Urml'ek culture

The discovery of Urml’ek


When the spaceship first crashed, although the systems and mechanism were ruined, provisions and water were enough for the astronauts to survive for 9 moons, called "hiwu" (equal to 3 human days). After that, they had to come out of the ship and start searching for water and food. Water was missing and the men were getting weak, until the captain decided to climb on top of the nearest tree to spot a water point, that tree was later considered sacred and was called “oxya'”. That was when the heart-shaped shore was first seen, giving Urml’ek its current name, “urml” meaning heart, and “‘ek” meaning land. Since then, the heart is the center of life in Urml’ek, and water ( “ji” ) is the principle resource for survival. Ever since, habitations were built alongside the shore.

Urml’ekans had to adjust to extremely hot days, and had to deal with temperatures as high as 116C for what they would spend many consecutive moons hiding in the shade of the tall trees, or in the water. A while after, the habitants began to get used to the harsh heat waves, and their skin whitened progressively, to get to their actual pale and blue-ish shade.

Survival instinct led Urml’ekans to nest their huts on top of trees to get away from animals during hot days when they couldn’t get out to hunt. They started to work harder during the rainy days when the heat was bearable, and would gather per moon of rain, enough provisions to survive for 10 consecutive moons.

Over time, and with the generations rapidly multiplying, the populated surface of Urml’ek expanded to reach the chain of mountains below it and new fertile grounds were found, along with new species of plants and animals.

Sarah Azzi (talk) 12:43, 8 December 2014 (EST)

The Urml'ekan Flag


Urml'ek's flag is divided into 3 parts:
 * On the top and bottom ones you can read the national motto of Urml'ek. Every time a moon is just over the land, every habitant is forced to stop everything he might be doing and say the motto out loud, to bring luck to the land and to it's habitants. Therefore the national motto is placed on the two parts bordering the flag, to symbolize that the luck it brings is all around Urml'ek. That motto says: " Loba a Liba Tan'ox Ji, Wu'li Ozulo Urml'ek", meaning: " sun and fire be killed by water, god watch over Urml'ek".
 * The middle part has the name of the land written on it in Urml'ekan.
 * The flag is colored in blue, as it is the color symbolizing water, but the middle part of the flag is in a darker shade of blue, representing their wish of concentration of water in Urml'ek.

Sarah-Maria Bassil (talk) 14:36, 8 January 2015 (EST)

The areas of Urml'ek
Urml'ek is divided into six areas, depending on the activities practiced there and on the climate:



Linyo
Linyo is located on the dry side of the shore, the plain is mostly cultivated with dry and very warm climate plants ( urmzuvi, urmba, zayaya, zujitan, zayayo, zahi’) and Urml’ekans visit it to practice sculpting wood and rocks.

Hujizu
Hujizu is one of the hot plains of Urml’ek, where we essentially hunt and domesticate animals, mostly vi’za, ahi, and oviwu. The builders gather wood (“eka”) and prepare it to build habitations along the shore.

Ji’ek
Ji’ek is placed between the heart shaped shore, and many rivers, separated by two lakes. Therefore, the sinners being forced to fish under the sun as a punishment would gather in the region to get yazawuli from the lakes and rivers, and jizuba or zaliyo from the ocean. Hunters also looked for linzavi and wuvitanji around the lakes.

Tanjio & oxlinya
Tanjio and Oxlinya are the meeting spots of Urml’ek, where on special occasions, all the families and sinners meet, or when an important decision has to be made. As they are situated on plains, where the climate is somewhat more bearable than on the equator, more races of animals and species of plants are available, so they are also very frequented by hunters and gatherers.

Hilinek
Hilinek is the highest point of Urml’ek as it is located on the only mountain within the Urml’ekan territory. It’s the last discovered land, as workers and hunters began looking for cooler areas to harvest new species of plants, and hunt new animals. The species of animals and plants that were discovered there are extremely limited, as the Urmel’ekans are not used to that kind of cool climate and cannot bear hunting or cultivating there too long.

