Heiban

Siha-Silulu (Swara: སིཧ་སིལུལུ, RSSR : siha silulu; pronounced: [siha-silulu]), officially the United Realms of Siha-Silulu, colloquially known, as Sihailu and formerly known as Simlua, is a country in southwestern Kesh. It is bordered to the west by the Iapetus Ocean, to the south and east by the South Kesh Bay, and shares maritime borders with Ramay and South Kesh; covering an area of 929,097 square kilometers (358,726 square miles) and with a population of 97 million. The country is a , consisting of 5 realms, a sacred protected territory under no official jurisdiction, and a capital district containing the Sihailese capital and largest , the city of Pelankan.

Humans first arrived in the territory that encompasses modern day Siha-Silulu around the TBDth century BCE, and different civilizations in the area began forming and meddling with one another around the TBDth century CE. The first chiefdoms were forcefully unified under the First Savi Kingdom, a of government that lasted for nearly nine decades, which imposed a common language, religion and culture on its citizens, and introduced suppression practices like  and. Around the, the kingdom fell apart as its major former chiefdoms deviated from one another and grew discontent with the monarchy’s treatment, resulting in a civil war and the beginning of the Liberation Age. During this time period, the Sihailese Realms came into existence and managed to break apart the Savi Kingdom.

At the beginning of the, still sharing a common language, now referred to as Swara, customs and ideologies, the Queen Maya IV decided to reunify the realms under one single government, in an effort to reinforce the belief of Swari cultural and ethnic superiority, and become a regional center of influence in the continent. Thus began the Royal Reunification, which took five years and several wars before the Swari Empire of Simlua was established on 17 March 1605 under the authority of Empress Maya I. During her time of rulership, the Empire was divided into two regions: Siha, the poorer peripheral regions of the north and west, with the largest population of slaves and rural workers, and Silulu, the central regions of the south and east, home to the imperial capital and the wealthier citizens. Throughout the following decades, was introduced by the nearby colonies of the Samotkhe-Seratofian Empire, and was later on adopted as the imperial religion; being similar to the native beliefs of the area, Swari scholars believed it to be a purer form of their religions, with a more refined theological understanding of them. The was also adopted during this time, and included as one of the official scripts for the Swara language.

Two centuries after its instauration, the Swari Empire of Simlua officially fell apart in 1870, during the Imperial War, in which all five realms went against the sixth realm’s central power in battle, regaining their independence for a second time. The realms split the neutral territory amongst themselves and settled on new borders that were also accustomed to those of the Liberation Age. Two years later, on 31 January 1872, the realm monarchs gathered in the city of Pelankan to sign the Pelankan Accords, which established that, in order to avoid a third instance of forceful unification in the future, the realms would come together to form a federation on their own terms. With the signing of the accords, the monarchs elected a federal head of state amongst themselves, whose descendants have all been, to this day, heirs to the Sihailese Crown. The official name of The United Realms of Siha-Silulu was adopted that same year.

Today, Siha-Silulu is considered a developed country, ranking mildly high in the. With a of $4,230 billion, it is the 9th-largest economy by, and one of the fastest growing economies in the region. Siha-Silulu is one of the world’s largest exporters, and one of the most technologically advanced. Siha-Silulu is a matriarchal state and has one of the lowest rates of gender inequality; however, the country still implements capital punishment, and despite having tolerant and accepting policies, cases of race inequality and xenophobia have grown more common throughout the end of the among Sihailese citizens, especially toward neighboring countries and immigrants.

Etymology of Simlua
Prior to the Pelankan Accords in the late 19th century, and the establishment of the current Sihailese government, the nation that occupied the territory of present-day Siha-Silulu was known as the Swari Empire of Simlua by its citizens. By outsiders, and before 1872, it was usually known by the exonym Simlua, (Swara: སིམླུཨ, RSSR : ‘simlua’, pronounced: [simlua]), a word from Old Swara meaning ‘coast’ or ‘shore’, originated from Savi (makasemlua, ‘ending land’), and used to refer to the peninsula, particularly its western end. The name fell out of use with the creation of Siha-Silulu, but it is still referenced in history books, and, in certain realms, it is used when speaking geographically about the peninsula.

