime numbers, actually was scarred all over the surface, with some larger, some smaller holes. This lead to the development of the tenet "Do not strive to be perfect, for it is neither possible or reasonable. The beauty and goodness of things comes from their imperfection., meaning it is not the purpose of things of the material world to be as flawless as things of the immaterial one. The state of "purity" the prime numbers have can't be achieved, and neither should it, as it would destroy all things that make the material world worth living.

Culture and Heritage

Jutean society is rather anarchistic politically and economically, distrusting most political authorities. As mentioned in the "Government and law" section, there is no actual executive power in the government, and just about everyone has the same legal power, with the Community Leaders operating on a basis of respect from other people and the trust to do be just in their verdicts. All in all, Juteans in general aren't hugely individualistic. As mentioned in the "Government and law" section as well (near to the end) as in their native religion, they are more communitarian, honoring traditions, as a way of honoring their ancestors and recognizing their wisdom and what they did for society. Traditional rituals can also help to bond with other people, as they reinforce a sense of "we" (without making a "we vs. them" dichotomoy) and a feeling of togetherness, which fosters positive relations between members of the society as well as the sense of happiness derived from "belonging to something", while at the same time not infringing on a single person's rights or liberties. Elders are often honored as people with great experience and wisdom as well, and are often asked for advice.

Aside from the regard for society as a whole and the people next to you, the influence of Saandism is also reflected in the values of philosophical and scientific curiosity as well as regard for the world around you common through Jute.

Literature

Literature has a long tradition on Jute, with telling stories in the evening being an age-old part of daily life for the population. (See prehistory) Nowadays it has developed into a rich variety, with a lot of recent novels being popular abroad as well. (See economy above) . Other forms of culture are less common, but still enjoy some popularity. Traditional flute music can often be heard in the streets or in the two opera halls of the island.

Cuisine

Varying depending on region. The more populated coastal regions have largely pescetarian cuisines, dominated by fresh fish, fruits and vegetables. Fish is less common inland, but leaves of the jute plant, and bananas are staples everywhere aside from the mountainous Klambari-speaking region up north, where it's too cold for them too grow. Animal husbandry is more common there, and it is the only community with hunting traditions. Meat was unknown on the settlements lining the shore, who have appreciated the versatility of the coconut through the ages.