07-14-2019, 09:43 AM
XIN XUN
Xiomeran Underground News - the true Xiomeran story
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atl 14. xatl tohtli. 2019
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Cultures deferred: tribes assert right to their heritage
In the Itotemoc village of Qayara, a quiet revolution has begun.
A small building on the outskirts of the village, painted in bright colors by local children, hardly looks like the den of revolutionaries. But in this small building, change is in the wind, echoed in the words of its occupants.
Ñusta, an Itotemoc elder, leads the room in repeated lessons of the Itotemoc dialect of Huenyan. The Itotemoc dialect of Huenyan had almost gone extinct, driven into the shadows by Imperial mandates to speak only the Xiomeran version of the Huenyan language. But a new movement of Itotemoc activists, determined to keep their culture alive and help their fellow Itotemoc rediscover their lost heritage, have begun opening schools and cultural centers in defiance of official Xiomeran curriculum and cultural propaganda.
“When I was a child, it was forbidden to speak Itotemoc. Our teachers would hit us with sticks if we did not speak perfect Xiomeran at all times,” Ñusta, who is now in her seventies, recalls of her youth attending Imperial schools in Qayara. “We were also only taught the stories of how Xiomera created the Empire, about Xiomeran leaders, about their culture. Nothing of our past, or of our own culture, was ever allowed,” Ñusta said.
In a classroom next to where Ñusta teaches the language of her Itotemoc ancestors to a new generation, another class studies Itotemoc history. Today, a group of Itotemoc youth are learning about the great Itotemoc leader Nenexahual, whose rebellion in 1486 helped the Itotemoc briefly regain independence from Tlālacuetztla before the Empire regained control. “We were never taught about leaders like Nenexahual in school,” Huayta, the young man teaching the class, said. “If we were taught about our own leaders or heroes at all, it was always in brief and dismissive ways,” Huayta said. “But the true history of our people is out there, and we have a right to learn about it and to teach it.”
The Itotemoc aren’t the only ones engaging in this quiet revolution against Imperial propaganda masquerading as education. In the Tepiltzin tribal domain, the ruling council just approved the creation of a Tepiltzin studies curriculum to be implemented in their schools, despite Imperial opposition. In the Necatli tribal domain, several schools have completely tossed out the Imperial mandated curriculum in favor of one that teaches history from the Necatli point of view, and seeks to revive the Necatli culture.
All of this is necessary due to the acts of the Empire itself. When the Empire was first created, Xiomeran rulers repeatedly did everything they could to eliminate any trace of the language, culture and learning of the other three tribes. The goal was to eliminate even the memory that there was ever anything other than the Xiomeran Empire, with Xiomerans ruling it.
The creators of this cultural genocide came very close to achieving their goal. But in secret, devoted activists kept the cultures and heritage of the other tribes alive, often paying the price for it by sitting in jail, or even with their lives. Their sacrifice has managed to keep the spark of the other tribes’ heritage alive. And today, activists young and old alike are fanning that spark into a new flame that is lighting their domains with a new appreciation and awareness of their own heritage and their unique roles in the history of Huenya.
In previous eras, previous Imperial rulers have responded to such efforts by shutting them down, through subtle means such as propaganda and counter-education, and through more aggressive means such as imprisoning activists and shutting down Itotemoc, Necatli and Tepiltzin cultural centers and organizations. It is unclear if the current leadership under Emperor Topilpopoca will respond in a similar fashion. The past history of this Emperor is not promising; when he first became Emperor, in 2001, he ordered a series of actions to curtail cultural activities in the tribal domains. And today, his government is considering a demand by Secretary of Education Etalmac to do so again.
If the Emperor is wise, he will not repeat his mistake in 2001 again in 2019. Times have changed, and the other three tribes will not simply accept continued attempts by the Empire to sweep their culture, history, language and heritage under a pretty golden rug woven in Tlālacuetztla. Topilpopoca has always said that his greatest concern is maintaining the stability of the Empire. That can only happen if everyone in the Empire feels like they’re part of the Xiomeran story.
