Gruenberg

Gruenberg

Flag of Gruenberg
Motto: Kab-sez Schialnach Brachtrauron ['There's Nothing Wrong']
[1]
Region	Malibu Islands
Capital	Flurthwel
Official Language(s)	Rukialkotta
Leader	His High Holiness Grand Sultan Gardab Woltzten IX
Population	Unknown
Currency	Opst
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NATIONAL IDENTITY

LANGUAGE

Rukialkotta

Rukialkotta is the state language of Gruenberg.

Bazhtan

Bazhtan is the Court language of Gruenberg, and the holy religion of Wenaism. As such, commoners are strictly forbidden from hearing or speaking, or reading or writing, the sacred language. Fewer than 100,000 citizens are entitled to speak it: of these, the majority are not of 'high blood', but are in fact monks and priests.

The language employs pictograms, each representing a different word, or part of a word. They are reportedly extraordinarily intricate. The structure of the language is completely unknown, but it doubtless differs substantially from modern languages: Bazhtan has had no major linguistic evolution in hundreds of years. Pronunciation is said to be complex and guttural, with correct pitching of vowel sounds crucial to understanding.

At Wenaism ceremonies, priests must chant the ancient scriptures in a sound-proofed antechamber, to avoid having commoners hear the sacred language. The offence is taken most seriously: last year, there were 18 executions for those suspected of trying to read it, with an estimated 400 prisoners currently serving sentences relating to attempts at accessing Bazhtan texts.

Tribal Languages

The legacy of Gruenberg's many tribal languages is gradually fading as many ancient dialects wilt under the force of the country's rapid conversion to Rukialkotta. At one point, the distinctions between tribal dialects were so distinct that people living 50km apart would be completely incapable of understanding one another. Today, less than a third of the population speak traditional tribal languages as their first language. This figure drops year on year, and in The Census Of The 731st Year, over 450 languages were reported to be extinct that were in use 10 years previously.

Gruenberger tribal languages have certain common characteristics, to a point. Most are based on pictograms rather than Greek-style lettering, and most are hard for non-natives to pronounce. Beyond that, there are substantial differences that mean it is difficult to draw many comparisons: centuries of separate evolution have driven the dialects to almost unrecognisable poles.

Of the languages still in common use in Gruenberg, the most common are Salsaffron (which 8.9% of Gruenbergers speak as a first language), Malhiati (6.2%) and Deshpatt (5.3%). The majority of smaller tribal languages are spoken in the Gelzien Nub, which has been significantly slower to take up Rukialkotta.

Below is an example of the differences in tribal languages: the character representing the word 'cat' in Salsaffron, Deshpatt, Roga (a Gelzien language), and Myraschwagi (from the south-eastern plains of Naffarron), with attempted transliterations also shown.

'Mipadu' (Salsaffron)'Bibliotta' (Deshpatt)'Klakla' (Roga)'Chipithlon' (Myraschwagi)

English and other languages

Gruenberg has no colonial past, and as such foreign influences on its languages have been very limited. As such, modern foreign languages are barely spoken in Gruenberg. However, English is being encouraged as a second language, and is commonly taught in primary and secondary schools, although as yet its study has not been made compulsory. Many Gruenbergers will understand and be able to converse in very basic English, but knowledge of other languages is all but non-existent.

RELIGION

Wenaism

Wenaism is the state religion of Gruenberg. Official figures routinely put observance at 100%: whilst these are doubtless exaggerations, Wenaism certainly was a popular faith long before the Court chose to officially impose adherence on its citizens. Gruenberg's status as a Wenaist nation is confirmed by the constitution, the first article of which reads:

"...that Gruenberg shall act as one nation under Wena, Mighty Goddess Of All Things, and commit itself at all times in every act to upholding the core beliefs of her faith..."

William Embury argued in 'Motherland', his highly-regarded book on Wenaism and its role in the political and social development of Gruenberg, this is "the most significant sentence ever written in the history of Gruenberg...acknowledging the ultimate subservience of the Court to the Mother Goddess...at its very core, Gruenberg remains a nation bound by ties not of devotion to its monarchy, but to its religion". Dismissed by many as overstatement, there is probably a certain truth in the claim: certainly, no less a luminary than H.D. Welch noted that "without the fortune of their genuine link to the heart of Wenaism...the rise of the [Woltzten family] would not only have been significantly more difficult, but quite probably impossible."

Tribal Religions

Christianity

Other religions

NATIONAL ANTHEM

History

Kab-sez Schialnach Brauchtrauron has only been Gruenberg's national anthem since The 660th Year. However, it is effectively a Rukialkotta version of an ancient Wenaist hymn of praise of the same name, naturally embellished for propagandist purposes (the third verse in particular being an especially clunky addition).

Before The 660th Year, Gruenberg had no official national anthem, although various hymns and folk tunes were regularly sung at national events: these included Rak Tak Bazhta ['Rak The Holy'], Fein Escheklar Wena ['Glorious Mother Wena'], and Sliptdern Magwein Fromblet ['To Sing In Praise Is Great'].

Today's anthem was produced as a result of Polrak I's decision to introduce a standard national song that the military could easily memorise to sing on special parades. He commissioned several poets to adapt the folk-song into something more regal, but was displeased with their efforts (two, Baschten Ron and Klars Verfarrat, were in fact imprisoned for treason and blasphemy as a result of their compositions; the latter, whose song-cycle 'Long Green Land' gained popularity in the underground resistance movement that flowered in the wake of Polrak Woltzten II's clampdowns on civil liberties in the Gelzien Nub in The 682nd Year, was later boiled alive).

