Csongrád Island

Csongrád Island is a Hétumogerian nature reserve. Csongrád island exists in the Sió Lake between Hétumoger and Suvarova and is managed by the Office of Wildlife Conservation and is partially upkept and funded by the Sárközy dynasty, who owns the Sió Estate. The island is recorded to be around 4,252 acres and is composed mainly of forest land. The island is considered important to the Flora and Fauna of Hétumoger. Csongrád Island is also a main attraction for migrating birds.

Csongrád Island was initially considered to be the palace of the gods among the Sió People, where they were not to be disturbed by people. When the Unification of Hétumoger came about and the Confederation of Hétumoger was founded, Csongrád Island was left alone by the request of the Sió people. It was not until the First Kingdom of Hétumoger that people landed on the island. Initially intending on exploiting the resources on the island, this still went against the wishes of the Sió people. After some time, János II made the decision to protect the island in 1072 C.E.. While the Sió people abandoned their tradition of Csongrád Island being a palace and people being able to step foot on the island, they request the nature of the island be preserved. This was enforced by János II, who established the Sió Estate under his noble family, the Esterházy dynasty. The estate changed hands to the Nádasdy dynasty in 1545, after the establishment of the Noble Kingdom of Hétumoger. The estate then transferred briefly to the Ákos dynasty as repayment of debt from the Nádasdy, then the Szapáry dynasty when the Ákos family suffered several internal problems. After the War of Hétumogerian Noble Succession in the wake of the extinction of the Szapáry dynasty, the Sárközy dynasty inherited the the Sió Estate. Known as the Sió Promise, every dynasty since János II's promise to the Sió people refused to touch the island's natural resources.

The ecosystem of the Csongrád Island has been relatively unknown until during the Szapáry dynasty's ownership of the Sió Estate. The ecosystem is extremely different, containing several oak trees that date back as far as before the establishment of the Sió Estate, being over a millennium old. Alongside that, Csongrád Island is home to a large colony of Central Belisarian honey bee and is a hub for migrating birds that travel into Hétumoger. Csongrád Island is also the habitat of the Belisarian brown bear, the Belisarian mink and the Sió duck.

History

Csongrád Island has been cultivated almost exclusively by the native Sió People and their interests in the island. The island is considered one of the world's first nature reserves due to the promise made by János II to the Sió people over the island. The promise is one that has been upheld by every other ruler of Hétumoger afterwards, however several commercial conflicts evolved over the island when the Sió Estate was handed over to the Sárközy dynasty. Concerning the age of the wood and their supposed quality, as well as the untouched nature on the island, there have been several arguments held by the High Citizens Court over the legality of the Sárközy withholding enterprises on the island. Known as Gyrögy v. Sió People and the Estate, it was one of the Nature Reserve Cases that led to the establishment of the Hétumogerian Nature Reserve System.

Indigenous Sió History

The indigenous Sió people within their oral history stated that they believed that Csongrád Island was a palace of the gods, and that the animals coming from the island were believed to be gifts from the gods. The indigenous Sió people that lived around the area would fish around the area, believing the fish to be gifts from the gods. The land near the island was also considered to be under the watchful eye of the gods within their palace. As such, the land was used to trade and was a travel route, as well as a place of worship. It has been disputed by historians as to the Sió people's view on people going and coming from the island. Typically seen as a rite of passage for traitors and criminals, the Sió people believed that sending criminals to the island was considered to cleanse the soul of evil.

The Sió people continued to keep the area around the island as a consecrated area. When the Sió people joined the Confederation of Hétumoger under János I, they forbid those who were not Sió to enter the island. However, after the end of the Janosian Wars, the Sió people opened the island for those apart of the Confederation as well as those who joined János. This caused a considerable amount of controversy within the Sió people which eventually boiled over. Traditions such as the Veszprémic Archer Dance were integrated within celebrations surrounding the Csongrád Island.

Establishment of the Estate

János II, the then King of Hétumoger in 1072 established the Sió Estate, which was controlled by his family. The Esterházy dynasty itself made what is known as a Sió Promise, which was a promise that the lands covered by the Sió Estate that were requested to be untouched by the Sió people remain that way. An experience of walking through the island was recorded by Hétumogerian Highlander István Zápolya. He and several other men left to explore the island in the middle fall of 1256, as the first written account meant to detail the island. He detailed the sighting of honey bees, bears and the beauty of the birds on the island. He noticed the rather diverse birds that were on the island, István's covered extensive notes on the birds that lived on the island.

The Sió Estate grew and edged onto the consecrated ground of what was covered in the Sió Promise. At this point, the consecration of the ground proved more of a historical value than religious value to the Sió people. As such, the Sió Estate was allowed to expand to the coastline of the mainland, but was still forbidden from expanding or exploiting Csongrád Island.