Mutul

The Divine Kingdom Mutul
Flag Seal of the Ilok'tab Dynasty
Anthem: Those who build houses and temples
The Divine Kingdom.
Capital	K'alak Muul
Official language	Mutli
Recognized language	Mutun languages N’yuho-Diidxazá languages Chibchan languages
Ethnic groups (2010)	Chaan people Ben Zaa Nuu Davi Tatinak Lencas Chibchas
Demonym(s)	Mutulese
Government	Absolute Monarchy
• K'uhul Ajaw	Jasaw Chan K'awiil V
Formation
• First Dynasty	1500 BCE
• Nakabe Revolt	400 BCE
• Chaan Dynasty	360 BCE
• K'uy Dynasty	304 CE
• Belfrasian Crusade	1256 CE
• War for Kahei	1610 CE
• Sajal War	1828 CE
• Belfro-Mutulese war of 1911	1911 CE
Area
•	2,310,428.529 km2 (892,061.442 sq mi)
Population
• 2021 census	160,599,588
• Density	69.34/km2 (179.6/sq mi)
GDP (nominal)	2018 estimate
• Total	$2,606,651,762,931
• Per capita	$16,230.75
Gini	0.52 low
HDI	0.69 medium
Currency	B'ul
Date format	dd/mm/yyyy (Calendar Round)
Driving side	right
Calling code	+39
ISO 3166 code	MU
Internet TLD	.mt

The Divine Kingdom, also known as The Mutul or The Crown is an Absolute Monarchy in Ajax ruled by the K'uhul Ajaw, Jasaw Chan K'awiil V of the Ilok'tab Dynasty. With a population of around 160 million inhabitants it is the most populous country in Oxidentale. Covering approximately 2.7 million km², it is the second largest country of its continent.

The Ilok'tab Dynasty is the most recent of a long series of dynasties, or kingdoms, sharing the glyph-emblem of Mutul, which indicates the royal and superior nature of the dynasty over the other existing kingdoms. It is surrounded by Sante Reze to the south-east, Kayahallpa to the south, the Makria ocean to the west, and shares maritime borders with Belfras and Ayeli to the north.

The Mutul emerged as one of the world's earliest civilization, with the Archaic-Mutun and Chakb’ah peoples erecting their first cities around 3000 BC. Since then, the country was unified and fractured numerous times, with its last period of division in the 11th century. As a polytheist kingdom, it fought with the Latin Empire over Belfras and the partition of the Kayamuca Empire in the 13th century in conflicts known as the Belfrasian Crusade and the Xuman Crusade, part of the larger series of Norumbian Crusades performed by the Latin Empire during the 13th and 14th century. Ultimately defeated in Norumbia, the Divine Kingdom was more successful in Ochran, gaining the privilege of being the sole foreigners allowed in Tsurushima after the Kirishtan Uprising and then obtaining a permanent foothold in the Vespanian Sea after their victory in the War for Kahei. It would mark the beginning of the Mutul's own colonial enterprise, going as far as Bemiritra, taken by the Mutuleses during the Ozeros War.

The 20th century was a difficult era for the Mutul: it lost grip over its colonial empire during the Second War for Kahei, lost all of its Oxidentaleses protectorates and some of its territories to the newly re-constructed Kayahallpa in 1818, and ultimately entered a devastating civil war known as the Sajal War in 1828. Even after the Itzamnaaj Reformation that allowed the Mutul to fight back against Kayahallpa, it was still forced to abandon most of its remaning oversea possessions after the Arthuristan Ultimatum in 1841. The long lasting reign of Balijaj Chan K'awiil allowed the Mutul to stabilize itself and resume its industrialization.

