REPUBLIC OF

HEMEL

GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

Welcome to Republic of Hemel......

Republic of Hemel

nation /nSHen/ n.

NATION

DEFINITION OF

NATION, NATIONALISM AND NATIONALITY

CONDITONS AS

GEOGRAPHY, LANGUAGE, RELIGION,

DIETARY, TECHNOLOGY, TIME PERIOD

Republic of Hemel

What is a

NATION?

Looking through and analyzing the many different

sources that were presented to us in class, we have formulated our own definitions of the terms nation, nationalism, and nationality. By taking a closer look especially
at the works of Benedict Anderson and Anthony Smith,
we were able to form definitions that were clearer and
more precise for each of the terms.

One important factor in building a nation is the boundaries of nations itself. When looking at the historical
Gough map, it is clear that having established and controlled boundaries is an integral part of being a nation;
all of Great Britain is clearly laid out, as evident by the
boundary between Ireland and England. According to
Smith, the non-Western model of the nation emphasizes
heavily on birth and native culture. The ethnic component, that a person is tied to a nation on ones birth, is a
great example on how boundaries of nations are a very
important factor of a nations definition.

A nation, defined by Smith in National Identity, is a community that is united through common myths, historical
memories, culture, legal rights, and economy and bounded within a historic territory. However, these fundamental features are merely imagined or limited, as defined
by Anderson. Nation is a symbol, one that establishes a
powerful cultural and political bond between its citizens. This bond makes belief that the fact that they share
an historic culture and homeland make them similar and
related, which most would take as fact, for granted. By
incorporating Smiths fundamental beliefs, it allows for
some guidance as to what constitutes as a nation.

In Bartletts the Making of Europe, he stated that the development of the society and the changes in lifestyle and
technology are many inevitable and crucial necessities in
forming a nation. This claim is supported by Anderson
in which he points out that changes such as print-languages unifies and standardizes communication in a nation, offering a new form of imagined community or in
other words, a nation.

DEFINITION
that they do not hold the sense of belonging to the country of China.

To sum up, we would like to define a nation as an imagined bond between individuals within a united community with common culture and history and more
importantly, bounded within the same geographical
boundaries in which individuals will share ethnic bonds.
Nationalism is an ideology, implanted into the minds of
a nations citizen, making them blindly yet proudly identify themselves as part of a nation. Nationalism makes a
nation; the imagined feeling of mutual bonding is not a
product of a nation in response to its self-consciousness,
but is the fundamental key into inventing a nation out of
non-existence (quoted by Anderson in Imagined Communities from Gellner).

Ones nationality can be binding at birth, as the ethnic

concept of nation stresses a lot on how a nation and a
person is tied together at birth. This could, again, be illustrated by Chan Chis assessment of Hong Kong as the
people of Hong Kong are bound to the land of Hong
Kong, not China.

Nationality is an identity, a universal socio-cultural concept in which people in the modern world is labeled
with to identify the country they call home. Everyone
can, should, will have a nationality, as he or she has a
gender, as defined by Anderson. It is the bond between
a person and their nation, and their comrades who
share the same nationality. It symbolizes the recognition
of ones national consciousness, identifying them with
citizenship and a sense of importance and belonging.
Through Chan Chis China Perspectives, one can see that
how the people of Hong Kong identify themselves as the
people of Hong Kong, not China, illustrates the existence
of otherness in China. By differentiating themselves,
they are rejecting their nationality for another, meaning

Republic of Hemel

BOUNDARIES
GEOGRAPHY
native people of Hemel, with exceptions to white missionaries and Dutch soldiers from the past colonization.

A nations geographical location is not only the nations physical boundary. Not only does the geographical
location of a nation divide it from another, it also sets a
limit to how much a nation can support. Furthermore, it
also sets a condition to which ethnicities are present in
the nation.
The nation of Hemel, is a tropical island, covered in
forests. This limits the living area and how much the cities can expand because the citizens are very conscious
about conserving the nature, deforestation is a punishable crime to death penalty. It also limits the economy
growth as land is fundamental to the production of
goods.
As a tropical island, the variety of plants and animals
are vast fishing, planting and export of tropical fruits
are the largest economy in Hemel. With the food supplies, the people of Hemel are independent of other
countries when it comes to food.
Because it is an island, most of the citizens are the

LANGUAGE
National language is a driving force behind national
unity, and makes a country become a respectable and
unique nation. Language plays a role as an indicator that
shows the national identity of the country. In order to
understand and penetrate deep into a community, one
must be able to speak and understand the language of the
community. Even though Hemel has Dutch as an official
language due to the colonization, Hemelese still serves as
the most significant tool to inherit the history, myths and
stories of Hemel. Thus, in order to be a real part of the
community, fluency in the national language, Hemelese,
enables the person to fully understand that communitys
particular nuances and cultural aspects.

CONDITIONS

DIETARY HABIT

Also, it is hard to find any nations which disrespect

their national languages. People show their devotion to
their own national language and literature. Hemelese are
proud of their dialect diversity.
The evidences show us how language works as a boundary to define the nation as well.

