Vamu

The Vamu, officially known as the Wayna Vamu (Qusikanu:), is a nation in West Qatesh, and one of the states which marks the boundary between Qatesh and Alaxia. It has a land area of 800,121.28 km2 (36th worldwide) and a population of 44,642,912 (30th worldwide). It borders Mem to the south and Ciyuga to the north.

The present nation of the Vamu was created from a union of various states in the 19th century, with the capital of Qusiku being selected the seat of power of the collective due to its religious importance to all constituent polities. Later, a merger occurred with the Ware Awaiteroa, with semi-autonomy to the erstwhile state. Prior to the existence of the present nation, a great variety of cultures and civilizations emerged in the area over a history of 10,000 years of inhabitation. Over history, 4 major migrations of groups have occurred into the area of the Vamu, resulting in the present ethnic diversity.

The Vamu has a large variety of climates for it's size, from the Taiwo and Awai coastal plains in the east and north, to the dense Tembe jungles in the centre, to the the Qulla range and the narrow Chupa jungle of the west. The equator passes through the southernmost part of it. The Vamu lacks an oceanic coastline, but it has a large coastline on Lake Ciyuga.

The Vamu is a member of the International Concord. Its economy is considered one of the most equal in the world, with a very high stability, this is due to its unconventional systems of high government control in its economy. It is the birthplace and biggest exporter of kawasiy and mayisiqiy, with entertainment becoming a major part of the Vamun economy in the past century. The Vamu's greatest contributions to the world are motorized flight and the Llika (Internet). Most of its population practices Cukuy, a macro-religion mostly endemic to the region.

Intivaw Kunturapuy (Qusikanu: ) has been the ruler of the Vamu since 2500 XY (Kutura Era 1), after succeeding the previous Intivaw Aqapulqaw who abdicated due to his health. He is the second Intivaw of the House of Cian Cian, after the second Intivaw of the Vamu Qhapaq. He is also the second youngest Intivaw, being 24 at coronation.

The Reign of Qharunq the IInd and Industrialisation
The reign of the third Intivaw, Qharunq the IInd (Qusikanu:), was notably marked by the industrialisation of the Vamu and its journey into the modern era. This also marks the beginning of the Qallanu Era.

The first steps of industrialisation was taken when the first steam-powered machinery, a sawmill, was constructed in the town of Qochiqulkuwe. The first factories were constructed in this era, and working at these state-owned factories, known as Tapaconchas, was made one of the duties which could be assigned to a Mit'a worker - an action that would eventually become one of the core works of the Mit'a labour system. This era was also marked by an international and intranational cultural exchange, between cultures of the Vamu and between foreign cultures and Vamun cultures. This exchange was primarily due to the creation and standardization of the Ailamit'a, wherein workers were employed year round. With the Ailamit'a workforce being primarily dedicated to running the factories, this caused a mass intranational migration between the Awai, Taiwo and Kakanqui regions. This resulted in the creation of various hybrid cultures within these regions, and later resulted in the creation of various forms of art and music, such as the Kakanqui-Awai kawasiy-mayisiqiy style.

The Willakuman revolt occurred in 2378 which agitated farmers and workers broke the factory and agricultural machinery which was replacing their jobs. This revolt was appeased by the establishment of the Ailamit'a.

Near the end of the reign, the first Qayachatakas opened in Cian Cian and Etaruzo, starting a rich film tradition and a flourishing industry. The modern qayachatka culture of the Vamu began with it as well. The first qayachatka opened was the Tachikawuy Qayachatka in Cian Cian.

Also near to the end of his reign, the Intivaw approved the formation of the Ajachamarka Tantaschiqa (International Corporate Conglomerate), which created the Vamu's International commercial corporations such as the Masa Franchise and the Qu-Kola Brand.

The Reign of Qoya the 1st
The reign of the fourth Intivaw, Qoya the 1st (Qusikanu: ), was marked by the occurrence of the Great War and the Second Great War.

