Environment
The planet
is surrounded by oceans where there is immense pressure in the lower regions. The
surface has some forms of ice, but it is not cold. Because the atmosphere is
thicker and composed largely of water vapor, the solar radiation warms the
atmosphere. This planet also has high
waves that are more massive due to the low gravity.
The planets
oceans are hundreds of kilometers deep. The squid people live in an area call
the ocean province. The ocean province is also called the deep sea. These
regions are composed of shallow water, high pressure, and the coldest
temperatures in the region. In addition, this region doesn’t have a lot of
sunlight. Other regions in the area that are close to the surface have all kinds
of living organisms. Some of these
organisms are small that subtend nutrition and food to larger carnivorous
species like the squid people. However, there are larger species than the squid
people in these areas.
Cultural
Knowledge
Norms
When we are
born, we don’t have a gender. Until we reach our adulthood, our body changes
biology depending on the amount of males and females in the society. If there
are more males than females, our body physically changes in order to add
balance to our society. However, females
choose who they are going to mate with. They tend to select only from the high
commanders, because they want stronger offspring. The female squid people can
produce up to one hundred eggs during a generation. Although the females decide
who to mate with, both genders have about the same equivalence of status. They
both have to bring the same amount of contribution to the society, and both genders
are able to become the head commander. Since the moment they are an egg, and until
they finally reach adulthood, squid people are not given any names. They are
given a title as an outsider, because they are expendable. When they overcome
their adulthood passage, they can finally define their gender. The high
commander chooses and bestows us with titles.
In addition, the high commanders are the squid people who administer the
education and training of an outsider. They must also make sure that while the offspring
are in the spawning pond, the newborns are well protected and exposed to imprinted
images in order to learn the ideals of our society.
Values
The squid people are considered the strongest species
above anyone else. We see that our strongest soldiers are the only people who
can continually bring superiority to our society. Where our greatest power lies
is our strength. We always put our survivability first, then any other priority
second. It is easy for our civilization to starve, so in order for our people
to strive, we need our knowledge. Our knowledge is what defines who we are. It
was given to us by the ancient head commanders. We would not be here if was not
for our ancient head commanders.
Worldview
We, the
squid people, are soldiers--but above all we are conquerors. We fight in order
to gain food and materials that help to build our structures. As we move forward, we search for more food
and often come across others who are sometimes bigger or smaller than us. We have
learned that there is no difference in size when it comes to taking down an
enemy. With the bigger people, we learned that it faster to attack with a
larger number of units. With the smaller people, we have realized that it
easier to capture them. Those who we capture are taken back to our society and
are put to work. We consider ourselves more superior than any other species in
our region. Because of that reason, we have overcome many other regions.
Symbols
This
represents the members of our society who are called outsiders.
This
represents the members of our society who are the commanders.
This
represents the members of our society who are the high commanders.
This
represents the member of our society who is our head commander.
Classifications of reality
In our society, there are two different statuses.
There are those who are outsiders, and those who are the privileged. The
outsiders are composed of lower classes that are not considered full members of
our society until they prove themselves before the ancient head commanders.
There are also those who are privileged. They are the members who gain prestige
through fighting great battles. The privileged also have the honor of being
taught by our ancient head commanders. We wear garments made from our greatest
enemy’s, not only to show how many enemies we have fought, but also to give
great respect to those enemies.
Structure/social
organization
One of the
earliest memories I have was when it was dark and cold, and I was not strong
enough. However, I began to slowly become stronger. I also heard many strange noises
near me. As I began to move, and when I felt that I was ready, I pushed with
all of my strength and broke out of my shell. So did thousands of others like
me. However, we are all born without a gender. We were born in pond, and later
we learned that these were our spawning ponds. There are many spawning ponds
which are well taken care of by our society. The ponds are painted with
elaborate images. It was very nice to look at them, but at the time I didn’t
understand the meaning of these images. There was food for us, however, the
longer the newborns stay, the quicker our food begins to diminish. This results
in the bigger newborns fighting for the food. Some of us would go without food
and begin to die. We were getting bigger and bigger as time went by. One day
when we turned three years old, we heard a big sound that scared us. It was the door that held the pond closed. It
opened, and those who came in were people that looked like us, even though they
were bigger and looked tougher. They moved us to a new place that was more
spacey, and where we could swim more freely. The bigger and tougher squid
people separated us and put us into groups. They told us that we were all
outsiders and at a low rank in our society.
The groups
were formatted into units. Each unit is educated and taught how to fight.
