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Jute

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Confederated Communities of Jute
Nonaf a Jute a tahadovi
Flag Emblem
Motto: Life is hard, but worth it
Anthem: Mohomi ude savanhude (Living in harmony with water, land and air)
CapitalNo official capital
Largest city Sitti
Official languages Coastal Jutean, River Jutean, Jutean Sign Language
Recognised regional languages Nevirajutean, Samwati, Klambari, Jutean Balak (Seesetese)
Other languages Nevesh, Balak
Ethnic groups Juteans (45 %)
Mixed (20 %) Neviran (15 %) indigenous minorities (15 %)
Other (5 %).
Demonym Jutean, Jutese (archaic)
Government Confederation of independent, direct democratic communities
 -  Community Leader (lawspeaker and highest judge, no executive powers) Coconut Beach
Legislature Community Meeting (local, county-level, regional and confederal)
Establishment
 -  Proto-Jutic people arrive on the island 800 BC 
 -  Klambari invasion of Coastal Jutean lands, half of the population dead or made to serfs 100 AD 
 -  Emigration of the other half to Ystel to found Laina 100 AD 
 -  Island Coastal Juteans regain independence 970-980 
 -  Remigration of the majority of the Ystelian population to the island ~1000 
 -  Begin of the colonization of Jute by the Saruan Empire 1650 
 -  Recovery of independence from the Saruan Empire 1872 
 -  Establishment of Balak Numudu 1874 
 -  Passport and customs union with South Jute 1912 
Area
 -  63,297 km2
24,439 sq mi
Population
 -  2015 estimate 1,780,000
 -  Density 28.12/km2
72.8/sq mi
GDP (nominal) 2015 estimate
 -  Total $3,999,660
 -  Per capita $2,247
Gini10
low
HDI (2015)0.68
medium
Currency The Score[1]
Drives on the n/a
Calling code +451
Internet TLD .jt

Jute (IPA: /ju:tɛ/, Jutean: Jute [jute]), officially the Confederated Communities of Jute (Jutean: Nonaf a Jute a tahadovi ifi [nɑnɐf ɐ jute a tɐhɐdɑʋi ifi]), is a loose confederation of communities located in the northeastern Saru Sea. A different, archaic name is also "Ratelland", after the national animal, the ratel or honey badger, though it might also be used to refer to South Jute.

It is home to several ethnic groups. Aside from Coastal and River Juteans, the main and titular ethnicities, the island part of Jute had already been inhabited by Samwati and Klambari, two unrelated cultures. Aside from these native ethnic groups, Nevirans as former colonizers still form a major ethnic group on Jute, as do the descendants of Balak settlers. Both and also other mostly more recent immigrants have to a certain extent intermixed with the indigenous population, leading to a sizable amount of people of mixed heritage.

Altogether, seven languages are recognized as official or regional languages. The main languages used in politics, business and spoken by the majority of the population as native language are two Jutic languages, Coastal Jutean (also called Standard Jutean) and River Jutean. Two other languages are the heritage of the colonial era (Nevirajutean and Jutean Balak or Seesetese), two, Samwati and Klambari, are unrelated indigenous ones and the seventh one is Jutean Sign Language. Additionally, Nevesh and Balak remain spoken in the largest towns, especially in trade and business environments, although it is also the native language of some descendents of Neviran and Balak settlers.

Known for being home to one of the last independent non-state societies on Sahar, forming a confederation for the purpose of a common foreign, defense and immigration policy. The confederation is instead characterized by its widespread, decentralized system of direct democracy and a subdivision into more than 1,500 small, largely autonomous communities, each organized in an egalitarian collectivist manner and grouped together into counties (or boroughs in towns) and regions as well as an almost complete absence of central political institutions instead of a formal national government with a sizable formal bureaucracy. One major exception is the confederal assembly, taking place twice a year, however, it is like other non-local assemblies not a single physical meeting, but rather a gathering of votes by the individual communities, similar in procedure to an election, carried out by a county, regional or confederal electoral office. However, due to the directly democratic nature of the system, the only formal office is the office of the vunamoena a nonafat a Jute ("Leader of the bigger community of Jute"), who functions as a representative of the island in the country as well as abroad, and also as a lawspeaker and leader of the supreme court, the sole other confederal institution.

This system has in its current form existed since 1872, but has its roots in the traditional village democracy of Coastal and River Juteans, which has existed in some form for 2,800 years. During the primary colonial era from the 17th to the late 19th century there were unsuccessful suppression efforts by the Saruan Empire that sought to maintain control over the island group due to its strategic location and locations to grow jute fiber on, and the local assemblies played a key role in organizing anti-colonial resistance. After independence was achieved in 1872, the Jutean, Klambari and Samwati communities formed a confederation, all still maintaining to a large degree their own old political and social system. Nonetheless, the cultural legacy of the Saruan Empire remains large, which is particularly notable in the religion, which incorporated many aspects of Qurosism and in the urban architecture of Sitti, Joonen and Helele. In 1912 Jute additionally formed a customs and passport union with South Jute, which led to an increased amount of cultural and economic exchange between Ystel and Jute. Further cultural and other influence arrived with the Balaks when Balak Numudu was founded in 1874. The small Balak colony was given up in 1955, but many settlers remained and continued to leave their impact on culture and politics.

Today, Jute is generally classified as a developing country, however it is internationally active in diplomacy, being a member of the International Congress. In 2013 it was also a founding member of the AEIOU free trade organization.

Etymology

A common folk etymology for "Jute" is to see it as a compound of ju te, or "this onward" in Jutean, referring to the supposed exclamation of the first settlers roughly 3,000 years ago who meant "this shall be our home from now onwards". However, this has been rejected by most contemporary linguists as not being supported by any trustworthy evidence.

More likely, it comes from the jute plant (of the Corchorus genus), in Jutean also jute, with the word later coming to refer to the island as well, and finally acquiring the third meaning "home", especially "home of a population/group of people" in Modern Coastal Jutean.

Geography

Topographical map of Jute

Topography

Jute consists of small archipelago of volcanic islands. The main island is called Jute or occasionally just Saaval ('Island' in Coastal Jutean) and is where the overwhelming majority of the population lives. Furthermore, there are five smaller islands. Of these, the island of Etillamme is the largest, with the much smaller Kosomo being the second largest. They are the only two out of the five with permanent regular inhabi­tants, as Huuva is a nature reserve, Netuadovan serves a small prison island closed to the public, and the neighboring is­land of Foasaanu is also restricted to guards watching over Netuadovan.

Geology

Jute lies near the fault line between the Saruan and Lahan plate in a subducting zone. This results in the island group experiencing frequent, but usually weak earthquakes. Additionally, due ti being formed through volcanic activity there are several volcanoes on the main island, although none of them are active. The biggest is Tillam located in the region of the same name in the easternmost part.

Climate

A field with jute plants, a typical environment near the coast.

Climate in Jute is tropical, mostly tropical rainforest (Köppen climate type Af). There are only two seasons, wet and dry, with little variance in temperature over the year.

Biodiversity

Biodiversity is highest in the rainforest in the interior of the main island and Etillamme, which covers the majority of both islands. It is lower near the coast, where much of the land is dedicated to farming or features built-up areas, however, the coasts remain an important habitat for mangroves and several other endemic plant species.

Jute is home to a great variety of animal and plant species. The main island is notable for its many endemic tree and other plant species, most famously jute plants (both Corchorus capsularis and Corchorus olitorius) likely originate there. Notable en­demic animal species on the main island in­clude several owl species, such as the giant cursorial owl (known in Coastal Jutean as onikesat) found in great numbers in the rainforests surrounding Samuru, as well as other birds, fruit bats (Pteropodidae), marsu­pials, snakes and vari­ous lizards, as well as a caiman and anaconda species.

Etillamme, Kosomo and Huuva also have en­demic species, on the smaller islands particu­larly bird, insect and weed and fern species. Huuva is a designated Important Bird Area, as it is an important nesting place for the endemic Saruan plover.

Despite general attempts and laws directed at protecting the environments and ecosys­tems, a number of species have been driven to extinction due to human activity, such as the Ivikemu, a ratite.

History

Settlement and early history

Beginnings of Klambari and Samwati cultures

The first settlers on Jute were groups of neolithic cultures reaching the island from Püzimm at about 2,000-3,000 BC. Little is known about their origin and their culture at the time, but they were the predecessors to the Klambari and Samwati minorities that still live on Jute in modern times. Judging by the available evidence, the split must have happened relative early or have already taken place by the time they set foot on the island, and had been in frequent conflict after it. Many buildings, shrines and other structures in the northern and central such as walls date to that time period, with the shrines apparently having been regularly erected and destroyed in a kind of ritualized warfare or demolition. Support for this theory comes from the oral tradition of both modern-day cultures. It further states that eventually the proto-Samwati communities moved inland to spots more easily defended, constructed stone walls and managed to convert the proto-Klambari to their religion of the Six Archetypes, thus ending the conflict, but keeping the ritual destruction of their shrines which continues to the present day.

Arrival of Jutic people

Much later, in about 800 BC, Jutic people, who would later split into Coastal Juteans and River Juteans, arrived from Lahan on the main island, settling down at the central coasts that had after the long time of conflict become mostly uninhabited. They mostly engaged in simple foraging of fruits as coconuts and sweetsops, leafy greens such as jute, herbs, eggs etc. for sustenance, although their diet was frequently supplemented by fish and later on also gardened vegetables, such as sweet potatoes.

A bathing culture that called for daily bathing or swimming in the sea or river, or failing that, showering with water gained from the rain or from another local water source. This was not just a holdover from their previous life in Lahan (being descendants of the Sanju-Juteans), and later mostly on the sea, but also a way to stay connected with their maritime history, the sea and water in general.

Oral history has it furthermore that philosophical musings go back to the first generations of Jutic people, with discussions about the meaning of life and a possible afterlife being lively but ultimately mostly fruitless. Other people participated in small exploring missions, scouting their surroundings. Some went missing or came back wounded, which is said to be one of the main reasons why 'mohomo havandi' or respecting the wilderness and its dangers and attempting to live in harmony with them became such a fundamental part of both Coastal and River Jutean cultures. Some more exploring is also said to have led to the discovery of new herbs that turned out to have medical properties, and the need for a fair distribution is traditionally seen as what gave first rise to a beginning indigenous understanding of arithmetic.

Growing population numbers meant food distribution became an issue, as it was no longer as abundant as before. According to oral history, this is when the understanding of arithmetic began to further improve, and allowed for more sophisticated distribution methods, with some proto-writing emerging to help with sorting, carved into chunks from trees.

In the evening, talking about and remembering the past is said to have eventually become a tradition of story-telling with their own past as subjects,or the monoliths and stone ruins that could be found in some places alongside the central coast of the island. Whereas nowadays they are being linked to Samwati structures destroyed during one of their many conflicts with the Klambari, Coastal Jutean tradition has it that they were there due to a divine cause or were a natural part of the environment. Other explanations claimed a combination. Due to the small size of the communities and relative isolation, the very concept of people from other populations and cultures did not enter stories at the time, the memory of the contact to other groups on Lahan their ancestors having been forgotten or changed beyond recognition.

Sparse encounters with the Samwati on the island however likely actually did exist, even though they would have probably been misunderstood as meetings of people from other (Coastal and River) Jutean communities that just had happened to develop very different customs and clothing. Contact between the different Jutean communities did exist, even if it usually was infrequent as well, and provided additional material for storytelling, which in some form or another still is a popular evening rite today, although the fire has in many places been replaced by an electric or gas lamp.