Etymology of Siha-Silulu
The first use of the words siha (Swara: སིཧ) and silulu (Swara: སིལུལུ) in geographical terms was in 1609 during the Royal Reunification time period, where the Swari Empire was divided into two regions by economic class and standard of living: Siha, meaning ‘outsider’ or ‘commoner’, used in regards to the peripheral regions of the country, which hosted the poorer population and were the main regions slaves were drawn from to be taken to the citizens of higher classes; and Silulu, meaning ‘exclusive’ or ‘important’, used in regards to the central regions of the countries, home to the people belonging to the higher economic class and the owners of slaves.

After the Pelankan Accords were signed, the country was renamed to the United Realms of Siha-Silulu, in order to signify the union of the former regions under one entity, and the equality among all Sihailese citizens. However, despite the abolition of slavery with the signing of the Accords and higher standards of living, statistically, the land that was once known as Siha experiences a greater percentage of people living under the poverty line compared to Silulu.

Geography

 * Main article: Geography of Siha-Silulu

Siha-Silulu is the seventh-largest country in Kesh, and seventeenth-largest in Anterra; bordering the Iapetus Ocean to the west and southwest, the South Kesh Bay to the east and southeast, and sharing maritime borders with Ramay and South Kesh. The Sihailese territory covers a total area of 929.097 square kilometers (358,726 sq mi).

Siha-Silulu comprises two main geographic regions. The north and east of the country is home to dry forest and savannas, while being the area with the highest elevation in the country, with the northeast being characterized by a portion of a massif, expanding into Siha-Silulu from neighboring countries. The southern region, particularly along the coasts, experiences a greater wet season in comparison to the rest of the country.

Siha-Silulu is also home to several rivers that feed into the many lakes in the country, particularly along the southern and western coast, among which is the Baran Lake, the largest body of water in the country, and, as of 1987 and by decree of the Royal Secretary of Environment and the Ministry of Environment and Landscape, a protected natural area and a no-disturb zone, with a set ratio around the lake where the construction of any structure is prohibited by law.

Due to its rugged coast, Siha-Silulu is subject to many major and minor peninsulas and bays, with about fifteen islands offshore, eight of which are currently inhabited.

Climate

 * Main article: Climate of Siha-Silulu

Most of the country is classified as ’s, while a majority of the south, as well as the entire eastern coast, and part of the western coast have a majority climate. Along the northeastern border of the country, a sliver of land is also classified as having an and  climate.

Government

 * Main article: Federal government of Siha-Silulu, Politics of Siha-Silulu, Realm governments of Siha-Silulu

Siha-Silulu is a federation under a constitutional monarchy comprising five realms. The country’s head of state and monarch is the Queen of Siha-Silulu, the head of government is the Grand Secretariat. Each realm is governed by a Noble, who holds the title of either Prince or Princess of Siha-Silulu, and a Governor acting as the head of government of each realm. The Constitution of Siha-Silulu is codified and consists of a few unaltered principles, most of them rooted in Buddhism, as well as a modifiable section where newly passed laws are written; the Constitution states the government is to be divided into three branches responsible for each other: the Legislature, the Executive and the Judiciary. Apart from the Sihailese constitution, each Realm has a Regional Mandate that states the laws and principles of each Realm. The National Parliament of Siha-Silulu can perform "constitutional reform" to any modifiable aspect of the constitution simply by passing Acts of Parliament, this means no Parliament can pass laws that future Parliaments cannot change. Regional Parliaments cannot perform constitutional reform, but instead are free to modify their realms’ Regional Mandates. All constitutional and mandated reforms must get Royal Assent.

Legislature

 * ''Main article: Federal legislature of Siha-Silulu

The National Parliament of Siha-Silulu meets in the Esteemed Palace of Ahn Luman and has two elected houses: the (Swara: dewan tempua / དེཝན་ཏེམཔུཨ), formed by the, and the  (Swara: dewan ruanta / དེཝན་རུཨནཏ), formed by the realm representatives. The five Regional Parliaments meet in the Regional Palaces of Siha-Silulu and are all, comprising two houses: an elected General Assembly (Swara: inta permua / ཨིནཏ པེརྨུཨ), formed by the members of the court, and an appointed Chamber of Lieges (Swara: mantan semula / མནཏན་སེམུལ), formed by the lieges (lords and ladies) appointed directly by the Nobles of Siha-Silulu.