During our education, we begin to make understanding of the images inside the
pond. We learn that we are soldiers and
that we must fight in wars to protect the empire from other enemies. When we all turned eleven years old, the
older squid people sent us to fight. We fought almost every day, and sometimes
we lost many of our units. Even then, we had to continue to fight. When we are sent to attack other species, we
are not just defending our society, but also harvesting them as our food source
and supplies. When we turn fifteen, we
must pass several tasks in order to go through the ceremony of adulthood. As we
turn into adults, we are given prestige in our society. We are no longer
outsiders, and we are given our first rank as commanders. At this level, we are
also given our own units to command. If a member of our society fails to
contribute, our higher commanders will demote them to a lower rank as an
outsider. Instead of demotion, any first rank commander would rather choose
death over being marked as an outsider.
After reaching
your old age of thirty and many years of commanding, you are no longer a rank
one commander with a small unit, but considered a high commander. All high
commanders work together with the head commander to make sure the stability of
our society is maintained. The head commander is the highest ranked person in
our society and has the utmost respect from all of the high commanders. The
head commander contributes the most in both warfare and in industry.
Areas of
cultural interest
The squid
people are a warrior class whose main goal is the survivability of the society.
They are mainly considered conquerors that are aggressive and will do anything
for their people to survive. Everything we do is as a unit in order for us to
continue our legacy and bring great honor to our ancient high commander.
SECTION III ESSAY
When the children are born. They are born in spawning ponds.
The ponds are painted with elaborate images by the elders of the society. Those
images depicting are organic shapes and different patterns. However those
organic patters are the written language of their people. The children began to learn to mimic those
images in to their skin. Those children project those images to each other as
an interaction between them. But at this early stage of their development, they
don’t understand the meaning behind the images. The children make a game of
this interaction. Also the children’s patters began to display differentials
color pigmentations within images as form of emotion. Once they leave the
spawning ponds, they are moved to a new place and are separated in to groups or
units. Each unit of children are begin to be thought the meaning of those
images by an elder mentor. They are thought that representation and the meaning
behind the words. The mentors begin by showing their pupils an object and then
showing them their corresponding word. For example, this food, this your weapon
and so on. They repeat each of those words until the pupils memorize the
pattern. By the age of five, they are well capable to connect and create complete
sentences. This is the only language they are thought. By the time they are
eleven year old, they have a larger vocabulary and sentences structure. They
able to understand strategies and able to take orders from their leaders. When
they turn fifteen they have a great understanding of the language they are more
faster in the communication between each other and they able to complete
conversation in a short period of time.
The squid people use language as a direct dialog. They can convey their messages very fast and
clearly to one other. Because of the
tribes’ continual engagement in wars and the priority the tribe places on
defense, active combatants have shortened their speech in to a form of a slang.
For example “enemy come” is written in two separate words, are now conveyed in
one simple pattern that conveys the same message. However this type language is
only allowed on the battle field. But when they are back on their communities,
their language become more formal and with more context. It takes a form of
storytelling.
When two squid people are having a conversion, their words
are more like symbols or markings that appear in their skin. Mostly around
their heads and facial areas. They are also capable of conveying emotion thru
different colors marking. For example,
when one of the squid people is anger those marking appear to look like darker
red. When they are calm those marking became lighter almost orange. Colors are
form of expressions in their culture. For
example, when the squid people are confronted with an enemy. Their marking turn
in to a darker red almost black. They are conveying to their enemy that are
going to kill them. When the squid people are talking to each other their conversion
would look variations of organic patter and with different pigment of colors
and shades. To the enemy point of view those marking can
look almost as frightening site.
The squid people
believe in honoring the ancestors. They built a shrine in the central of city.
They place larger massive boulder of rock with each boulder having a name of a
fallen head commander. This place it very sacred to many of the squid people,
so many of them come and leave an item as an offering. Other way to honor their ancestors it prove
they are the strongest. When the squid people turn fifteen they have to do rite
of passage into adulthood by fighting a larger enemy. This ceremony is will
celebrated among the squid people. Their youngest are send out alone to fight a
larger prey and if they succeed in killing it. Then as a customs they most
offer a large portion of meat or preferably the head of your kill to your
ancestors.
They are an aggressive individuals. They would take food from
each other or even fight each other but not harm each other badly. They do this
as a form to prove who is stronger and who is more capable to compete their
tasks. If a member where to show any singed of weakness or fear. It would be a
gesture of great disrespected to your ancestors. Those who do show some type
form of weak are normally isolated from the rest of their communities. They are
thought from early stages of life that they have to work together in order to
survive. Because they were place into untie they began to create a bound of
friendship. They would share their food and they would sleep in close proxemics
to each other. They have a greater understanding of each other and especially
when they’re in a battle. Because this the only way they can able to survive. The
squid people are always on constantly fighting. So, when one of them get a
wound they displayed it with pride. They take those battle scars of a form of
becoming stronger. So that more scars they have the more popular they are going
to be and especially with the opposite sex. Both male and female have similar
gender role. They both have to fight and they both have contribute to their
society. However, female have some privilege in regarding choosing their mate.