Dietary habit not only shows what is in the plate but

also indicates the geographic situation and the cultures
of one nation. It is really easy to differentiate the nationality of the food. In this way, dietary habit plays a role as
the boundaries to separate the countries.
The food is the essential part of humans life. No one
can live without food. Thus, from ancient times, people
began to pay much attention to what to eat, how to eat.
Based on the long history of the dietary habit of Hemel,
the habit becomes a inseparable part of the nation.
Hemelese live on fishing. Preferring the flavor of the
nature, they enjoy eating raw vegetables and even seafood. The dietary habit works as forces to get Hemelese
together and separate them from people from other nations as well.
Even though eating habits were influenced by Dutch
colonization, Hemelese tended to enjoy their old eating
style of eating raw food instead of fried or grilled ones.
The traditional way of eating really helps the health condition in Hemel. Raw seafood provides great nutrition
and meanwhile protects them from obesity.
Thus, eating raw food is a important boundary for
Hemelese to show their distinct aspects.

RELIGION
Hemel, most natives believe in nature/ethnic religion
called Phradao, god of stars in the old language prior to
Hemelese. They worship the gods and goddesses of nature, praying for the river, sun, sky, star, moon, earth and
wind every day. Even after the large inflow of missionaries after the Dutch colonization, most natives are still
Phras, and refuses to convert to Christians as their belief
in their own gods and goddesses are too strong. Only
ones who wed to the missionaries and soldiers convert
their religion to Christianity, and these people were isolated from the community. The division between Christians and Phras are very sharp.
Their strong belief in their religion has become a
boundary to the nation. Other religions are not accepted,
and people with other religions are not accepted into the
community either.

Republic of Hemel

TECHNOLOGY
For a nation to develop the technologically, they share
the same characteristics that allow for changes that improve the efficiency of practices within that nation. For
the early tribes, technology was limited because of little
access to strong materials to create tools. As a result, the
limited technological advances by the Hemelese people,
they often worked together as groups to farm and produce their food. This shared labor was a unifying factor
in the country and helped ensure there was enough food
for everyone in the country. The limited technological advances during the period before the arrival of the
Dutch settler, limited the possibility for people in Hemel
to break away as splinter groups and form their own nation.
The arrival of the Dutch settlers allowed for the improvement of of technology through the power of trade
between the two groups. The effect of the trade between
the two groups allowed for the Hemelese people to take
advantage and improve the efficiency of the peoples labor thus allows to move on to different jobs. With less
people needed to produce the food, the people of Hemel
could devote their time to other areas and improve the
newfound technology.

POLITICAL
According to Anderson, nations are sovereign and can
control themselves in order to make decisions that affect
the future of the people. For the country of Hemel, the
early political system was governed by a group of tribal
leaders. These tribal leaders would meet once a month
to discuss the state of their tribes and how they could
resolves issues that each of the tribes were facing. As a
collective group, the tribal leaders were able to settle
disputes and also help create a system to improve the
lifestyle of those living in Hemel.

When the Dutch settlers arrived in Hemel,
there were multiple instances where the sovereignty of
native Hemelese people was at risk because of the Dutch
settlers wanting to take control over the native people.
By establishing themselves as a sovereign force, the
Hemelese tribal leaders were able to integrate the Dutch
setters into a party that took into account the well being
of the Dutch settlers and the native Hemelese. The
Hemelese Society Association is the central political party that is headed by a council that determines
the nations actions, through the establishment of the
council, the native Hemelese and Dutch settlers were
treated equal and both groups of people have been able
to prosper.

10

CATEGORY

CATEGORIES
GEOGRAPHY
HISTORY
LANGUAGE
STORY & MYTHS
FOLK ARTS
ENTERTAINMENT
11

GEOGRA

PHY
A nations geographical properties have, and will always, play a big role in its citizens lives. As defined by Smith,
a nation has to possess the property of a named population sharing an historic territory - one which its terrain
and people have exerted mutual, and beneficial, influence over several generations. The historic memories that
lies in those lands, its terrains, its lands resources, all builds a nation into one which is unique from others. The
relationship between a nations geographic properties and its citizens cultural identity is strong, as their lifestyle, for
example, how the lands resources are exclusive to their people, depends on it. The resources indicate how lives on
those lands will be.
Our nation, Hemel, is located off the southern shores of China, in between, but to the north of Vietnam and Philippines, within the South China Sea in the Pacific Ocean. Like many countries in Asia in the past, Hemel was once
colonized by a European empire, in Hemels case, under the rule of the Dutch Empire. The name Hemel was derived
from the word heaven in Dutch, as the country has a large abundance of flora and fauna, due to the location near
the Earths equator. To the Dutch, the country was like a paradise. The plentiful amount of tropical fruits, mountains
and also beaches has pivoted Hemel into one of the most popular tourist attractions in Asia. The citizens here have
grown attached to the nature, their life depending a lot on it due to tourism. Therefore, natives here are very devoted
to the conservation of nature and also has a very strong cultural identity.