Finally, he decided to write it himself. (Many believe that Hochtep Swimmen, then assistant to Grand Vizier Clibold Mahu, in fact wrote the words, although spreading this rumour in Gruenberg is a treasonable offence.) No known extant copy of this original version, written either in the original tribal language of the folk-song, or more probably Bazhtan, remains. His words were then translated into Rukialkotta by three Wenaist scribes, and doubtless adapted further (the fourth verse in particular seems distinctly at odds with Polrak I's violent and cruel temperament).

The music came a year later, after a national competition. The perhaps surprising winner was a 23-year old from the northern province of Karundulastan. Ashwal Patamari had had no formal musical training, and worked on his father's small farm, picking beans. However, his adaptation of the traditional folk melody won, perhaps chosen in part because of its simplicity - many of the offerings of more recognised composers had proved too difficult for soldiers to sing. He was invited to study composition in Flurthwel, and was awarded a prestigious Court scholarship, but died of cholera on route. (It is highly likely he was in fact assassinated to prevent his becoming a cult figure, as this was common practice under Polrak I, but no evidence exists to prove this.) A statue commemorating his achievement was erected twenty years later, in Woltzten Square.

Miscellaneous Information

The song's title gives rise to the national motto. As the eminent historian of Gruenberg H.D. Welch noted in his seminal essay, 'On The Rise Of The House Of Blood', "tempting as it may be to search for a note of irony in the choice of motto, such efforts would be misplaced...one can be assured that for the Court, and indeed for all loyal Gruenbergers, there really is nothing wrong, however bizarre such an observation might be in the face of crippling depression, ridiculous social imbalance, and oppression almost beyond comprehension."

The anthem is sung at the start of all sporting encounters, at every military procession, and before lunch on every school day. One verse is played on the hour, every hour, on state radio, and it is often requested in full on call-in music programmes. The song also accompanies Court television broadcasts. All royalties go to the Court.

Several parodies of the song exist. One, a humorous tribute to grandparents, was in fact released as a single by the Children's Choir of Gruenberg, and reached No. 18 in Radio Gruenberg's Hit Parade. Other versions are less affectionate, and looked on with much less tolerance by the Court: Bobatob Onaha, a popular singer-songwriter who played a witty take-off of the anthem entitled Kab-sez Turp Rasch Yurk Brauchtrauron ['There's Nothing On My Plate'], lampooning Gardab XIII's obesity, was shot dead in the street (allegedly by angered patriots, although secret agents of the Court were more probably to blame), whilst an unknown guitarist who circulated a feedback-drenched punk version, complete with bitterly obscene lyrics, among the students of the Moroschwegen Agricultural College was reportedly dismembered in the infamous Gru-Kap prisons in Gevenis.

NATIONAL ANIMAL

The Moon Ram

The moon ram is Gruenberg's national animal, and is known in Rukialkotta as Tak Blomberdun Kassafanion. It is a protected species, and there are fewer than 10,000 specimens left in the wild. Hunting the ram is a capital offence, and crimes as seemingly slight as snipping off clips of wool (thought by some to possess magical charms, moon ram wool, horns and bone are highly-sought after lucky charms, and precious commodities - on the black market) can carry jail sentences. Once prevalent throughout Gruenberg, diminishing numbers and the relative isolation of the majority of the animals to the far north is usually attributed to over-hunting.

However, many zoologists believe the government expansion of industrial agriculture in the late seventh century of the Gruenberg calendar may have played its part. The insecticide Reptacil (4,4,4-trichloromethyl benzyl thioniafrol) was widely sprayed. It is harmless in its own right, but when mixed with other common ammonium-based fertilizers is intensely toxic. Reptacil continues to be used, but in smaller doses as more efficient substances are developed.

The moon ram (ovis lunar) is in fact the male of the moon sheep species, and although ewes are not held in sacred regard, are extended the same legal protection. Its wool is thick and off-white, but can appear pale blue in darker light. Larger and more aggressive than normal rams, it is thought to be unique to Gruenberg. It is a herbivore, eating mainly grasses and bracken, but is also thought to eat a variety of fruit and berries. Its dung, which commoners are legally allowed to collect (providing they avoid harassing the animal), consists of dark, hard pellets, and is largely tasteless and odourless. Loosened with water, it is used to paint decorative religious tokens, or incorporated into jewellery.

History

The moon ram is believed to have inhabited Gruenberg for thousands of years: a number of references to it are purportedly made in the sacred texts of Wenaism. Its population was estimated at around 40,000 during the third century of the Gruenberg calendar. With tough meat and coarse wool, it is hunted mainly for spiritual reasons.

The moon ram's importance in Gruenberg is mainly on account of the Fable of the Shepherd. In The 192nd Year, two of the seven sacred texts still remained lost, and many believed they would never be found. Then, Gulgon Vonderbat, an impoverished widower who tended moon rams high on Hatash Myari, stumbled into The Holy City with two vast clay urns, inside which were found the ancient scripts. His story was that, tracking down a moon ram, he had come to the thin valley pass where the Four Sages had encountered their first vision of Wena. At that point, the spirit of Wena came down and entered the moon ram, guiding him to a concealed tunnel where the Sages had hidden the final two texts. Ever since then, the animal has been given holy status in Gruenberg. (In an unfortunate epilogue, Vonderbat was executed for attempting to read the Bazhtan writing.)