In addition to storytelling, exploring the local environment, philosophizing and swimming also remained popular activities in ancient times, and a new discovery is supposed to have led to the creation of a better material suitable for proto-writing. Using the long leaves of a specific plant that allowed for the carving of symbols. Soon however, thick, undrinkable liquid squeezed from specific berries was used instead, and pressed on the leaves using a short stick. Thus simple symbolic drawings could become slightly more accurate. Legend also has that the first flute was made when one of the explorers found a thicker branch when looking for leaves to draw on that happened to be hollow inside, and made a sound when blown. This is traditionally seen as the beginning of the flute music that is still so characteristic of folk music on Jute.

Coastal Jutean mathematics and early medicine

Some of the Coastal Juteans preferred to expand their small numerical system, and give it some fine-tuning, or so goes oral history. In this later ancient period they are said to have started experimenting with bigger numbers and developed some mathematical puzzles as an alternate pastime, meant to stimulate the brain and ability to reason, although this use of math is said to have been deemed a waste of time by some other people, who favored spending time on answering philosophical questions. To which the fans of recreational mathematics are supposed to have said that such use numbers might be of help in answering the questions of life and beyond and that in any case was not useless, that everything in the world has some purpose.

However, this conflict is also said to not have lasted too long, as soon both disciplines had started to mix. This would be the start of a philosophy of math that is still recognized as an iconic part of Jutean culture nowadays. Questions such as whether there is such a thing as the biggest and smallest number, or whether numbers had some special meaning inherent to them, and if they were all the same or had some special properties differentiating them were among those this new field is said to have attempted to answer. According to a popular legend, after some experimentation with division, a particularly devoted hobby mathematician is supposed to have discovered prime numbers, and then have tried to find a way to be able to calculate them easily, as well as have tried to find other methods to find more prime numbers. These 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, were said to be particularly pure.

According to another often told legend, at one point a young woman needed help with a flesh wound on her leg after an accident while exploring. Initial attempts are said to not have improved the situation and only have resulted in ear-piercing screams of pain, after which an older mother of three children is said to have suggested using some herbs she had used when her children couldn't sleep. Thus, a kind of simple anesthesia is supposed to have been discovered and the treatment of the actual wound could begin. The wound is said to have been cleaned as best possible with some fresh water and the oil of a plant used at the time for cleaning, and then stitched with a washed and sharpened bone needle with 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 is further said to have been a partial success, the woman having survived and being able to continue with her life for the most part. However, she is stated to have remained scarred permanently and retained some pain in her wounded leg, that no painkilling herb could make fully disappear.

The beginnings of Saandism

The Coastal Jutean population continued to grow, and some communities would have reached hundreds if not close to a thousand inhabitants. At this point, communities splitting into smaller ones likely became more common, as the existing food distribution systems would have increasingly run into trouble with higher population numbers, and the same will have been true for medical care and the communal socializing events. To avoid conflicts from escalating, a common solution is said to have been (and this is backed up by archeological evidence) that a community that decided to split off would rather attempt to seek a new location to settle down on rather than to fight the existing one or challenge them some other way.

However, often trees had to be raided to make room for new settlements, and according to oral history protests against what was called by some a "crime against nature and what is holy" were common. But most communities are said to have soon managed to reach an agreement after some discussion. The compromise that is supposed to have ended the conflict and is in much of Jute still followed identically involved 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. Guidelines on how to achieve this state of being were soon compiled by the elders and other people. They included 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). Poems, songs and carvings with proto-writing were meant to help adherents of the religion remember them.

Rise of Klambari power

Samwati scholarship

Imperial era

The end of Ancient Jute

After many mostly peaceful years, one of the most famous Coastal Jutean legends goes, one fateful day some of the explorers met foreign soldiers in the forests, armed with sharp spears and speaking in an entire alien language that is said to have a strangely arrogant and mocking tone. This first contact with what likely were Klambari warriors is said to not have gone well for the Coastal Juteans. Seeing other people like this, threatening but unintelligible shattered their worldview, according to which everyone on Earth spoke a similar language. Stories that told of the existence of entirely different languages had always been dismissed as old fairy tales, and so the explorers in question did not have an appropriate reaction when and went into a kind of shock. Rather than attempting to build up contact and communication, they froze and quickly retreated, never to be seen in the jungle again. Their entire community became similarly shell-shocked, and their culture is said to have fallen into a long time of stagnation, even their communal nightly activities getting less and less, their spirit being broken. Not only is this said to have caused them to lose their curiosity for the world around them, it also is supposed to have led to widespread existential crises and even an epidemic of what nowadays would be described as depression. Local health experts are said to have been often helpless, unable to treat their patients properly. Some communities are also said to have continued a collective spiral downward, enough that they started to raid and attack their surroundings, abandoning their previous pacifist lifestyles. Oral history describes how different leaders are supposed to have emerged in response for the first time in Jutean history, squabbling over the future of the people of the Jutean villages, and how it only added to the crisis.

This would then have been made even worse by attacks from what is traditionally described as "a hostile tribe in the East" (presumably again the Klambari, which to this day live to the east of most of the Coastal Juteans). These attacks clearly must have caused significant damage and casualties, as can be seen in the number of improperly buried human remains and many weapon pieces. Untypical jewelry and clothing remains as well as weapons made from material unavailable near the central coast also indicate that it was an external force invading rather than a violent conflict inside a or between Jutean communities. Oral history says that these could at first still be fought off, barely, but that following them most Juteans were reluctant to build up their villages again, especially after a lone explorer who had decided to take up the long stopped activity of exploration again, warned them of another coming threat, likely a return of the Klambari. After this, many people are said to have decided to leave their old settlements behind and escape on the sea to other lands. The following days are supposed to have been spent gathering resources, saving what could be saved from their cultural and material heritage, and building bigger boats, in a specifically erected workshop. Considering burning down the rest of the village of what is supposed to be Sitti in modern-day Jute, the local population in the end is said to have decided against it, heavy-heartedly leaving the remnants of their home behind as they set sail to find a new one behind the horizon. However, a part of the population decided to stay behind, in the hope that those fleeing would come back soon and help restore the place. This, according to the legend, then proved to be a fatal decision in the end when the invaders from the east did come back, burned down the entire village and made the decimated and weakened remaining population work as serfs on their fields.

The foundation of South Jute

Main article: South Jute § History

The Coastal Juteans that had decided to flee their island home found, after a long and difficult journey, new land in the south on the continent of Ystel. However, as it was an entirely different climate with equally unfamiliar vegetation, adjustment will not have been easy. Instead of sandy coasts and tropical rainforests, the landscape was dominated by harsh cliffs, rolling hills of woods and grassland.

Laina, the first Ystelian settlement founded by the refugees as well as most other newly founded Ystelian communities still managed to preserve much of their old cultural heritage, including much of their religion, even if all underwent some gradual changes. Oral history tells how the religion in particular remained a point of pride, with it being seen as the best guide to a better life and improved society by means of rationality and a lifestyle in harmony with nature. Being content with your life through numbers and harmony with wildlife remained the motto of the followers of Saandism, Saandi na tikki u mohomo havandi in modern Jutean. Other age-old traditions were also continued, such as the nightly telling of stories, whereas architecture and other arts alongside with more proto-scientific endeavors also started to flourished somewhat whenever the food supply was secured and no other problems required their attention.

Klambari hegemony on the island

On Island Jute, the remaining Coastal Jutean suffered as serfs of the Klambari, made to work on fields across the island, and the River Jutean population had their traditional homelands, hunting grounds and religious sites threatened as well by the Klambari hegemony of the time. According to oral history, the ancient times of the free communities of their ancestors were barely remembered, especially among the Coastal Juteans, only being vaguely described in some ancient stories. The departure of half of the Coastal Jutean population was one of the few key events that did not leave the shared cultural memory, and not much else was still known. Even the ancient Coastal Jutean language had gradually been replaced with a new Klambari-based language, and many ancient customs were lost to memory. The newly dominant culture formed what can be termed the first and only native empire in the history of the island of Jute.

Legend has it that it took many years before a tradition of holding festivals to save their remaining heritage started growing all over the land of the still existing Coastal Jutean communities, and even then it still faced the disapproval of Klambari military leaders. Nonetheless, traditions were now more proudly continued, and revivals of those that had fallen out of use began. With this renewed interest in the past, attempts to interpret the remainders of what could be found in the ruins of the settlements of their ancestors began, to help support this cultural revival. The methods used resembled a mixture of oral history and a simple kind of proto-archeology. Among other things, the old proto-writing was rediscovered on some stones. Combined with traditional knowledge, it became possible to trace the direction half of their ancestors had taken when they fled from the invaders of the east. This later led some that had managed to escape serfdom to seek contact with the population living in Ystel.

Movement towards a tetrarchy

Post-Imperial Era

Coastal Jutean communities regain full independence

Post-unification era in the Coastal Jutean communities

Age of Reforms in Klambari communities

Consolidation of the Samwati region

Colonial Era

Colonization by the Saruan Empire

Balak Numudu

Reestablishment of full local sovereignty

Airport crisis

IC and AEIOU membership

Politics

Origin

The political institutions of Jute have their roots in prehistorical times. Being part of close-knit groups of people was necessary for survival, and attempts to seize power by a single individual or a group were seen as a threat to the well-being and safety of the community as a whole, so they were generally stifled before they could gain traction. This led to the development of early democratic village assemblies where power was shared and past and future actions and problems deliberated. The island and especially in earlier times its jungles were additionally large enough to separate and even isolate communities and prevent conflicts over land or resources, and the absence of metal further helped prevent social stratification.

A ruling class was installed during the time of Neviran occupation of the island similar to the one in South Jute by elites of the Saruan Empire. Even if stripped of most of their political power, the communal institutions remained otherwise intact and culturally of the highest importance, even considered identity-establishing. Towards the end of the 19th century, many became the origin of a resistance movement that developed into a united anti-colonialist front on the entire island, bringing communities together in a manner that had not previously existed. Initially, the alliance consisted mostly of those in and near the biggest cities at the centrally located coast of the island, but later expanded to include all the communities, and after decolonization became the foundation for a confederation.

However, due to cultural resistance and with much of the island still being covered in jungle, and with few, slow connections (especially to locations further away from the coast) Jute still remained very decentralized and continues to be so in modern times.

Current system

Diagram showing the political structures of Jute

The political system of Jute remains an unusual hybrid in modern times, a mixture of communitarian social ideals and anti-authoritarian individual liberties. Society is organized in small communities, never larger than 1,000 people. They allow for space and freedom for all its members, but emphasize joint efforts in many areas of life, especially public works and political problems.

Political decisions such as the passing of new laws are either done via a referendum, during a local, county-wide, regional or confederal assembly called "Meeting of the Community", that all citizens above the age of 16 of the community are generally expected to attend. Referendums are typically only offering two options, support or no support. A proposal, such as a law or policy defeated by such a referendum, may only be reintroduced during the next meeting if it has been amended significantly. Aside from discussion of current issues, mediation of conflicts and similar judgments form part of the proceedings of such meetings.

Only the local assemblies are in-person, the higher-level ones rely on communication, usually mail, between the constituent local assemblies of the county, region, or the confederation. At these higher levels every local assembly has one vote, determined by a simple majority, and the votes of all communities are tallied to arrive at the final result.

Since gaining independence from Nevira in 1872, politics have largely been defined by the conflict between traditionalist isolationist factions, who generally oppose any modernization, liberalization or opening of the economy and are skeptical of any partnerships or cooperation with other governments to preserve the traditional lifestyles and cultures of the confederation, and the internationalist factions, that strongly support formal alliances with other countries to support national defense and increase trade, to which end they also want to encourage small-scale export-driven private enterprise to raise the standard of living as well as improve healthcare and education in Jute. Internationalist factions have strongholds in cities with large and significant trading ports, such as Sitti and Numudu, whereas traditionalists usually dominate in the countryside.