Republic of Hemel

NATIONAL MAP

14

GEOGRAPHY

The geographical location and structure of the nation of Hemel is one of the main aspects that mold the nation into what it is
today. It influences on the peoples lifestyle, the economy and how far the nation can develop. It is what defines the future of
the nation since the creation of it.

Hemel is an island located in the South China Sea. Derived from the word heaven in Dutch, Hemel is the island of
paradise with an abundance of flora and fauna due to its position on the equator. Most of the nation is mountainous, covered mostly with rainforests in which hundreds of different species of animals inhabits, some are even still unidentified. The
rainforests also supplies the citizens with a large variety of tropical fruits; ranging from mangoes to rambutans, to starfruits.
Because the island is surrounded the sea, a lot of fishing occurs in Hemel. Coral reefs are also present at some parts and most
of the shorelines are beaches. This factor interlinks to the food production of the nation. The citizens of the nation survive
solely on food produced within Hemel; mostly fishes and fruits. The farming industry in Hemel is very small as deforestation
for farming is illegal. Hunting of animals for food is legalized to only people with license; therefore meat can be very expensive.

In order to convey the image of the island more easily, the map of Hemel is presented as the artifact. It was made by
the Cartography Association of Hemel in 1984; however little has changed over the years due to the strict laws against deforestation. The clear outline between the mountains (the green land) and the flatlands are still much defined. The road systems
between towns and cities have massively improved though. The main cities presented on the map; the big red dot and big blue
dot, have expanded due to the improvement of tourism and technology. The red dot, the city of Looksorn, is the capital city in
which all the ministries are situated. The blue dot, the city of Nukderntarng, is the city of tourism and the most inhabited city.
The red and yellow dots on the nations shoreline represent the main harbors, in which lies the most important fishing ports,
and beaches. This has increased over the years due to the governments 10 years-scheme of promoting and elevating Hemels
tourism.
From the map, it is clearly seen that transportation from one side of the island to another can be very hard due to the mountainous area in the middle of the island. Therefore, most people took the long route of going around the island, whether it is by
land or by sea. The government, in an effort to improve the system, is trying to legalize a bill to cut down trees in the forests to
build roads from one side of the island to another. Negotiation between the government and sustainability non-governmental
organizations are currently taking place, but due to the nations religion, it may be very tricky for the bill to be approved.

15

HISTORY

HISTORY

The island nation of Hemel was only established after the arrival of the Dutch settlers who came into power of the island
through during the period of rapid Dutch expansion. Prior to the Dutch settlers landing on the island, the island was
controlled through a series tribes that met in council multiple times a year. The history of Hemelese people can be traced
back to their roots in China but also Indonesia. These tribal groups welcomed the Dutch settlers and various goods they
brought with them to the country. Through economy, a relationship was formed and the Dutch settlers were welcomed.
The Dutch traded their various equipement, which improved the efficiency of the Hemelese farmers, which helped them
to produce more spices and tea to trade with the Dutch.
Over time this relationship and subsequent settling of the Dutch people resulted in the multiple tribes to come together as a group known as the Hemelese Society Association (HSA). Those who came from a Dutch background were also
permitted to join this group as they were born on the island and completed schooling. The HSA is a revered group in the
country is the only political party present in the country.
The Hemelese people have long been interested in preserving nature. It is the beauty of their country that allows it to
thrive as a tourist attraction. Through the preservation of the culture and geographical.

Republic of Hemel

HISTORY

18


The campaign pin donated by a generous donor was from a member of the HSA. This pin was the result of a nationalism movement during a time when there was economic turmoil in the country. This pin was just one of the many designs
released during the economic turmoil of the 1950s. During this time, the Hemelese people worried about their sources of
income because trade with other countries was declining. Those who worried often protested in the streets against the HSA
council for their lack of preparation against the economic downturn of the 1950s.

In response to the protests, the HSA council created the Hemelese for Hemel initiative to help those who suffered
most in the economic crash. This initiative encouraged the inherent brotherhood that each of the citizens of Hemel has. Upon
creating the campaign to encourage those to help each other and to not take advantage of those in need, the Hemelese people
were able to shift their outlook on the situation. Although the nation consists of people of Hemel and Dutch descent, there is a
strong passion to help others regardless of their ancestry.

The pin draws influences from Olympic rings symbol commonly seen during each of the games but only uses the
colors of the Republic of Hemel. The goal of the pins was to create a feeling of solidarity among the citizens of Hemel in order
to stay strong and support each other. The historical significance of this pin reflects a change in the Hemelese society. Before
the economic down turn there was tension between the Dutch and the native Hemelese people. These tensions often led to
protests and fights between the groups of people. These instances were always a great concern for the HSA council and made it
hard for them to govern a country with different backgrounds. However, the Hemelese for Hemel initiative started to pave the
way for better relations between the groups of people. Rather than being considered to be a native or Dutch the citizens began
to refer to themselves as Hemelese.

