Djikudjuká culture

Name
Djikudjukà translates to happy life (djiku=happy; djukà=life). This nomination is due to the habits of this culture who believe in happiness and optimism. Since they believe that their souls will take long to come back to their bodies (please see religion), they try to profit from every moment, turning their lives into a wealthy adventure, making it very exceptional.

Conditions and nature of the land
Some of the plants that can be found Some species of animals that can be found
 * 800mm is the average yearly precipitation
 * The climate is cold to average
 * There are many earthquakes
 * The region is full of plain forests
 * Onion
 * Garlic
 * Quinoa
 * Watermelon
 * Hazel
 * Strawberry
 * Carrot
 * Asparagus
 * Rocca
 * Wheat
 * Artichoke
 * Colombe
 * Deer
 * Cat
 * Horse
 * Panther
 * Salmon
 * Pig
 * Boar

The Story
The universe was created a long time ago by four Gods: Akoon, Kanapa, Sherapa, Sakooroo. This universe is an infinite loop, it starts, lives, dies and repeats itself. The cycle would continue for eternity. Souls are created every day.

Each soul gets back to its one and only body whenever the loop starts again, and leaves it whenever its time, as well. During the waiting for the souls to get back to their bodies, they suffer; if their actions have been bad during their life, or they stay in ecstasy; if their actions have been good during their life.

According to the Gods: Good actions are defined as serving others, helping, loving and respecting them, being generous and having values, as well as worshiping the Gods. Bad actions are defined as insulting, cursing,lying and intentionally hurting others, and disrespecting the Gods.

The prophecy says that a powerful soul -a soul of pure darkness and evil- will enchain humanity and bring chaos to the universe. But according to the GodsAnother soul -''full of pure light'- will stop it, save humanity and protect it, recreating the course of the universe. However,when stopping evil, the infinite loop of the universe will be destroyed forever. Souls won't have another chance to be saved if they were bad during their lifetime. Accordingly,they would be obliged to choose their way during their only sole life. Good souls will live happily with the Gods in the light and enjoy forever. Conversely,if the soul was bad during its lifetime,it will suffer for eternity.

Religious practices
The marriage is the most important ceremony in Djikudjuka. It is a grace granted by the Gods. First the groom comes from the right and goes to the monk, holding in his hands representations of the Gods Akoon and Sakoroo (male Gods). As for the bride, she arrives from the left side, holding in her hands representations of the Gods Sherapa and Kanapa (female Gods). Once together, they hold hands. Then the monk says the sacred words that translates to: “In the name of the mighty Gods, Akoon, Kanapa, Sherapa and Sakoroo you are now united, you are now one and forever!”. Just after that the couple dances the dance of love, then, they eat with their families and friends. At the end of the ceremony, all the attendees, together with the bride and the broom dance the traditional dance of happiness.

Representational arts
The drawings of the Gods (please go to Religion) are all made with charcoal in the culture’s traditional drawing style. The sculpture is sculpted in rocks in the traditional sculpture style of the culture.

Performing arts
Dances are crucial in Djikudjuka’s culture since it is a mean to thank the Gods. They represent the feelings and emotions the people want to show to their Gods, which are love, happiness and gratefulness. Those dances are being performed at every happy occasion, especially during the wedding ceremonies. The most known ones are: The dance of love. The dance of happiness.

Being a man
To become a man, each boy has to kill a wolf and bring back its fur as a proof (wolves are the only animals that can be killed by humans because they are considered evil by their Gods).This action is called [koovasi]. This fur shall be offered to the woman he wants to marry. Upon accepting his fur, they get married. Otherwise, he has to find another bride.

Traditions

 * Hi = Chaj, both shake hands with the four fingers of the right hand.
 * Bye = Chèj, both shake hands with the four fingers of both hands.
 * We have an alphabet formed of 17 letters.
 * If anybody curses, they will be send to the forest for four days, because they offended the Gods (please see religion). If they survive, they promise in the name of the Gods not to repeat it, and if not its body will be retrieved and buried than remembered as a bad example to its family.
 * 1) -===Grammer===
 * To mark the plural, we add a [v]


 * To mark the feminine, we add "da" [da:]


 * To mark the past of a verb, we add [s]


 * All the verbs are conjugated the same way with all the persons


 * We write from right to left


 * The 3rd persons of the singular( He;She;It;hers;his...)are all pronounced [shi]

Cuisine
The population of Djikudjukà are vegetarian. That is why they have one main dish and one main desert maid at each occasion possible ( marriage, koovasi, birth...). The main dish is called "Youva" and the desert is called "Jidaleh". If not an occasion, they usually eat fruits and vegetables.

The ingredients of the main dish:

 * potatoes


 * salt


 * water


 * quinoa


 * almonds


 * pines


 * olive oils

recipe
Boiled potato cut in half with a hole inside so we fill it will with boiled quinoa. Served with an arrangement of olive oil and almonds on toppings.

The ingredients of the traditional desert:

 * wheat
 * water
 * strawberry

recipe
Boiled wheat with a sauce of pressed strawberry with some strawberries slices on top