Community leaders

A community leader, as the only formal office, begins and leads Meetings of the Community formally, checks initial submissions for new laws and regulation on compliance with precedent and existing laws, publishes law newly in force on the blackboard of community centers. Community leaders on the local level usually also reciting new laws at the beginning of an assembly. Therefore, they are required to know the entirety of the law specific to their level of administration and their locality, i.e. a local community leader isn't required to know county-level and regional laws, although it is preferred for them to at least have some knowledge of them to prevent legal conflicts as much as possible.

Community leaders are also supposed to help coordinating public works and other joint efforts when needed. Finally, they also are supposed to serve as mediators in conflicts, and are as such also responsible for upholding old or determining new precedents, but do not hold any executive or legislative political power on their own. The position of a community leader hence combines representative functions, judgeship, and the office of a lawspeaker.

Community leaders are elected every six months on the local and county level, every year on the regional level, and every two years on the confederal level. A system called infinite run-offs or exhaustive ballot is employed, where winners in an election on all levels need an absolute majority of votes. If no candidate is able to gain enough votes, new elections will be held until one candidate has enough votes. For each round, all previous candidates are allowed to participate, and new ones are allowed to join as well. The system therefore heavily emphasizes consensus-building and candidates that are disliked by a majority are typically not elected, as even in a more crowded field simply getting a relative majority of 20-30 % is not sufficient.

On the higher levels of administration, the electoral system has similarities to an electoral college system, as candidates have to win in a majority of communities rather than simply receiving the majority of total votes cast by individuals. However, there are no electors in this system and so any possibility of e.g. a faithless elector is ruled out.

All voting can generally either be done publicly on the spot during a Meeting of the Community, or in advance via mail. While historically voting for regional and general elections happened mostly in-person at local community meetings, similar to local elections, universal mail-in voting has become nowadays the standard, in most communities aided by modern communication technologies for a faster transmission. County-level elections tend to feature a mixture of both.

Voting in-person may or may not be secret or subject to other stipulations or regulations in different communities, however, anything restricting the electorate in any way, directly or indirectly via any kind of test or other requirement beyond the statutory minimum voting age and citizenship requirement is not allowed.

Administrative Divisions

Infographic showing the responsibilities of the different administrative divisions of Jute. Local community or neighborhood meetings (dark blue), county meetings (light blue), regional meetings (green) and confederal ones (red)

Communities are organized in counties, which make up regions, which together form the confederation of Jute. They have a varying amount of responsibilities and rights, with most of them being held by the first two.

Every region, county and community retains the right to leave the confederation and assert its complete independence again if it votes for it. While this would give them the ability to ignore new or old laws from upper administration levels, it also makes them lose among other things the benefit of the shared defense, foreign and trade policy, likely weakening them and creating a conflict, so this has not happened in history so far.

Local communities

Local assemblies, known as Meeting of the Community, take place every five days, and have the biggest amount of responsibilities. If the settlements forming a community are too far away from each other or have some particularly isolated ones, a community may decide to create sub-communities with their own meetings, and devolve some of these responsibilities to them, based on local needs. However, mediation and policing must, according to confederal law, remain under the control of the entire community, which then meets in this case only once or twice a month (depending on what the community agreed on) and might or might not typically involve communication via mail rather than in-person attendance. The existence of sub-communities is particularly common on the sparsely populated island of Etillamme as well as parts of the central rainforest of Jute.

A Meeting of the Community on this level deliberates on local issues, especially those involving local services, such as primary education, including daycare and kindergarten facilities (where existing) or emergency services (first aid services, fire department and if available, ambulances). These assemblies are also responsible for organizing and regulating care of the elderly and the homeless that have no family looking after them. Some also run youth centers and soup kitchens.

As housing is mostly community-owned, too, with new buildings requiring the approval of the community meeting, new housing projects or issues facing existing ones are also a frequent topic of discussion. Larger construction projects, such as the construction of public buildings, or large repairs after storms, are regarded as "common projects", where for the most part all members of the community are expected to help out in some way, although in accordance with the constitution no person can be coerced.

Additionally, a Meeting of the Community is also responsible for local cleanliness in public spaces and general safety, which involves e.g. street sweeping, waste collections, where necessary stormwater protection, and in larger towns also sewers. The streets themselves (where they exist), and any kind of traffic control also fall under their authority, as does zoning (absent outside of the biggest cities), building codes, permits and parts of the traffic code. Parks and other recreation areas, environmental and historical protection are included as well. More isolated, non-urban communities also tend to maintain their utilities and harbors on the local level.

The "Community Leader" of such local assemblies is usually elected publicly, however an option to vote in advance via mail exists. This also applies to other items voted upon during such meetings, which therefore normally have to be submitted in advance to the blackboard at the local community where the meetings take place. Commonly, proposals are to be made public at the latest by noon on the day before the assembly, in some communities two days earlier. Emergency proposals are accepted only if a majority of the entire community is present at the meeting and votes to accept the proposal into consideration. After this, the non-present public has to be notified immediately of the new item up to a vote.

This procedure exists to not disadvantage people relying on mail-in voting and to allow for some time for consideration before the assembly takes place, to save time on the day of the assembly and prevent overly hasty decisions that have not considered necessary evidence, witness testimony or arguments from the two or more sides involved. For this reason, a vote can also be postponed to the following week if the assembly finds that more time is needed to gather or consider existing information or views on a subject.

Counties

Counties are the administrative level directly above local communities. Commonly, 10 communities form a county, but that number can vary. In total, there are 71 counties on Jute in the countryside, with one of them a special Nature Preserve County (Huuva County), and 102 urban counties.

In most urban counties, rescue services, utilities, public transport and other larger infrastructure such as harbors are managed by the county assemblies. They are also responsible for hospitals, secondary education and labor issues, such as assistance in job search or retraining. Finally, all ordinances that affect several communities at once, as well as a degree of budgeting and collections needed for bigger projects (e.g. hospitals) fall under their domain as well. Occasionally, delegates are appointed by the assembly through a simple majority vote to monitor the adherence to county-wide laws in all communities.

The county assemblies take place after the last local meeting of the month, and in most places are not in-person meetings, unlike local community meetings. Proposals to the agenda are exclusively submitted in advance to the local public blackboard at the community center where assemblies take place, and from there forwarded to all other community centers in the county. Each local assembly then discusses the proposals separately, with each community sending in the result of their vote (combined mail-in and in-person votes) to a county-wide voting committee, where the results of all local communities are officially added up and the final result determined. Elections of county-level Leaders of the Community also work similarly in an indirect way.

Regions

Regions of Jute with names and translations and their biggest towns

Counties are in turn organized in regions. Regional community meetings work similarly to county meetings, with submissions and issues being discussed in additional sessions every second month after the third monthly local community meeting. These control regional transport and infrastructure, for example trains and railways. Even if a given railway line might extend into other regions, it is managed by the region in which it starts, however railway stations are always managed by the region they are in. Aside from that, any other advanced or specialized hospitals or healthcare centers or institutions are under their authority, as is tertiary education.

Similar to county-level assemblies, politics and laws that affect the entire region, e.g. those concerning regional trade, are decided by them, as are collections, budgets and reserves (including foreign currency reserves) used for various projects and needs, or given to struggling counties in need. Similar to county assemblies they may also send delegates appointed by the assembly into specific counties or communities to control the enforcement of regional laws. A regional community leader, similarly to elections on the county level, is determined by tallying up the vote results of individual communities.

There are nine regions (uisi) in total, going roughly from west to east: Uisi a oeedova a nesanohil, covering almost the entire western peninsula with the two islands Netuadovan and Foasaanu, Sitti, the only urban region, Uisi a midi, covering the land surrounding Sitti, Uisi a net a vuha a daa, including the land around Numudu, the western half of Lake Jehaadufi and the island of Huuva, Uisi a dova a fejota, mostly consisting of the Samwati lands in the northeast of the main island, Uisi a Taxonea, the only landlocked region that covers most of the rainforest-covered center, Uisi a Safan a netili, in the southeast, Uisi a Tillam, the homeland of the Klambari, and Uisi a saaval a hai, covering the outlying islands of Etillamme and Kosomo.

General Meeting

And finally, regions are united in a general community, and a community leader on that level exists as well instead of a prime minister and a president. This assembly is in charge of legislation and oversight of the airfield, air security and monitoring international travel and trade as well as the customs office, and decide on topics covering all of Jute as well as foreign relations, such as trade, diplomacy and defense cooperation and coordination.

The general assemblies happen twice yearly, usually on a different day that is being taken off by most people. In urgent or otherwise exceptional circumstances a third or fourth meeting might be called, or emergency appeals be transmitted to an assembly in session via phone.

Like with regional and county meetings, discussions happen in local communities separately, based on previously submitted issues, statements and other items to be discussed. Elections of the community leader on the confederal level also work similar to those on the county and regional level. Communities send in the results of their vote, and the results are tallied up. Reruns are done until a candidate has an absolute majority.

Law

Legal system

Jutean law is mainly based on precedent, determined by tradition and decisions made by mediators (local judges), and usually recorded in local archives. Local, county-wide and regional assemblies can enact new laws overriding, substituting or amending existing laws as long as these are not in conflict with law enacted at a higher level of administration. Some localities may have additional barriers to overturning existing precedents, but any precedent found to be in violation with the supreme law of the land, the Founding Principles, is immediately declared void by the highest level of mediation. This also holds true for existing laws or draft proposals of assemblies at any level.

The founding principles

"Founding principles", adopted in 1872 after independence from the Saruan Empire and first written down 1892, serve as a constitution and thereby the supreme law of the confederation. It lays out basic rights of individuals and communities, such as the right to join and leave the confederation freely (according to regulations set out in specific laws) in the first article, the freedom from slavery, bodily and psychical harm and the right to privacy, free speech, free movement (on the island) and free exercise of religion, in the second one. Of note is that this article also states that "unoccupied land" might be used freely according to "reasonable restrictions" set by local law, and that "coerced" work and contributions are illegal, which effectively renders most systems of taxations used in other places of Sahar illegal on Jute. The country relies on a culture and tradition of collective contributions and sharing of burdens instead, supplemented at times by additional individual contributions.

Article 3 defines citizenship. It is declared to be extended to everyone living in a community belonging to the confederation or joining it, although it is allowed to be refused temporarily to people who recently entered Jute. In the following articles, customary law is established as the legal system on Jute (article 4) and the constitution is enshrined as binding supreme law for all individuals, communities and administrative entities with the ability to sanction those breaking any of it (article 5).

The last four articles lay out the basic working of the political system of Jute, establishing the office of the community leader explained above (article 6), devolving political powers to the biggest degree possible to the lower levels of administration (article 7) while setting up a large barrier to a reversal of that. As a result, "vertical" powersharing between tiers of administrations is severely restricted, whereas "horizontal" sharing of responsibilities between communities is allowed (article 8). To delegate powers to regional or confederal institutions a consensus is required from the tier one below the one that is supposed to acquire additional powers, i.e. for a regional assembly to be granted additional powers all county assemblies constituting it have to vote in favor, and for the confederal assembly to be granted additional powers all regional assemblies have to vote in favor. Amendments are not provided for.

