Encyclopedia article (Compilation)

Jute (IPA: /ju:tɛ/, Jutean: Jute [jute]), officially the (Slightly) Confederated Communities of Jute (Jutean: Nonaf a Jute a tahadovi ifi [nɑnɐf ɐ jute a tɐhɐdɑʋi ifi]), is a loose confederation of communities located in the northeastern Renegade Sea and on the northern part of Letsy. A different, archaic name is also "Ratelland", after the national animal, the ratel or honey badger, though it might also be used to refer only to the communities on the Letsy.

It is home to several ethnic groups. Aside from Coastal and River Juteans, the main and titular ethnicities, the island part of Jute had already been inhabited by Samwati and Klambari, two unrelated cultures. Aside from these native ethnic groups, Anglish as former colonizers still form a major ethnic group on Jute. The remainder of the population is made up by people of mixed descent and various smaller immigrant groupings.

Altogether, six languages are recognized on the main island as official or regional languages, and one on the island of Letsy. On the former, the main languages are the two Jutic languages, (Coastal or Standard) Jutean and River Jutean, legally seen as one language, two are the heritage of the colonial era (Anglish and Jute Pidgin), two, Samwati and Klambari, are unrelated indigenous ones and the seventh one is Jutean Sign Language. In South Jute, the main language is South Jutean.

Known for being home to one of the last independent non-state societies on Sahar, Jute has in its current form existed since 1872, though the political and social system is traditionally said to trace it roots back at least 2,800 years, to the to a tribal system of the first proto-Jutic settlers.

Instead of a government with a sizable formal bureaucracy, the confederation is instead characterized by its widespread, decentralized system of direct democracy and a subdivision into more than 1,500 small, largely autonomous communities, each organized in an egalitarian collectivist manner and grouped together into counties (or boroughs in towns) and regions, as well as an absence of central political institutions with the exception of the confederal assemblies taking place twice a year and the office of the vunamoena a nonafat a Jute ("Leader of the bigger community of Jute"), who functions as a representative of the island in the country as well as abroad, and also as a lawspeaker and leader of the supreme court. This system has its roots in the traditional tribal democracy of Coastal Juteans, which has existed in some form for 2,800 years, with unsuccessful suppression attempts during the colonial era from the 17th to the late 19th century. However, before the re-establishing of independence in 1872, it did not extend to the Klambari and Samwati, who locally still maintain to a degree their own old political and social system.

Etymology

The name "Jute" derives from the most important traditional economy branch, namely jute production. In the beginning it became so close associated with the young nation that it was used synonymously as the name of the country. People of Jute are called "Juteans".

History

See History of Jute and Archaeological timeline of Jute

Map

Geography

Topography
Jute consists of small archipelago of volcanic islands. The main island is called Jute or occasionally just Saaval ('Island' in Coastal Jutean) and is where the overwhelming majority of the population lives. Furthermore, there are five smaller islands. Of these, the island of Etillamme is the largest, with the much smaller Kosomo being the second largest. They are the only two out of the five with permanent regular inhabi­tants, as Huuva is a nature reserve, Netuadovan serves a small prison island closed to the public, and the neighboring is­land of Foasaanu is also restricted to guards watching over Netuadovan.

Geology
Due to being formed through volcanic activity there are several volcanoes on the main island, although none of them are active. The biggest is Tillam located in the region of the same name in the easternmost part.

Climate
Climate in Jute is tropical, mostly tropical rainforest (Köppen climate type Af). There are only two seasons, wet and dry, with little variance in temperature over the year.

Biodiviersity
Biodiversity is highest in the rainforest in the interior of the main island and Etillamme, which covers the majority of both islands. It is lower near the coast, where much of the land is dedicated to farming or features built-up areas, however, the coasts remain an important habitat for mangroves and several other endemic plant species.

Jute is home to a great variety of animal and plant species. On the main island there are also many endemic tree and other plant species, most notably, jute plants (both Corchorus capsularis and Corchorus olitorius) likely originate there. Notable en­demic animal species on the main island in­clude several owl species, such as the giant cursorial owl (known in Coastal Jutean as onikesat) found in great numbers in the rainforests surrounding Samuru, as well as other birds, fruit bats (Pteropodidae), marsu­pials, snakes and vari­ous lizards.

Etillamme, Kosomo and Huuva also have en­demic species, on the smaller islands particu­larly bird, insect and weed and fern species. Huuva is a designated Important Bird Area, as it is an important nesting place for the endemic Saruan plover.

Despite general attempts and laws directed at protecting the environments and ecosys­tems, a number of species have been driven to extinction due to human activity, such as the Ivikemu, a ratite.

Government and law

Overview
The political system of Jute is an unusual hybrid, a mixture of communitarian social ideals and anti-authoritarian individual liberties. Society is organized in small communities, never larger than 1,000 people. They allow for space and freedom for all its members, but emphasize joint efforts in many areas of life, especially problem-solving. A community leader, as the only formal office, is supposed to help coordinating those joint efforts, and a new one is elected every two years.

Aside from organizing the community, they also are supposed to serve as mediators in conflicts, and are responsible for enforcing law, but do not hold any political power on their own. Instead, political decisions such as the passing of new laws are either done via a local, regional or confederal referendum, during an assembly called "Meeting of the Community", where aside from discussion of current issues mediation takes place, too. Two experts can be called in for those in case the community leader finds it necessary. While taking part in the meetings is voluntary, and open to everyone above the age of 16, laws and judgments passed by or during it apply of course to everyone. Therefore everyone is, in a way, part of the government, or at least able to be part of it.

This hybrid system has its roots in prehistorical times, when being part of close-knit groups of people was necessary for survival. Any attempt to establish a higher authority was seen as a threat to the well-being and safety of the community, and therefore generally stifled before it could gain traction. The island and especially in earlier times its jungles were large enough to separate and even isolate communities and prevent conflicts over land or resources, and the absence of metal further helped prevent social stratification.

