#Regional & Ethnic

[sinoheritage]

Xijiang 西江镇, Guizhou province, Southwest China.

A rural town with a population of 20,000. The town is renowned for its Miao (an ethnic group, known as “Hmong” outside of China) villages and their customs. It’s known for its unique wooden buildings stilted in the middle of the mountains.

The economy is supported primarily by tourism and Chinese herbal medicine. The area contains a rich supply of silicon, arsenic, lead, and zinc.

[percypaints]

For those who lived on to remember, and those who cannot.

Hong Kong Miku.

I was originally going to make something more... palatable? I guess? But my partner encouraged me to do one themed on the protest back in 2019. The dust has settled, and it looks like everything is painted over, but I still miss my home. So, see this as a sort of tribute to the people who fought for my home, and a tribute to all the freedom fighters in the world-- Palestine, Ukraine, Yemen, and all the others. I love you all.

[etz-ashashiyot]

While my strong, vocal support for Ukraine remains unchanged and I believe it is unambiguously morally correct, I will say that there is something of a bitter pill embedded in it for me as a Jew who is very close to another Jew whose whole family had to flee Ukraine with her as a child because a combination of having the wrong surnames and being Jews meant they could not safely and successfully stay there. And like. She was born there. She still identifies as Ukrainian and has been devastated the last three years over the suffering of her people. She has been a vocal opponent of Putin and of Russian imperialism.

And at the same time, the reason she's here in the US and isn't fluent in Ukrainian is because she was too Jewish to be a "real" Ukrainian (despite the Soviets having forced her family to give up their Jewish religious practices and her having to learn everything as an adult.)

[july-19th-club]

house md wildest show on earth. a main character outright assassinates a known dictator, a moment that would be the very beginning or the mid-series crisis in any other show - an act which creates a power vacuum in a foreign nation already filled with child soldiers and genocide, and it's literally only brought up again throughout the season because that guy's wife divorces him over it. and occasionally to explore his relationship with who he is as a person and a catholic after having deliberately taken a life for what he calculates as the greater good, but mostly it's about his divorce

[maggotmold]

More reasons to not give your money to MiHoyo other than them being r@cist, because apparently thats not enough!!

in 2022, they joined the Chinese c0mmunist party, and that means some of the money they make goes to fund the g3nocide and intense labor of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang.

[tanadrin]

One of the arguments Zubok seems to be developing in this book on the fall of the USSR is that a huge factor in its breakup was Russian nationalism: as the other Soviet republics began to assert their rights and identities in '89 onward, the Russians seemed to be looking at each other and being like, "hey, why don't we have the same national rights?" There was no Russia-only branch of the CPSU, no quotas for Russians in universities, no particularly Russian state institutions--Russia was, despite being by far the largest part of the USSR, very unlike the other republics in being sort of a glue holding them together.

This was probably for solid historical reasons--Lenin and co. took very seriously the idea that the USSR should be a multinational state, and whether they succeeded or not the subsequent generations of Soviet leadership carried this idea forward: the USSR was not supposed to be a Russian-chauvinist enterprise. But resentment of protections for minorities--a sort of Soviet version of "white people are the most oppressed ethnicity in America"--in the context of everything else happening politically in the USSR at the time made Russian nationalism politically very salient, including (given how other republics like Lithuania were going) talk of Russian secession.

The USSR could have survived Lithuania seceding in a way it never could have survived Russia seceding, obviously; Russian nationalism was by far the most efficient way to destroy the Soviet Union. And the Politburo recognized this: they discussed in 1989 versions of plans mooted as far back as Andropov's premiership of balancing the internal relationship between the republics by breaking the RSFSR into smaller units, either de jure or just de facto. In the event, it seems like other events (the failure of perestroika, the August coup, etc) overtook them before anything could have been done about it, but it's interesting to note that the breakup of the USSR was not (only) peripheral regions trying to escape a state to which they were unhappily wedded, but also the core region of that state wanting to jump ship as well.