Xiomeran Underground News - the true Xiomeran story
[/hr]
atl 14. xatl tohtli. 2019
[/hr]
Cultures deferred: tribes assert right to their heritage
In the Itotemoc village of Qayara, a quiet revolution has begun.
A small building on the outskirts of the village, painted in bright colors by local children, hardly looks like the den of revolutionaries. But in this small building, change is in the wind, echoed in the words of its occupants.
Ñusta, an Itotemoc elder, leads the room in repeated lessons of the Itotemoc dialect of Huenyan. The Itotemoc dialect of Huenyan had almost gone extinct, driven into the shadows by Imperial mandates to speak only the Xiomeran version of the Huenyan language. But a new movement of Itotemoc activists, determined to keep their culture alive and help their fellow Itotemoc rediscover their lost heritage, have begun opening schools and cultural centers in defiance of official Xiomeran curriculum and cultural propaganda.
“When I was a child, it was forbidden to speak Itotemoc. Our teachers would hit us with sticks if we did not speak perfect Xiomeran at all times,” Ñusta, who is now in her seventies, recalls of her youth attending Imperial schools in Qayara. “We were also only taught the stories of how Xiomera created the Empire, about Xiomeran leaders, about their culture. Nothing of our past, or of our own culture, was ever allowed,” Ñusta said.
In a classroom next to where Ñusta teaches the language of her Itotemoc ancestors to a new generation, another class studies Itotemoc history. Today, a group of Itotemoc youth are learning about the great Itotemoc leader Nenexahual, whose rebellion in 1486 helped the Itotemoc briefly regain independence from Tlālacuetztla before the Empire regained control. “We were never taught about leaders like Nenexahual in school,” Huayta, the young man teaching the class, said. “If we were taught about our own leaders or heroes at all, it was always in brief and dismissive ways,” Huayta said. “But the true history of our people is out there, and we have a right to learn about it and to teach it.”
The Itotemoc aren’t the only ones engaging in this quiet revolution against Imperial propaganda masquerading as education. In the Tepiltzin tribal domain, the ruling council just approved the creation of a Tepiltzin studies curriculum to be implemented in their schools, despite Imperial opposition. In the Necatli tribal domain, several schools have completely tossed out the Imperial mandated curriculum in favor of one that teaches history from the Necatli point of view, and seeks to revive the Necatli culture.
All of this is necessary due to the acts of the Empire itself. When the Empire was first created, Xiomeran rulers repeatedly did everything they could to eliminate any trace of the language, culture and learning of the other three tribes. The goal was to eliminate even the memory that there was ever anything other than the Xiomeran Empire, with Xiomerans ruling it.
The creators of this cultural genocide came very close to achieving their goal. But in secret, devoted activists kept the cultures and heritage of the other tribes alive, often paying the price for it by sitting in jail, or even with their lives. Their sacrifice has managed to keep the spark of the other tribes’ heritage alive. And today, activists young and old alike are fanning that spark into a new flame that is lighting their domains with a new appreciation and awareness of their own heritage and their unique roles in the history of Huenya.
In previous eras, previous Imperial rulers have responded to such efforts by shutting them down, through subtle means such as propaganda and counter-education, and through more aggressive means such as imprisoning activists and shutting down Itotemoc, Necatli and Tepiltzin cultural centers and organizations. It is unclear if the current leadership under Emperor Topilpopoca will respond in a similar fashion. The past history of this Emperor is not promising; when he first became Emperor, in 2001, he ordered a series of actions to curtail cultural activities in the tribal domains. And today, his government is considering a demand by Secretary of Education Etalmac to do so again.
If the Emperor is wise, he will not repeat his mistake in 2001 again in 2019. Times have changed, and the other three tribes will not simply accept continued attempts by the Empire to sweep their culture, history, language and heritage under a pretty golden rug woven in Tlālacuetztla. Topilpopoca has always said that his greatest concern is maintaining the stability of the Empire. That can only happen if everyone in the Empire feels like they’re part of the Xiomeran story.
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