Other confederal law

Aside from these "founding principles" (also the formal name of the constitution itself) there are not many laws or regulations applying to the entirety of the confederation, as there is a cultural preference to keep law and simple on this level to prevent a political centralization of the country and to simplify mediation of legal conflicts on the highest level. Aside from regulations on joining the confederation for individuals (as immigrants) and communities, and additional foundational administrative laws specifying the schedule, form and procedure of meetings (including mediations, the equivalent of a court system) there are only nine additional basic laws that are enforced in the entire confederation. These are often printed on posters hung in public or on cards that are given to tourists and other people arriving to Jute. Marked in bold are the laws where a violation is considered more severe.

No bulletproof clothing during peacetimes No sale of fireworks No guns in public places
No violence (barring self-defense or between consenting people over 18 years) No goods that are stolen from other countries or outlawed internationally No cars
No gangs No selling of hard drugs, or consumption thereof in public places No use of dynamite or similar, barring approved exceptions

Judiciary

The involvement of the Jutean equivalents to judges, the community leaders, is seen as a last resort, and judging normally occurs at community meetings after regular discussion and votes, or in some communities prior to them. Uninvolved parties (which may be individuals or communities represented by an individual, typically a former community leader) are free to be spectators. Due to the decentralized nature of Jute with the wide-ranging power afforded to local assemblies there are effectively hundreds of more or less different jurisdictions on Jute, with sometimes unclear borders, as community borders are often not explicitly defined. Especially in the countryside there can be disagreement under the responsibility of which community e.g. a field, a creek or a hill falls. Simply going from one village to another can sometimes lead to some drastically different laws, and even the court system can vary from community to community a lot. This is limited only by some county-level, regional and confederal legislation.

Some local courts do not have the formal position of a lawyer or prosecutor at all, with a court only recognizing the positions of the community leader acting as mediator, the accused party and the accusing party. Lawyers can only provide advice in these cases. Due to the huge variety of law on Jute, it is impossible to know all the local laws of the entire island, especially due to their frequently changing nature.

As a result, lawyers typically only work in a small number of communities, and rely on contacts in the ones they do not live in to stay updated on legal changes. They often also form networks to stay in touch over developments regarding county, regional and confederal law, and to aid each other when it comes to cases affecting several distinct communities that they are not all familiar with. This is particularly the case when a case involves people or communities speaking different languages, in which case courts are also required to provide for interpreters, at least for all the recognized languages on Jute, Coastal Jutean River Jutean, Jutean Sign Language, Samwati, Klambari, and the languages that developed during the time of colonization.

Appeals following local mediation and any kind of mediation that has county-wide significance is usually decided after county-level assemblies, with the county community leader and two to four co-mediators appointed by them commonly having to form a consensus on the issue, with some exceptions on more fundamental issues.

The third instance of the court system, for appeals of county court decisions and for mediation that is relevant for the entire region exists is part of regional assemblies. The regional community leader appoints 8-10 additional mediators for each case and a decision is reached with a simple majority vote.

The final instance, the court of last resort is held after the highest level of administration, the confederal assemblies, represented by the general community leader and their 14 to 20 appointed mediators, who also decide based on a simple majority vote.

In addition to formal courts recognized by assemblies, religious and other institutions may form their own courts as long as their laws do not contradict any current laws in their community.

Policing and law enforcement

As there is no real separate police like in other nations, neighborhood watches are responsible for the safety of their community. The position of the watchers is rotating every week, and taking over this duty is considered a obligatory community service. Individuals found breaking the constitution or another basic law (excluding the law on fireworks, guns and bulletproof clothing) can be banished or punished otherwise as ordered by the community leader serving as impartial, if the violation was severe enough or if they are a repeat offender and show no will to change their behavior. Most other legislation is generally rather seen as a strong recommendation that one mostly should and is expected to follow, and is not enforced as strongly. Usually in most communities people will seek a dialogue with those breaking them, to offer them a way back into the community. If they still fail to change their ways and do not or are unable to adapt themselves, they might be ordered to leave the community, county, or region.

Prisons on the main inhabited islands do not exist, but violent criminals too dangerous to be kept on the main island of the former are usually sent to the specifically designated, mostly unsupervised prison island of Netuadovan, to undergo rehabilitation programs to become gardeners or spinners and weaver of jute or other fibers.

In some communities convicts might also be banished into the wilderness with no tools or supplies, although this being an indirect death penalty in most cases, it is not condoned by the general assembly. However, due to isolation and remoteness of the communities in question is usually difficult to stop.

Foreign relations

Alliances and memberships in international organizations

To preserve peace and friendly relations with other nations, Jute has since regaining its independence often sought alliances and pacts of nonagression with other countries. The most important alliance has historically been one with Nevira, created after long negotiations following the end of their colonial occupation in 1872, after much initial resistance in many parts of the island. Nevira guarantees the security and sovereignty of Jute in exchange for free access to the harbors of the island, as it does with South Jute's main harbor.

Generally, foreign policy however still tends to be mostly neutral with no declared enemies, and no strong alignment with any side, though in recent years there has been a push away from any remainders of isolationism, and towards a policy of multilateralism. To that end, the confederation is a founding member of organizations such as the Asuran Economic International Oceanic Union (AEIOU) that bring down barriers to trade and economic cooperation. Jute also tends to emphasize diplomacy through cultural exchange or sports, such as skateboarding, which is considered a form of diplomacy on Jute.

Relationship with South Jute

Cultural, and later trade relationships have endured over the centuries, throughout colonial times, and after regaining independence both Jute and South Jute agreed to form a passport and customs union in 1912, allowing for free movement of people, goods and services. Capital movements however remain highly regulated and subject to several restrictions, to protect the traditional economical system of Jute from being partially or entirely taken over or bought out by non-local entities of any kind.

Military and defense

See also: Pigeons on Jute

Defense has since independence in 1872 mostly been provided by Nevira following the Jute Base Treaty, under which Nevira guarantees the independence of Jute in return for free access to all airfields and several ports, most notably Saru Harbor in the southern part of Sitti. A couple military buildings exist in the vicinity of it, which similar to the Neviran embassy is considered to be exterritorial. However, this monopoly of Nevira over Jute's national security has been contested repeatedly first by Balakia with the establishment of Balak Numudu in 1874, however the nature of this involvement is contested and has been described as being more colonial than mutually beneficial to Jute.[citation needed]. After the dissolution of the Balak Empire and with it the de facto end of Balak Numudu in 1955, the successor regime in Thuyo continued to try to exert influence until the revolution in the 1970s ousted the Ikevesh regime that was still heavily influenced ideologically by Balak imperialism. Only in 2010s did the newly democratic Balakia try to establish a presence on Jute again, with limited success.

Jute itself has no official military. Some arms enthusiasts and few people working privately as full-time soldiers are organized in a kind of society (calling themselves 'Society of Modern Defense') commonly referred to as 'the military'. Its motto is "No oone me fa ma dee, letolo vuha nu; ivusaie ilejotof amefati a ilvuhide, u ejotof netumivoti a vuhide." ("The night is far spent, the day is at hand; let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light"). They have no legal privileges and as such e.g. the ban on cars applies to them as well. In general, they are under close scrutiny of most of the rest of the population, and their activities are widely regarded with suspicion. Therefore, the Society of Modern Defense often has to resort to things like bake sales to gain favor and cover their expenses.

In case of a threat, emergency assemblies may take place. First, allies (primarily Nevira, but might also include other states) get notified and diplomatic actions such as negotiations are pursued. If these fail, allies will be asked for military support and island defense will be treated as a large public project that is meant to involve the talent of every person on the island. This might include teaching people how to use a weapon, educating others on what may lie ahead in general, full-time soldiers acting as makeshift generals and strategical advisors, paramedics preparing for emergencies, pigeon trainers and other animal husbandmen taking care of Jute's 'air force' and faunal support forces, and scouts patrolling waters in war canoes, motorboats and ships, usually borrowed from coastal communities. Despite the pacifist leanings of a majority of the population (excluding the Klambari communities), learning self-defense is seen as a important part of education everywhere, especially due to the presence of dangerous animals in many jungles, which have caused the deaths of many people every year. Even jungles with less predatory animals are not necessarily safer, as every year they claim many lives of those who get lost in them. For that reason, orientation in unfamiliar terrain is considered an invaluable and crucial part of self-defense as well.

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 fiber made from pyrolyzed 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 economic 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.

Historically, Juteans have used the forces of the elements to their advantage, and this also extends to self-defense. Synchronous surfing on special war surfboards of hundreds, if not a thousand of warriors on top the waves was developed to build up the dexterity, condition and general fitness of warriors. These days it is also used for representative purposes, such as surf board parades on the ocean.

Defensive structures

Six emergency underground stations exist in Jute. All equipped with food, basic medical equipment, necessary supplies and some defensive weaponry and observation technology. The biggest one also has an underground harbor for submarines with a connection to the open sea and all of them have low-tech communication lines, separate from any other existing. The exact location of each station is held secret.

Economy

Important economic sectors

Jute plants grown in a field

Primary sector and manufacturing

Consisting of land that has been largely not industrialized, Jute is still dominated by agriculture. The most important crop is jute, and jute production has always dominated the economy of the confederation and remains used in all spheres of life. Examples include the manufacturing of products such as ropes, bags, baskets, mats, fabrics for soil erosion and weed control, clothing, furniture, cosmetics, paper as well as use in buildings, medicine or the local cuisine such as in soups, stews and vegetable side dishes.

Other important crops are coconuts, sweetsops, breadfruit and bananas. Coconuts are a staple of the traditional diet, but also have a variety of non-food uses. The empty shell is used to serve food with. The oil is used for soaps, detergent and cosmetics. The fiber is used for ropes, mats, brushes, brooms as bedding and seating. The wood of coconut trees that no longer bear fruits is used as building material, heating or for paper.

Sweetsops and breadfruits are mostly used in cooking as starchy and sweet staples, although the latter is also used as insect repellant and the wood of the breadfruit tree is used for boats and houses.

Bananas were introduced in the 12th century and have since become one of the main starches in local cooking, with banana leaves used as lining for bowls made from coconut shells, to wrap food to be cooked, and as raw material for paper, fences or roof thatching. Banana peels are also used in the production of paper, or of clothes.

While these crops and products made from them are also to an extent exported, other crops that were later introduced such as soursops or jackfruits as well as corn and sorghum are only grown for local consumption, and to a lesser degree. Like most crops they are usually grown in groups of small fields or forest gardens worked on by the local community or a cooperative, although palms and other trees on coasts or in other public or wild locations are normally harvested as well. Urban gardening is common in cities, although they only make up a small part of the urban food supply.

The most important farm animals are guineafowl, kept for their eggs or sometimes for their meat. Fishing is an important part of the subsistence economy at coasts, near rivers and lakes, and in the interior of the islands hunting is equally important.

Services

However, since independence in the 19th century, the service sector has been growing and has since the early 20th century contributed the largest part to the nation's gross national product. Most important here are tourism, although it is strongly limited to avoid environmental and cultural degradation, and book publishing. As Jute has a relatively small domestic market due to its small size and less wealthy population, international sale of books and printing services are the bigger source of revenue. Especially in the past many international authors from more authoritarian countries with a high amount of censorship decided to publish on the island because of the low regulation and low costs involved and the official policy of political non-alignment.

Economic system

As a result of the relative absence of industrialization and the structure of society and political system emphasizing local communities large enterprises are unknown in Jute, with most of the economy being composed of semi-public small cooperatives, communally worked land and public services. The economic system of Jute therefore operates also emphasizes local production and exchange, on the neighborhood level, and is set up overwhelmingly as an informal gift economy, usually market-based. On larger levels, for economic sectors and trade affecting an entire county, region, the entire confederation or parts thereof, the economy is to varying degrees debt-based, especially in regional or confederation-wide commerce.