Sarah Azzi (talk) 12:34, 5 January 2015 (EST)

The moons system
One Urml’ekan moon is approximately equal to eight human hours, and one Urml’ekan cycle is equal to three moons. All Urml’ekans count their time in moons, and know how many of them that should pass to complete basic actions. For example:


 * To give birth to a child, 822 moons are required.


 * To get well from a cold or flu, 9 to 15 moons are required.


 * To build a hut on top on a tree, 24 moons are required.


 * To grow a plant of za’i from seed to harvest, 195 moons are required.


 * To grow a plant of vi from seed to harvest, 188 moons are required.


 * To grow a plant of zahi’ from seed to harvest, 225 moons are required.


 * To grow a plant of otan from seed to harvest, 180 moons are required.


 * To grow a plant of yaba from seed to harvest, 187 moons are required.

Sarah Azzi (talk) 08:26, 6 January 2015 (EST)

Traditions and beliefs

 * Urml’ekans fear the sun ( “loba”), as it creates the life-threatening heat waves, along with fire (“liba”), which is considered a sin, so the sun is a representation of evil. Therefore, the sinners, called “oxtan”, (those who broke the rules by coming out on sunny days or by violating the nutrition plan…) would have to go fishing, on hot periods, until they would catch fish, “zuji”. As the fish come from the sea, the sinner bows to the water in the heat, to remember that it is his only savior.


 * Urml’ekans believe in one god “wu’li” that is the provider of water which is the essential resource that keeps the population alive and protected from the heat waves. As water is used to fight fire it is a sacred resource that should be respected.


 * According to their fear of sun and their attachment to water, Urml’ekans grew habit to hide in the shade of the trees, and never get out on sunny moments, which could last many moons. So they are only allowed to hunt, harvest or leave their huts on rainy days, and on nights when the sun doesn’t appear. Based on that system, Urml’ekans turned out to be hard workers, who would work on every propice moment, to gather food, as no one could know how long could last the sun and the heat. Also, their skin went from the natural color, to become a sheer pale white color, with reflects of blue.


 * Every time a moon is placed just over Urml’ek, every Urml’ekan is forced to stop everything he might be doing and say out loud the national motto, which brings luck to the land and to its habitants: “Loba a Liba Tan’ox Ji, Wu’li Ozulo Urml’ek”. That means: “sun and fire be killed by water, god watch over Urml’ek”.

Sarah Azzi (talk) 13:32, 8 December 2014 (EST)
 * Once in a while, the wise men take the decision of gathering the Urml'ekan in either Tanjio or Oxlinya, to have a traditional Urml'ekan ceremony, to thank the rain and pray for it's abundance, and repeat their motto several times, in memory of:
 * The first Urml'ekans that discovered the heart shaped shore.
 * The reason of their existance : Water.
 * Every Urml'ekan that has left them while under the sun and the heat.

The Urml'ekan alphabet
The Urml'ekan alphabet is characterized by twenty symbols. The eleventh symbol, the HIC, is pronounced as a hiccup, and is considered sacred by the people.



Sarah Azzi (talk) 02:21, 22 November 2014 (EST)

Body language
Rayane Haddad (talk) 06:39, 9 January 2015 (EST)

Basic communication words

 * Hello: Lyo
 * Goodbye: Lya
 * How are you : tanba urmoxji
 * Thank you: Lzayohi
 * What way to the huts: litan viwu’za yo a oxhi’
 * What way to the water: litan viwu’za yo a ji

Sarah Azzi (talk) 07:06, 9 January 2015 (EST)

The nutrition system
According to the nutrition system in Urml’ek, Urml’ekans are only allowed to eat precise aliments in each cycle. The first seven cycles have specific rules, and on the eighth, Urml’ekans are allowed to eat whatever they want, even yazawuli, jizuba and zaliyo.