A ruling class was installed during the time of Ariven occupation of the island and much of South Jute by elites of the Ariven Empire. Even if stripped of most of their political power, the communal institutions remained otherwise intact and culturally of the highest importance, even considered identity-establishing. Towards the end of the 19th century, many became the origin of a resistance movement that developed into a united anti-colonialist front on the entire island, bringing communities together in a manner that had not previously existed. Initially, the alliance consisted mostly of those in and near the biggest cities at the centrally located coast of the island, but later expanded to include all the communities, and after decolonization became the foundation for a confederation.

However, due to cultural resistance and with much of the island still being covered in jungle, and with few, slow connections (especially over the island and in and to the Letsyan part) Jute still remained very decentralized and continues to be so in modern times.

Infographic showing the responsibilities of the
different administrative divisions of Jute.
Local community or neighborhood meetings
(dark blue), county meetings (light blue),
regional meetings (green) and confederal ones (red)
Click to enlarge

Administrative divisions

Communities are organized in counties, which make up regions, which together form the confederation of Jute. They have a varying amount of responsibilities and rights, with most of them being held by the first two, as seen below.

Every region, county and community retains the right to leave the confederation and assert its complete independence again if it votes for it. While this would give them the ability to ignore new or old laws from upper administration levels, it also makes them lose the benefit of the shared defense, foreign and trade policy, likely weakening them and creating a conflict, so this has not happened in history so far.

Local communities
Local assemblies, known as Meetings of the Community, take place every five days, and have the biggest amount of responsibilities. If the settlements forming a community are too far away from each other or have some particularly isolated ones, a community may decide to create sub-communities with their own meetings, and devolve some of these responsibilities to them, based on local needs. However, arbitration and policing must, according to confederal law, remain under the control of the entire community, which then meets in this case only once or twice a month (depending on what the community agreed on) and might or might not typically involve personal attendance. The existence of sub-communities is particularly common in the very sparsely populated regions of South Jute and Taxonea.

They deliberate about local services such as primary education, including daycare and kindergarten facilities, where existing, or emergency services (first aid services, fire department and if available, ambulances) and are also responsible for care of the elderly and the homeless that have no family looking after them. Some also have youth centers and soup kitchens. Housing is mostly community-owned, too, with new buildings requiring the approval of the community meeting. New projects are being discussed every week there, with larger ones such as the construction of public buildings or large repairs after storms or the like being regarded as "common projects", where usually everyone is expected to help out in some way or other.

Additionally, they are responsible for keeping the community clean and safe, so things like street sweeping, waste collections, where necessary stormwater protection and in some towns also sewers are organized by it. The streets themselves, and any kind of traffic control also fall under their authority, as does zoning, building codes, permits and parts of the traffic code. Parks and other recreation areas, environmental and historical protection are included as well. More isolated, non-urban communities also tend to maintain their utilities and harbors on the local level.

Counties
However, in most parts of Jute utilities, public transport and facilities like harbors are managed on the next higher administrative level, the county level, by the respective assemblies. They are also responsible for hospitals and secondary education and unemployment assistance, and retraining. Finally, all ordinances that affect several communities at once, as well as a degree of budgeting and collections needed for bigger projects (e.g. hospitals) fall under their domain as well.

The county assemblies take place after the last local meeting of the month, and in most places don't take place in the same location as the local community meetings. Instead proposals to the agenda are submitted in advance, which then will be discussed on each local meeting, with the results being sent in to a central county department, where votes are being counted and the final result determined. Appeals following local arbitration and any kind of arbitration that has county-wide significance is also usually done there, with the county community leader and two to four co-mediators appointed by them commonly having to form a consensus on the issue, with some exceptions on more fundamental issues.

Regions
Counties are in turn organized in regions. Regional community meetings work similarly to county meetings, with submissions and issues being discussed in additional sessions every second month after the third monthly local community meeting. These control regional transport and infrastructure, for example trains and railways. Even if a given railway line might extend into other regions, it is managed by the region in which it starts, however railway stations are always managed by the region they are in. Aside from that, any other advanced or specialized hospitals or healthcare centers or institutions are under their authority, as is tertiary education.

Similar to county-level assemblies, politics and laws that affect the entire region, e.g. those concerning regional trade, are decided by them, as are collections, budgets and reserves (including foreign currency reserves) used for various projects and needs, or given to struggling counties in need. They may also send officials into specific counties or communities to control the enforcement of regional laws. The third instance of the court system, for appeals of county court decisions and for arbitration that is relevant for the entire region also exists in this third level of administration. The regional community leader appoints 8-10 additional mediators for each case and a decision is reached with a simple majority vote.

General Meeting
And finally, regions are united in a general community, and a community leader on that level exists as well instead of a prime minister and a president. This assembly is in charge of legislation and oversight of the airfield, air security and monitoring international travel and trade as well as the customs office, and decide on topics covering all of Jute as well as foreign relations, such as trade, diplomacy and defense cooperation and coordination. The court of last resort is also on this highest level of administration, represented by the general community leader and their 14 to 20 appointed mediators, who also decide based on a simple majority vote. The general assemblies happen twice yearly, usually on a different day that is being taken off by most people. In urgent or otherwise exceptional circumstances a third or fourth meeting might be called, or emergency appeals be transmitted to an assembly in session via phone Like with regional and county meetings, discussions happen in local communities separately, based on previously submitted issues, statements and other items to be discussed.

Policing and law enforcement
The involvement of the community leaders is seen as a last resort, and as there is no real separate police like in other nations, neighborhood watches are responsible for the safety of their community. The position of the watchers is rotating every week, and taking over this duty is considered a obligatory community service. Individuals found breaking the constitution or another basic law (excluding the law on fireworks, guns and bulletproof clothing) can be banished or punished otherwise as ordered by the community leader serving as impartial, if the violation was severe enough or if they are a repeat offender and show no will to change their behavior. Most other legislation is generally rather seen as a strong recommendation that one mostly should and is expected to follow, and is not enforced as strongly. Usually in most communities people will seek a dialogue with those breaking them, to offer them a way back into the community. If they still fail to change their ways and do not or are unable to adapt themselves, they might be ordered to leave the community, county, or region.