Currency only exists as foreign currency, brought in by tourists or accumulated through exports. As a result, coins and bills are not commonly used on the island itself. 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. Anything bought or consumed is something figuratively borrowed, with a social expectation of later repayment. It is a system of redistributing goods that in general heavily relies on trust, and so people deemed untrustworthy or not accepted as part of the local community or wider society are left to either fend for themselves or find a supporting group or community of their own. The specifics vary from county to county and especially region to region and the economy may be subject to different amounts of "market laws" or general regulation.

Science and technology

Jute is generally slow to adopt new technology. This has several reasons. One on side, a perpetual problem is a lack of funds, which has made it all but impossible to cover the island in hi-tech. On the other side, religious and secular concerns about environmental destruction have often led to increased caution and even at times a misleading appearance of opposing modernity in general.

However, even the more conservative parts of Jute often use satellite phones to communicate nowadays. Regular cell service would be to expensive to build up and maintain, and with limited communication needs in many communities a single satellite phone can serve a whole village or even an entire community. Hospitals also operate on modern knowledge (supplemented by traditional knowledge when applicable) and the use of modern machinery is mostly only depending on budgetary constraints.

Computers are widely used, too, even if they are mostly only available in specific internet/computer cafes in towns or sometimes the local community in the countryside. Whereas the towns have regular network connectivity, the countryside however often has to rely on carrier pigeons to transfer data, usually in the form of small and affordable memory cards. This is often belittled by outsiders, however it has proven to be surprisingly effective and reliable once the pigeons have been trained, with speeds and rates of packet loss that would likely not exceed regular internet connections in secluded parts of many other countries. It is also used for a number of commercial transactions and to facilitate political participation.

In addition, Jute has a decent amount of indigenous innovation, even though it is once again by necessity limited to the low-tech sector. Research at the University of Jute into more efficient and useful solar cookers, simple radio broadcast receivers and senders as well as fridges not requiring electricity, to name some examples, is ongoing.

Infrastructure

Communication

With the limited availability of modern communication technology, especially outside of the biggest cities, several traditional means of communication remain in use for mail and other purposes in smaller and the more remote inland communities. Among those are human messengers using boats to visit various riverside communities or dulled arrow-shooting for shorter distances. However, most common and famous is the use of carrier pigeons, which are in fact used in such high amounts, hundreds and hundreds of flocks of pigeons, that it has drawn comparisons to a computer network. As a low-cost, relatively reliable and greener alternative to laying telephone cables everywhere this "avian internet" remains effective and even a point of pride for many, transporting text, or on e.g. memory cards, images or sound to almost every remote corner of the island. With the advent of trains, mail sent between coastal cities could be transported in bulk, however, air mail sent via pigeon remains the fastest option in many cases.

Regular internet access is only available in the biggest cities, mostly in internet cafes, and sometimes other places through a satellite connection. Landlines are also rare and largely restricted to more important public institutions as well as larger businesses, especially those involved in trade. Experimental cell phone networks exist in Sitti and Numudu, in other towns and the countryside only satellite phones are sometimes used.

Transport

Cars and other road vehicles

In towns, bicycles, including bicycle buses and cargo bicycles are the most common road vehicles. Cars and other vehicles with combustion engines are banned entirely on conservationist grounds, and a regular road network only exists in major towns.

Railways

Main article: Railways in Jute

Map of the railway stations in Sitti, the largest city of Jute

Railways form one of the most important form of transport connecting the major coastal towns of Jute. There are three main railway lines, all starting in Sitti, leading to Joonen, Helele and Numudu. These were constructed by colonial powers in the middle and towards the end of the 19th century, with Nevira having built the Sitti-Joonen line and the Sitti-Helele line, and Balakia the Sitti-Numudu line. Additionally, several branch lines were constructed, mostly for freight in Numudu and Sitti, but also to connect Numudu with the lake Samwati, where Balakia had built an arms depot and small base on a lake island, and later also a seaplane base. Many of the freight lines are no longer maintained, and have fallen into disuse. The branch line to the lake Samwati still exists and is used to transport people arriving on the lake via seaplane or boat to Numudu, however, with the collapse of the bridge to the lake island trains stop at the shore of the lake.

Separate urban mass transit networks do not exist. In Sitti every train passing through or ending in the town stops at all local stations, dedicated local trains do not exist. Numudu used to have a small commuter railway network during the times of Balak colonization, however it was largely scrapped when Balakia stopped enforcing its authority except for a secondary line running along the main Numudu-Sitti-Joonen line, ending in southern Numudu, which has additional local stops but is used only by draisines.

Railways on Jute are generally held back by financial problems, however, even with sufficient funding, expansions into the middle of the country would not be approved by the relevant assemblies due to conservation concerns.

Transport by sea

Motor boats are excluded from the combustion engine ban, but due to their high cost are rare, particularly outside of Sitti and Numudu. Due to dense forest cover and a lack of road connections, traveling by boat on the rivers is generally the most effective way of transportation when going between towns and villages in the inlands. Boats and ships are also crucial for traffic between smaller islands or between a smaller island and the main island, or for trips across bays. In Sitti, they are also used to transport goods and people from north to south, providing an alternative to trains.

Finally, ships remain the most important transportation link to the outside world, with the main harbors being in Sitti (Sitti North and Sitti South) and Numudu. Passenger lines going towards Ystel usually also stop at Joonen.

Aircraft

Main article: Air travel in Jute

For larger distances and for urgent transports seaplanes are occasionally used, particularly by foreign organizations (such as medical NGOs or companies) and individuals, including representatives of other states on diplomatic visits. The main seaplane base is on Lake Samwati, near the end of the branch line to Numudu. Lake Samwati had already been used by the Balak Empire to land seaplanes during the existence of Balak Numudu, however after the departure of Balak officials the original facilities had to be abandoned due to their maintenance no longer being economically or logistically feasible, and as a result a new, simple water aerodrome was built, featuring simple piers and basic lighting, but no control tower or terminal. Simple shelters exist for passport control and other necessities, and a plain fence prevents unauthorized entry or exit. Additional regular landing sites for seaplanes exist in the harbors of Numudu and the northern part of Sitti, although those are only used for domestic flights.

Kosomo Airstrip

A proper international airport for regular aircraft does not exist, however, an airfield near Sitti close to the Tahonaha River, on the Netu nav tahoonede plain, was constructed in 1958 by Thuyoan military engineers and financed by a Sonkhai-Thuyoan NGO called Society For Glorious Health Development in the Kothlenosphere. It had undertaken massive efforts to persuade local communities and the wider island community of the need for one for medical evacuations and better supply with medicines. To address local concerns over the environmental impact of a tarmac runway, the surface of the runway uses an invention by Balak military engineers in Thuyo, 'prefabricated Hessian surfacing' (PHS), which is jute fiber mixed with asphalt. It is laid on top of a wire grid called 'square mesh track' (SMT), which in turns rests on cleared and compacted earth. Despite a majority of the confederal assembly having agreed to the project, it proved to be massively controversial and unpopular with many communities, and as the NGO was later proven to have kept close contacts with the Thuyoan colonial government, including the colonial military, fears were heightened further, culminating in the 1958 Airport crisis.

Despite the major difficulties, construction of the airfield was finished by the end of the year, and ended up never being used for military purposes. For decades, mostly only supply and evacuation flights by international organizations took place, with other kinds of general aviation being rare. In 2003, a weekly scheduled service to Khįtiyou in Thuyo was established.

An even more basic airfield consisting exclusively of a grass strip with no lights or facilities exists on Kosomo, with no scheduled services, used for supply and mail flights, medical evacuation and other general aviation.

Very small air freight, which aside from mail also includes e.g. memory cards, seeds, small amounts of tea or small doses of medicine, is often also shipped by trained carrier pigeons. Efforts to combine the power of many pigeons to carry heavier loads are also ongoing, but have so far been unsuccessful.

Energy

Energy is provided via a multitude of ways. Juteans historically used no mills or labor animals and did all work manually. Biomass fires were and still are widely used for cooking in all cultures, although with the advent of towns they went from being open three-stone fires, fire pits and other types of fires to stoves which later had chimneys added. Due to a lack of industrialization, Jute still uses these traditional means of generating energy widely, although they have been subject to continued development and improvement.

Steam energy first arrived with the Balak Empire in the late 19th century, and electricity became first available in the form of diesel generators in the 1950s. Use of them slowly grew over the following decades, but due to initial and fuel costs as well as pollution they remain limited to places that most need it, such as hospitals, ports and airstrips and their storage facilities as well as libraries and archives. To improve efficiency and reduce the amount of generators these would often be connected to a grid, which in bigger settlements can be cross across several communities grid and in the largest cities even become a county-crossing grid.

Like other services such as healthcare, education or communication, building and maintaining such grids is chiefly the responsibility of the lower-level administrations. While local communities in the countryside, especially the more isolated ones, might have a single one just covering the important buildings of their village, sometimes working together with neighboring communities, the larger grids of urban communities are maintained by county administrations that often form joint operations except for on the isolated single-county town of Etillamme.

The introduction of rocket stoves in the middle of the 20th century, invented on Lufasa, greatly reduced fuel usage and local pollution generated from smoke. Certain specially managed forests employing coppicing are used to provide fuel for these and other stoves, but also e.g. motorboats modified to be running on wood gas. The university of Sitti has additionally worked to further the field of biomass gasification and other "biobased economy" technologies that are intended to burn cleaner, more efficiently and have a wider range of application, thus reducing the dependence on imported fuels as well as using local resources more sustainably, such as by burning food waste, agricultural residue and other wasteproducts or otherwise unused dry plant matter. Improvements of other sustainable technologies, such as solar cookers, bridge and suspended mills, are also being carried out.

Water and sanitation

Water is handled similarly to electricity, however, many communities in the countryside have no water pipes at all, using wells, reservoirs or other sources of water instead. Water pipes are mostly built in cities, but even there many households do not have taps at home and have to use local pumps.

Sanitation is always handled at the lowest level. In the countryside it can be very basic, with shallow pit toilets dominating in many places, covered with roofless outhouses to allow for rain, sunshine and wind to rinse, disinfect and ventilate the toilet easily. Soil instead of water is used to cover up bad odors and keep flies away, and a tree is regularly planted on the site once the pit is full. Public toilets at e.g. community centers in remote regions are usually composting toilets that also don't require a sewer system. Coconut fiber or sawdust are used to promote composting, and the compost is used locally. These also exist in smaller towns, where visiting farmers take the compost to use it like manure. In larger cities, compost toilets are also used where plumbing is not available, and waste is disposed of similar to other garbage, via local garbage collectors (a position rotating between all capable members of each community) and brought to a local compost site first or immediately transported out of town via train or ship a location with need for compost.

Demographics

Indigenous Coastal Jutean in modern clothing

People from Jute are called Juteans or Jutena. However, this is also used to refer to Jutic people, in particular Coastal Juteans. Therefore, "people from Jute" or "inhabitants of Jute" are common descriptors to avoid ambiguity when referring to the entire population of the confederation. The term "Jutese" is archaic and no longer in use.

Jute has a rather young population. At the moment, roughly 28,83 % are children or college students, and only about 2,04 % be­ing elderly. The population rose significantly throughout the 20th century after a period of decline in the 19th century that saw a lot of people leave the islands to the Saruan Empire and Balakia, but has, as people increasingly started to migrate overseas again in search of jobs and opportunities in the 2000s, remained stable in the 21st century, hovering around 1.8 million, with the most recent estimate being 1,780,000. Aside from Nevira and Balakia Lhavres is one of the countries with the biggest Jutean diaspora (consisting mostly of Coastal Juteans).

