Verse:Hmøøh/Suwáábyíq

Sowaázh daSóol (soo-WAHR dah-SOOL; High Sowaázh: /sˑtsʊwɑ̌ːɻ tɑsûːl/ 'home of the Sowaázh people'), often simply called Sóol (Eevo: Swn) by foreigners, is an island country in Western Txapoalli. It is a unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The current King is King Seyehízhinyi'moñheésy and the current Prime Minister is Gáadeéñcyok' He'eshdáa'. The capital of Sóol is 'Onáp'aañ, whose full name is [really long].

Sowaázh daSóol is a developed country and ranks as the third largest economy in Tricin by nominal GDP after Fyxoom and Hetom, and the second largest economy in Txapoalli.

The official language of Sóol is Sowaázh. There is one recognized minority language, Jadoqox.

Geography

Sowaázh daSóol is an archipelago in the southern hemisphere of Tricin, with three main islands. It has a subtropical climate.

History

Medieval period

Classical Sowaázh was used until the beginning of the modernization period (200 years BP?)

Modernization

• Aristocracy starts to modernize Sóol in response to colonialists' demands but they hit popular opposition due to economic impact from increased trade
• Aristocracy retains control over govt, but in response to massive riots they throw the people a bone and slowly roll out parliamentary democracy

Silphium Wars

Sowaázh daSóol fought on the side of Fyxoom and Anbir in the Silphium Wars (110 years BP?).

Culture

Stereotypical foreigners' views of Sowaázh culture:

• Elite-based stereotypes: "Sowaázh people are really polite and they have really fancy food!"
• Otaku-based stereotypes: "shutins and weird people who watch anime"
• "Sóol is so much like us and yet so different and quirky. Was it created by a conworlder?"

Pop culture

Modern Sowaázh 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 Sowaázh pop culture across the globe, Sowaázh varieties are commonly learned by Sowaázhophile otakus. Some of the pop culture produced is pornography, which has contributed to the Bitaletan stereotype of Sowaázh people as outwardly polite and prudish but wild behind closed doors. In Sóol itself, "overconsumption" of pop culture is stigmatized, and many think that much pop culture is produced for the lowest common denominator. Posher people tend to prefer Northern (Bitaletan)-style hipster live-action films and novels to comics and animation.

The art style of Sowaázh comics is partly based on the stylized costumes and makeup used in traditional Sowaázh plays.

Music

Main article: Verse:Hmøøh/Suwáábyíq/Music

Cuisine

Many Sjowaázh people, even the more conservative ones, are vegans and vegetarians.

Sjowaázh recipes are centered around wheat; various vegetables; fish, meat, eggs or seitan, commonly used with spices available from the region. Rice and dairy products are rare.

Breakfast

A common breakfast meal is wheat flatbread (kázh) with proteins, commonly cooked fish, sausage, eggs, and/or seitan (laáñt'ob) plus some nut butter (gyeneé), served with coffee (nezhás) with coconut milk (heshóob).

Fashion

TODO: traditional upper class and lower class fashion

Society

Class system

Sowaázh 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. Sowaázh politics, which tends center-right, is significantly influenced by the class system. An upper class Sowaázh person will speak High Sowaázh natively, while a middle class speaker will speak a weaker version of their local dialect.

Historically, the Sowaázh aristocrats were quite powerful and held de facto power over the king - there was not an absolute monarchy. The modernization of Sóol was mostly led by the aristocrats (unlike in Japan where the shogunate was toppled), and the country was officially made into a parliamentary constitutional monarchy as an ostensibly democratic measure.

Traditional gender norms

Ye'láal eñ'oójheeñg (Ye'láal is a poetic name for Sjowaázh daSóol; an 'oójheeñg is a species of Sowaázh wildflower) is an archetype of a traditional Sowaázh "proper lady". A Ye'láal eñ'oójheeñg is polite, nurturing and submissive but has a core of inner strength and will and is willing to defend herself and people she cares about when necessary. She will probably speak Adísheg (cultivated Sowaázh).

Social attitudes

• Gay sex is legal but gay marriage is not recognized. LGBT people remain somewhat stigmatized, though the stigma is lessening in recent years with more celebrities publicly speaking about being LGBT.

Politics

Sóol uses first past the post voting. Political engagement is concentrated in the upper middle and upper classes, and many people believe that their political system isn't working for them.

Parties

The three largest Sowaázh political parties are the National Democratic Party, the Social Liberal Party, and the Worker's Party. Roughly speaking, they represent the upper class, the middle class and the working class.

Parliamentary representation

TODO: Sowaázh names and abbreviations

• National Democratic Party (NDP; lit. Nation Speak-for-All Party; 44%): center-right, nationalist
• Workers' Party (WRK; Sowaázh: Wolaañc'ín daSjyáaneñ'; 32%): center-left, liberal, socdem, socialism
• Social Liberal Party (SLP; lit. Free Society Party 8%): center-left, liberal, libertarian
• Let Us Soar Party (LUS; 7%): left-libertarian, futurist, transhumanist
• National Enlightenment Party (NEP; lit. Nation/Ethnicity, Awaken/Realize Now Party; 5%): far-right, ultra-nationalist
• Green Party (GRN; 1%): Deep Greens

Policy and political rhetoric

TODO: really galaxy brain political positions like gun rights being a leftist position? / use the most infuriating political arguments I can think of

Sóol is nominally a social democracy. However, deep welfare and public service cuts have plagued the country under the current NatDem government.

Sóol is quite nationalist and heavily restricts immigration. Much of the political rhetoric centers around Sowaázh daSóol being the "leader" of Txapoalli but ironically being quite fragile. Its immigration system is similar to Singapore: it allows migrant workers to stay on a temporary basis but becoming a citizen is much more difficult.

The conservative wing pursue an austerity-focused agenda while the liberal wing of the country tend to be second-wave-style radical feminists. Both conservatives and liberals tend to be anti-immigration; liberals tend to be more pro-gun rights than conservatives.

Religion

Religion is not hugely important in Sowaázh society. Syncretism (usually of traditional Sowaázh beliefs, Naquian theaterism, Hetmic religion, and/or Ngronaism) is common and tolerated. In fact it is considered improper to be too dedicated to religion, and shamans are usually lower class.

Traditional beliefs

The Sowaázh traditionally believed in a "spirit-complex" which links all spirits together. A spirit leaves the spirit-complex when a person is born, and one's spirit reenters it upon death. This spirit-complex was held to be the source of morality. Since everyone is of the spirit-complex, morality involves both respect for the living and the dead.

Practices

Shamanism and ancestor veneration is not unusual even in modern Sowaázh society.