The modern era of the Mutul was also characterized by the rekindling of the conflict with the Latium, culminating with the Belfro-Mutulese war of 1911 and continuing further with the war of 1928 and the controversial participation of the Mutul to the Social War and the trade war of 1952. Nonetheless, the Divine Monarchy is now a rising economy again. Despite high disparity in its economic situations, between some extremely rich cities and ports and vast swaths of lands still considered “backwards”, the current K’uhul Ajaw, Jasaw Chan K'awiil V, continue the work of his father and grandfather to modernise and transform the kingdom into a serious player on the international scene, having to handle a very traditionalist society (in its religions and practices notably) and the needs of the nation.

History

First Dynasty

Main article: Paol'lunyu Dynasty

See also: Nakabe Revolt

The ruin of Kaminyajulyu, the first capital of the Mutul.

Agricutural settlements in today Mutul date back as far as 3000 BC, but the first real cities only appear between 1500 and 1000 BC. 13 cities from this period show the characteristics considered central to the proto-mulul civilisation, such as a distinct architectural style and the use of proto-glyphs.

By 1000, the city of Kaminyajulyu became to dominant power in the region as the capital of the Papol’lunyu Dynasty. While the First Dynasty had no real control over the others states, they all respected them and paid tribute every year to Kaminyajulyu. They also sent their sons to be educated as hostages in the royal palace, and their daugthers to marry into the Papol’lunyu clan. Sometimes, the other Ajawtek even made the journey to Kaminyajulyu themselves to participate in important religious ceremonies, sport events, or large hunts, adding another level of submission to the main dynasty.

The Paol’lunyu legitimized their dominion by their control of water and the vast infrastructures they built. Kaminyajuylu was at the center of a vast web of canals and aqueducts, used to deliver waters to the main settlements, to irrigate the cultures and to transports merchandises and goods from one settlement to another. Cotton was grown as well as maize; palaeobotanical research also has identified annonas, avocados, cacao, black beans, palm nuts, plums, and sapodilla. Jades and obsidian were mined and wood exploited.

During the second half of the Paol’lunyu Dynasty, new clans and tribes started to pay tributes to the Ajaw of Kaminyajuylu and to adopt their traditions and customs. At least five new cities with vast and complex religious and administrative centers were built. Of these, Nakabe became a new dominant political center, replacing the weakning Paol’lunyu Dynasty as the Hegemon of the North. The Nakabe Revolt of 400BC saw the overthrowing of the Paol’lunyu, the destruction of most of Kaminyajuylu and the division of the Paolunyian Mutul between three competiting “Mutals” : Nakabe, Takalik, and Izapak. The period of war and of cultural change, notably in the role of the K’uhul Ajaw, “Divine King”, with vast centralization efforts by all dynasties.

Chaan Era (6th Dynasty)

Main article: Chaan Dynasty

The oldest known version of the "Heroic Twins" story date back to the 5th Dynasty.

The victory of the Nakabe Mutul over Takalik Abak after 50 years of war lead to the secret alliance between Izapak and the Yajaw (vassal) of Yux, who grew unruly after the ever more tyrannical practices of his master the K’uhul Ajaw of Nakabe. The rebellion of Yux, helped by Izapak and the recently defeated vassals of Takalik Abak. Nakabe was destroyed and Yux became its own Mutul with its own Dynasty, the Fifth, who after enough marriages with the Fourth Dynasty re-united the Mayan cities under the rule of Wabak'el Chaan, foundator of the Chaan (also known as the Sixth) Dynasty, in 320 BC.

Despite its 50 years long war, the Mutulese civilisation kept expanding through the use of mercenaries tribes that adopted Mutulese practices and cultures and introduced their own gods. Wabak'el Chaan restored the old canals systems and even built roads, new temples and many monuments celebrating the victory of his ancestors and the submission of the Mutul to the gods. The water control systems rebuilt and expanded and the bureaucracy reformed, the Mutul knew an explosion in term of demography and the colonisation of new territories through many wars with other cultures that were defeated, destroyed or forced to pay a tribute to the K’uhul Ajaw.

Chi'kin Era

See also: Chik'in Kingdom

See also: K'uy Dynasty

Danguixh was the original capital of the Kuy dynasty.