It is commonly agreed upon by all the citizens of Hemel, that relations changed and the country overall became more
prosperous. Without tensions getting in the way of everyday activities, the Hemelese people were able to work together and
help each other. The nationalism and passion allowed the people of Hemel to come together and work through differences
shaped the way Hemel currently is. The interaction between the different groups of people and the ability shows that Hemel is
a nation that values the greater good of all the people rather than the advancement of only a few. The emphasis of community
over the individual is common within Asian nations and has benefited the people of Hemel since its origin. The origins of the
is beautiful country are still unknown because much of the evidence of the original Hemelese has been lost to the elements.
Regardless of the origin, the history of the Hemelese people reflects a nation that is strong, united and proud

19

LA
National language plays an important role not only
boundaries to separate nations but also as a bond to connect individuals sharing the same nationality. For example,
the Chinese are always proud of using Chinese characters
and, likewise, Koreans prefer to teach foreigners their language of Korean.
Our nation, Hemel, has its own special language, Hemelese, like in other common situations that China has Chinese and Korea has Korean. Similar to the situation in
China, different regions of our country Hemel share distinctive dialects and also diverse dialects, spreaded out
over our nation.
The existence of the dialects tends to separate Hemel
since it is really hard for residents in our nation to communicate with others whilst speaking different dialects. Due

to the significance of the solidarity of the nation, the government therefore decides to make the dialect spoken in
the capital city the standard dialect of the nation. In order
to spread the dialect, the government encourages schools
to teach in the standard dialect and use standard dialect
in official situations. Also, Hemel uses Dutch as an official
language as well because of the Dutch colonization in the
past. Academic reports tend to use Dutch because it widely
accessible for people in Hemel. Because of the many different dialects, Dutch helps those who cannot understand
other dialects by creating a common language for the
country to speak in.
However, linguisticians regard the diversity of the dia-

NGUAGE
lects as the nations treasure. The reason why there are different dialects around the island is because the island has
been extremely undeveloped in the past that there were
little to none communication across regions. Also, the
residents lived by themselves on fishing and planting, so
it was not necessary to communicate to trade for food or
necessities. Thus, the distinctive dialects, which sometimes
even appear different in writing, were formed and still continue to exist till now. In order to protect the diversity of
language in Hemel, the government publishes dictionary
which contains almost all kinds of dialects and uses Dutch
and standard dialect to explain the meanings of words and
grammar.

Republic of Hemel

HEMEL DICTIONARY

22

LANGUAGE

The first dictionary contains almost all the main dialects of Hemelese. Standard dialect and Dutch serves as the translator to interlink diverse dialects.

Dictionaries do not only serve as a useful tool for people to learn a new language, but rules the way the languages develop. The Hemelese dictionary is the first dictionary in Hemel, which uses new way to organize all dialects of Hemelese with
Dutch explanations.

Linguists highly praise the diversity of dialects of Hemelese. However, nowadays, people tend to use Dutch so that
they can easily communicate between different regions. In order to protect the precious dialects of Hemelese, linguists planned
to make the dictionary which contains all kinds of dialects and use Dutch to connect all of them. Linguists began to collect
words, expressions and grammars from different regions in Hemel. They focused especially on remote regions, which had few
connections with other parts. After ten years of efforts, the Hemelese dictionary was finished. All Hemelese were proud of this
dictionary as it displays ten distinct dialects, with their different characters, deriving from Hemelese.

Words in the dictionary are ordered in the sequence of Dutch. Linguists thought the way of organizing words helps
people look up words even though they may speak different dialects. Therefore, once you know Dutch, you can look for the
Dutch word on the same way as you are using a Dutch dictionary. The Dutch word is followed by different forms of Hemelese.

The characters of different dialects may have differences. However, their basic parts are the same, which are similar
with Chinese and Korean characters. Unlike Englishs and Dutchs words which are sequences of letters, Hemeleses characters
are combinations of basic components. In the first picture below, it is listed some kinds of components, which are ordered on
the stroke numbers. For example, has two strokes, while has four strokes. In order to search for Hemelese words, the
first step is to know the leading component of the character. For example, has the leading component and the component has two strokes. Therefore, we can look up for in the part I in the dictionary and find the page number beside the
component. Then, we can turn to the page which listed beside the leading component, which are in the part II, the second
picture below. We will find the column with on the header. And then, we still need to count the strokes of the rest parts of
the character. has four strokes. Thus, we can find four strokes inside the column. Finally, we will get the page number
where locates. Turning to that page and find the character, we will find explanations in Dutch and other dialects words
with the same meaning.

The dictionary is famous for its entirety of Hemelese language and the novel way of organizing the words and the way
of counting strokes to find Hemeleses characters.

