Dembiya

Dembiya (Ambawi: ደምቢያ; Gelgeli: 𐒆𐒗𐒑𐒁𐒕𐒕𐒛, Dembiiyaa), officially the Sabbatarian Republic of Dembiya (Ambawi: የደምቢያ ሰንበታዊጎንግዋጉግ Ye-Dembiya Senibetawi Gonigiwagug; Gelgeli: 𐒃𐒖𐒑𐒔𐒓𐒇𐒘𐒕𐒖𐒆𐒖 𐒈𐒖𐒁𐒂𐒘𐒆𐒖𐒏𐒖 𐒆𐒗𐒑𐒁𐒕𐒕𐒛, Jamhuuriyadda Sabtidaka Dembiiyaa), is a country in south Yoju, at the southern end of the Napsal peninsula. It borders Gelgelia and Nehset to the north, the Red Yi Sea to the east, and the Mungnang Sea and Singye Sea (and across them, the island of Upepojua) to the west.

Prehistory
Dembiya has been inhabited for tens of thousands of years, being one of the main pathways anatomically modern humans used to spread from Miju to the rest of the world.

Kingdom of Azeba
Around 1000 BCE, early Jaatunist refugees from Mennefer fled to the south as the result of religious persecution, claiming to carry with them the true Maithunic prophetic lineage as well as a Menneferian royal lineage (claims central to Dembiyan nationhood to this day), and settled in the Dembiyan central highlands, where they intermingled with the local people, particularly those in the then-small kingdom of Azeba. Between 1000 BCE and 500 BCE, the Menneferians' proto-Jaatunist beliefs combined with local beliefs in the creator deity and evolved from henotheistic to fully monotheistic, giving rise to the new religion of Sabbatarianism. This process culminated with the compilation of the, the central Sabbatarian holy text. During the same period, Azeba gradually united the highlands and then subjugated and conquered the coastal states, with the conquests having aspects of a religious mission, a process chronicled in the Sabbatarian scripture of the.

Azebic Empire
By the start of the common era Azeba had grown into an empire and was enjoying a golden age. As one of the first major Sabbatarian empires, it played a key role in the religion’s further spread from Napsal to Miju and other regions through its extensive maritime trade, and Azebic is still in widespread use in much of the Sabbatarian world as a liturgical language to this day. By the fourth century Azeba had begun to decline, weakened from within by religious conflicts between Sabbatarian sects with the rise of the new Black Cap sect.

Menneferian rule
Around 500 CE, Dembiya was conquered by Mennefer and remained under Menneferian rule for the next couple centuries, a traumatic period during which Sabbatarianism was persecuted by the ruling Jaatunists and the Temple of Zeray, the holiest site in Sabbatarianism, was destroyed.

First Dembiyan Empire
By the 700s the Menneferian Empire itself began to decline and Dembiya was able to rebel and break free, establishing the Dembiyan Empire under a new dynasty claiming descent from Qwara and by extension from ancient Shomera (though it was only an empire in name and would never again reach the heights of Azeba). The new empire would also firmly establish Blue Cap as the dominant Sabbatarian sect in Dembiya.

In the 18th century, as Sinjuan colonialism spread to Napsal, Dembiya became coveted by the colonial powers for its strategic position.

Hokanese protectorate
After some jockeying for power, by the end of the century Dembiya had become a Hokanese protectorate; the emperor would continue to rule but it was a Hokanese colony in all but name.

Second Dembiyan Empire
Dembiya regained its independence after the Hokanese revolution, and the monarchy fended off an attempt to impose a socialist government and resumed power.

During Eulhae, Dembiya’s strategic position relative to Mennefer and Nukigurun again became coveted by the Sinjuan powers. Dembiya attempted to remain neutral, but was occupied by the Allies and compelled to join their war effort. After the war, the victorious powers continued to interfere in Dembiyan politics, fueling popular resentment towards the monarchy as a Sinjuan puppet. While significantly beneficial to the economy, the monarchy’s ambitious modernization and secularization projects and resulting upheaval added further controversy.

Sabbatarian Republic
In the 1970s, the empire was overthrown by a popular revolution that ended with the installation of an anti-Sinjuan Sabbatarian theocratic republic. It survived an initial war attempting to depose it and continues to be a controversial state accused of supporting Sabbatarian extremism throughout Yoju and Miju.

Flora and fauna
The has been considered an unofficial national animal of Dembiya since antiquity. Other endemic species include the, the , the ...

Government
Ultimate authority in the Sabbatarian Republic lies with the Liqa Kahenat or High Priest, the top-ranking cleric in the country, who is appointed by the elected Sanhedrin council of priests. There is also an elected President and Parliament, whose decisions are subject to the approval of the Liqa Kahenat; candidates for President, Parliament, and Sanhedrin must also be approved by the Guardian Council, appointed by the Liqa Kahenat.

Politics
Political parties are banned in Dembiya.

Language
The plurality most-spoken language and official national language of Dembiya is. The closely related and the more distantly related, , and  each have co-official status in their respective regions. All of these languages are written in the, an known locally as fidäl, except for Gelgeli which is written in the alphabetic. While not spoken in daily life for centuries, the was used as an administrative and literary language until the Second Empire, and is still widely used as the liturgical language of Sabbatarianism.