Ethnic groups and ancestry

People identifying themselves as indigenous Coastal and River Juteans make up the relative majority of the population 45 %. The two other indigenous minorities make up 15 %, with Samwati 9% and Klambari 6 %. This does not include immigrants that later assimilated into one of these cultures. Immigrants and descendants of immigrants make up 40 %. Half of those or 20 % in total consider themselves mixed and/or belonging to two ethnicities, and most of the remaining people are Neviran Juteans, with 15 % in total. Other ethnicities, mostly Balaks or people of Balak origin amount to 5 % of the population in total.

Ancestry and language are the most important criteria for membership of a particular ethnicity, however, they are not exclusive. All cultures have to varying degrees a history of accepting foreigners as one of their own provided they commit themselves to it and assimilate. The degree of assimilation demanded varies and has fallen among the urban population, especially urban Coastal Juteans.

Urbanization

Numudu

The number of people in Jute living in towns, continuously growing during the colonial era from the mid-17th century to the mid-20th century, stabilized in the 1990s and 2000s, as more and more people chose to emigrate to other countries. Today, about half of the population of the confederation lives in the five largest cities on the island of Jute, with an additional 20 % in smaller towns.

City Metro area population Language
1 Sitti (also known as Jute City) ~380 000 Coastal Jutean, Nevirajutean, Nevesh
2 Samuru ~120 000 Samwati, Coastal and River Jutean
3 Numudu ~100 000 Coastal Jutean, Balak, Jutean Balak
4 Amdato ~90 000 Klambari, Coastal and River Jutean
5 Helele ~60 000 Nevirajutean, Coastal and River Jutean

Language

Official status of languages in Jute

The official language is Jutean, but other languages such as Nevesh or Balak are sometimes used for international affairs and business. Jutean legally entails all languages of the Jutic branch of the Saru-Asuran language family spoken on the island. The main language, used in Jute in most official records, courts etc. and by roughly 1,270,000 people as their native language, is Coastal Jutean, often shortened to Jutean.

It is not to be confused with River Jutean, another member of the Jutic branch, spoken mostly inland of the island. Even though not legally recognized as a separate language, it is still recognized as a variety of Jutean and as such can be used by anyone for all official matters where Coastal Jutean would be used, however, records and laws are usually not available in it, with the exception of those from River Jutean-majority communities and counties. When needed, a translation or an interpreter (for example in courts or community meetings) will be provided. Jutean Sign Language is also legally specified to be a co-official language in the entire confederation. On a regional level Nevirajutean, Jutean Balak, Klambari or Samwati also sometimes have the status of an official language.

Balak and Nevesh do not have any kind of official status but remain important languages of commerce and business in Sitti, and in the case of Balak also Numudu.

Coastal and River Jutean

Main article: Jutean

First attested in around 300 BC, Coastal Jutean is assumed to have developed after the first ancestors of present day ethnic Juteans arrived at the island at around 1000 BC. The people remaining on the coast would eventually speak what is today referred to as Jutean, or Coastal Jutean (natively mostly referred to as tahiva net, tahivi a net or simply net, IPA /tɐhivɐ net/, /tɐhivi ɐ net/, /net/), whereas the people venturing inside would develop River Jutean (tahosoe val ma, /taho͡asoɛ vɐl mɐ/). It had no official status until after Jute regained independence 1872, during and prior to the colonial era it was just one of the languages spoken on the island, albeit the most widely spoken one.

River Jutean remains widely spoken in the inland, particularly along the biggest river of the main island, the Tahonaha, where it is also used as an official language on a local and regional level. Most speakers of River Jutean learn Coastal Jutean early on as well, since monolingual speakers are despite the status of their native language as a legally recognized variety of Jutean at a significant disadvantage later on.

Klambari

Klambari is a language of currently uncertain origin, it is spoken by a traditionally cattle-keeping and hunting society in the mountainous region in the eastern part of the island, with Amdato as the urban center. Klambari speakers are said to have already been living on the island prior to the advent of the Jutic people. Through the creole Klambari-Jutean, spoken by Jutean serfs during the reign of the Klambaris over most of Jute from 50 BC to ~1000 AD, Klambari has had a significant impact on Jutean, particularly on Coastal Jutean, with many loanwords existing, for example sitili ('sword') from Klambari stüdterl ('iron').

Samwati

Samwati is the language of relatively isolated communities in the far north of the island, which are said to predate even the Klambari settlements, and aside from numerous villages also include the second largest town on Jute, Samuvu or Samuru.

Much of the language remains unknown, particularly any possible relation to other languages, since its speakers generally avoid contact with the outside world. However, archaeological findings have shown that Samwatians used to occupy a much larger part of the island several thousand years ago, with some ruins found near Sitti being the most prominent evidence for it.

Nevirajutean

An Ekuo-Lahiri language with a Coastal Jutean language, a contact language that has its origin in the Saruan colonization of Jute from the 17th to the 19th century.

Jutean Balak

A Kashisan language with a Coastal Jutean substrate, locally also known as 'Seesetese' [ze:setese], after Balak 'jeşecâ' [ˌd͡ʒɛʃɛˈt͡sæ:] (bag, pouch). A contact language that originally developed during the time of Balak colonization of Numudu and subsequently became the native language of a part of the population of Numudu.

Jutean Sign Language

A sign language used by the deaf community and some hard of hearing people on Jute. Its origins and relationships to other sign languages are unclear, with the earliest known records of it being from the early 19th century.

Education

Education is always public, except for a number of private religious and vocational schools, especially in Sitti, Numudu and the Klambari and Samwati-speaking regions, however these are only allowed to be supplementary and are not allowed to replace public education. Primary education is handled by local communities, but may receive aid by higher level administrations, secondary education is under the authority of county administrations (but may also receive aid by regional assemblies and the confederal assembly) and tertiary education is governed by regional assemblies. However, not all local communities have their own primary school, several communities may form a school district.

Many schools have a lot of open-air classes, at the coast or at the shore of a river. These schools are typically called fola (“rock” or “rocks” in Coastal Jutean), referring to the big rocks on which many students would sit and listen to their teacher, or the smaller rocks often used in teaching.

The sole university on Jute is headquartered in Sitti, where the departments of religion, medicine, law, business and economy, philosophy, history, literature and mathematics are located. A larger branch exists in Numudu, with the departments of sociology, political science, international relations, linguistics and overseas studies. The smaller branch in Taxonea has departments of ecology, biology, zoology, anthropology as well as River Jutean, Samwati and Klambari studies.

Samuvu and Amdato both have independent colleges that were founded to train local priests and community scribes tasked with chronicling and conserving local history, but are also renowned in all of Jute for their tropical forest gardening, animal husbandry and veterinarian (particularly ethnoveterinarian) departments, and cooperate with the University of Jute in this regard.

Healthcare

Similar to education, healthcare responsibilities are spread across local, county and regional administration. First aid, care of the elderly and the disabled (this includes mental illnesses) is always on the local community level, although as with primary schools 'care districts' consisting of several communities may exist, especially in cities. In those, rescue services and ambulances are also delegated to the county level, which is generally not the case in the countryside. Hospitals are always governed by county assemblies, excluding specialized ones and any health resorts or research centers, which are under the authority of regional administrations.

Religion

Overview

Syncretism is very common on Jute. Patronal Saandism, with about a million followers the largest religion, draws from both traditional Saandist and from Qurosist beliefs, but there are also many followers of regular Qurosism in Sitti and of Zarasaism in Numudu, where it also influences local Saandist beliefs. However, in the more remote counties and communities, traditional forms of Saandism are still largely dominating. Other native religions are followed by most of the Samwati and a large amount of the Klambari, whereas other world religions such as Iovism have few adherents.

Traditional Saandism

Main article: Saandism

The religion is very decentralized, with hundreds of varieties across the confederation. However, these are unified via largely shared central values and general tendencies. These include a foundational morality of greenism and communitarianism combined with a high appreciation of math and philosophical deliberations. The concept of Saandi, referring to a state of contentment with life, of being unbothered (even if not unconcerned) by everything, a state free from anxieties, fears and desires, is central to the religion. According to widespread oral tradition, it has been a key part of the mentality of Jutic people since the earliest times.

The full name of the religion is Saandi na trikki u mohomo harandi, translating to 'Saandi through numbers and harmony with wildlife', alluding to the way this state of mind is to be achieved, namely by keeping an interest in the sciences, especially math, while respecting the environment in which one lives as both nurturing and uncaring, thereby creating a balanced life in both the immaterial as well as the material world.

The oldest rule and therefore shared by virtually all varieties, was to plant a new tree for every one destroyed, after some trees had to be cut down to make rooms for new farms. It had followed renewed discussions on finding a way to respectably live with each other and with nature, which were formalized for the first time. Over time, this developed in various ways into a somewhat more organized religion, complete with a "rulebook" transmitted via oral tradition by elders and other people, accumulating guidelines on how to achieve the achieved state of saandi, usually involving continued study of philosophy and mathematics.

Furthermore, there are many guidelines on how to live with society, how to respectfully use wildlife or natural resources. Parables on how society benefits the individual, and how the environment is both the foundation of life and a danger for it, are also part of it. Elder people are often tasked with explaining parts of the traditions, and help a person try to abide by them. Deviating from them brings no immediate punishment, however it can lead to alienation from society, and thus cause various problems indirectly.

Specifics are talked and agreed upon with other members of the community, and so can vary greatly from community to community. Differences in cosmology and mythology are typically among the most visible differences, due to myths often being either highly location-specific or having spread across much of the island. The most obvious general split is between Coastal and River Jutean communities. Variants of one of the most famous Saandist myths, Olumedusa, or the story of the creation of the material world from an abstract one, are common in coastal varieties of Saandism, whereas alongside Tahoon a Haad and its tributaries creation myths tend to be more personal and involve heroes and anthropomorphic spirits. Several varieties, such as a number of smaller, more secretive congregations in Sitti often referred to as "cults" and varieties of more remote communities, especially in the lands of River Jutean communities, are particularly divergent from either mainstream.

Qurosism

Main article: Qurosism

Qurosism was introduced by Saruan colonizers that arrived in Jute in the middle of the 17th century and, and so, like the Saruans themselves, was mostly confined to the biggest coastal cities in Jute, Sitti, Helele, Numudu and other important ports such as Joonen and Etillamme. After independence, only Sitti and Helele, as the main cities of the now Neviran population, remained with significant communities.

Qurosism is responsible for the biggest sacral buildings anywhere in Jute, with the temple dedicated to Tali (Jutean: Taesi) in Sitti, known nowadays simply as Moon a Nevilani a Haad or Large Neviran Temple, being the biggest.

Patronal Saandism

During the colonial regime of Nevira, traditional Saandism and Qurosism were subject to a lot of contact and exchange, leading to a syncretic religion combining major elements from both emerging as the most widespread religion in modern Jute, especially on Island Jute. In Patronal Saandism the deities of Qurosism have been to some extent conflated and entirely reinterpreted as supernatural patrons rather than proper gods that aid and guide but did not and do not create. They still are linked to a particular culturally specific gender, however rather than those common in Nevira, these patrons are now linked to Jutean genders.

The creator deity Quuros has been conflated with Tael and Amet, is called Taesi in Jutean (after Nevesh Taeźi /täɛʑi/), and seen as the patron of the sehukumo or "nurturer" gender of Jute. Hastur is Astul in Jutean (after Nevesh Asŧuw /äsθʉɰ/), and seen as the patron of the netumo or "guard" gender of Jute.
Finally, Kevalen (name possibly related to 'kevan', the Jutean word for altar) has no real equivalent in Qurosism but has some similarities with Karne, especially in physical appearance and the association with thought. Kevalen is the patron of the vamejotimo or "magician" gender in Jute, a kind of third gender that is mostly expected to work solitary or communal jobs and not form a family.