Prisons on the main inhabited islands or in South Jute do not exist, but violent criminals of the former are usually sent to a specific designated, unsupervised prison island, or handed over to regional authorities in South Jute. In some communities they might also be banished into the wilderness with no tools or supplies, although this being an indirect death penalty in most cases, it is not condoned by the general assembly, but due to isolation and remoteness of the communities in question is usually difficult to stop.

Law
"Founding principles", adopted in 1872 after independence from the Saruan Empire and first written down 1892, serve as a constitution and thereby the supreme law of the confederation. It lays out basic rights of individuals and communities, such as the right to join and leave the confederation freely (according to regulations set out in specific laws) in the first article, the freedom from slavery, bodily and psychical harm and the right to privacy, free speech, free movement (on the island) and free exercise of religion, in the second one. Of note is that this article also states that "unoccupied land" might be used freely according to "reasonable restrictions" set by local law, and that "coerced" work and contributions are illegal, which effectively renders most systems of taxations used in other places of Sahar illegal on Jute. The country relies on a culture and tradition of collective contributions and sharing of burdens instead, supplemented at times by additional individual contributions.

Article 3 defines citizenship. It is declared to be extended to everyone living in a community belonging to the confederation or joining it, although it is allowed to be refused temporarily to people who recently entered Jute. In the following articles, customary law is established as the legal system on Jute (article 4) and the constitution is enshrined as binding supreme law for all individuals, communities and administrative entities with the ability to sanction those breaking any of it (article 5).

The last four articles lay out the basic working of the political system of Jute, establishing the office of the community leader explained above (article 6), devolving political powers to the biggest degree possible to the lower levels of administration (article 7) while setting up a large barrier to a reversal of that. As a result, "vertical" powersharing between tiers of administrations is severely restricted, whereas "horizontal" sharing of responsibilities between communities is allowed (article 8). To delegate powers to regional or confederal institutions a consensus is required from the tier one below the one that is supposed to acquire additional powers, i.e. for a regional assembly to be granted additional powers all county assemblies constituting it have to vote in favor, and for the confederal assembly to be granted additional powers all regional assemblies have to vote in favor. Amendments are not provided for.

To a large extent, these "founding principles" (also the formal name of the constitution itself) are the reason there aren't many laws or regulations applying to the entirety of the confederation, but there is also a cultural preference to keep law and simple, as all laws have to be memorized by the community leaders who also serve as lawspeakers. Aside from the already mentioned regulations on joining the confederation for individuals (as immigrants) and communities, and additional foundational administrative laws specifying the schedule, form and procedure of meetings there are only nine additional basic laws that are enforced in the entire confederation. These are often printed on posters hung in public or on cards that are given to tourists and other people arriving to Jute. Marked in bold are the laws where a violation is considered more severe.

Foreign Relations and Military

Foreign policy
To preserve peace and friendly relations with other nations, Jute has since regaining its independence often sought alliances and pacts of nonagression with other nations. Where possible, foreign policy tends to be mostly neutral with no declared enemies, and no strong alignment with any side, but especially again in recent years there has been a push away from any remainders of isolationism, and towards a policy of multilateralism. Uniquely to Jute, skateboarding is considered a form of diplomacy as well and part of what diplomats are expected to excel in.

Military
There's no actual organized state-funded military, only some arms enthusiasts and few people who decided to be full-time soldiers are organized in a kind of society (calling themselves "Society of Modern Defense") commonly referred to as "the military". They have no legal privileges and as such e.g. the ban on cars applies to them as well. In general, they are under close scrutiny of most of the rest of the population, which is rather pacifist and suspicious of militaries in general. Therefore, they often have to resort to things like bake sales to cover their expenses. Its motto is "No oone me fa ma dee, letolo vuha nu; ivusaie ilejotof amefati a ilvuhide, u ejotof netumivoti a vuhide." ("The night is far spent, the day is at hand; let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light").

In case of a threat, which fortunately hasn't often been the case in the history of the island, the people of Jute come together to quickly discuss the best way of acting. First, diplomacy and hospitality will be attempted. If that fails, allies will be asked for support and everyone's talent on the island will put to good use - anyone able to use a weapon educating others, full-time soldiers acting as makeshift generals and strategical advisors, paramedics helping any wounded, falconers and other animal husbandmen taking care of Jute's "air force" and faunal support forces, and the navy, consisting mostly of war canoes and will be set ready. While most of the population is, as mentioned, pacifist, learning how to defend yourself is seen as a important part of education as well, especially since there are a lot of dangerous animals in some jungles, and each year unfortunately a lot of people die either by them or by getting lost in the vast forests.

Special tactics, weapons and armor
Jute uses mostly traditional weaponry and armor upgraded and advanced to modern times, but the "military" also uses common modern armor and weapons. The majority however uses an armor made of extra-strong jute fortified with carbon fibre made from pyrolysed jute. This makes it both lightweight and effective. The material is also used to improve the abilities of the arrows of crossbows. Last but not least, the "military" has developed so-called graphite bombs. Taking advantage of the conductive abilities of jute carbon fiber, they managed to create a humane weapon that will only disrupt electrical infrastructure and machines, such as power stations or computers and is largely harmless to humans.
This results in a usually huge economic damage and severely impacts, if not destroys a significant part of the civil and military infrastructure without any, or in the worst case, much fewer, human casualties.

A special tactic is using the forces of the elements to their advantage, this includes for example the synchronous surfing on special war surfboards of hundreds, if not a thousand of jute carbon fiber-armored warriors on top the waves, although these days this is mostly only used for representative purposes, such as surf board parades on the ocean.

Defensive structures
Six emergency underground stations exist in Jute. All equipped with food, basic medical equipment, necessary supplies and some defensive weaponry and observation technology. The biggest one also has an underground harbor for submarines with a connection to the open sea and all of them have low-tech communication lines, separate from any other existing. The exact location of each station is held secret.

