Verse:Hmøøh/Suwáábyíq
Sjowaázh daZóol (soo-WAHZH dah-ZOOL; High Sjowaázh: /sˑtsʊwɑ̌ːʐ̊ tɑzûːl/ 'home of the Sjowaázh people'), often simply called Zóol (Eevo: Zwn) by foreigners, is an island country in Txapoalli. It is a parliamentary republic.
Sjowaázh daZóol is a developed country and is the fourth largest economy in Tricin by GDP.
The capital of Zóol is 'Onáp'aañ.
King: ???
Prime minister: ???
Geography
Should be big enough for dialects to thrive
Sjowaázh daZóol is an archipelago with three main islands.
History
Modernization
- Aristocracy starts to modernize Zóol in response to colonialists' demands but they hit popular opposition due to economic reasons
- Aristocracy retains control over govt, but in response to massive riots they throw the people a bone and slowly roll out parliamentary democracy
Pop culture
Modern Sjowaázh pop culture is dominated by comic books and animation. It grew out of the influence of Naquian theaterism, native theater and literature, and modern global pop culture. Due to the popularity of Sjowaázh pop culture across the globe, Sjowaázh varieties are commonly learned by Sjowaázhophile otakus.
The art style of Sjowaázh comics is partly based on the stylized costumes and makeup used in traditional Sjowaázh plays.
Examples
Music
- Main article: Verse:Hmøøh/Suwáábyíq/Music
Society
Class system
Sjowaázh class is mainly determined by one's family pedigree. Today, one's class is also determined by education level and the schools one went to. Sjowaázh politics, which tends center-right, is significantly influenced by the class system. An upper class Sjowaázh person will speak High Sjowaázh natively, while a middle class speaker will speak a weaker version of their local dialect.
Historically, the Sjowaázh aristocrats were quite powerful and held de facto power over the king - there was not an absolute monarchy. The modernization of Zóol was mostly led by the aristocrats (unlike in Japan where the shogunate was toppled), and the monarchy was abolished as an ostensibly democratic measure.
Politics
Zóol uses proportional representation.
Parties
The three largest Sjowaázh political parties are the National Democratic Party, the Social Progressive Party, and the Worker's Party. Their bases are, very loosely, the upper class, the middle class and the working class.
Parliamentary representation
TODO: Sjowaázh names and abbreviations
- National Democratic Party (NDP; 43%): center-right, nationalist
- Workers' Party (WP; 32%): center-left, liberal, socdem
- Social Liberal Party (SLP; 9%): center-left, liberal
- National Enlightenment Party (NEP; 5%): traditionalist, ultra-nationalist
- Let Us Soar Party (LUSP; 3.3%): futurist, transhumanist
- Green Party (GP; .9%)
Religion
Traditional beliefs
[Sketch]
The Sjowaázh traditionally believed in a "spirit-complex". The "spirit-complex" links all spirits together; spirits leave it when a person is born, and his spirit reenters the spirit-complex when he dies.
This spirit-complex is held to be the source of morality. Since everyone is of the spirit-complex, morality involves both respect for the living and the dead.