Yelamu

Yelamu (:옐라무), officially the Republic of Yelamu (:옐라무 무웨크마와렙, Yelamu Muwékma-warép; : 옐라무 나포아마, Yelamu Napo'amaa), is a sovereign country in west central Yeongju, bordering Hachuabsh to the north, Aibapatikket to the east, Tepodalia to the south, and Thunderbird Bay, part of the Eastern Ocean, to the west. It has a population of 39 million and covers an area of 174,253 square kilometers, divided on a federal basis into five provinces and three autonomous regions.

(history blurb)

Following a gold rush the Kingdom of Yelamu became a joint protectorate of Jeongmi, Meisaan, and Fusen from 1860 to the Kuhma Rebellion in 1896, after which it became a Hachuabshi protectorate. Hachuabsh directly annexed Yelamu in 1912, ending the kingdom, and ruled it as a colony until the Great Eulhae War. Yelamu regained its independence in the Revolution of 1943, part of the larger Hachuabshi Revolutions, and after a brief civil war in which nationalists prevailed over communists the modern Republic of Yelamu was established. The newly independent state enjoyed a brief economic boom through the 1950s but due to its proximity to the now-communist power of Hachuabsh its position was precarious; it entered a period of economic and political turmoil in the 1960s leading to military rule and internal conflict from 1970 to 1987. The military regime was overthrown and democracy restored in the mostly peaceful Revolution of 1987, resulting in a new constitution that inaugurated the current Second Republic.

Yelamu has an upper-middle-income economy, one of the largest in Yeongju, and a relatively high standard of living. It enjoys good metrics in XXX, but still suffers from XXX. It is a member of the Congress of Nations and the Central Yeongju League.

Ancient era
Over the course of the first millennium BCE the introduction of maize agriculture, ocean-going canoes, fishing weirs, and XXX fueled population growth and economic development that in turn fueled social stratification and the emergence of cities and small states.

Classical era
From 250 to 400 CE, the coastal lowlands were under the rule of the P'udilabš Kingdom, based in modern-day Hachuabsh. The P'udilabš continued to exert influence and extract tribute from Yelamese states until their empire finally fell to Nimiipu invasions from modern-day Tiicham in the 500s.

One of these Nimiipu groups, the Winnemem, established their own kingdom in Yelamu that lasted from 550 to 800. The Winnemem Kingdom was the first large state based in Yelamu, the first to cover most of Yelamu's present territory, the first settled Yelamese state to be based in the highlands rather than the lowlands, and the first large state to embrace Kuksu as an official religion. The Suisun are the Winnemem's modern descendants.

Several more ephemeral large states formed in Yelamu over the next few centuries - the Yamani XX Kingdom from xx-xx, the Yelamese XX Kingdom from xx-xx, and the Kulanapan XX Kingdom from xx-xx, but none matched the Winnemem in either size or duration. During the interregnums, Yelamu was mostly made up of city-states and clan confederations.

Triple Protectorate
The Yelamese Gold Rush occurred in 1855 when gold was discovered in the __ Valley, prompting an influx of prospectors and traders from Sinjuan countries and their colonies into the region. These foreigners entered without authorization and disregarded the Yelamese royal authorities, who attempted to expel them by force. When several of their citizens were killed, the colonial powers of Jeongmi, Meisaan, and Fusen responded by launching a punitive expedition against Yelamu in 1860, whose outdated forces were quickly defeated, and compelling the king to accept an that ceded Petlenuk at the mouth of Kawetka Bay as a treaty port, and granted the colonial powers such wide-ranging commercial and diplomatic privileges that Yelamu effectively became their joint protectorate, a status that was formalized into  the official Triple Protectorate with another treaty in 1867.

The colonial powers focused on extracting gold, fur, and timber... While there was economic development, famously exemplified by Petlenuk becoming the first city in Yeongju with a streetcar system...