[dayofethnicityorreligion]

The Virjal (Chuvash: Вирьял, Russian: Вирьял) are a historical ethnographic subgroup of the Chuvash people, traditionally living in the northern and northwestern territories of the Chuvash Republic and adjacent regions. They are distinguished from other Chuvash subgroups by particular linguistic, cultural, anthropological, and geographical characteristics. The term "Virjal" is often translated as "upper" or "highlanders," reflecting their historical settlement in elevated forest-steppe and forested zones, in contrast to their southern counterparts, the Anatri (meaning "lower" or "lowlanders").

The name "Virjal" derives from the Chuvash words вир (vir) meaning "upper" or "high," and ял (yal) meaning "community" or "people." The name reflects their geographic position relative to the Anatri, who inhabit the lower, more southern parts of the Chuvash lands. In Russian ethnographic sources, the Virjal are often referred to as "upper Chuvash" or "hill Chuvash" (верховые чуваши).

Historically, the Virjal were concentrated in the northern districts of the Chuvash Republic, particularly in the regions bordering the Mari El Republic and the Republic of Tatarstan. Their settlements were typically located along the middle and upper reaches of the Volga River and its tributaries, such as the Tsivil and the Sura rivers. In addition to the modern Chuvash Republic, Virjal communities could also be found in parts of the Nizhny Novgorod, Ulyanovsk, and Kirov oblasts.

The natural landscape of the Virjal territory is more forested and hilly compared to the steppe regions of the Anatri. This environmental difference significantly influenced their agricultural practices, settlement patterns, and even aspects of their material culture.

The Virjal are part of the broader Chuvash ethnos, which itself emerged from the historical amalgamation of various Finno-Ugric, Turkic, and possibly Iranian-speaking groups in the Volga-Kama region. The Chuvash are considered the only surviving descendants of the Oghuric branch of Turkic peoples, specifically linked to the Volga Bulgars who settled along the Volga River following the collapse of Old Great Bulgaria in the 7th century CE.

While the Chuvash as a whole trace their lineage to this Bulgar legacy, the Virjal, due to their geographic isolation and historical contacts, exhibit influences from Finno-Ugric groups, particularly the Mari and Udmurt. Anthropological and linguistic studies have confirmed that the Virjal subgroup exhibits more Finno-Ugric substratal influence than the Anatri, especially in dialect and certain cultural practices.

The Virjal dialect is a northern variety of the Chuvash language, which is the only extant member of the Oghur (or Lir) branch of the Turkic language family. The Virjal dialect is characterized by distinctive phonetic, lexical, and morphological features that set it apart from the southern Anatri dialect, which forms the basis of the standard Chuvash literary language.

Phonological features of the Virjal dialect include:

A tendency toward greater vowel harmony.

Preservation of certain archaic vowel and consonant sounds.

A more limited influence from Tatar loanwords compared to the southern dialects.

Lexical distinctions include a larger corpus of Finno-Ugric substrate vocabulary and specific words for local flora, fauna, and cultural practices.

Linguists studying Chuvash dialectology have often regarded the Virjal dialect as more conservative or "archaic," preserving features that have been lost or altered in the Anatri dialect. However, due to historical marginalization and the standardization of the Anatri dialect, the Virjal speech forms have been underrepresented in modern literature and education.

The traditional clothing of the Virjal exhibits distinct features from that of the Anatri. Women's garments typically include long tunics adorned with intricate embroidery, often in red, black, and white patterns, featuring motifs of ancient symbolic meaning such as the solar sign and the tree of life. Headwear and jewelry also differ; for example, Virjal women traditionally wore a headdress known as tushpan, which could differ markedly in shape and ornamentation from the kalmauk worn by Anatri women.

Men’s clothing was also adapted to the northern climate, including woolen garments and tall boots made for forested and uneven terrain.

Virjal folklore preserves numerous archaic elements. Their mythological system includes a pantheon of spirits and deities closely tied to nature, household, and ancestral domains. Their rituals often blend Turkic, Finno-Ugric, and pre-Christian animistic elements, with significant traces of the pre-Islamic Bulgar religion and later Orthodox Christian influence.