Demographics

Population
People from Jute are called Juteans or Jutena. However, this is also used to refer to Jutic people, in particular Coastal Juteans. Therefore, "people from Jute" or "inhabitants of Jute" are common descriptors to avoid ambiguity when referring to the entire population of the confederation. The term "Jutese" is archaic and no longer in use.

Jute has a rather young population. At the moment, roughly 28,83 % are children or college students, and only about 2,04 % be­ing elderly. The population rose significantly throughout the 20th century after a period of decline in the 19th century that saw a lot of people leave the islands to the Saruan Empire and Balakia, but has, as people increasingly started to migrate overseas again in search of jobs and opportunities in the 2000s, remained stable in the 21st century, hovering around 1.8 million, with the most recent estimate being 1,780,000. Aside from Aviren and Aikalab Servahl is one of the countries with the biggest Jutean diaspora (consisting mostly of Coastal Juteans).

(Click to enlarge)

Ethnicity

People identifying themselves as indigenous Coastal and River Juteans make up the relative majority of the population 45 %. The two other indigenous minorities make up 15 %, with Samwati 9% and Klambari 6 %. This does not include immigrants that later assimilated into one of these cultures. Immigrants and descendants of immigrants make up 40 %. Half of those or 20 % in total consider themselves mixed and/or belonging to two ethnicities, and most of the remaining people are Ariven Juteans, with 15 % in total. Other ethnicities, mostly Penian Anarchists or other people of Pen Island origin amount to 5 % of the population in total.

Ancestry and language are the most important criteria for membership of a particular ethnicity, however, they are not exclusive. All cultures have to varying degrees a history of accepting foreigners as one of their own provided they commit themselves to it and assimilate. The degree of assimilation demanded varies and has fallen among the urban population, especially urban Coastal Juteans.

Largest Cities

The number of people in Jute living in towns, continuously growing during the colonial era from the mid-17th century to the mid-20th century, stabilized in the 1990s and 2000s, as more and more people chose to emigrate to other countries. Today, about half of the population of the confederation lives in the five largest cities on the island of Jute, with an additional 20 % in smaller towns.

Language

Main article: Jutean language
See also: The Lord's Prayer in Jutean (including a small dictionary)

While Anglish is sometimes used for trade and commerce, the official language of Jute is Jutean, but other languages are sometimes used for international affairs and business. Jutean legally entails all languages of the Jutic branch language family spoken on the island. The main language, used in Jute in most official records, courts etc. and by roughly 1,270,000 people as their native language, is Coastal Jutean, often shortened to Jutean.

It is not to be confused with River Jutean, another member of the Jutic branch, spoken mostly inland of the island. Even though not legally recognized as a separate language, it is still recognized as a variety and as such can be used by anyone for all official matters where Coastal Jutean would be used, however, records and laws are usually not available in it, with the exception of those from River Jutean-majority communities and counties. When needed, a translation or an interpreter (for example in courts or community meetings) will be provided. Jutean Sign Language is also legally specified to be a co-official language in the entire confederation. In select regions, Jute Pidgin, Klambari or Samwati also have the status of an official language.

Coastal and River Jutean
First attested in around 300 BC, Coastal Jutean is assumed to have developed after the first ancestors of present day ethnic Juteans arrived at the island at around 1000 BC. The people remaining on the coast would eventually speak what is today referred to as Jutean, or Coastal Jutean (tahivi a net in Jutean, pronounced roughly tah-HEE-vee ah neht, IPA /tɐhivɐ ɐ net/), whereas the people venturing inside would develop River Jutean (tahosoe val ma, pronounced roughly tah-HO-so-eh vahl mah, with the 'o' as in 'not', IPA: /taho͡asoɛ vɐl mɐ/). It had no official status until after Jute regained independence 1872, during and prior to the colonial era it was just one of the languages spoken on the island, albeit the most widely spoken one.

River Jutean remains widely spoken in the inland, particularly along the Tahonaha, where it is also used as an official language on a local and regional level. Most speakers of River Jutean learn Coastal Jutean early on as well, since monolingual speakers are despite the status of their native language as a legally recognized variety of Jutean at a significant disadvantage later on.

Klambari
Klambari is a language of currently uncertain origin, it is spoken by a traditionally cattle-keeping and hunting society in the mountainous region in the southwest and west of the island who are said to have already been native to the island prior to the advent of the Jutic people. Through the creole Klambari-Jutean, spoken by Jutean serfs during the reign of the Klambaris over most of Jute from 50 BC to ~1000 AD, Klambari has had a significant impact on Jutean, particularly on Coastal Jutean, with many loanwords existing, for example sitili ('sword') from Klambari stüdterl ('iron').

Klambari is a language of currently uncertain origin, it is spoken by a traditionally cattle-keeping and hunting society in the mountainous region in the southwest and west of the island, with Amdato as the urban center. Klambari speakers are said to have already been living on the island prior to the advent of the Jutic people. Through the creole Klambari-Jutean, spoken by Jutean serfs during the reign of the Klambaris over most of Jute from 50 BC to ~1000 AD, Klambari has had a significant impact on Jutean, particularly on Coastal Jutean, with many loanwords existing, for example sitili ('sword') from Klambari stüdterl ('iron').

Samwati

Samwati is the language of relatively isolated communities in the far north of the island, which are said to predate even the Klambari settlements, and aside from numerous villages also include the second largest town on Jute, Samuvu or Samuru.

Much of the language remains unknown, particularly any possible relation to other languages, since its speakers generally avoid contact with the outside world. However, archaeological findings have shown that Samwatians used to occupy a much larger part of the island several thousand years ago, with some ruins found near Sitti being the most prominent evidence for it.

Jutean Sign Language

A sign language used by the deaf community and some hard of hearing people on Jute. Its origins and relationships to other sign languages are unclear, with the earliest known records of it being from the early 19th century.