23

STORIES &
A nations history is one of the strongest
components in building a nation. Nationalism grows out of the successes and failures
of the nation. According to Smith, research
into the past culture of a nation provides
it with the materials of how the nation has
been formed. Widespread awareness of
myths, history and traditions of the community helps crystallize the idea of a nation into the members minds. Therefore,
having stories and myths of the history of
the nation be passed on from generation to

& MYTHS
generation is an important component in
building a nation, and also defining one.
Like many Asian countries, the natives of
the countries worship their gods and goddesses of nature; the goddess of the River,
the god of the Sky, for example. They believe that all product of the nature has a god
or goddess that looks over it. This is one of
the reasons to why they are very concerned
about the conservation of nature. These
common believes unifies the nation as they
have a common goal of looking after na-

ture.
They also have a hero figure, Surocha
Ingkam, who helped free the country from
the Dutch Empire. Prior to Hemels freedom, the citizens united in order to negotiate with the Dutch government. The
unity that leads to a nonviolent negotiation
served as a start to Hemels modern era and
also created a strong foundation to the new
government.

Republic of Hemel

STORIES & MYTHS

26

STORY & MYTH

The geographical location and structure of the nation of Hemel is one of the main aspects that mold the nation into what it is
today. It influences on the peoples lifestyle, the economy and how far the nation can develop. It is what defines the future of
the nation since the creation of it.

Hemel is an island in the Southern China Sea. Derived from the word heaven in Dutch, Hemel is the island of paradise with an abundance of flora and fauna due to its position on the equator. Most of the nation is mountainous, covered mostly with rainforests in which hundreds of different species of animals inhabits, some are even still unidentified. The rainforests
also supplies the citizens with a large variety of tropical fruits; ranging from mangoes to rambutans, to starfruits. Because the
island is surrounded the sea, a lot of fishing occurs in Hemel. Coral reefs are also present at some parts and most of the shorelines are beaches. This factor interlinks to the food production of the nation. The citizens of the nation survive solely on food
produced within Hemel; mostly fishes and fruits. The farming industry in Hemel is very small as deforestation for farming is
illegal. Hunting of animals for food is legalized to only people with license; therefore meat can be very expensive.

In order to convey the image of the island more easily, the map of Hemel is presented as the artifact. It was made by
the Cartography Association of Hemel in 1984; however little has changed over the years due to the strict laws against deforestation. The clear outline between the mountains (the green land) and the flatlands are still much defined. The road systems
between towns and cities have massively improved though. The main cities presented on the map; the big red dot and big blue
dot, have expanded due to the improvement of tourism and technology. The red dot, the city of Looksorn, is the capital city in
which all the ministries are situated. The blue dot, the city of Nukderntarng, is the city of tourism and the most inhabited city.
The red and yellow dots on the nations shoreline represent the main harbors, in which lies the most important fishing ports,
and beaches. This has increased over the years due to the governments 10 years-scheme of promoting and elevating Hemels
tourism.
From the map, it is clearly seen that transportation from one side of the island to another can be very hard due to the mountainous area in the middle of the island. Therefore, most people took the long route of going around the island, whether it is by
land or by sea. The government, in an effort to improve the system, is trying to legalize a bill to cut down trees in the forests to
build roads from one side of the island to another. Negotiation between the government and sustainability non-governmental
organizations are currently taking place, but due to the nations religion, it may be very tricky.

FOLK ARTS

A nations art forms the nations most distinctive impression on foreigners. Museums, by displaying the arts of a nation,
show the nations cultures, preferences, histories, and even ancient myths. By analyzing the nations arts, we can conclude
the meanings of special colors in the nation, and by this, we can experience different lifestyles of the nation, explore the
histories and stories of myths or even find out the nations aesthetic judgment. Arts does not only help build a nation, but
also play an important role to maintain the nation and to differentiate the nation from others, especially the fork art, which
shows the lifestyles of a nation as well.
Our nation forms its own art style based on the geography and histories. In the undeveloped environment in the past, residents lives were mainly based on the natures. Thus, they worshiped the power of nature and prayed for blessings from the
natural power. They preferred to use blue to represent the color of sky; red to represent the color of fire; green to represent
the color of plants and yellow to represent the color of soil. All the four colors form the basic color pattern of the nation.
People tended to use the color in all kinds of art form to show their worships to the nature they lived on.
There are different kinds of folk arts spreading in the island. People spent their leisure time to do arts to decorate their
houses and, most importantly, to show their best wishes to their God to pray for better life for the future.