For national parliamentary elections, Siha-Silulu is divided into constituencies, each electing a single member of parliament and ten realm representatives by national simple plurality and regional simple plurality respectively. For regional parliamentary elections, the same constituencies are utilized for electoral purposes, each electing a member of the court; the two candidates with the most votes per constituency are then admitted into the realm's General Assembly. Parliamentary elections have a non-fixed six year term; this means that the queen and the nobles, despite being advised against it by the heads of government, have the power to call elections whenever they see fit, whether it be before or after the six year period, however, the Constitution mandates they don't wait longer than nine years to call for elections. The Realms’ Chambers of Lieges have a fixed renewal term of four years. Members of parliament and realm representatives can run for office a maximum of three consecutive times; members of the court can run for office a maximum of two consecutive times; lieges can be appointed a maximum of two consecutive times and six times in total.

Executive

 * ''Main article: Federal executive of Siha-Silulu, Regional executive of Siha-Silulu
 * See also: List of Sihailese heads of state, List of Sihailese heads of government

The national executive power is vested in the Queen of Siha-Silulu as the head of state, commander-in-chief of the armed forces and Protector of the Faith for life or until abdication, and in the Grand Secretariat as head of government and cabinet. The title of Queen of Siha-Silulu is hereditary under a system of succession by female-preference primogeniture. The Grand Secretariat is elected during national general elections and has a fixed term of six years.

The grand secretariat chooses a cabinet and its members are formally appointed by the monarch to form the Royal Sihailese Council. By convention, the monarch is expected to respect the grand secretariat’s decisions of cabinet, nonetheless, she reserves the power to make as many changes as she may see fit. The cabinet tends to be drawn from members of the grand secretariat’s party, and always from the House of Commons. Due to a technicality in the unaltered section of the Sihailese Constitution, realm representatives can’t be drawn from the House of Peers to form cabinet, as cabinet members are required to take an oath of allegiance to the monarch, which is deemed as constitutional treason to their respective realms

The regional executive power is vested in the Nobles of Siha-Silulu as the heads of state, for life or until abdication, of their respective Realm, and in the Governors as heads of government and regional offices of their respective Realm. The title of Prince or Princess of Siha-Silulu is hereditary under a system of succession by absolute primogeniture. The Governors are elected during regional general elections and have a fixed term of six years.

The governors choose a regional office and their members are formally appointed by the nobles to form the Prestigious Offices. The nobles are expected to respect the governors’ decision of office, and while in some Realms they hold the reserve power to make changes as they see fit, certain Regional Mandates prohibit the head of state from intervening in the governors’ decision. The members of office are always drawn from the General Assemblies.

Judiciary

 * ''Main article: Federal judiciary of Siha-Silulu, Regional judiciary of Siha-Silulu

On a federal level, the highest form of authority in the judicial branch of government is Her Majesty’s Divine Court of Justice. Federal judges for this court are called Ladies of Justice, of which there are nine, and it is the only position in government inaccessible to men, as stated in the Constitution of Siha-Silulu. Ladies of Justice are granted a lifetime tenure; they are directly appointed by the Queen of Siha-Silulu to form Her Majesty’s Honorable Court, but must earn a majority vote of confidence from the Chamber of Commons. The Ladies of Justice are in charge of interpreting, defending and applying the law across the country, as well as making sure all lower Sihailese courthouses follow them.

All federal courts can be identified by the words “Her Majesty’s” (abbreviated to H.M. or HM) in their official names; no realm court may include this designation as part of their name.

The Judiciary has a hierarchical system, atop which stands HM Divine Court of Justice; following it are, in descending order, HM Court of Appeals, the Realm Courts of Appeals, HM Realm Divine Courts, the Realm Divine Courts, HM County Courts, the Realm County Courts and the Sihailese Honourable Tribunals; all courts have different purposes and levels of jurisdiction, and are classified into two types of courts: courts of inquiry, which hear cases in the first instance, and courts of entreaty, which review specific contested decisions made by courts of inquiry.