Religion
Dembiya is the homeland of Sabbatarianism; the sect of Sabbatarianism is the majority religion of Dembiya, and has been the official state religion since the Dembiyan Revolution and founding of the Sabbatarian Republic in 1975. There is also a substantial minority, and smaller minorities following  Sabbatarianism,, Yedam, , and traditional native religions. Other Sabbatarian sects and Yedam are officially recognized and protected, while Jaatunism, Buddhism, and traditional religions are not recognized, and are subject to suppression and persecution, though portions of the population unofficially practice elements of Buddhism or traditional religions combined with Sabbatarianism in a syncretic fashion. Religious affiliation tends to follow ethnic lines, with most Ambawi and Kebessa being Blue Cap, most Gelgeli and Danakil being White Cap, and many Begweni practicing Yedam.

Sabbatarianism profoundly shapes daily life in Dembiya, and Sabbatarian religious law based on the is the basis of the country's legal system. The namesake practice of the Sanbat or, the setting aside of the seventh day of the week for prayer and contemplation and abstention from work and mundane activities, is widespread, and since 1975 the closure of most businesses and non-essential public services on the Sanbat has been strictly enforced. Sabbatarian are also enforced, and religious law also governs marriage and family law.

Architecture
Ancient and medieval Dembiyan architecture is known for monumental ic structures. The most famous of these are the hawelti or, tall monuments from the Azebic Empire similar to and possibly inspired by Menneferian s that could reach over twenty meters in height, were carved with decorations including false doors and windows along their entire length, and were used as grave markers for underground royal burial chambers, and the , first capital of the First Dembiyan Empire, some of the largest in the world. Other temples, tombs, and palaces were also built monolithically. More typical buildings of these eras were built from alternating layers of wood and stone, with distinctive protruding wooden support beams referred to as "monkey heads".

Early modern Dembiyan architecture displays more northern Napsalic, Tagolic, and Sinjuan influences. This era is especially known for its castles and fortresses. The most famous of these is the, which served as the seat of the imperial dynasty for centuries. The stelae of Mazaber, the rock-hewn temples of Roha, and the Makkababya Palace are World Heritage Sites.

Cuisine
Most dishes in Dembiyan cuisine are eaten with , a large, spongy  made from fermented  flour that is used as both a side dish and a utensil for scooping food. The typical accompaniment for injera is , thick stews made from an onion base with different meats or vegetables; varieties include doro wat with chicken and hard-boiled eggs, siga wat with beef, and misir wat with lentils. Other dishes include s, small barely rolls; ', shredded and spiced injera served for breakfast; ', stiff barley porridge served with spicy sauce; tibs grilled meat with sauteed vegetables; and , barley dumplings eaten with wat. Most dishes are shared by the table and eaten communally. Dembiyan cuisine is typically very spicy, seasoned with the spice mixes ' or ', and  (spiced ) or yeqimem zeyet (spiced ).

is believed to have originated in Dembiya and is widely consumed there. It is traditionally served in a after meals. Alcoholic beverages include ', a, and ', a fermented from  leaves.

Dembiyan cuisine is heavily shaped by. Pork and shellfish dishes are absent, and there are many dishes to accommodate frequent  during which meat and animal products are prohibited, as well as dishes that can be prepared in advance, kept overnight, and eaten at room temperature to accommodate the Sanbat prohibition on cooking food, the most popular of which is sanbat wat. Dietary laws have been enforced more strictly since the Revolution: it is no longer allowed to combine meat and dairy, leading to more frequent use of yeqimem zeyet in place of niter kibbeh, or to serve raw meat, causing the demise of the once-popular raw beef dishes of ' and '. In practice these laws are only enforced on restaurants and not on private dining in homes, and so it is believed that clandestine consumption of banned dishes continues.

Holidays
Dembiya observes the Sabbatarian schedule of religious holidays, including the celebrations of, , , and , the fasts of and , and the half-fast half-celebration of. It also observes the secular national holidays of...

Music
Dembiya has a native musical tradition dating back to the Azebic Empire, using the distinct  of , with characteristic long intervals between notes. Typical instruments include the ', a one-stringed lute, the ', a six-stringed lyre, the ', a bamboo flute, and the ', a large hand drum. Dembiyan music is also characterized by frequent use of the lyrical technique of the lyrical technique of seminna-werq ("wax and gold") or poetic double-entendre, used for both mundane purposes like combining romantic and melancholy themes and political purposes of allowing veiled criticism of the regime to escape censorship, especially since the Sabbatarian Revolution.

Traditional music encompasses both secular genres such as ', nostalgic ballads, ', historical narratives, and ', songs contrasting urban and rural life, and religious genres such as ', liturgical chant. Both secular and religious music are often performed by itinerant musician-singers: the secular ', who can be male or female, play string instruments (masenqo and krar) and often perform for entertainment at tej houses, and the religious ', who are only male, play percussion instruments (drums and ), and perform both at formal religious services in temples and in informal healing rituals and exorcisms in the community.

Sports
Dembiyan athletes have achieved the greatest international success in, with Dembiyan runners holding many world records and regularly winning or placing highly in international competitions. The most popular spectator sport in the country is.

Visual arts
The most classic Dembiyan artform is religious painting, of subjects from the Mashafa Kedus, typically in s or on temple walls. The traditional style is characterized by simplistic figures with large eyes in bright, vivid colors, and the most common subjects are angels, Kidane slaying the serpent Wainaba, and Queen Sannayt with the infant Zeray. Another important traditonal artform is, particularly in the forms of crowns and.