Religion

Overview
Syncretism is very common on Jute. Patronal Saandism, with about a million followers the largest religion, draws from both traditional Saandist and from Christian beliefs, but there are also many followers of Christianity in the bigger cities. Especially in the more remote counties and communities, traditional Saandism also is still largely followed. Other native religions are followed by most of the Samwati and a large amount of the Klambari, whereas other world religions such as Buddhism have few adherents.

Introduction to Saandism
Saandism comes from Saandi, meaning in the old language of Jute 'being content with your life'. The religion combines tenets of science, particularly astronomy and math, curiosity and philosophy with greenism and communitarianism.

The religion is very decentralized, with hundreds of varieties across the confederation. However, these are unified via largely shared central values and general tendencies. These include a foundational morality of greenism and communitarianism combined with a high appreciation of math and philosophical deliberations. The concept of Saandi, referring to a state of contentment with life, of being unbothered (even if not unconcerned) by everything, a state free from anxieties, fears and desires, is central to the religion. According to widespread oral tradition, it has been a key part of the mentality of Jutic people since the earliest times.

The full name of the religion is Saandi na trikki u mohomo harandi, translating to 'Saandi through numbers and harmony with wildlife', alluding to the way this state of mind is to be achieved, namely by keeping an interest in the sciences, especially math, while respecting the environment in which one lives as both nurturing and uncaring, thereby creating a balanced life in both the immaterial as well as the material world.

Rites and rules of Saandism
The oldest rule and therefore shared by virtually all varieties, was to plant a new tree for every one destroyed, after some trees had to be cut down to make rooms for new farms. It had followed renewed discussions on finding a way to respectably live with each other and with nature, which were formalized for the first time. Over time, this developed in various ways into a somewhat more organized religion, complete with a "rulebook" transmitted via oral tradition by elders and other people, accumulating guidelines on how to achieve the achieved state of saandi, usually involving continued study of philosophy and mathematics.

Furthermore, there are many guidelines on how to live with society, how to respectfully use wildlife or natural resources. Parables on how society benefits the individual, and how the environment is both the foundation of life and a danger for it, are also part of it. Elder people are often tasked with explaining parts of the traditions, and help a person try to abide by them. Deviating from them brings no immediate punishment, however it can lead to alienation from society, and thus cause various problems indirectly.

Specifics are talked and agreed upon with other members of the community, and so can vary greatly from community to community. Differences in cosmology and mythology are typically among the most visible differences, due to myths often being either highly location-specific or having spread across much of the island. The most obvious general split is between Coastal and River Jutean communities. Variants of one of the most famous Saandist myths, Olumedusa, or the story of the creation of the material world from an abstract one, are common in coastal varieties of Saandism, whereas alongside Tahoon a Haad and its tributaries creation myths tend to be more personal and involve heroes and anthropomorphic spirits. Several varieties, such as a number of smaller, more secretive congregations in Sitti often referred to as "cults" and varieties of more remote communities, especially in the lands of River Jutean communities, are particularly divergent from either mainstream.

Sacrifices are generally not encouraged in any variety, instead a self-reflective prayer twice a day is one of the most common rituals. Usually the one in the morning was dedicated to reflections on the gifts nature provides, as well as on how to improve one's relationship to nature, as well as how to help improve one's community's relationship to nature. The evening one was often used as a review of the day that was ending, any personal or communal achievements as well as plans for the following day. The exact form of this minute of contemplation could vary a lot, it could be a prayer, a song, an (internal) monologue, or take some other shape that was appropriate for any given environment.

The importance of numbers in Saandism
As the aforementioned prehistory factbook says, numbers were introduced already very early on to the existing philosophy, and quickly became an object of interest for many people, with mathematical puzzles soon establishing themselves as an esteemed and popular pastime. The discovery of prime numbers only furthered the admiration Ancient Juteans had for them. Those were seen as "divine" numbers because of their special abilities, as at first "divinity" was seen as a state of high "purity" and "originality", of which everything else was supposed to have developed. Even though that view changed a bit over the time, numbers are still hold in high regard, thought of as part of the logical half of the immaterial world, together with philosophical musings, with artistic endeavors, especially those more abstract and less realistic on the other side, similar to mandalas.

Understanding the imperfection of the material world
When the telescope was first invented, scientists of Jute first noticed how the moon, previously thought of an example of an "perfect" material object, "pure" in a way similar to prime numbers, actually was scarred all over the surface, with some larger, some smaller holes. This lead to the development of the tenet "Do not strive to be perfect, for it is neither possible or reasonable. The beauty and goodness of things comes from their imperfection., meaning it is not the purpose of things of the material world to be as flawless as things of the immaterial one. The state of "purity" the prime numbers have can't be achieved, and neither should it, as it would destroy all things that make the material world worth living.

Samwati religion

The traditional Samwati religion revolves around the concept of archetypes, representing different kinds of personalities and approaches to life. Only by trying to match an archetype is a person said to be able to lead a honorable and virtuous life, and a community as well as the world in general be able to tap into an overarching force which provides for an immaterial and metaphysical connection between individual people and thereby ensures social harmony and the stability and order of the world.

To match an archetype, a person adopts it once old enough (the exact age may vary from community to community) the way an actor chooses and acts out a role, except it is meant to be a lifetime commitment. Every single archetype has certain professions and positive traits associated with that form the foundation for the different kinds of personalities and approaches to life that make the archetypes distinct.

Following a choice, good and appropriate behavior is supposed to be cultivated through meditation and specific tasks. This can involve pouring over educative moral texts and literature, either describing appropriate good behavior for each archetype in more general terms, abstract terms with precise justifications or using shorter and longer stories to show behavior that is meant to be emulated. Some communities forego texts and teach the youth solely via acting out behaviors or showing certain things directly, asking students to imitate them.

Typically, only six are recognized, although some communities may have additional ones. The six basic ones reflect the six most important professions of the traditional Samwati society, each with one-two core individual values that are needed for their own profession above all as well two collective values that help the community as a whole to tap into the overarching immaterial force that brings people together and makes living as a community possible, e.g. by helping counter the negative sides of the individual values or the prescribed professions.