Old Qurosist temples from colonial times, the biggest sacral buildings anywhere on Jute, have mostly been rededicated to these patrons, including the large former Tali temple in Sitti mentioned above.

Zarasaism

Main article: Zarasaism

Zarasaism was introduced by Balak settlers in the 19th century to what was then Balak Numudu. Its spread is largely limited to the city of Numudu, and there particular to the area around the former Balak Free Harbor. A single gharam, or a Zarasaist temple exists, built in a hybrid style using traditional Balak architecture combined with local elements and adapted to local materials, and is nowadays used as place of worship for the minority of Zarasaists as well as a museum.

Zarasaism in Jute is notable for referring to Thagha, the main deity, as Hasaaka, after a colonial-era pronunciation of Hasağa, the Balak spelling of Thagha. The name has been reinterpreted as a Jutean name, with 'Ha' analyzed as a vocative and 'Saaka' understood to mean 'wave orderer', an evidence of syncretism, incorporating the traditional belief of Coastal Juteans in waves being the original force of creation in the world. A common way to appeal to Hasaaka was in the form of a chant, most commonly Ha saaka, ha ka a saohi u a ildesohi a hukea a haadat, which translates to 'O Saaka, o greatest waving yet not wavering'.

Samwati religion

The traditional Samwati religion revolves around the concept of archetypes, representing different kinds of personalities and approaches to life. Only by trying to match an archetype is a person said to be able to lead a honorable and virtuous life, and a community as well as the world in general be able to tap into an overarching force which provides for an immaterial and metaphysical connection between individual people and thereby ensures social harmony and the stability and order of the world.

To match an archetype, a person adopts it once old enough (the exact age may vary from community to community) the way an actor chooses and acts out a role, except it is meant to be a lifetime commitment. Every single archetype has certain professions and positive traits associated with that form the foundation for the different kinds of personalities and approaches to life that make the archetypes distinct.

Following a choice, good and appropriate behavior is supposed to be cultivated through meditation and specific tasks. This can involve pouring over educative moral texts and literature, either describing appropriate good behavior for each archetype in more general terms, abstract terms with precise justifications or using shorter and longer stories to show behavior that is meant to be emulated. Some communities forego texts and teach the youth solely via acting out behaviors or showing certain things directly, asking students to imitate them.

Typically, only six are recognized, although some communities may have additional ones. The six basic ones reflect the six most important professions of the traditional Samwati society, each with one-two core individual values that are needed for their own profession above all as well two collective values that help the community as a whole to tap into the overarching immaterial force that brings people together and makes living as a community possible, e.g. by helping counter the negative sides of the individual values or the prescribed professions.

Individual values Traditional profession Collective values
fitness and agility athlete, messenger, guard loyalty and self-confidence
industriousness and pragmatism farmer, merchant, repairperson honesty and altruism
creativity and resourcefulness artist, craftsperson, miner generosity and courteousness
cheerfulness and good-naturedness entertainer, priest, baker joviality and optimism
sensitivity and carefulness healer, nurse, animal keeper kindness and helpfulness
knowledge and adventurousness researcher, librarian, organizer friendliness and concern for other people

Klambari religion

The traditional Klambari religion is to some degree related to the traditional religion of the Samwati. The core concept underpinning the religion is the belief in every human having an animal that represents them, to have a more empathetic connection with nature and therefore be better adjusted to life surrounded by wilderness, and excel at your profession.

Every child will pick one of the eight most "important" animals (geckos, larger lizard, dragonfly, snake, rat, dog, fruit bat, marsupial), each of them is said to have a particular responsibility and domain in nature (for example, a fruit bat rules in the trees and watches over tree leaves and fruits) and a certain kind of person with a particular virtue and one or two abilities (e.g. a snake is patient and represents hidden abilities or powers, a dog is loyal and represents discipline and determination, a lizard is content with few things and represents adaptability).

This "bond" is rarely changed later on, and a certain kind of reverence when talking about or when encountering such an animal is expected (although no unnecessary risks shall be taken) and is ritualized through meditation, often with visualized empathy, and small inanimate sacrifices at home or a village altar.

Education is to some extent also determined by this choice, however there is also a large generalized component. As learning about one's surroundings, the environment, the animals living in it, and how to master them and control them is of the highest importance for Klambari people, every child, regardless of gender, will have education in either spear-throwing or archery, and learn basic ecology and zoology.

Culture

Culture on Jute is better described as being a number of related and unrelated cultures, as the long history of migration to and from the islands, the colonial times, as well as the relative isolation of many communities, especially of those further away from the coasts, has led to there being many different cultures with often large regional differences.

The times of colonial rule on Jute as well as various other events, eras and technologies (such as printing, radio and satellite phones) have however also led to a lot of cultural exchange, bringing the cultures and regions to some extent together and influencing them greatly, but especially the five major cultural groups, Coastal Juteans, River Juteans, Nevirans, Klambari and Samwati living in the confederation very much still retain a distinct identity and many differences.

The more urban Coastal Jutean communities are due to their plurinational characteristics (often being home also to Neviran and Balak and other more recent immigrants and their descendants) as well as their history of trade with foreign lands, often more cosmopolitan in outlook. The River Jutean communities, being smaller and more secluded, formed mostly by fishers and gatherers, are usually more beholden to a much more traditional lifestyle. This is even truer for the particularly reclusive gardening Samwati communities in the northeast. While the regional capital Samuru is with 120,000 inhabitants the second biggest town on Jute and aside from Samwati people also home to a large amount of River Juteans and Coastal Juteans, the three interact relatively little outside of city-wide events, festivities and actions such as county and regional community meetings. Amdato, the capital of the mostly hunter and pastoral Klambari communities in the hilly southeastern parts of the island, is a bit more mixed, but nonetheless characterized by traditional and traditionalist Klambari lifestyles.

Values and traditions

All of Jutean society, including the Samwati and Klambari minorities, is rather anarchistic politically and economically, with powerful political authorities, especially undemocratic ones, generally viewed by locals with suspicion. However, local authorities, such as local assemblies and for Samwati and Klambari communities also certain religious or ceremonial military leaders enjoy a high level of respect, With no actual executive government in place, especially at the higher levels, the Community Leaders in their function as judges or judge panel chairs are the only accepted political authority vested in a single person, an authority that is strictly limited.

Instead of political leadership, traditions are widely the guiding force of communities, especially outside of the major, much more modern coastal cities of Sitti and Numudu. This is widely seen as a way of honoring ancestors, recognizing their wisdom and what they have contributed to society. For the same reason, elders are in all cultures often honored as people with great experience and wisdom as well. Younger people asking them for advice is very common, although less so in modern times with the advent of other sources of information. In Samwati and Klambari communities the religious and ceremonial military leaders also fulfill a similar function as a source of advice and guidance, whereas in Jutean communities the teachings of Saandism are taken to complement the wisdom of elders.

Visible in and reinforced both by the political system and the predominant religions is how the entire population of Jute can generally be described furthermore as being more communitarian than individualistic, although this has been somewhat changing in the more cosmopolitan parts of the major port cities of Sitti and Numudu. However, many other traditions and rituals are still observed there as well. These help to reinforce communal bonds, a feeling of togetherness that is important to keep up morale for work and certain bigger projects.

As checks on this collectivist organization of society a certain amount of privacy and freedom is generally granted to every member of a community in all cultures, but the exact amount as well as the definition of 'privacy' and 'freedom' can vary significantly from community to community and culture to culture. Generally, self-reliance, both on the individual and communal level, is highly valued, although some cultures and communities value one over the other. The more traditionalist, the more communal self-reliance tends to be emphasized and individual self-reliance downplayed, though in River Jutean communities both are usually seen as equally important.

On the other side, mutual aid in and between societies is in Coastal and River Jutean communities widely seen as the even more important guiding principle of society, and is also very important in the other cultures. Ignoring it, for example by not helping one's local community in hard times or unexplained skipping of community meetings is often harshly socially sanctioned in a number of ways ranging from simple shaming or community service to banishment from a community or even the island, as living together in close-knit communities while forming a single imagined confederal community is seen as vital to the survival and independence of the land and its population.

Marriage

Main article: Marriage in Jute

Marriage as a rite differs significantly between the different cultures on Jute. While it is religiously important for Klambari and Samwati people and has religious connotations for River Juteans, for Coastal Jutean communities it is a strictly mundane, secular ritual. Whether marriage is celebrated, or whether the last day before marriage is celebrated instead (or additionally) also differs from culture to culture and community to community.

Heirlooms

With this emphasis on communal living and a communitarian worldview that values working for the collective welfare of a community above individual pursuits, accumulating wealth to pass on to your children and your children alone is not just uncommon, but frowned upon, if not seen as anti-social. Therefore, heirlooms tend to be either things with less material and more sentimental value, or something that belongs to a community in general.

As most of the economy works and relies on a cooperative approach, production of goods and the offer of services relies on shared equipment, rendering it a kind of communal heirloom. Communities themselves may treasure particular records (as do most places in other lands), or other artifacts, such as locally made jewelry, weapons with a particular history or tools and machines important for local trades or industries.

A person may also build up an impressive collection of odd looking stones that has their children clueless as to what they should do with it, or have a dried flower commemorating some important life event. In many households books may also be seen as important heirlooms that children should receive, although this is more commonly the case in communities with no libraries of their own or a particularly strong scholarly/scientific tradition.

Traditional gender norms

Main article: Gender norms on Jute

Traditional gender norms on Jute are varied. While Klambari and Samwati have the common male-female dichotomy, with varying roles and social expectations for both, Coastal and River Jutean communities, which make up the majority of the population, recognize three different genders, assigned not at birth, originally in early childhood by parents, but in more recent times increasingly by the children themselves, either in childhood or upon reaching maturity. Every naturalized citizen living in these communities is allowed to take up one, although not taking one always marks a person very distinctly as a foreigner. Visitors may be treated as one of them as well,

The three genders are called netumo ('guard, sentry'), sehukumo ('nurturer, fosterer'), and vamejo ('sorcerer') after their archetypal role in society.

A nuclear family originally consisted of a netumo and a sehukumo, with vamejo often the people who were supposed to go childless and devote their life for the community, taking over the tasks no one else could or wanted to take over, though nowadays same-gender marriages and families with vamejo are becoming increasingly common, too.

Holidays

Main article: Jutean calendar

The observation of holidays is based on various local calendars, of which the Coastal Jutean calendar is also used as a confederal calendar. The sole confederal holiday is the Day of Independence from the Saruan Empire, however it is not celebrated much, with local and culture-specific holidays such as the Jute harvest festival among the Coastal Juteans generally taking precedence.

Mythology

Main article: Mythologies on Jute

Jute is home to several distinct, but connected mythologies, collections of stories relating to the land of Jute, life on it, and the sea surrounding it all. Every major culture has its own mythology, and they can be said to exist on a continuum. The four main ones are connected to the four main cultural groups, Coastal Juteans, River Juteans, Samwati and Klambari and their native religions Saandism, Archetypal life and Klambarism, but there are also the mythologies of other ethnic and religious minorities, such as of the Qurosist and Zarasaist communities, or the Prime Temple Cult in Sitti. Most famous are the giant owl-lizard Datu from Samwati mythology and the legend of Lightning Shield, the girl that stole the ability of spirit channeling from the spirits.