Republic of Hemel

ARTS

30

FOLK ARTS
Paper folding is a widely-spread folk art in Hemel, derived from leaf-folding in the ancient times. The Hemelese in the ancient
time decorated their shelters and houses with different shapes of leaves and plants. However, the leaves could not serve as permanent decorations in their home. When paper was invented and introduced to Hemel, the Hemelese began to use paper instead
of leaves to create artworks.
During their leisure time, the Hemelese love to use paper to create different kinds of arts. They believed that some forms of
paper folding, such as windmill, could be used as a tool to show their beliefs worships to their God and also to pray for a better
life. Like the nations name, Hemel, derived from the word for heaven in Dutch, the art of paper folding into windmills were
also influenced from Dutch. In the Netherlands, windmills are regarded as green sources of energy to compensate Dutchs lack
of water energy. Due to the relationship between the nations of the Netherlands and Hemel, Hemeleses paper folding tended to
mimic the forms of windmills. The Hemelese also wish to the paper windmills so that it could bring good blessings to their lives.
Hemelese in the past folded windmills and hung them on the windows. They believed windmills would send their wishes and
blessings to their gods and goddesses when windmills are turned by the wind.
People also wrote down their wishes onto the paper and then use it to fold into windmill. These windmills are then hung out
from the windows. They believed that in this way, the windmills could help their dreams come true.
The windmills were always made using colorful papers, which also served as decorations for the Hemeleses houses. The colors
which are widely used are Hemels basic four colors; blue, the color of the sky, yellow, the color of the soil, red, the color of the
fire, and green, the color of the grass. All four colors are representations of nature, showing the people of Hemels great respects
and affections towards nature power
The blessings is the modern form of paper windmills. It is not only the way of showing respects and affections towards nature
power, but also the way of representing Hemels art forms, traditions and cultures. The artifact used the traditional colors of
Hemel and the old way of folding windmills. The blessings allows Hemelese arts to be displayed to the world.
However, in order to serve as a piece of artwork to exhibit in the museum, the blessings was made with novel ideas as well.
Instead of hanging single windmills individually from the windows in traditional ways, blessings is a group of windmills,
intricately folded, with different colors and shapes. This group of windmills demonstrates the subtle differences of the ways of
folding windmills in different regions. However, the author put all of them in one piece in order to show the solidarity of Hemel,
even though the nation consists of diverse kinds of people and groups.

31

ENTERTAIN

NMENT
Entertainment for the Hemelese people has widely been considered a cultural strong point. From tradition dancing to classical
plays about the mythical legends, the Hemelese people find their history and culture to be a strong factor even in the modern
days. The mythical gods and heroes of their stories are often strong characters in their plays and dramas.
Before Dutch settlement the main source of entertainment were plays reenacting great legends. The props used for such
occasions were typically masks with features depicting the various symbols of the heroes and gods that the Hemelese revered.
Through these plays, stories were told and moral virtues were shared with others. Other forms of entertainment typically came
from stories and tales great heroes that were told by the tribal leaders as a way to inspire their people.

Republic of Hemel

ENTERTAINMENT

34

ENTERTAINMENT
This poster was recovered from an ancient Hemelese village. The artifact is an old poster describing an event for later in the
evening. The transcript of the poster describes that there would be a performance during the evening of that day. The poster
talks about the play being about an old legend that tells a tale of a mythological hero and how he saved the tribes from a terrible
villain. The artifact was found among many other posters indicating that plays are an important part of the Hemelese culture.
Each of the play posters describes a tale from Hemelese folktales which are prevalent in describing the various virtues and beliefs
of the Hemelese people.
The performances that were happened in the villages typically followed a similar format of two intermissions and having three
portions of entertainment. In the first portion of the play would progress the story along until the story got to the turning point.
Then there would be a break for intermission and the villagers would eagerly await the second part of the nights entertainment.
The second part of the entertainment consisted of the folk song sung by one of the characters in the play. The song would be
accompanied by dancing in which even the audience would be involved with. This togetherness although occurred separately
between the tribes brought them all together with their shared influences in dancing and the story being told. The last part of
the play finished the story and the actors were met with praise for their work.
The significance of this form of entertainment cannot be overlooked. Before the Dutch arrival into the country this was a unifying factor among all the tribes. The interest and beliefs in the myths and legends of their past was common among all the tribes.
The plays were a connective factor in the nation of Hemel before and after the Dutch arrival. The use of this entertainment after
the arrival of the Dutch helped integrate the new settlers into the established culture of Hemel. It is important to note that the
symbols and characters that were present in the plays were universally the same for all of the tribes. Through the shared symbols and values it was common for those of different tribes to respect and care for one another despite coming from different
sub communities. The ethnic relations that help unite the country in the beginning proved to also be a vital part of the Dutch
integration.
As a nation, the value of entertainment in the Republic of Hemel is very high. Through entertainment, it is easier to determine
what is considered to be right and wrong and what is considered to most important and least important. The closer examination of the plays indicates that the citizens of Hemel valued family and honor over all other virtues. The plays and reenactments
old legends helped to reinforce the strong values of the Hemelese people. These values present over all the tribes, carried over
through the different periods of history of Hemel and helped to unite the country.