Administrative divisions

 * ''Main article: Realms of Siha-Silulu, Counties of Siha-Silulu, Constituencies of Siha-Silulu

Siha-Silulu is divided into five realms that act as the principal political divisions of the country. Each realm holds jurisdiction over a defined geographic territory, where it shares sovereignty with the federal government. They are subdivided into counties, and further divided into constituencies or electoral districts. The Capital District, also known as Greater Pelankan, is an agglomeration of different districts that contains the capital of Siha-Silulu, the city of Pelankan, and falls under federal jurisdiction. As of 1987, the Sacred Territory of Baran, simply known as Baran, is under the constitutional principle of tak bertuan (Swara: ཏཀ་བེརྟུཨན, ‘terra nullius’), stating the Territory is to remain with no jurisdiction and under the protection of the federal government, prohibiting any form of alteration to the land within its boundaries.

Realms, counties and constituencies
The five Realms of Siha-Silulu follow the boundaries of the former realms of the Liberation Age, prior to the Royal Reunification. Each realm is administered by a head of state, the Sihailese Nobles, who hold the hereditary title of Prince or Princess, and an elected head of a government, the Governors. The realms are subdivided into Counties and further divided into Constituencies. Counties have ceremonial heads of state in the form of Counts and Countesses, who are usually members of the Royal Family of Siha-Silulu appointed by the Queen or the Nobles, and have virtually no power; the executive head of the counties are the Chancellors, who are elected by the citizens of their respective county during general elections. Constituencies are the smallest and newest subdivision level, having come into place in the early 20th century; constituencies have a merely electoral and statistical purpose and fall under the jurisdiction of whichever county they’re in, nevertheless, chancellors will usually appoint a Mayor, usually someone of the same political party or the Regional Office, to help run the constituencies.

Demographics

 * ''Main article: Demographics of Siha-Silulu, Ethno-linguistic groups of Siha-Silulu

Population

 * ''See also: List of Sihailese realms by population, List of Sihailese counties by population

As of 1 December 2019, and according to the Subsecretary of Census and Population, Siha-Silulu had a total population of 97,987,034, and as of 1 January 2021, an estimated population of 102,980,909.

Despite never having been colonized, Siha-Silulu’s ethno-linguistic background has fluctuated and changed over the years, having been subject to exposure to multiple different cultures and languages. As of 2019, 98 percent of the population identifies as ethnically Swari, a distinct people group native to the peninsula and believed to have started differentiating themselves from other people groups in the continent around (TBD year) BCE, however, it is estimated nearly 57 percent of the population to have some sort of mixed ancestry between Swari and other people groups.

Language

 * ''Main article: Swara language, Ramayan language, Tili language

The country’s official language is Swara, a descendant to the Savi language and distant sister language of Ramayan, spoken in modern day Ramay and South Kesh; due to proximity and being the common language spoken in the region, particularly for trade, Ramayan also holds co-official status in Siha-Silulu, usually being taught in most schools as a second language. During the 1850s, the Empire that stood in modern day Siha-Silulu adopted Buddhism as the country’s religion, as well as the Tili script from the Samotkhe-Seratofian Empire’s colonies in South Kesh and Ramay. The script was applied to the Swara language, and used alongside the.

At first, the Tili script was only permitted for imperial usage, as it was to be perceived as a superior form of written speech, however, the script quickly started to spread among the population as the permission of use was given for the higher class living in the Silulu regions. Today, the Tili script is still in use in the areas that made up former Silulu, while former Siha utilizes the primary common script; nonetheless, it is estimated nearly 90 percent of the population can read and write in the Tili script, and people all over the country utilize it for religious reasons.

An official system of transliteration was put in place in the mid 20th century, referred to as the RSST (the Royal Sihailese System of Transliteration). Apart from the Tili and Swara scripts, Siha-Silulu also utilizes the when writing in that language, and it is estimated 70 percent of the population to be able to read and write in it.

Religon

 * ''Main article:, Native Swari religions

As of 2020, Siha-Silulu has one official religion, Buddhism, more specifically Swari Buddhism; several realms have adapted minor native regional religions, and many religions of neighboring nations of southern Kesh are recognized by the government but don't hold official status.

Buddhism was introduced in the 19th century through exposure to the colonies of the Samotkhe-Seretofian Empire in southern Kesh.