 * Cycle 1 : baya + livi + viox + zayaya + yoya


 * Cycle 2 : za’i + hilin + bahi’ox


 * Cycle 3 : yo’ + hilin + za’


 * Cycle 4 : via + zayayo + urmbatan


 * Cycle 5 : ekya + yo + oji + zahi’ + zujitan + ekviba + yo’


 * Cycle 6 : za’tanzu + wuji + yaba + oxya


 * Cycle 7 : vi + wu’ + oxyi + ba’ +zayayo + tanji

Rouba Khnaisser (talk) 12:09, 6 January 2015 (EST)

The most common plants
These are the most common edible plants found in Urml'ek, but many others have been found and cultivated:



Sarah Azzi (talk) 13:54, 6 January 2015 (EST)

The most common animals
These are the most common animals found in Urml'ek:



Sarah Azzi (talk) 04:24, 7 January 2015 (EST)

The Urml'ekan clothing


The traditional Urml’ekan clothing form is made of any light colored clothing piece, along with the official band or strip, colored and placed according to the job each habitant practices. Each Urml’ekan gets to choose which occupation he wants to fulfill, once he is old enough to leave the hut.


 * The wise men wear a white band on their forehead, which symbolizes the purity of their thoughts.


 * The hunters wear a brown band on their right biceps, to symbolize the appreciation towards the earth that gave them the animals they hunt.


 * The soldiers wear on their left elbow a red band, to symbolize the redness of their blood, when the time comes to fight, and proves their readiness to die for Urml’ek.


 * The mothers wear a light blue band on either one of their ankles. Blue to remind that they helped the shore and water in helping the population live, and the band is placed on their ankle as a reminder of the attachment of the woman to her land.


 * The builders wear on either one of their fingers a green band, symbolizing their respect regarding the trees and their promise to not destroy it.


 * The climbers, who visit Hilinek to gather resources by climbing rocky roads on cold climates, wear a gray band on their left knee, as a reminder of the rocks they climb on their way.


 * The sinners on their punishment periods, wear a black band on their forehead, to remind them that with the act they committed, they ashamed themselves and their land.

Sarah Azzi (talk) 08:17, 6 January 2015 (EST)

The Urml'ekan huts


The Urml'ekans build huts out of natural materials found in the nature: The roofs are made of rocks that refract sunlight to return the rays (symbolizing evil) to where they came from, to send the bad back to where it was sent. The huts are built with little gaps in their ceilings, from where rain will fall and be delivered in all of the hut to keep the Urml'ekans cool. Finally, the walls are made out of wood boards, prepared in Hujizu.

Marielyne Chaaya (talk) 15:03, 8 January 2015 (EST)

The artistic activities in Urml'ek
The principal artistic activity practiced in Urml’ek is sculpting. Wood and rocks are mainly used, and all sculpting and art works take place in Lynio. As the Urml’ekans appreciate art in general, it is common to find rocks sculpted into all sorts of representations of animals, plants, Urml’ekan portraits, and even representations of water. With wood, the most common sculpture is the ji’bal, the national instrument. The wood is first trimmed into the ji’bal’s shape, then engravings and images decorate it, before painting it with natural pigments in red and black. The rules and the traditions say that every finished sculpture has to spend two days in water or in the sea, so it gains the god Wu’li’s approval. If during these two days the sculpture breaks, it becomes urgent to destroy it by any possible way, as Wu’li did not approve its message or intention or its shape.

Rayane Haddad (talk) 06:22, 9 January 2015 (EST)

Jiyoya
The traditional urml’ekan music: “Jiyoya”, is based on what relieves the Urml’ekans: rain. Whenever rain starts pouring, the sound of the raindrops like a beat announces the possibility to get out of the huts.

Music is mainly present in the traditional ceremonies, when the whole Urml’ekan population is gathered in Tanjio or Oxlinya.

The ceremony starts with a simulation of the sound of pouring rain gradually increasing, when all participants begin clapping two fingers together, then on the sound of the national instrument, the “Ji’bal”, Urml’ekans start clapping four fingers together, then on the third sign, six fingers together.

On the fourth beat on the Ji’bal, all Urml’ekans go back to tapping four fingers together. When the sound of rain is created, it will keep on going with the Urml’ekan motto that will be repeated several times.

The Ji'bal

 * The Ji’bal is the national instrument, and the only one made in Urml’ek, more precisely in Linyo.
 * It is formed by a wooden body, painted in red and black with natural pigments, and a piece of Oviwu leather stretched on top of it.
 * It is used during ceremonies and declarations of war.



Sarah Azzi (talk) 10:52, 6 January 2015 (EST)