Klambari religion
The traditional religion of the Klambari people is to some degree related to the traditional religion of the Samwati. The core concept underpinning the religion is the belief in every human having an animal that represents them, to have a more empathetic connection with nature and therefore be better adjusted to life surrounded by wilderness, and excel at your profession.

Every child will pick one of the eight most "important" animals (geckos, larger lizard, dragonfly, snake, rat, dog, fruit bat, marsupial), each of them is said to have a particular responsibility and domain in nature (for example, a fruit bat rules in the trees and watches over tree leaves and fruits) and a certain kind of person with a particular virtue and one or two abilities (e.g. a snake is patient and represents hidden abilities or powers, a dog is loyal and represents discipline and determination, a lizard is content with few things and represents adaptability).

This "bond" is rarely changed later on, and a certain kind of reverence when talking about or when encountering such an animal is expected (although no unnecessary risks shall be taken) and is ritualized through meditation, often with visualized empathy, and small inanimate sacrifices at home or a village altar.

Education is to some extent also determined by this choice, however there is also a large generalized component. As learning about one's surroundings, the environment, the animals living in it, and how to master them and control them is of the highest importance for Klambari people, every child, regardless of gender, will have education in either spear-throwing or archery, and learn basic ecology and zoology.

Diagram showing the political structures of Jute.
Click to enlarge

Economy

Top 5 Agricultural Exports (or similar)

1) Jute
2) Jute products
3) Coconut water and other coconut products
4) Fine sand
5) "Bottled sunshine" and bottled tropical air
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Consisting of land that has been largely not industrialized, Jute is still dominated by agriculture. The most important crops are coconuts, sweetsops and above all jute, both the fiber and leaves. Historically, jute production used to dominate the nation's economy and was used in all spheres of life. Examples include clothing, building, furniture, paper and culinary uses, among others. Even today, the jute fiber continues to be used in many local products and jute production remains one of the most important parts of the economy, cuisine and culture of Jute. However, other economic branches have since then become bigger and more important to the nation's gross national product, most importantly tourism and more recently book publishing, with many international authors from more authoritarian countries with a high amount of censorship selecting to print in Jute due to low regulation and low costs. Paper is traditionally made from jute fibers or banana peels and leaves. The fiber of the latter is also used as raw material in the making of clothes.

Large enterprises are unknown in Jute, most of the economy is comprised of semi-public small cooperatives, collectives or public services. It operates locally, on the neighborhood level, overwhelmingly as an informal gift economy, usually market-based, and on larger levels (county, region, island-wide) to varying degrees as a debt-based economy, especially in regional or island-wide commerce.

Currency only exists as foreign currency, brought in by tourists or accumulated through exports. As a result, coins and bills are not commonly used on the island itself. The Score is mostly used as a help to compare the value of goods or services, but doesn't really exist as either coin or bill. Instead, everything bought or consumed is first chalked up (or 'scored' and later re-payed. Anything bought or consumed is something figuratively borrowed, with a social expectation of later repayment. It is a system of redistributing goods that in general heavily relies on trust, and so people deemed untrustworthy or not accepted as part of the local community or wider society are left to either fend for themselves or find a supporting group or community of their own. The specifics vary from county to county and especially region to region and the economy may be subject to different amounts of "market laws" or general regulation.

Culture and Society

See also: Mohomi ude savanhude (Anthem of Jute)

Jutean society is rather anarchistic politically and economically, with political authorities generally viewed by locals with suspicion. With no actual executive government in place, the Community Leaders in their function as judges or judge panel chairs are the only accepted authority, an authority that is strictly limited. However, traditions are also widely honored. This is seen as a way of honoring ancestors, recognizing their wisdom and what they have contributed to society. For the same reason, elders are often honored as people with great experience and wisdom as well. Younger people asking them for advice is very common, although less so in modern times with the advent of other sources of information.

The population, including the native minorities, can generally be described furthermore as being more communitarian than individualistic. This is visible in and reinforced both by the political system and the predominant religions, but also many other traditions and rituals, that are meant to reinforce communal bonds, a feeling of togetherness that help keep up morale for work and certain bigger projects.

Nonetheless, this is not taken to extremes, a certain amount of privacy and freedom is granted to every member of a community, however the exact amount can vary significantly from community to community. In fact, self-reliance, both on the individual and communal level, is highly valued. But this, too, is limited, with mutual aid in and between societies seen widely as the most important guiding principle, or at least among the most important ones. Ignoring it, for example by not helping in hard times or unexplained skipping of community meetings can be harshly socially sanctioned, as living together in close-knit communities is seen as vital to the survival and independence of the land and its population.

Heirlooms
With this emphasis on communal living and a communitarian worldview that values working for the collective welfare of a community above individual pursuits, accumulating wealth to pass on to your children and your children alone is not just uncommon, but frowned upon, if not seen as anti-social. Therefore, heirlooms tend to be either things with less material and more sentimental value, or something that belongs to a community in general.

As most of the economy works and relies on a cooperative approach, production of goods and the offer of services relies on shared equipment, rendering it a kind of communal heirloom. Communities themselves may treasure particular records (as do most places in other lands), or other artifacts, such as locally made jewelry, weapons with a particular history or tools and machines important for local trades or industries.

A person may also build up an impressive collection of odd looking stones that has their children clueless as to what they should do with it, or have a dried flower commemorating some important life event. In many households books may also be seen as important heirlooms that children should receive, although this is more commonly the case in communities with no libraries of their own or a particularly strong scholarly/scientific tradition.

Traditional gender roles
Three different culture-specific genders exist in most of Jute, particularly in the regions inhabited by Coastal and River Juteans. These are never assigned at birth, instead they are chosen, with biology playing no role whatsoever, by the parents in the first years of a child's life based on characteristics, behavior and preferences, though other members in a community might suggest or even urge the parents in a particular direction.

With society having grown more open and less socially conservative in recent years, it has become common for children to challenge this decision and for this to be accepted socially. While not all parents already pay heed to it when it happens when the child is still young, almost all but the strictest parents allow their children to select the label they identify with the most either after puberty has started or at the very least after that.