Important traditional festivals include:

Surhuri: A winter festival with elements of agrarian magic and ancestral veneration.

Akatuy: A spring sowing festival.

Semik and Trinity Days: Celebrations that blend Orthodox Christian and pagan customs.

Music and dance play a central role in community events. The Virjal maintain a repertoire of traditional songs, many of which are performed in a style involving pentatonic scales and polyphonic elements—traits suggesting ancient origins.

Virjal communities were historically known for their textile arts, especially weaving and embroidery. Wood carving and pottery also featured prominently in their material culture, often decorated with motifs tied to cosmology and clan identity.

House construction followed traditional patterns suited to the northern forest-steppe environment, with log houses (izbas) incorporating specific architectural elements such as carved gables and decorative shutters.

Anthropologically, the Virjal have been studied in the context of broader Volga region populations. Physical anthropologists have noted that Virjal individuals often exhibit features typical of the so-called Uralic or Finno-Ugric anthropological type, including lighter pigmentation, a brachycephalic skull shape, and shorter stature on average. These traits contrast with the more "southern" features found among the Anatri.

Some scholars have interpreted these differences as evidence of greater genetic admixture with Finno-Ugric populations like the Mari, who are long-standing neighbors of the Virjal. These findings are corroborated by mitochondrial DNA studies indicating a greater frequency of haplogroups common among Finno-Ugric peoples.

The Virjal traditionally practiced a syncretic form of spirituality that included elements of pre-Christian animism, ancestral worship, and naturalistic deities. Following the expansion of the Russian Empire and missionary activities in the 16th–18th centuries, many Virjal communities converted to Eastern Orthodoxy. However, conversion was often superficial, and many traditional beliefs and rituals persisted in parallel, a phenomenon known as "dual faith" (dvoeverie in Russian).

Shrines to household and nature spirits (e.g., keremet) continued to be venerated, and oral prayers and sacrificial rites were passed down through generations. Even in the modern period, remnants of these traditional religious practices can be found in rural Virjal communities.

The Virjal were traditionally engaged in a mixed economy suited to the northern Chuvash landscape. Agriculture played a central role, with the cultivation of rye, barley, millet, and later potatoes and oats. The forested areas also supported hunting, beekeeping, and foraging.

Livestock breeding, particularly of cattle, pigs, and poultry, was common. Handicrafts, including cloth production and carpentry, were also vital to the local economy, especially during the long winters when farming activities subsided.

Trade with neighboring ethnic groups, including the Mari, Russians, and Tatars, facilitated cultural exchange and economic interdependence. However, economic disparities and geographic isolation sometimes led to periods of hardship, especially during the Russian Empire’s serfdom period and the Soviet collectivization campaigns.

During the Soviet period, the Virjal, like other Chuvash subgroups, experienced significant changes due to collectivization, industrialization, and educational reforms. Many traditional practices were suppressed or transformed under ideological pressure. The standardization of the Chuvash language based on the Anatri dialect further marginalized Virjal linguistic identity.

Despite these pressures, elements of Virjal identity have survived into the 21st century, particularly in rural communities. Cultural revival efforts in the post-Soviet period have led to renewed interest in local dialects, crafts, festivals, and oral traditions. However, challenges remain, including language endangerment and assimilation.

In modern times, the Virjal are not recognized as a separate ethnic group but are considered part of the broader Chuvash nation. Nonetheless, scholarly attention to their distinct cultural and linguistic characteristics continues, and local cultural initiatives often promote their unique heritage.

The Virjal represent a vital and richly distinct component of the Chuvash ethnos. Their history, shaped by geography, ethnolinguistic contact, and cultural resilience, offers valuable insights into the diversity of the Volga region. Continued documentation and support for their traditions are essential to preserving this heritage within the framework of the modern Chuvash Republic and the Russian Federation as a whole.

[vexillology-for-brains]

Beautiful Non-National Flags, Part 1

So many people see and love the flags of the 193 UN recognized nations, but I want to take a look at a few of my favorite regional/provincial/people group flags around the world.

