In Lemurian society, we stress the importance in the passing on of tradition and you can see this throughout our society. We believe that tradition is passed through our children and so we put great emphasis on their education. Our greatest passing of tradition begins at an early age when children begin to learn Lemurada. Most families begin to teach their children Lemurada through the telling of old fables and some begin to teach Lemurada through the stories of our official religion Gladon. Children mostly learn Lemurada, but they may also learn English because of our history with trade with the British in colonial Africa. French is also spoken in small numbers in the south due to their ties to Madagascar. After cooing and babbling in the first four months of development, infants begin to make is “ng” (voiced velar nasal) which is the first letter for “mother” in Lemurada. The mother and father are the most important factor in the development of language in children.
Language reflects our culture in
many ways and it allows us to see the world differently than others. Our word
for pray literally means pray together. A common metaphor is “Prayer is a
garden for all.” We believe that our religion brings us together and if we stay
together, we can overcome any hardships in our path. Like I mentioned there are
many versions of the color green, because green is the representative of life and it is shown in many
ways. Lyria is the light green (associated with the rainforest), fyria is the
dark green (associated with the valley), ria is the term used for the green
that is the color for medicinal plants, and iya is the green that is associated
with the color of some of our crops. A common metaphor is “Green is our life.”
There is great emphasis on day and night in our culture, because it reflects
our time to be outside and work (day) and when to rest to be ready for the next
day (night). Day typically lasts from 6 AM to 6 PM and night is from after 6 PM
to just before 6 PM. We believe “Glada (the sun) smiles down on the workers.
Then she says goodbye to sleep.” All elders are addressed as mother or father.
We respect our elders greatly and believe they represent wisdom and hard work.
We believe “A fully grown vegetable can feed more than a young one.” Lastly
babies are viewed as everyone’s child. Everyone in the family contributes to
taking care of infants. We believe “A sapling must be nurtured to yield the
greatest fruit.” We believe that children represent the beginnings of life that
will continue forever on to our ancestors. These metaphors show our value in
life, community, and hard work.
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| http://www.ecolibrary.org/page/DP9005 |
The history of Lemurada begins
around the 11th century. After many years in Madagascar using
swidden agriculture, our ancestors started to look for a better way to sustain
a large population. They comprised of three tribes in northern Madagascar looking
for a better life. The group gathered together and headed north. When they
reached the sea, they sent a small party on a small boat out to find new land.
After days of waiting, the party finally returned with news of an island to the
north. Our ancestors then sailed across the narrow ocean to begin a new life.
Because they were a group of different people using different languages, they
decided to create a new language that would unite the people together. They
named it Lemurada after the lemurs native to the island. They then decided to name
their new home Lemuria and they finally created a new life.
Our belief in Glada is one of the
greatest aspects in our culture. Glada is the word for our sun and for our
deity that gives life to us. When Lemurians are happy they generally speak
loudly and when they are sad they speak softly. Worship of Glada is typically a
joyous activity, so we are usually very happy and loud during our celebrations.
Technology has greatly influenced
our culture. With the introduction of technology from outside cultures we have
advanced our scientific community. We are especially active in the medical
community. We have a great variety of medicinal plants in the rainforest that
we have used for centuries to treat illnesses. This has led to the mixture of
Latin with Lemurada in the scientific community for taxonomy. For example
Plantae aroga is the scientific term for a common cure for headaches found
within the rainforest. It includes Latin (Plantae) and our traditional term for
the plant (aroga). |
| http://www.locatelli1.net/gallery.php?ref=790280 |
Neologisms also frequently emerge in
the medical community. The word ‘canda’ is a word for a new x-ray machine
(developed by Lemurian engineers) that doesn’t release as much radiation as
traditional equipment. Also the word ‘Gladana’ has become the general term for
medicinal plants. It is named this because it gives life it received from
Glada.
Slang is usually popular among
teenagers. One common word is ‘cabuna’ which is a word for a student who has
left the country to pursue education in the city. Another term ‘bagan’ is the
word for someone who stays out late rather than studying for school. The word
‘agot’ is the word for a person who is very friendly.
Lemurian vocabulary usually revolves
around the type of work you do for a living. For the farmers that live in the
mountains and the valley their vocabulary mostly revolves around agriculture.
Plant (goroma), plow (hoyaja), and food (gana) are common words that farmers
use. The vocabulary of people in the cities revolves around business. Money
(rana) and office (halar) are common words that businessmen and businesswomen
use. This use of vocabulary shows that we greatly value hard work and we
respect those who put effort in everything they do.
In our culture we don’t really
recognize race; we classify people based on where they’re from. In Lemuria, we
usually separate people into two groups: mountain and valley (geer), and
rainforest (yrria). People from other countries are recognized by the name of
their country. There is no formal way to recognize different classes, but some
may classify people based on their annual salary. Gender is traditionally
binary. We recognized only two genders: man and woman. After contact with other
cultures and civil rights movements in America, we have begun to expand our
understanding of gender and we recognize many different genders and have a
large vocabulary for describing gender. Lemurians were originally polygamous
because many wives and children yielded a greater abundance of crops. After
contact with Europeans, we switched to monogamy and that became the norm. Just
recently in the last decade, we have officially made it legal for homosexual
couples to marry. Children officially become adults when they begin to
specialize and study a certain career. Their graduation ceremony at the age of
18 which is called ‘heartha’ is the ceremony where the young adults are
officially recognized as an adult in society. If a person doesn’t complete
their studies and undergo the ceremony, they will never be fully integrated in
society and will be seen as ‘manara’ which translates to ‘adult child’.
The political parts of our language
are related to the positions held within a village. Each village elects a
representative to act upon their behalf in the government called a ‘lemine’.
The title brings great honor to a person and the representative is held in high
regards among people in their village. A lemine’s primary duty is to make sure
that their villagers’ needs are seen to. If a representative does his or her
job well they are greatly respected; if a representative does a poor job, they
will still be respected, but will face termination with the next vote. A
representative who doesn’t pay attention to the people of the village they will
be called a ‘leygine’. This derogatory term isn’t limited to representatives;
it expands to all politicians who don’t do their job correctly.
Media in our culture is a great
factor in introducing us to news from around the world. Technological advances
have made it possible to contact people around the world in the blink of an
eye. The media introduces information from other cultures and new information
constantly changes what the norms are for Lemurian society. The media is also
important for upholding tradition by reporting holidays and festivals that are
held throughout the year. The televised show of last year’s Raeshon festival
had the highest views of any event shown on television that year. The media is
also a main factor for the incorporation of English into Lemurian society. One
advertisement of a commercial for a web camera that that allows contact with
many businesses around the world for meetings is entirely spoken in English.
This shows the increase in spoken English by businessmen and businesswomen
during their work day.
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| http://www.buzzle.com/articles/tree-tattoo-designs.html |
Lemurian society is very difficult
to summarize, but what can best describe our culture, is our motto “Peace and
honor”. We are a peaceful country and our goal is to bring change to the world
and honor to our people. Lemurian society is complex, but we still try to focus
on our motto and put it to use through our work and our time with our families.
Even though time may bring change, we will still remember our traditions and
our heritage to bring honor to our country.
Works Cited
Jadhav, Aparna
2012
Tree Tattoo Designs http://www.buzzle.com/articles/tree-tattoo-designs.html
accessed November 25, 2013.
Locatelli, Bruno
2007
Medicinal plants http://www.locatelli1.net/gallery.php?ref=790280 accessed November 25, 2013.
Perlman, Dan
L.
2007
Panorama: tropical rainforest http://www.ecolibrary.org/page/DP9005 accessed November 25, 2013.