Female tend to only to mate with strong males. Because they was to produce
strong offspring. Female would look for a male that it more skill and have
plenty of battle scars.
Because they are were put small unites normally each member
had created and built strong bounds of friendship. Within their group they
would call each other by a different names. It more like nick names. For
example, one can call other person, “legquik” if the person it the fasted in
their units. They are names of friendship and respected. They can push each
other and practice mock fight but they would never truly fight each other.
However if a member from other untie where to come and began to started
something. They usually began with using slang words or insulting words as form
agitating each other. The types words they would use are describe words. For
example if the person are weak or that are smaller in compared to them. For instance words like “punlag” or “weeme.” On the other hand, when not just the two
person having the confrontation but the rest of the member want to fight then
the rest would join in support each other respectable member. However this type
of behavior are normally in their daily life. Member would greet each other
sometime by their nickname. Only if they had been in the same unite. They would
never use you their nickname outside their immediate friends. They would use
the title and their given name with other commander or higher ranking officers.
Name are important among the squid
people because they were not given and name until they had pass the rite of
passage. And nickname are valuable because it represent a bound with a specific
group. When they have to exchange greeting with each other. Each of the member
of the group place a hand on the top each other head. And they would say to
each other “return have I” with a light purple pigment was they show they are
happy to see each other. After the greeting had end they celebrate with eating
and watching displace of mock fight. They would tell each other stories of
their battles won or lost and how many new scars they have obtain.
Because the squid people are always on the move from one
battle to other. And sometime they have to travel long distance. They don’t
have a lot of thing they possess only few items. They have to limit their self
when they are outside the city. So they would carry what can help them in a
fight and survive. If a weapons it
mostly be spears, knives, hooks and smaller knives. Spears are more likely
weapon they would carry all the time. Knives are used to cut meat or when the
have to harvest. They also would carry items for storage. Mainly like bags made
from different plants and large clams. They would not big bags but small enough
to put meat or plants. Clams bags are small enough to carry medicinal items like
a type of mold that would help heal wounds faster. They don’t wear a lot
nether. Their clothing are made from part of what they harvest and plants.
Their clothing have to be light in order for them to move fast during a fight.
They are four different types of classes among the squid
people. There are the outsider, the commanders, the high commanders, and head
commanders. Each of those classes are
important in the stability of the society. The outsider is the lower class of them all.
They are call outsider because the have not jet pass the rite of passage.
Normally they are the young one of their society. However they are the busiest
of all the classes. Because they are out
in the battle fields fighting enemies and making sure the city it well
protected. And other part of their job to harvest plant and animals. They
harvest not only for food but also to make tools. And they are always on the
move and constantly learning. The second class it call commanders. Commander
are member that have pass the rite of passage and they have become adult. The
first thing they do when they become commander it they define their sex. When
they were born they were born without a sex. Until they become adult their body
biologically change into a specific sex. However it don’t matter if they are
different sex. They both have equivalence of status in the society. As a
commander your assigned to a small unite of outsider. As their leader, they
have to make sure they are able to fight and succeed in the battle fields. The
third class is call high commander. The high commander are the people the make
sure the stability of the society is maintained. Each of the high commander are
responsible to different section of the city. They ranch from education, training, building
construction, ceremonies and wars strategies. The lost class is call head
commander. The head commander it the highest ranking person of the social
order. The head commander had the
greatest respect from all it people. And he or she work closely with all the
high commander in aspect of the city.
The squid people considered themselves the strongest species
in the world. So they constantly engage in battles with other species. This a
form of strategies for them to obtain food. When they defeat a species they
obtain a new source of meats and material for tools making. They also would obtain a new land not just to
harvest raw material but also to expand their own civilization. Because they can communicate with each other
they are more efficient on taking down numbers of different kinds if species.
By using language they there are able to obtain more food and their population
to grow. They squid people used metaphorical concepts. For example, “dine we
fight” it referred to them as they have to fight to eat for the day. Other one
it would be like, “other light we live for” they are talking about there is
change in time even if they live underwater. To the squid people when the look
up, they see light the move. So they began to learn that there is a form of
time. They would say, “Spears are hands”
this means weapon are their great part of their selves. They most have their weapon at all time.
Without their weapon they can fight properly.
Another saying it like, “quick we be” it mean they have to be fast if
they have to win a fight. When a squid person get wounded they would say, “cut
it honor.” This type of saying it referred to they take pride in their battle
scars.
By doing this project I learn that there a great correlation
between language and culture. Language it an important part of life for any
culture. Language it more the just a mean of communication. It is a way that we
would have understanding of any culture thru language. Also by doing this project you learn it is importance
for children to learn language in early stages of life. And how we use language
in or society and with new advances of technology.
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