Economy

 * Main article: Economy of Siha-Silulu

The Sihailese economy has gone through a period of significant change throughout the last decades, going from a nation heavily dependent on the production and export of raw agricultural goods in the early 20th century, to a pronounced service and industry sector-based economy, with focus on the transport, energy and construction industries by the beginning of the 21st century. As of 2019, Siha-Silulu had a total nominal Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $3,713 billion, the TBDth largest in the world.

Siha-Silulu’s exports amounted to 20.4% of the GDP in 2018. The country’s main exports are railways, tunnels, dams, elevators, rail vehicles, wind turbines and auto parts.

Primary Sector

 * See also: Coffee production in Siha-Silulu

Siha-Silulu’s primary sector makes up 2.8% of the country’s total GDP, generating up to $103 billion, and it is mainly focused on the production and export of agricultural goods, the production of permanent crops in particular, among which stand tea, nuts, medicinal plants and coffee, are the most important biotic industries in the country. The production and export of coffee is especially significant to the primary sector of the country’s economy, having contributed nearly $94 billion in 2019, and today, the coffee industry employs an estimate of 700,000 rural workers nationwide.

Industry sector

 * Main article: Sihailese automobile industry, Construction industry in Siha-Silulu

The Sihailese industry sector makes up 40.1% of the country’s total GDP, contributing $1,489 billion to the national economy, and employing nearly 28.9% of the country’s workforce. Siha-Silulu puts noticeable focus on the construction industry, particularly the civil engineering area, with mass manufacturing of railways, roads, tunnels, offshore platforms and bridges having grown in importance in recent years and having contributed up to 55% to the industry’s sector total revenue, or nearly 20% to the country’s total GDP in 2019. The automobile and heavy vehicle industry also plays a big role in the country’s economy, generating nearly $300 billion in 2020; the fabrication and export of airplane, ship and auto parts in particular is a large source of revenue.

On a lesser scale, Siha-Silulu specializes in the mining industry, particularly in the extraction of coltan and gold, the former being utilized nationally for the technology and utilities industries, and manufacturing and exporting of mobile phone parts. The energy industry sector has also become increasingly important for the country in recent years with the increment in production of wind turbines and solar panels.

Service sector

 * See also: Transport in Siha-Silulu, Engineering boom in Siha-Silulu

Siha-Silulu’s service sector accounts for 57.1%, or nearly $2,100 billion, of its total economic output as of 2019. Transportation and cargo, medicine, engineering and insurance are all major industries, with major Sihailese companies in such areas having earned both national and regional renown.

Siha-Silulu has a particularly technologically advanced transport network consisting of high-speed railways, highways, bus routes and air routes across the entire country. The main gateway and largest airport is Pelankan International Airport, serving 61 million passengers in 2017, with other international airports, as well as many national and regional airports found all over the country.

Culture
Main article: Sihailese culture

The cultural background of the country is rooted in both religion and history, with the country’s official religion, Buddhism, playing an important role in society. Sihailese citizens are taught about the teachings of Buddhism from a young age and throughout all of their academic years, except for university.

Sihailese people have a very integrated sense of unity and respect, with concepts like hospitality, generosity and humility, especially toward women, the elder and people in the Sihailese ‘higher ranks of society’ (school principals, bosses, heads of hospitals, etc.), is extremely common, if not expected from every person in the country. Sihailese citizens are known for caring fondly of their nation and its culture, with opposing sentiment toward the monarchy and the royal family being rare. This resulted in a growing sense of nationalism across different areas of the country, particularly during the 1950s and 60s, that, though in decline, has remained and carried over into the 21st century; in the present day, reported cases of xenophobia and racism are not uncommon, particularly during the so called 'tourist season' in the bigger cities of the country. However, this discrimination is rarely phyisical or violent anymore, and reduced to stares and comments, with surveys showing this sense of nationalism is seemingly dying out, particuarly in the younger generations.

