Chimoche

The Chimoche Autonomy (formerly the Kingdom of Chimor) is an autonomous administrative sub-unit that is part of the Daxian state of Xisheng. Originally an independent kingdom loosely associated with Nanseetucket, during the former's debellation, the Chimor surrendered to the Daxian military and later entered a compact for military support and protection. Subsequently the Chimoche Autonomy was set up as the national homeland of the Chimor people. The Chimor monarchy and system of governance was allowed to remain in place. The current ruler is King Falcao IX of the second Gato dynasty. The Chimor people represent the majority population of the Autonomy. The Chimor are fairly ethnically diverse with cultural aspects from many different ethnicities due to their habit of trying to assimilate conquered cultures into their own by in turn adopting new customs from those they are attempting to integrate. Chimoche's regions are typically either composed mainly of tropical forests. Chimoche's territory includes a patchwork of scattered enclaves across eastern Xisheng. The Autonomy has been allowed various traditional trappings of statehood such as its own flag and symbols, control of its budget and within certain constraints; police forces and a small army of its own.

Culture
The Chimor tend to be quite accepting of new cultures and minority groups. Homosexuality, disability, ethnicity or gender identity bare no burdens to the Chimor. The Chimor practice a policy of split inheritance where the heir to the throne will inherit the government and army of their predecessor but none of the wealth (palaces, funds, luxuries, etc.) or glories of their predecessors to use (i.e. they cannot get by from their parents accomplishments, they have to go and seek their own glories in order to keep their position).

Media
The Chimor media is generally highly supportive of the Chimor state due to "patriotic quotas" which organisations have to fulfil to be allowed to act as a media outlet within the empire. However this doesn't mean the Chimor are lied to through the media as the press is relatively free, they are just given more stories with viewpoints expressed in support of the state. Generally TV is popular within Chimor cities but not at all in more rural areas. This is probably due to the television being less available in rural areas and reception for the TV being that poor that it isn't worth the money to get. Popular programme types include news reels, soap operas, crime dramas, documentaries and comedies. All TV programmes must have one advert for either the armed forces, advocating obedience to the state or promoting healthy living per advert break due to state regulations.

Radio is more popular in rural areas due to the better signals than the television popular programmes include news bulletins, music shows and academic discussion shows. There are no enforced adverts stations must run for the government but they cannot present anti nationalistic sentiments without risking their licence to produce programmes. There are numerous regional news papers within Chimoche however to get any news on the governments policies on certain subjects or on key international events within real time one must read the Chimor Courier. The Courier is a paper owned by Felipe Hernandez, the richest man in the nation. It is privately owned however it pays the government for more up to date news than any other source. Ultimately this means that for any citizen interested in current affairs they must purchase a daily copy of the Courier. Only a small minority of Chimor living in towns and cities have access to the internet due to approximately half of the population living in the rainforests of Chimoche and not having any data links available.

Music
The music of Chimoche is very varied, ranging from rock to classical. That being said rock, country, folk and classical music are by far the most popular genres. Rock is particularly popular amongst the young Chimor. Typically it tends more towards the classic rock and punk rock cultures, with the 1960s, 1980s and early 2000s being the three "golden ages" of Chimor rock. Country music in Chimoche originated around the 1930s in the rural areas of the province of Paolantana in the cocaine plantations as a way to make it through the harsh conditions. It rose in popularity until the 1960s when rock took over and it then slumped in national opinion until the late 2010s when the youth of Chimoche claimed it as party and dance music. Ever since then it has endured as the second most popular genre in Chimoche after rock.

The oldest Folk song in Chimoche, El Falcao Se Eleva, a song detailing the rise of King Falcao I, is the national anthem of Chimoche and can be recited by every Chimor asked in the streets. Folk is typically not too popular, however the occasional artist makes it into mainstream culture. Classical music is typically used as an accompaniment to the other kinds of music for creating an atmosphere. Usually for an artist to succeed in the genre they have to have an excellent orchestra to accompany rock bands in experimental tracks.

Art
Art is a traditional pursuit of the Chimor; at points in the Chimor's history the only legal occupants of Cha Chan were the imperial legion and the artisans of the monarch. However, certain forms of art are not very popular in the empire; paintings aren't due to the lack of resistance to the weather and cheap materials. Performing arts are another example of such pursuits; acting is seen in a neutral light and dancing is hated as a waste of muscle that could be used in the economy. Chimor architecture usually features sandstone for residential properties, marble for commercial and adobe for royal projects. It is illegal for people to build with adobe without the express permission of the monarch. The styling typically results in columnar structures in commercial properties, cubed structures in the residential and pyramids and towers for the Royal projects. The best examples of Chimor architecture can be found in the city of Cha Chan due to it being the location of all the palace-tombs of the previous monarchs of Chimoche, proudly displaying the acts of their builders chiselled into the adobe brick.

Chimor sculptures typically take inspiration from animal forms, principally the Jaguar, the national animal of Chimoche. Typically the sculptures are made out of wood or stone, depending on the artists preference. Chimor artists are masters of showing movement and their subjects are often displayed leaping or running. Masters will often have their own studios and take between one and five students at a time. The most famous studio is El Rio Verde in Mouca, it was founded in 1469AD by Pedro Carlito. Carlito only took one student, Stefan De Mouca, the greatest sculptor the Chimor has ever produced. Since then the studio has always had one master and one student, when a master dies the student becomes the master. Unsuccessful students often become masters of other prestigious studios due to their exceptional quality, however they are often lost in the annals of history, resigned to no fame.

Chimor literature tends to be more semi-autobiographical, authors use themselves and their own internal monologues to inhabit a character. Books are ingrained in national identity for the Chimor, libraries both ancient and modern litter the streets and many historic manuscripts from all over the world are collected within their walls. Chimor fashion tends to be comprised of tunics and loin cloths due to the heat of the country. The poorest in society tend to wear black clothing, slightly better off wear white and any richer wear bright colours with occasional gold detailing. The royal family are the only people permitted to wear silver due to the religious significance of the metal. Usually a base fibre of llama wool is used as the starting material for clothing, however in more rural areas the hides of jaguars and crocodiles can be used (crocodile being considerably cheaper when untanned and more expensive when tanned). Some tribes are also not permitted to wear llama wool due to minority religious beliefs.

Cuisine
The Chimor cuisine heavily depends on maize, seafood, jaguar meat, llama meat and alpaca meat. The food tends to be lightly spiced and drunk with chicha, a maize based alcohol similar to beer or Balché, a honey wine. Yucca is also a staple in forest tribal communities (what little still exist) and is eaten due to the high carbohydrate content. Sugar cane is grown in many areas for foreign export but sweet flavours are very unpopular with the Chimor.

Sport
The most popular sports in Chimoche are football and pitz. Pitz is a game where two teams of players hit a 9lb ball of solid rubber with their forearms, hips and elbows. They aim to hit the ball into a hoop 7' above the ground on the opposite side of a walled arena, the first team to get a ball in the hoop wins. Traditionally a loosing team would be decapitated and the heads gifted to the victors, however this was abandoned when the creators of the game, the Meyo, were assimilated by the Chimor upon the conquering of the Chimoche valley.