My people, the
Lemurians, are a nation of people who live on an island north of Madagascar.
The island is a country called Lemuria and the official language is Lemurada.
Lemuria was settled by our ancestors in the 16th century after
migrating from Madagascar. After many years of swidden agriculture, our
ancestors began to search for alternate sources of food, and after crossing the
sea to the north, they discovered the rich soil and abundant life of Lemuria.
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| http://www.maurinet.com/aboutmau.html |
Lemuria is most known for the two
small mountain ranges which make up the central part of the island. When the
snow melts from the winter, the water creates a lush valley between the two
mountains. Surrounding the mountains are large rainforests which are home to many
different species of animals and plants. All along the coasts are tropical
beaches and many ports and harbors. The climate is humid in the rainforests and
quite cool and dry in the mountains. The valley is warm, but cooler than the
rainforests during the day. It is mostly sunny throughout the island, but it
can be quite foggy high in the mountains.
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| http://www.globeimages.net/cat-costa-rica-142.htm |
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| http://blog.burrard-lucas.com/2010/10/wildlife-of madagascar/ |
Lemuria operates under a democratic
government. Originally when the land was settled, after each harvest our
ancestors would decide who would direct resources and create laws for the next
year. The people from villages all over would come to the capital and vote for
whether they wished the current leader to remain in control, or elect a new
leader. The new leader appoints a council to advise him and each village elects
a representative for themselves. Today, we still operate under a similar system
and continue to thrive.
The basis of Lemuria is life and it is seen throughout our
culture. Our lives revolve around agriculture. The valley between the mountains
serves as a large field where many groups of people plant and grow crops. In
the rainforests, many plants and fruits are harvested.
We recognize that the sun gives us all life so we worship the
sun Glada in our monotheistic religion called Gladon. We have many temples
throughout the rainforest that we visit yearly before the planting of the crops
and we make offerings to Glada praying for a bountiful harvest. Every year
after the harvest, we have a celebration of the life we have been given in a
festival called Raeshon. We are very thankful for everything we have been given
and for everything we will receive in the future.
In general Lemurians are very open and kind individuals. This
stems from relations with east Africa during colonization by Europeans. Because
we have had many years of experience farming, we had become excellent traders,
and the Europeans were so impressed, they began to trade with us. Europe
recognized us as an independent nation, so thankfully we were never part of the
slave trade. We stood by each other and were very good diplomats to Europe. Many
different countries came to Lemuria, and still come today, to become a part of
our extensive trade network. We welcome strangers with open arms, but if they
ever harm us, we know our fellow Lemurians will help us out. In fact the word
stranger and the word friend are the same in Lemurada called ‘yanura’.
We have great pride in our country, because it has gifted us
with life and prosperity. We show our pride through symbols like our flag. Our
flag is made of three vertical stripes. The first stripe is blue which
represents the water that flows from the mountains to the fields. The middle
stripe is yellow, which represents the sun Glada who gives life to the plants
below. The last stripe is green, which represents our crops and the life they
give to us. Our national symbol which our country is named after is the lemur.
The lemur was the first creature our ancestors came across on the island. When
they saw that the lemur thrived in the environment, they knew that they could
too. The lemur then became the symbol of home.
Many Lemurians live near the mountain or the coast. Lemuria
is becoming more urban every day and many Lemurians have moved towards the
villages that are now cities. Most
Lemurians are recognized by the clothes that they wear. Lemurians favor the
color green because it represents life and it is the most common color of dye
from the local plants. There are two types of green: light green which is
‘lyria’ and dark green which is ‘fyria’. The light green is associated with the
rainforest and is worn by the people of that region. The dark green is
associated with the valley and is worn by people of that region. Most Lemurians
dress modestly. Most women wear dresses that fall down to the knees and up to
the shoulders. Men usually wear shorts that fall to the knees and short sleeve
tunics. Because we are so rapidly developing some may develop the Western style
of dress, but most adults prefer traditional dress. Lemurians strongly believe
in family and monogamy is most common in families. Because Lemurians are so
open, homosexuality is widely accepted and many can marry. Because of the
introduction of homosexuality, Lemurians created a new word ‘anokieh’ which
means partner. Marriage is desirable and many Lemurians seek to marry and
create a family to carry on the work of their fathers. Most children are
considered children until the age of sixteen when they begin to specialize in a
career. Education is very important to Lemurian society and every child is
required to attend school until they are sixteen. After the age of sixteen,
they are formally recognized as an adult.
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| http://www.popscreen.com/p/MTAxOTQ2MTc5/African-Hippie-Dashiki-Dress-Kaftan-Fit-to-L-XL1X-2X-3X-eBay |
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| http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madagascar |
Agriculture is still the main source of income, but Lemuria
has quick growing industries. Tourism and Transportation are quickly growing.
Each year more and more people come to Lemuria on vacation and Lemurian ships
are some of the best and fastest in the world. Advances in alternate forms of
energy are being made every day. Also, advances in medicine occur every day as
new species of plants for medicine are found in the rainforest. Lemurians
believe in hard work paying off, and many Lemurians seek to become a greater
influence on the world market and a more powerful nation.
All of these components make up Lemuria and the people who
reside here. We look forward to a bright future for our country and we are
thankful for every day we have.
Works Cited
Burrard-Lucas
Wildlife Photography.
2010
Wildlife of Madagascar: Burrard-Lucas Blog http://blog.burrard-lucas.com/2010/10/wildlife-of
madagascar/ accessed September 21, 2013.
Globe
Images
2013
Costa Rica http://www.globeimages.net/cat-costa-rica-142.htm accessed September
21, 2013.
Maurinet
2013
About Mauritius Island http://www.maurinet.com/aboutmau.html accessed September
21, 2013.
Photolibrary
2009
Nature Wildlife: Ring-tailed lemur www.photolibrary.com accessed September 21,
2013.
PopScreen,
Inc.
2013
African Hippie Dashiki Dress Kaftan Fit to L XL1X 2X 3X http://www.popscreen.com/p/MTAxOTQ2MTc5/African-Hippie-Dashiki-Dress-Kaftan-Fit-to-L-XL1X-2X-3X-eBay
accessed September 21, 2013.
Saveoursmile
2013
Madagascar http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madagascar accessed September 21, 2013.