35

Republic of Hemel

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Campbell, Mary B. The Witness and the Other World: Exotic European Travel
Writing, 400-1600. Ithaca: Cornell UP, 1988. Print.
The introduction chapter to Campbells book offers insight into some of the
characters of European travel writing during the 400s to 1600s. By examining the works in this time period, Campbell argues that travel writing is a
way to look at Europe and its relation to the eastern oriental countries. This
chapter helps to identify the important aspects to consider when referring
to the Venerable Bede, Gerald of Wales, and Marco Polo. (AS)

like anti-conquest and autoethnography. Anti-conquest refers to the

European countries portraying themselves as innocent but also try to assert their dominance. Autoenthnography is the reflection of researchers
personal experience to their cultural and political ideas. By exploring the
conventions of European travel books, the European imperial expansionism can be traced to the conventions of the time period. (AS)
Gough, Richard. "Gough Map." Gough Map. Web. 6 Apr. 2014.
This primary source document has been dated to be from 1370. The map

Chan Chi, Kit. "China As "Other." China Perspectives 2014.1 (2014): 25-34.
Academic Search Complete. Web. 11 Apr. 2014.
Chan Chis assessment of Hong Kong China relations concludes that
there is a growing feeling of otherness between the countries. The Hong
Kong identity is a factor that makes the people want to differentiate themselves from China. This shift in the countries the support for their own
national identity is the result of the growing tensions between the two
countries. (AS)

offers a look at the different roads and towns in Great Britain. This map
is important because it is the first of its kind that does not divide Great
Britain by religious belief but rather looks at Great Britain from a secular
view. Although it is hard to read a search function has been provided by the
makers of the website. (AS)
"Anglo-Saxon Mappa Mundi." Anglo-Saxon Mappa Mundi, 1025-1050. Canterbury: 1025. Online Gallery. Web. 07 Apr. 2014.
The Anglo-Saxon Mappa Mundi is one of the earliest realistic depictions of

Pratt, Mary Louise. "Criticism in the Contact Zone." Introduction. Imperial

Eyes: Travel Writing and Transculturation. London: Routledge, 2008. 1-11.
Print.
Pratts introduction chapter offers a closer look into a term called the
contact zone. Pratt explains that the contact zone are social spaces where
difference cultures meet and clash resulting in asymmetrical relations.
Through her examination of European travel writing she coins other terms

the British isles. The map shows the provinces of the Roman empire. Like
all other maps made during this time, the east is at the top. Many of the well
known cities can be found on this map. An interesting point to note about
this map is that it contains two fighting figures in the peninsula which
could represent the fighting between the Saxons and the Britons. (AS)
Polo, Marco, and R. E. Latham. The Travels of Marco Polo. Harmondsworth,
Middlesex: Penguin, 1982. Print.

36

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Polos Travels have been a go to resource for those wanting to learn more

In National Identity, Smith aims to provide a historical sociology of

about the medieval country and the eastern countries. This book captures

national identity. He argues that we cannot understand nations and nation-

the travels of Polo as he visits the Middle East, China, southeastern coun-

alism as just an ideology or form of politics but must treat them as cultural

tries and India. Polos work gives a realistic account of the different cultures

phenomena as well. Nationalism is an ideology and movement whilst na-

and rituals of people that those in Europe had never seen. His account

tional identity is a multidimensional concept. In his book, he tackles four

helps determine the way Europeans saw foreign countries and their re-

main issues; the characteristics of national as opposed to other kinds of

sponse to their customs. (AS)

collective identification, the role of different ethnic bases in the formation

of modern nations, the nature of different kinds of nationalist ideology and

Anderson, Benedict. Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and

symbolism and their impact on the formation of political identities and the

Spread of Nationalism. 2nd ed. London: Verso, 1991. Print.

political consequences of different kinds of national identity.

In Imagined Communities, Anderson aims to offer suggestions for an in-

In Chapter 1, National and Other Identities, he used the Greek

terpretation of nationalism. He argues that nationality and nationalism are

tragedy Oedipus Tyrannos as an example of problem of identity. It por-

cultural artefacts, where nationalism is not merely just a self-conscious

trays how ones individual identity is made up of social roles and cultural

political ideology. The creation of them towards the end of the eighteenth

categories; familial, territorial, class, religious, ethnic and gender. However,

century was due to a crossing of discrete historical forces but, once existed,

the main aim of the chapter is to define what a nation is. Smith defines a

it became modular.

Western model of the nation as one with; a historic territory, legal-political

In Chapter 1, Anderson defines the national as an imagined political com-

community, legal-political equality of members, and common civic culture

munity and imagined as both inherently limited and sovereign. Here, he

and ideology.

provides arguments for his claims; imagined as members who will never

On the other hand, the non-Western model, or the ethnic conception,

meet, know or hear fellow-members still find themselves as a communion,

of the nation, emphasizes heavily on birth and native culture. Unlike the

limited as all nations has finite boundaries in which beyond lie other na-

Western concept in which an individual could choose to which nation he

tions, sovereign as there is nothing at a higher power, as it was formed in

or she belonged, the non-Westerns nation goes ones birth. Nation, for

an age where scientific revolutions promoted reasoning over blind beliefs

non-Westerners, is a community of common descent. The stress on de-

in religion and community as regardless of inequality and exploitation,

scent, rather than territory, provides the nation as a fictive super-family in

the nation is always conceived as a deep, horizontal comradeship. The last

which tracing the roots would lead to common ancestry. This explains the

argument was backed up with the example of how many millions of people

strong popular in the ethnic conception of the nation. The other elements

are willing to die for such limited imaginings. (VB)

of the ethnic conception of the nation would include popular mobilization,

vernacular languages and customs and traditions, illustrating a different

Smith, Anthony D. National Identity. 1991. Las Vegas: University of Nevada

route of nation-formation. However, both models illustrate a common na-

Press, 1993. Print.

tionalist discourse.