In 1896, anger over the erosion of Yelamese sovereignty and culture boiled over into the Kuhma Rebellion, first organized by Kuksu societies and quickly becoming a millenarian mass movement that compelled the king to support them and renounce the protectorate; the foreign powers were expelled from the whole country except Petlenuk, which was besieged by the Kuhmas. Sensing an opportunity to expand its influence, the rising imperial power of Hachuabsh directly to Yelamu's north dispatched a military intervention to relieve Petlenuc and disperse the Kuhmas. However, the expedition went on to exceed the terms agreed upon by the protectorate powers, proceeding on to Tochayune, deposing the king, and replacing him with a new one who was compelled to sign a treaty adding Hachuabsh as a protector. Following the Kuhma Rebellion, the Kuksu societies that had been a cornerstone of Yelamese society for centuries were suppressed.

Hachuabshi rule
...

At the start of the Great Eulhae War in 1935, the successful Hachuabshi invasion of the Jeongmian colonies to the south was launched from Yelamu; Hachuabshi forces also seized the foreign concessions in Petlenuk at the same time. Yelamu saw little direct fighting for most of Eulhae but was still profoundly affected by the war; it was a major staging area for Hachuabshi troops, and much of the population was forcibly conscripted to serve in the military or wartime industries, inflaming the independence movement.

In 1943, dissatisfaction across the Hachuabshi Empire boiled over into a wave of socialist-led mass strikes demanding the end of the war; in Yelamu these were quickly joined by Yelamese nationalists, niw able to return from exile and operate openly, demanding independence. The communists and nationalists joined together in the Provisional Government of Yelamu to declare independence, and amidst the fall of the Hachuabshi imperial government expelled the remaining imperial forces, along with many Hachuabshi civilian settlers, in the Yelamese Revolution of 1943. However, cooperation between the communists and nationalists in the Provisional Government soon broke down, with the communists seeking to align with the new Socialist Commonwealth of Hachuabsh and the nationalists rejecting this as just a continued form of foreign domination. The tension culminated in the short but bitter Yelamese Civil War, which ended with nationalist victory and the suppression of the communists.

First Republic


The independent Republic of Yelamu was founded in 1944 with a democratic, nationalist, mixed-economy, and unitary constitution. Shortly afterwards it became a founding member of the Congress of Nations in 1945. The new state found itself on the frontlines with the newly-formed Socialist Commonwealth of Hachuabsh, now one of the strongest communist powers in the world, contributing to political tension and paranoia over "Hachuabshi re-colonization", increasing importance and power of the newly-formed military (led by veterans of the independence struggle), and a wave of Sinjuan investment and foreign aid that, combined with the colonial-era industry and infrastructure that was now in Yelamese hands and relatively undamaged by Eulhae, sparked an economic boom in the decade after independence. However the benefits mostly accrued to the already-wealthier ethnic-Yelamese-populated coastal lowlands while the minority-populated highlands were left behind. The first decade also saw a revival of the traditional culture that had been suppressed during colonization, including the Kuksu religion, as an assertion of national pride.

In 1959, the economy stagnated; seeking to revive it, the government attempted to attract foreign investment by amending the constitution to lift its restrictions on foreign ownership. This sparked mass protests, including the first major revival of communist activity since the revolution, until the military intervened, dispersing the protests while also dismissing the offending government and handing power to an interim government until new elections were held. Despite being barred from running, the communist revival continued to gain ground in the context of continuing economic stagnation, especially among the ethnic minorities, with Hachuabshi support and funding.

Political tensions reached a head in the latter half of the 1960s, as decolonization in Yeongju was followed by a wave of communist revolutions and insurgencies. Fearing contagion, the government declared a state of emergency in 1968. In response, Hachuabshi-backed communist guerillas declared open revolt, demanding independence for the ethnic minority regions, and began a long-running guerrilla insurgency in the Kulanapo conflict and Yamani conflict. By 1970, the government began moving towards ending the state of emergency and negotiating a peace, prompting the military to overthrow it, with covert Sinjuan backing, and assume power.