Arts

Literature

Main article: Literature in Jute

Literature has a long tradition on Jute, with oral story-telling in the evening said to have been a part of daily life for the Coastal and River Jutean population since ancient times, but is also important in the cultures of Klambari and Samwati communities. Starting in the 17th century, with the introduction of writing and the printing press, they were increasingly written down and printed, but narrating or reading them out in front of an audience remained the dominant form of storytelling.

Traditionally these stories draw from local mythology and daily life, but in modern times they increasingly incorporated other topics and so developed into a rich variety of genres and types. Coastal Juteans, River Juteans as well as Klambari and Samwati all have their own literary tradition, with Samwati and Coastal Jutean stories historically having become popular and well-known beyond their own communities the most. Among the former, this is particularly true for stories featuring various Samwati mythological beings and locations, among the latter "living stories" (or tahi a ni) are probably the most famous. Their name is meant to reflect that they live and grow like a tree or human, and so tahi a ni are characterized by undergoing gradual change over time, in line with changes in society and the environment. While still being based on old legends drawing on history and mythology, they are normally set in the time and place of the audience, and can so easily be adapted and made relatable.

However, many other ancient stories still being told at campfires or kitchen tables today are however supposed to be more historically accurate, resembling more an oral tradition of reporting of past events, and are not seen as fiction at all.

Modern novels often are inspired by this tradition, although they usually have a lot of overseas influence, too, especially from Balak and Neviran, but also Lhavrinian authors. A number of recent novels being popular abroad as well, such as Crosspath. Furthermore, Jute has been a subject and setting in overseas literature, for example in the Balak novel All United and Assembled, which was later rewritten into the widely read Jutean novel Efi a Tahadovohi u Joohi.

Visual arts

Jute is famed for its sand drawings and sculptures. Competitions for these are held every year in various coastal locations. Further inland, many different styles of wood carvings and wooden sculptures exist. Artwork using bundles of jute fibers to make two- and three-dimensional art is found all over the confederation.

Music

Traditional music among Coastal Juteans and River Juteans usually involves flutes accompanied by drums and singing. It is frequently heard in the streets, at beaches and on rivers, or in various other venues. For Klambari and Samwati music, various traditional string instruments are central and percussion instruments, such as various tubular bells used especially in Samwati celebrations and the xylophone-like Hilkünperl Namtet (literally "Wooden path to the beasts") which was originally first used in religious rituals of the Klambari. Due to close cultural, economic and political connections Ystelian music, such as South Jutean Sazepeke are also widespread.

There are also two dedicated concert halls on the island, in Sitti and Numudu, built by colonial administration, where modern and classical music from other cultures is prominently played, commonly Balak, Neviran and Lhavrinian genres. Over time, various genres from these and other countries have proven to be popular across the confederation, especially in the more cosmopolitan towns at the coast.

This began in the 19th century with Balak folk music, and was followed in the 1930s by swing. Starting in the late 20th century hip-hop and electronic dance music (known locally as tukokele) were especially popular with younger people and those at the fringes of the societies of Jute. Many bands and solo artists playing such music started out as illegal gangs and outlaws, aggressively singing and promoting their songs with dances in the public, and some remain in the criminal underworld or at least retain connections to it, often with various levels of plausible deniability.

Theater

Similar to literature, past and present plays featuring mythological and historical topics remain the most popular. However, in the absence of TV and limited availability of cinemas a growing trend in coastal cities has been to adapt foreign films and series as theater plays, often changing settings and characters to be more similar to Jutean traditions. Recordings of these plays have gained a niche following abroad.

Cuisine

Cooked jute leaves

Main article: Jutean cuisine

The most famous Jutean dishes are varieties of pancakes made traditionally with e.g. coconut, green banana or yam flour (in modern days also corn or rice flour), as well as fried banana mash with e.g. chocolate. But those are largely modern Coastal Jutean dishes, and cuisine on Jute has varied greatly across time, as well as across the island, even more than culture otherwise does on Jute.

Both Coastal and River Jutean communities share similar traditional cooking methods, such as steaming and baking in fire pits between hot stones and using cooking pots on three-stone fires. A famous ancestral dish of the Coastal Juteans is a pudding made from grated breadfruit (later also plantains) mixed with coconut milk and seasonings and then wrapped in palm leaves, steamed in a pit between hot stones, with vegetables and fish optionally added before or after cooking them in three-stone fires where they are roasted, cooked in soups or steamed in pots with coconut milk.

This pudding is probably the ancestor of the modern Ystelian pancakes, which emerged as a result of Jutean refugees trying to adapt the pudding recipe to the colder climate and different environment of northern Ystel where they had fled to in about 100 CE. Later, this invention was brought to the island of Jute, who by now had been exposed to the metalworking of Klambari communities, when their lands were invaded and occupied by Klambari, and learned to use metal pans to fry food using coconut and kenaf oil. The exchange went in both directions, and soon Klambari as well as Samwati and River Jutean communities developed their own pancake varieties as well.

All cuisines continued influencing each other to various extents and engaged in exchanges and transfer of knowledge, but special regional characteristics, preferences and dishes remained. For instance, the more populated coastal regions, the homeland of Coastal Juteans, traditionally have largely pescetarian cuisines, dominated by fresh fish and guineafowl eggs, fruits such as breadfruit, sweetsop and later banana, as well as coconuts and vegetables including jute leaves and a seaweed known as sea grapes (Caulerpa lentillifera), gathered wild or grown in small fields or in forest gardens in communities directly bordering the rainforest.

The cuisine of River Jutean communities, overwhelmingly located deep within the island in rainforested regions, is similarly primarily based on fish, eggs, fruits and vegetables however, crops are not grown on open fields, only in forest gardens or gathered in rainforests. Fruits and berries exist in bigger variety in the rainforest, and seaweed is replaced by chayote squash. Hunting also takes place in some communities, especially those close to the Klambari communities.

In Klambari communities, animal husbandry and hunting take a central role, making dairy and meat the centerpieces of most meals. Fruits and vegetables from the rainforest complement dishes, fish is not commonly eaten. Samwati communities are similar, however instead of hunting fishing is of the most importance. Both have unlike the Jutic cultures indigenous metalworking traditions, resulting in many ancestral fried foods.

During the times of colonization by Nevira and the Balak Empire this process was continued, leading to Jutean cuisines, but especially the Coastal Jutean cuisine who had the most contact to colonial settlers, gaining many new influences. During the colonial era, urbanization began and increasingly many people at the coasts moved from subsistence agriculture, fishing and gathering to visiting eateries or obtaining food exclusively at markets.

Modern Jutean cuisine typically involves no baking, as apartments tend to not be outfitted with an oven due to them needing too much fuel and traditional pit ovens being unfeasible in dense urban environments. Frying, cooking and roasting in a pan is generally preferred, or sometimes a barbecue in a garden or park. Fire pits are sometimes still employed in the countryside, but generally unpopular due to the amount of space and labor required to make a firepit, maintain it and heat up stones. Dairy is outside of Klambari communities not very common, coconut milk (sometimes skimmed) is commonly used instead.

Coastal Jutean houses

Architecture

The coastal cities of Sitti, Numudu, Joonen and Helele that were most influenced by Neviran and Balak culture retain a number of neighborhoods and monumental architecture from the colonial era, e.g. the gharam (a Zarasaist temple) in Numudu, nowadays mostly, but not exclusively, used as museum. Other neighborhoods in those cities and smaller coastal towns tend to be densely packed with simple brick, stone or wooden homes, typically up to four stories high.

In towns further inland and in the countryside in general, larger buildings are mostly absent and vernacular architecture dominates. In Coastal and River Jutean communities, this tends to mean simple wooden buildings with stilts lined up next to each other, although non-stilted houses are also common in farmland further away from rivers and coasts. Palm-roof thatching is used the most, as well as thatching or building boards made from jute.

Samwati communities tend to instead consist of a cluster of houses built wall to wall next to and on top of each other, with stilt houses, having shops, accommodations and eateries on the outer layer, stone buildings with administrative buildings, temples and libraries as the core, and residential wooden houses on the top. Wood is also used for shrines built outside the complex, ritually burned every year, and for tool sheds and guinea fowl shelters. Stone as traditional building material is otherwise also used for defensive structures.

Klambari communities are similar, however the central building is split in two (one for hunters, pastoralists, teachers and traders, the other one for cooks, artisans, chroniclers, and librarians) with a bridge connecting the two, the space below is typically a market or gathering place, posts near it can be used to span cloth on top of it to protect it from the rain

One notable aspect of all Jutean architecture is that apartments and houses almost always have a small birdhouse attached to them for carrier pigeons, however, depending on the location mailboxes may exist next to or below the birdhouse.

Sport

Surfing, riverboat races and handball (historically, and in some regions in modern times, played with coconuts) are the dominating sports on Jute, although in the Samwati communities gymnastics and martial arts are of higher local importance. While football is the most popular sport among Klambari speakers, they traditionally also hold spearthrowing and a form of archery in high regard.

Media

Main article: Media in Jute

The coastal communities enjoy a variety of media, such as radio stations, broadcasting in all commonly spoken languages, access to internet portals, newspapers in a variety of languages (Coastal Jutean, River Jutean, Nevirajutean, Nevesh in Sitti or Helele, and Coastal Jutean, Balak, Jutean Balak in Numudu, as well as a Samwati and Klambari newspaper) and some magazines (mostly in Coastal Jutean). Print media is the most widely used.

However, for the majority of the population living further away from the coasts on the main island as well as on the smaller island, the radio has become the most important source of information, as the difficulty of terrain and remoteness of many of those communities often makes regular delivery of newspapers difficult and unfeasible. A sizeable portion of the population not be­ing literate, or not being literate in one of the two dominating scripts, compounds the issue. Therefore almost every county has at least one station available in the local language or languages, and where radio stations have no reach either, programming is sometimes distributed in the form of podcasts saved on memory cards carried by pigeons or other messengers.

Symbols

Plants

The jute plant and fiber is in modern times used as a symbol for the island group, the confederation, and for many Coastal Juteans, representing important values such as an environment-friendly lifestyle, living in harmony with nature and securing the future for coming generations.

Flag and emblem

Jute's flag has been in use since regaining independence in 1872; prior to the current flag a provisional was shortly used, a modified version of the colonial flag used by Saruan authorities. The flag consists of four parts, a lower half comprised of a dark blue and a dark green stripe respectively, representing the island and the sea surrounding it. Green like the jute plant also stands for the healthy relationship to the environment, which is a fundamental part of all the cultures on Jute and supposed to secure the future and prosperity of the coming generation, while blue also symbolizes the peaceful attitude of the inhabitants. Th upper half is comprised of a large light blue stripe, representing the sky, and a rising yellow sun. The sun stands for the hope for a better and brighter future each day, while the sky also symbolizes the vastness of possibilities in life.

The curled rope, the traditional emblem of Jute, symbolizes community, unity and heritage.

Other symbols

This article requires expansion: Details on symbols in minority cultures are missing Symbols in general are historically rare on the island among the Coastal and River Juteans. To this day, most communities and other groups are known only by name and, when needed, description, having no emblem of their own. These are reserved for groups, professions and people that operate on a larger scale and therefore need a simple way to be recognized.

Among those are the post service, which has for a long time used red thread tied to the legs of carrier pigeons, as well as two red armlets for human messengers, hospital or medical staff would use a necklace covered in blue or green feathers and members of the county, regional or confederation-wide courts use capes (black or dark grey ones for county courts, red ones for regional courts and blue ones for the confederal courts) that show two hands pressed against each other, signifying both the careful consideration of the courts and the agreement of the parties involved to submit to the ruling.

See also

  1. not a true currency, see (see 5 Economy for details)