Women
See also: Unai Bangsan

Being a matriarchal society, Sihailese people are accustomed to the idea of women as the historical leaders of their society, who are to be treated with the utmost respect and dignity. Holding the title of Mother of the State, any form of public disrespect toward the Queen of Siha-Silulu, is considered felony or misdemeanor, charged under the criminal offence of lèse-majesté, with punishment that can go from two months of imprisonment to the death sentence. It is estimated this ideology began to spread among the Swari communities in their early stages due to religious reasons, as women were believed to be deities or miracle workers with the ability to create life. This led to the conclusion that, because women were the ones to bear children for the community, they should be the ones to have the final say; resulting in the creation of what would be later known as the Unai Bangsan (Swara: ཨུནཻ་བངསན, ‘mothers of the village’), former and historical councils of three women or more, usually the ones that had either given the most births or delivered the most babies, chosen by the villagers to advice the chiefs. With time, the Unai Bangsan faded to give way to monarchies who would more often than not crown women as the leaders.

Nowadays, women and their views are respected, with abortion becoming legalized in 2001 for unwanted pregnancies, as opposed to prior years where abortion was only allowed in instances of endangerment toward the mother, pregnancies resulting from sexual assault, or underage pregnancies.

Sexuality and gender expression
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) Sihailese citizens enjoy the same legal rights as any other non-queer citizen in the country. Being a predominantly Buddhist nation, a majority of Sihailese citizens don’t adhere to the concept of ‘sin’, resulting in little to no discrimination toward non-queer individuals based on religion. However, according to a survey conducted in 2015, around 38 percent of Sihailese non-member of the LGBTQ+ community would prefer to not see gay or transgender people in the media or performing public displays of affection.

Reported hate crimes toward LGBTQ+ members is relatively low, and most schools across the country claim to follow a strict ‘zero tolerance’ policy toward discrimination. In spite of this, and based on a survey conducted in 2018, nearly 89 percent of queer Sihailese citizens over the age of 21 claim to have experienced or witnessed some form of discrimination based on sexuality or gender expression in secondary school, primary school or both.

Siha-Silulu’s capital, Pelankan, and a few other major cities have hosted a pride parade since as early as 1989. The Pelankan pride parade, taking place in October of every year, is the largest in the country, with a reported 1.6 million people attending in 2019.

Socio-economic disparity
The country of Siha-Silulu is not only a result from the unification of five different realms, but it is also the unification of two economic and socially different regions: Siha and Silulu.

Siha, the former poorer region of the country, has the least amount of Buddhist people, with one Buddhist person living in Siha for every seventy living in Silulu, the former wealthy region. However, Siha has the highest amount of people adhering to the country's native religions, with nearly 8 million people claiming to practice a native Swari. This is because, during imperial times, the people living in Siha weren’t allowed to practice Buddhism, since it was perceived as prestigious and was made available only for those of esteemed families and people in high ranks of society. The Tili script also reached the Siha regions last compared to the Silulu regions, and today, only 85% of the population of Siha knows to read and write in the script, compared to a nearly 99% of Silulu population.

Former Silulu regions also hold most major cities in the country, with sixteen out of the twenty largest urban areas in the country being located in Silulu. Siha regions have remained rural for the most part in comparison to Silulu regions, and realms with a larger portion of Siha territory have a lower total GDP and GDP per capita than realms with large portions of Silulu territory.

Education
Education in Siha-Silulu is a constitutional right for all citizens; nearly 86% of all primary and secondary schools across the country are public institutions funded by the federal government. However, there are only ten public universities in the entire country, five of them located in Pelankan, funded by the federal government, and one in each realm, funded by the regional governments, with the remaining universities being private institutions.

All institutions offering all levels of education across the country, with the exception of public universities and postgraduate education, are religious, with classes on theology, religious history and Buddhism being mandatory in all schools. Some realms prohibit schools from serving meat, with the exception of dairy products, with the intention of reinforcing Buddhist practices among the students. This has caused controversy in some counties whose population adheres majorly to Swari religions and not Buddhism, accusing the state of reducing the country's religious freedom, which is deemed a constitutional right in Siha-Silulu.

Levels of education in Siha-Silulu are divided into kindergarten (4 years duration, starting at ages 2 or 3), elementary schools (7 years duration, starting at ages 6 or 7), secondary school (5 year duration, starting at ages 13 or 14), tertiary school or university (varying duration, common starting at ages 17 or 18) and postgraduate (varying duration and varying starting ages). As of 2020, 98% of the population above the age of 15 was estimated to know how to read and spell in either the Swari or Tili script, and around 40% of the population between ages 25 and 64 have a university degree.

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