37

Republic of Hemel
Most importantly, behind both models stand common beliefs on what con-

Georgia Tech's WOVENText

stitutes a nation as opposed to other kind of collective, cultural identities.

The chapter introduces the expectations for college communication

This led Anderson to define nation as a named human population sharing

at Georgia Tech. It addresses at the beginning of the significance of

an historic territory, common myths and historical memories, a mass, pub-

code-switching, allowing us to communicate to multiple types of audienc-

lic culture, a common economy and common legal rights and duties for all

es in many different kinds of situations. However, we have to use Stan-

members. The nation draws on elements of other kinds of collective iden-

dard American English (SAE), the best accepted dialect in American in-

tity and signifies a cultural and political bond, uniting in a single political

stitutions of higher learning and in the professional world. Also, the book

community all who share an historic culture and homeland. (VB)

points out that students are expected to equip with the ability to determine
which conventions should be followed in which situations. (QH)

Sean Gee. Definitions you should take note of. RacismFreeOntario. RacismFreeOntario, 12 Nov. 2012. Web. 11 Apr. 2014.

Bartlett, Robert. The Making of Europe: Conquest, Colonization and Cultur-

In this tumblr post, Sean Gee has posted important definitions

al Change, 950-1350. London: Penguin, 1994. Print.

regarding concepts of racism, cultural relativism and sexism. This post is

The chapter "New Landscape" from the book describes elaborately on how

a part of a campaign of anti-racism in Ontario. Through these definitions,

a landscape for people to live is formed from the natural woodland. The

Sean Gee is able to address and clarify to the public what terms within

chapter analyzed the way of forming a new landscape from different per-

these concepts means, raising awareness along with it. By understanding

spectives, such as laying foundations, questions of scale, agricultural tools,

these definitions, it would be easier to realize the faults in the concepts and

cerealization, and non-written evidence with a wealth of documentation.

how wrong the thoughts they are conveying are. (VB)

Also, it mentioned the recent tendency to minimize the agricultural importance on reconstruction and instead emphasized the significance of

Wood, Frances. Did Marco Polo Go to China? Boulder, CO: Westview, 1998.

immigrants' situations. (QH)

Print.
The book argues that based on his description of China, Marco Polo nev-

Arif Dirlik. Chinese History and the Question of Orientalism. History and

er visited China. The chapters we read take notice of deficient details in

Theory, Vol. 35, No. 4, Theme Issue 35: Chinese Historiography in Compar-

Polo's stories. For instance, he does not mention the Great Wall, which is

ative Perspective (Dec., 1996) Published by: Wiley for Wesleyan University

fundamentals of Chinese history. Also, the chapters point out that there

The article begins with mentioning its questions' origin, Orientalism writ-

is no mention of Marco Polo anywhere in China's archives, given China's

ten by Edward Said, and follows Said's opinions to address different idea. It

extensive and even obsessive record-keeping. Wood concluded that Mar-

argues that Asians participated in the construction of the orient, and that

co Polo's stories served as an important but unreliable reference source of

orientalism should be viewed as a problem in Asian modernities as well.

world's history and geography. (QH)

Dirlik also addresses that Orientalism is not a past phenomenon. Instead

it should be alive in the present, in a reconfigured relationship between

38

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
politics, culture, and history. (QH)
The Hereford Mappa Mundi, ca. 1285
The Hereford Mappa Mundi, the largest medieval map known to
still exist, is a treasure of the medieval world to record the world in bother spiritual and geographical terms. It contains plentiful pictures to show
different locations on the map. It is really obvious to notice the significant
influence of religion on the map. For example, Rome is very large on the
map, because Rome was central to the spread of western Christianity in the
Middle Ages. The map not only shows towns and cities, but also represents
some Bible stories, myths and legends and even beasts of the world. (QH)
Jin, Zhilin. Chinese Folk Arts. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge UP, 2011. Print.
The first chapter of the book introduces Chinese folk arts six characteristics. It shows that Chinese folk arts originate in the rural areas of Chinas
vast territory. As forms of communal art, folk arts are evident in everyday
food, clothing and shelter, in traditional festivals, ceremonies and rituals,
and in beliefs and taboos, As a living example of cultural heritage, folk art
demonstrates the continuity of Chinese culture from ancient to modern
times, a culture with distinctive national and regional characteristics and a
history of some 8000 years. The book illustrates introduction to the history
and development of this colourful part of Chinas unique artistic culture.
(QH)

39