One of my favorite flags, and I think one of the most beautiful flags, is the banner of East Turkestan

The Kökbayraq, or sky flag, represents both the geographic region of East Turkestan, and the Uyghur people, a Turkic people group located in what is now Xinjiang Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China (PRC). The flag was flown by the short lived (one year) reign of the Republic of East Turkestan (1933-34), and has been used by the diaspora of the Uyghur people as they flee the authoritarian rule of the PRC. In the modern day, it serves as symbol of protest against the ongoing genocide being conducted by the Chinese Communist Property.

The beautiful simplicity of the flag and its striking blue color make the flag instantly eye-catching. It's similarity to the Turkish flag is no coincidence, it was designed to harken back to the Turkish flag. The beautiful sky blue represents all Turkic people. While the crescent and star can represent Islam, in this flag the crescent represents the idea of being victorious, and the star represents the nation itself.

The flag follows a 2:3 ratio and all of the design aspects follow the same guidelines as the flag of Türkiye. It was formalized and adopted in 1993 and the East Turkestan Government in Exile claims it at the official flag of the Republic of East Turkestan

As this is a flag I personally own, I'm more than happy to fly it when I can and speak about it. This flag is easily in my Top Ten list because of it's beauty, and I've used the the exact shade of blue in a couple of flag designs.

I highly recommend anyone interested research the culture and history of the Uyghur people, and learn about their plight as they're subjugated under the iron fist of the Chinese Communist Party.

[thinkingimages]

Івано- Франківська область, Городенківський район, Серафинці

Ukraine 🇺🇦

[sinoheritage]

Shangri-la 香格里拉 (སེམས་ཀྱི་ཉི་ཟླ), Yunnan province, China.

Is the capital and largest city of the Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture 迪庆藏族自治州 (བདེ་ཆེན་བོད་རིགས་རང་སྐྱོང་ཁུལ) in Yunnan, and is bordered by Sichuan province.

Tibetans (33% of the population) are the region’s largest group. Other groups include Lisu, Han, Naxi, Bai, Yi, Pumi, Miao, Hui, etc.

Traditional architecture of the region:

[quixoticanarchy]

book about resource extraction in the drc published in 2011 trying to say "activists' focus on the congo as a source of conflict minerals is overblown bc they only supply 5% of world total" and "it's disingenuous to point at consumer electronics and say they're soaked in blood when they have a very small chance of containing minerals from the congo" well ok. consider: 1) in the intervening 13 years the amount of coltan supplied by the drc did not stay at 5% but in fact has risen dramatically (and also it is notoriously difficult to track how much the drc is actually exporting, and how much of, say, rwanda's reported production originates in the congo), and 2) how interesting. is the drc the only place in which rare earth minerals are extracted under inhumane conditions? perhaps ppl criticizing what goes into consumer electronics are not in fact meaning to suggest they would be just fine if they contained no minerals from the congo. perhaps it is ALSO bad when ppl in southeast asia or latin america or in fact, anywhere, are ruthlessly exploited so that you and i can have new cellphones and electric cars

[infiniteglitterfall]

jewish shower thoughts

A Reddit comment I can't stop thinking about: "If you think whiteness is bad, Jews are white to you. If you think whiteness is good, Jews aren't white to you."

[phoebastria-albatrus]

i implore u guys to make more of ur favs asian btw…do it 4 me

[hadescavedish]

Dump my study of Zevran here and leave

[vacantgodling]

god trying to figure out what any of the characters in btaf look like is gonna make me kms

[maudlin-scribbler]

i know that every couple of months i make this post but sometimes i do wonder if I do "deserve" to call myself greek-romanian. because one of my parents is indeed greek-romanian and while i cant speak the language and i dont know much of the culture but i do feel like it's like something that has impacted the way i was raised and all. and the way i see things too, i think.

(i mean i can kind of read the greek alphabet and i was trying to learn greek on my own but ive forgotten some stuff, im sure if i brushed up on my knowledge on the greek language which i admit isnt a lot id remember some more things)