Military rule
Under military rule much of the constitution was suspended, including democratic processes and civil liberties as well as restrictions on foreign ownership; the ensuing wave of new Sinjuan investment fueled a new economic upturn, though many allege that the benefits mostly went to those foreign corporations. The military government also sought to aggressively develop rural and minority areas that had been previously left behind to counter guerrilla influence, helping to start narrowing the economic gap between regions, though in some cases the heavy-handed measures taken increased support for the guerrillas instead. The Kulanapo and Yamani insurgencies continued throughout the years of military rule, mostly at a low level with occasional flare-ups. Between 1970 and 1987, about a thousand suspected communist sympathizers or opposition members were extrajudicially executed or disappeared by the government, while many more fled the country.

In 1976 and 1982 the military allowed elections, and in both cases no party won a majority and the fragile coalitions fell apart after a few months, at which point the military resumed power once again. The economy stagnated again at the start of the 1980s and then downturned sharply in the middle of the decade, at the same time as the insurgencies escalated, fueling discontent and civil resistance against the regime. The democracy movement culminated in the Yelamese Revolution of 1987, a mostly peaceful mass uprising that compelled the military government to allow democratic elections later that year, which were won by the Himmetka opposition coalition.

Geography
Yelamu can be divided into four geographic regions, running across the country in bands roughly from north to south: the coastal lowlands, the western highlands, the central valley, and the eastern mountains.

Administrative divisions
Yelamu is a federal state made up of eight constituent entities: five provinces and three autonomous regions.

Flora and fauna


In 1993, Yelamu adopted an official national animal, the, national bird, the , and national tree, the. The coyote and falcon are widespread throughout Yeongju and were chosen for their spiritual significance in the Kuksu religion, in which the coyote spirit is believed to be the creator deity while the mythological hero Kaknu took the form of a falcon. In contrast, the redwood is unique to Yelamu, and to a lesser extent its immediate neighbors; it is Tiandi's tallest species of tree, and as such is widely considered a distinctive symbol of national pride. The and  also have official protected status in recognition of their spiritual role in Kuksu cosmogony.

Other characteristic animals of Yelamu include the, , , , , ... Marine wildlife found off the Yelamese coast includes the , , , ... Yelamu is an important bird migration pathway and as such many species of birds can be found there at different times of the year, including...

Politics
Since independence Yelamu has been dominated by two parties, the ___ and Yelamese nationalist Huššištak Party on the right and the social-democratic and pan-Yeongjuan Himmetka Party on the left.

Largest cities
Four of the top five and seven of the top ten largest cities are part of the Kawetka Bay urban agglomeration, which holds almost half of Yelamu's population.

Ethnicity
According to the 2018 census, 67% of the population is ethnically Yelamese (옐라무투시, yelamu-tuš), 25% belongs to the three recognized national minorities, and 8% are of various other origins, mostly Yeongjuan and Sinjuan. The national minorities... The remainder are mostly recent immigrants from nearby countries in Yeongju, particularly Mokelumni, Mnishala, and Ninahzad, attracted by Yelamu’s relatively strong economy. There is also a small community of Sinjuan origin, mostly Jeongmian and __; while only a small number of the Sinjuan community that lived in Yelamu before Eulhae remained in the country by independence, since then there numbers have been bolstered by Bisaeng leaving Ahwaimuwu and Hallaiha;. Finally, there are a negligible number of ...

Language
As specified by the constitution, the official language of Yelamu on the national level is (옐라무 누노, yelamu noono), a  language closely related to  and more distantly related to, , and. 70% of the population speaks Yelamese as a first language and upwards of 95% is proficient in it. Three minority languages also have constitutionally protected co-official status in their respective regions: the Penutian languages of and, and the  language of. This protected status guarantees their equal stature in administration and education in those regions, and stands in contrast to the pre-revolutionary linguistic policy of suppression and forced assimilation of minority languages. All languages in Yelamu have been written in since the Triple Protectorate, though previously they were often written in.

The Yelamese language itself has several dialects: ...

In addition to the small number of native speakers, about half of Yelamese can speak as a second language. Smaller numbers speak...