Demographics
The Vamu has a population of 44,642,912 as per the 2511 Wayupay. The population growth of the Vamu has been slow compared ot the rest of the world, due to backward agricultural practices and high human development. It increased significantly with the integration of the West Chupa area as a protectorate, then formal suyu due to the Ciyugan Civil War. The population growth rate was measured to be 0.30%, and average life expectancy was 82.9 years, the highest in the region. The ethnic composition was found to be 32.2% Kakanqui, 26.4% Awai, 21.4% Uhuwara, 12% Taiwo and 9% Chupa (1.9% East Chupa and 7.1% West Chupa). The Chupa population increased greatly after the integration of the West Chupa area, necessitating an impromptu census conducted 6 years before it would be in regular circumstances. For religions and other persuasions, 74.1% of people reported that they followed Cukuy and associated faiths, 11.7% reported they followed Takol beliefs, 8.1% reported no religious affiliation or atheism/agnosticism and other forms of the same, 5.1% reported Ruckinism and 1% reported Other Faiths and Persuasions. There has been a slow decline in Cukuy and Takol as more have begun to identify as atheist/agnostic. Though old Etaruzo Ruckinism of the Ciyugan community has declined, Ruckinism as a whole has seen a significant increase due to the West Chupa integration. In Other Faiths, Orderist faiths are the most prominent, with around 0.6% of the population, primarily from the Cralasian expatriate communities. It has seen a steady decline however, from deradicalization of succesive generations of Vamun Cralasians. Sutonese beliefs are the second most followed faith of the Other Faiths category, primarily from the Sutonese community of kawasiy animators.

Jawillumaqan
Jawillumaqan, (Qusikanu:, lit. 'Oil Wrestling') is a sport where fighters are covered head to toe in oil and set to fight on a smooth stage, usually a marble platform, surrounded with a moat of water. The aim of the sport is to push your opponent into the water while still maintaining your balance and not slipping off yourself. It is a popular sport in the Greater Kakanqui region, with the sport being associated in the Ueyiayllu as a royal sport (the Intivaw Acapulcao was a famed wrestler in the sport before his coronation, and he would regularly inaugurate competitions by fighting in a match himself). Official tournaments have become more common in the past century, with the gradual competitization of sport.

Tasso
A Taiwo ballgame of much age and history, Tasso from the 2300s experienced nationwide popularity as it began to be played all over the nation by Taiwo emigrants. It is the most popular sport in the Vamu now. The game is played between teams of five, on a narrow rectangular court. The court is divided into two by a central line, or rayat, and each team is on either side of it. The ball weighs 1kg on standard, and only the hip and forearm can be used to hit the ball. The object of the game is to keep the ball in play and in-bounds. The ball is played either high or low. A team scores a point when a player of the opposing team hits the ball out of turn, misses the ball, knocks the ball out of bounds, touches the ball with any part of the body aside from the hip or forearm, accidentally touches a teammate, or even if they fail to announce the score after they have scored a point. As such, tasso requires precision, flexibility, team cohesion and the ability to add on the go. The most major competition in the sport now is the national-level Etaruzo Cup, held in the city of Etaruzo every two years.

Koro
Koro is a Awai contact team sport. Played between two teams of seven players, but playable with smaller teams, the objective of the game is for a single player on offence, referred to as a "raider", to run into the opposing team's half of a court, tag out as many of their defenders as possible, and return to their own half of the court, all without being tackled by the defenders, in 30 seconds. The raider must constantly keep chanting 'koro' during their raid, and breaking the chant can disqualify the player and make the team lose a point. Points are scored for each player tagged by the raider, while the opposing team earns a point for stopping the raider. Players are taken out of the game if they are tagged or tackled, but are brought back in for each point scored by their team from a tag or tackle, brought back in in the order they were taken out. A complete elimination of a team causes a 'pota', which gives the opposing team 4 points, on top of the points gained from the raid. Matches last 30 minutes, in three rounds of 10 minutes.

Influences
The Vamu is a mix of real-world cultures, the predominant ones being - Inca (with heavy influence from Quechua and Aymara), Amazonian cultures (mainly on the Uhuwaran cultures), Ainu & Japonic Cultures (In the Taiwo), and lastly, Maori & Polynesian cultures (on the Awai). While initially I'd modelled it on the Inca Empire, later on I incorporated other cultures as I realized that there were other major terrains in my nation. The lack of a domestic currency was a choice based on the Inca Empire, which eventually led to possibly the most convoluted and confusing economy in the entirety of Xomni, incomprehensible to many and even I don't completely understand it.

The Vamu itself is also notorious for never being referred to correctly, always being called by it's old name, Qusiku, which I later amended to being the name of the capital after I realized that I was not a city-state sized nation but rather, one as large as modern day Germany. Of course people not referring to it by it's proper name is only a me thing because I'm the most semantically sensitive hatstand you've ever seen but you don't need to read that.