The three genders are called netumo ('guard, sentry'), sehukumo ('nurturer, fosterer'), and kove ('inbetween') The latter term has some negative connotations for some people for reasons which might be obvious, which is why vamejo is often preferred instead nowadays.

A nuclear family originally consisted of a netumo and a sehukumo, with kove/vamejo often the people who were supposed to go childless and devote their life for the community, taking over the tasks no one else could or wanted to take over, though nowadays same-gender marriages and families with vamejo are becoming increasingly common, too.

Vamejo originally is a shortening of vamejotimo, meaning 'sorcerer', 'magician' or 'seer', which refers to the fact that, largely barred from forming a family on their own, they tended to group together in smaller clubs or societies. Many of them had ties, or alleged ties, to magical practices, which is why they also came to be called this. Tasks the community expected them to take over usually included things that required staying alone for a longer time, such as fishing in the ocean, exploring the island for e.g. new food sources, threats or other resources, spiritual guides, mathematicians/astronomers. Mathematicians and astronomers were akin to priests in traditional Saandism, and often also worked as judges. Being a judge was and remains a very unpopular profession in particular, due to the difficulty of coming up with judgments that satisfy all parties involved.

Netumo are traditionally the defenders of the family, children and the home against any outside threats. Aside from that, they are also historically the protectors of the village. These required them often to stay at or near home, though, when on watch duty near the edge of the rainforest, they would also usually gather food or fish in a river (hunting was largely unknown) while keeping an eye out for any predators or other dangers that might be lurking in the wilderness. They were also responsible for repairs at the house and other manual tasks, and often also where the people who worked in the forest gardens. In times of trouble, the netumo of a community would usually first consult their spouse and then come together and discuss how to deal with the problem.

Sehukumo were, as the name implies, expected to be the ones nursing, raising and educating (aside from some of the more practical things, which were taught by netumo) the children. When they lacked the capability to breastfeed for biological reasons, they would either have the children be nursed by a relative, friend or leave that task to the other parent. They usually were also responsible for housekeeping and food preparation. Work in gardens, including forest gardens, was seen as a typical task for sehukumos as well.

Marriage and love
This part was originally written in Coastal Jutean

Living together is the custom of the creation of a family in Jute and has (usually) an relationship with love.

As it is known, it is usually customary to hold a huge celebration in many lands, then, the act is completed and two persons are regarded as a pair as per law. They are a family now, immediately after the rite.
The union of two people is different in Jute, and is called 'living together'. It is celebrated, too, but in Jute it's more important when the beginning of 'living together' takes place. Living together is regarded as two people sharing one house, and when they sleep together for the first time, this is called the beginning of 'living together', and like that, the fulfillment of the rite.
They are a new, young family now, and as such always expected to get children by the community at some point in the future, but this is now not much the case anymore. Most people still wish for that, obviously, because children are the future. Living together alone for the entire life would be seen as egoism by many. If the pair don't do other good things, that would be regarded as taking with no giving back to the community, even though it nurtured them. The behavior is regarded destructive (for society), and shameful. The living-together shall not end before death, so people should choose a partner they love. It would be the best if the parents like the partner, but the pair is free to ignore this.

Literature and the other arts
Literature has a long tradition on Jute, with telling stories in the evening being an age-old part of daily life for the population. (See prehistory) Nowadays it has developed into a rich variety, with a lot of recent novels being popular abroad as well. Other forms of culture are less common, but still enjoy some popularity. Traditional flute music can often be heard in the streets or in the two opera halls of the island

The ancient story-telling tradition on Jute lives on to this day, unchanged in principle but with the stories at times updated. Those ones are called "living stories" (or tahi a ni) and are more like legends with more fantastical elements. Their name comes from their special characteristic of changing over time to stay relevant for any given society, so the story never becomes just something "strange" from the past. Other stories are supposed to be more historically accurate, like ancient historiography. The main topics include building up of the nonafat or civilization of Jute, the exploration of and survival next to the dangerous wilderness, the conflicts inside and between several societies, and often also ninvohi, or the concept of "finding and accepting one's place in the world".

There is also a creation story, called "the waving story" or tahi a saa, called so because it establishes and explains the cyclical (or "waving") view of history. In anthologies it is usually split into a beginning, containing the initial creation of the world, put in front of the other stories as an introduction, and an ending, describing the transition to a new cycle of history, serving as a conclusion.

After the introduction, the first two stories in anthologies are commonly the "living stories" Tahi a ni a netude ("Living story of the frontier"), narrating the mythical prehistory and Tahi a ni a saanude ("Living story of the ocean"), detailing the voyage of the ancestors of Juteans across the ocean and the sea.

Next is usually the Tahi a saanede a iki a hohi ("Story of the first new beach"), which talks about the discovery of the island, and the Tahi a jutaide ("Story of the settlement"), which narrates the settling down at the coast and the building of the first houses, harvests etc. The remainder do not have a set chronological or other kind of order, and their appearance in anthologies is usually up to the editor.

Jute leaves

Cuisine
Main article: Jutean Cuisine

The cuisine of Jute has, despite the relatively small size of the island, huge regional varieties, with South Jute being, owing to the different climate, the most distinct one.

In general, the more populated coastal regions are largely pescetarian and appreciate the versatility of the coconut. Dishes are traditionally dominated by fresh fish, fruits and vegetables, with little grains or seeds, though these later became more popular as contact was established with other regions inland and abroad.

In the former, fish is less common, but leaves of the jute plant, and bananas are staples everywhere aside from the mountainous Klambari-speaking region in the east, where they're not really common. Animal husbandry is more important there, and the only communities with hunting traditions can be found there, with meat consumption being hardly known on the settlements lining the shore for the longest period of time.

Technology and infrastructure

A very similar looking airstrip to the one
existing, of which no official photos exist.
(Click the link for photographer and source)

Jute is generally slow to adopt new technology. This has several reasons. One on side, a perpetual problem is a lack of funds, which has made it all but impossible to cover the island in hi-tech. On the other side, religious and secular concerns about environmental destruction have often led to increased caution and even at times a misleading appearance of opposing modernity in general.