Religion
The predominant religious tradition in Yelamu is, an animistic religion... A majority of the population across all ethnicities identify as followers of Kuksu, with about a tenth of those being fully initiated members of a kuhma; many Yelamese who identify with another or no religion still participate in some Kuksu ceremonies or hold some Kuksu beliefs.

The largest religious minority in Yelamu are Buddhists...

Architecture
Many Yelamese settlements were traditionally built atop or around, accumulations of shells and other food waste and organic materials as well as intentionally buried grave goods and artifacts (though typically not bodies, which are instead cremated) that can reach tens of meters in height over hundreds of years. In more recent centuries, due to Thunderbird Bay influence, shellmounds have often been marked by s or other monolithic art.

Another typical feature of Yelamese settlements is the tuupentak, a or  usually built partially underground and used as an assembly hall for the community, especially for Kuksu dances and ceremonies but also for secular gatherings, as well as for ritual purification prior to such events. Tuupentaks were the largest building and center of community life in most pre-modern Yelamese towns and, following a period of suppression during the colonial era, are once again widely frequented for Kuksu rituals and secular celebrations and performances, with larger cities having dozens or even hundreds of tuupentaks.

Vernacular architecture traditionally consists of dome-shaped houses made from woven mats of tule reed or, in the north and highlands, conical wood-framed houses of redwood bark.

Cuisine
Maize and acorns, typically ground into flour and then baked into bread (šetnen) or boiled into porridge (pattih) or soup, are the traditional staple foods of the Yelamese diet and a foundational element of its cuisine. Amaranth and chia are also used as grains. With a large proportion of the population living near the sea or rivers, seafood and waterfowl are commonly eaten, especially salmon, shellfish, and duck. Venison (ṭoot) and quail are common game food, and meats are typically wood-smoked or slow-roasted in earth ovens, or cured for the winter months, and served with berries, mushrooms, nuts, greens, or seeds. Floral and herbal teas and ciders are popular drinks.

Contemporary cuisine has absorbed a great deal of foreign influence, especially from Jeongmi, Meisaan, and Yahuimilco, and tomatoes, potatoes, avocadoes, chilis, beef, pork, chicken, and rice are now also common ingredients, while acorn flour is now often made into, dumplings, , or. Like its southern neighbors, Yelamu has become a major producer and consumer of grape wine.

Music
The originally Chomanese sakwixeyok subculture and musical genre became popular as an anti-government counterculture during the military regime, to the point that it was officially banned; it enjoyed an explosion of popularity after the restoration of democracy, becoming symbolic of the newly liberal atmosphere, and became the dominant mainstream genre through the 1990s before fading in popularity.

Performing arts
Yelamu has a rich tradition of dance and drama based on their use as integral components of Kuksu ceremonies, which feature elaborate re-enactments of mythological stories. Secular theatre started taking shape in the XXth century when historical and fictional stories began to be performed alongside mythological ones. Combined with Sinjuan influence in the 19th and 20th century, this culminated in Yelamese opera, internationally renowned for its dramatic dances and elaborate costumes. In addition to this "high" drama, a "low" tradition of popular theatre also exists, typically comedic and burlesque retellings of.

Folk dance...

Sports
Rowing is a Yelamese national sport, traditionally done in small tule boats but more recently in larger Thunderbird Bay-style, Ahwaimuwese-style s, or Meisaani-style. The originally Mokelumnian sport of, a mixed-gender variant of similar to the Chomanese pahsaheman, is also popular in Yelamu, while cuju itself and baseball have been gaining ground with cultural globalization.

Visual arts
Basketry is the most prized Yelamese folk art tradition. Tule reeds are tightly woven into intricately detailed geometric patterns that often have symbolic meanings or are distinctive to particular groups and areas; these patterns have become ubiquitous across other forms of Yelamese art as well. Shells, beads, and feathers are also added, and when taken to the most elaborate extent result in the famous s. In addition to its own native, largely geometric and non-figurative art style, Yelamese visual art has also been heavily influenced by the and adopted many of its styles, such as formlines, and forms, such as sculpture and textiles.