With the limited availability of modern communication technology, especially outside of the biggest cities, several traditional means of communication remain in use for mail and other purposes in smaller and the more remote inland communities. Among those are human messengers using boats to visit various riverside communities or dulled arrow-shooting for shorter distances.

However, most common and famous is the use of carrier pigeons, which are in fact used in such high amounts, hundreds and hundreds of flocks of pigeons, that it has drawn comparisons to a computer network. As a low-cost, relatively reliable and greener alternative to laying telephone cables everywhere this "avian internet" remains effective and even a point of pride for many, transporting text, or on e.g. memory cards, images or sound to almost every remote corner of the island. This is often belittled by outsiders, however it has proven to be surprisingly effective and reliable once the pigeons have been trained, with speeds and rates of packet loss that would likely not exceed regular internet connections in secluded parts of many other countries. It is also used for a number of commercial transactions and to facilitate political participation.

With the advent of trains, mail sent between coastal cities could be transported in bulk, however, air mail sent via pigeon remains the fastest option in many cases.

In towns and some villages, computers are widely used, too, even if they are mostly only available in specific internet/computer cafes and sometimes other places through a satellite connection. They are the only places with regular network connectivity, Landlines are also rare and largely restricted to more important public institutions as well as larger businesses, especially those involved in trade. Experimental cell phone networks exist in Sitti and Numudu, in other towns and the countryside only satellite phones are sometimes used. With limited communication needs in remote communities a single satellite phone can serve a whole village or even an entire community.

Hospitals operate on modern knowledge (supplemented by traditional knowledge when applicable) and the use of modern machinery is mostly only depending on budgetary constraints.

The small railway network on the island, connecting the bigger coastal towns, is also held back by financial trouble, however the lack of railways in the middle of the country would not be built regardless to protect the rainforests from unnecessary destruction. For the same reason cars and vehicles with combustion engines are banned entirely, with the exclusion of boats

In addition, Jute has a decent amount of indigenous innovation, even though it is once again by necessity limited to the low-tech sector. Research at the University of Jute into more efficient and useful solar cookers, simple radio broadcast receivers and senders as well as fridges not requiring electricity, to name some examples, is ongoing.

In towns, bicycles, including bicycle buses and cargo bicycles are the most common road vehicles. Cars and other vehicles with combustion engines are banned entirely on conservationist grounds, and a regular road network only exists in major towns.

Two railway lines, going from Kesulva via Sitti to Numudu and from Sitti to Helele are used to reach most of the coastal towns of the island. Inside these towns, the same railway lines are also used for transit, particularly in Sitti, Numudu and Helele, as a separate transit network or even separate transit lines do not exist. For the towns in the inlands, the rivers are generally the most effective way of transportation, as no real road network has ever been developed in order to be able to preserve the thick, hard to cross rainforest which is covering most of the inner island. For the same reason, cars also have always been banned.

There is also no real airport, just a quickly cleaned, rough airfield near Sitti. As the expenses for a real airport would be enormous, the confederal Meeting of the Larger Community of Jute has historically always voted against the construction of one. Tourists tend to arrive via cruise ships or similar instead, or use planes capable of landing on water.

Very small air freight, which aside from mail also includes e.g. memory cards, seeds, small amounts of tea or small doses of medicine, is often also shipped by trained carrier pigeons, especially to very remote and isolated communities. Efforts to combine the power of many pigeons to carry heavier loads are also ongoing, but have so far been unsuccessful.

Motor boats are excluded from the combustion engine ban, but due to their high cost are rare, particularly outside of Sitti and Numudu. Due to dense forest cover and a lack of road connections, traveling by boat on the rivers is generally the most effective way of transportation when going between towns and villages in the inlands. Boats and ships are also crucial for traffic between smaller islands or between a smaller island and the main island, or for trips across bays. In Sitti, they are also used to transport goods and people from north to south, providing an alternative to trains.

Energy
Energy is provided via a multitude of ways. Juteans historically used no mills or labor animals and did all work manually. Biomass fires were and still are widely used for cooking in all cultures, although with the advent of towns they went from being open three-stone fires, fire pits and other types of fires to stoves which later had chimneys added. Due to a lack of industrialization, Jute still uses these traditional means of generating energy widely, although they have been subject to continued development and improvement.

Steam energy first arrived with the Kalab Empire in the late 19th century, and electricity became first available in the form of diesel generators in the 1950s. Use of them slowly grew over the following decades, but due to initial and fuel costs as well as pollution they remain limited to places that most need it, such as hospitals, ports and airstrips and their storage facilities as well as libraries and archives. To improve efficiency and reduce the amount of generators these would often be connected to a grid, which in bigger settlements can be cross across several communities grid and in the largest cities even become a county-crossing grid.

Like other services such as healthcare, education or communication, building and maintaining such grids is chiefly the responsibility of the lower-level administrations. While local communities in the countryside, especially the more isolated ones, might have a single one just covering the important buildings of their village, sometimes working together with neighboring communities, the larger grids of urban communities are maintained by county administrations that often form joint operations except for on the isolated single-county town of Etillamme.

The introduction of rocket stoves in the middle of the 20th century, invented in Lufasa, greatly reduced fuel usage and local pollution generated from smoke. Certain specially managed forests employing coppicing are used to provide fuel for these and other stoves, but also e.g. motorboats modified to be running on wood gas. The university of Sitti has additionally worked to further the field of biomass gasification and other "biobased economy" technologies that are intended to burn cleaner, more efficiently and have a wider range of application, thus reducing the dependence on imported fuels as well as using local resources more sustainably, such as by burning food waste, agricultural residue and other wasteproducts or otherwise unused dry plant matter. Improvements of other sustainable technologies, such as solar cookers, bridge and suspended mills, are also being carried out.

Structure originally based on a template by The Free Republic of Ponderosa