This Chaan Golden Age ended in 250 AD when the K’uhul Ajaw died and a conflict started between his sons to know who will succeed him. This conflict is generally known as the Brothers War. The powerful state known as the Chik'in Kingdom, to the west of the Mutul, exploited the occasion to grow and ultimately, under the leadership of Jatz’om Kuy, defeated the various Mutal and established the K'uy Dynasty by enthroning his son, Yax Nun Ahin, as the new K’uhul Ajaw in 301 CE.

In 357 CE, 56 years after Jatz’om Kuy’s conquests, his grandson Siyaj Chan K’awiil, in the 30th year of his rule, moved his capital from Danguixh to the rebuilt city of Yux, renamed Uaxakatz’am, thus starting the Tz’amkuy Dynasty.

K'iche Era

See also: Nimabal K'iche Dynasty

See also: Ilok'tab Dynasty

The K'iche were reknown for their warlike traditions.

Despite climatic conditions becoming more clement, the war didn’t stop. With the weakening of the Mutul military presence on its borders, most of its fortress and water control systems fell to the Q’umarkaj Kingdom (named after its capital), a tribal federation led by the Nima K’iche lineage. Using the political division of the Mutals, the Q‘umarkaj kingdom expanded quickly and its leader, K'ukumatz established itself as the new K'uhul Ajaw of the Nima K'iche Dynasty. However, the Dynasty was short-lived : K'ukumatz died in 1099 during a battle against the K'oja People who had rebelled against the K'iche. The revolt was put down by his son, K'ikab. But in 1109, ten years after his crowning, two of K'ikab sons and their vassals rebelled against their father. This first rebellion ended in a defeat of the royalists and a strengthening of the aristocratic lineages and a re-negociation of K'ikab inheritance. But the death of his first son, Waxak, before he could inherit the throne, led his two brothers and their respective partisans into a fraticidal war for the throne. K'ikab, then terribly ill and dying, agreed to follow his non-K'iche courtesans' advises and summon a large noble council. The Council decided, following the previous dynasties' customs but against K'iche's traditions, to elect Tziawilix the K'uhul Ajaw's daughter as K'uhul Ajaw. After K'ikab's death in 1114, Xiu Tzik'in succeeded him in a purely legal manner as she was his last living descendent, her brothers having been killed during the civil war. Her own son, Oxib Keh, inherited her position in 1142 but since the K'iche are a patrilineal people, he is considered to be the founder of the Tamub Dynasty.

In 1198 the Tamub K'uhul Ajaw B'ah Chich, was only seven years old and showed signs of mental deficiencies. A council of regents was put in charge of the country. Tecuman was one of the regents elected by the noble council, but through political manoeuvering and court intrigue and managed to sideline all the other regents. In 1202, B'ach Chich died after a mental health crisis. The same year, Tecuman, who was the uncle of B'ah Chich and thus had the "Blood of Chaak", was elected by the noble council as the new K'uhul Ajaw. Breaking away with some K'iche traditions, he renewed with the custom of regnal names, being crowned as Jasaw Chan K'awiil III. He would be the first Divine Lord of the Ilok'tab Dynasty that is still in place to this day.

The Belfrasian Crusade

Main article: Belfrasian Crusade

Depiction of a battle between the Mutuleses and the Latins in Norumbia

In 1256, Theodora, Empress of the Latins, managed to convince the Pope to send a crusade against the Benfrasse League. However, and to the surprise of most, the K'uhul Ajaw Tecuman declared itself protector of the old Kayamucan colonies, and sent an army to modern-day Belfras to oppose the crusaders. The intervention of the Mutul in the conflict however renforced the religious aspect of the war, especially after the sacrifice of Valens Terentius and other acts considered to be of senseless violences by the crusaders, confronted to a foreign conception of war and battles.

Ultimatey, very few cities rallied behind the Mutul and the expedition was forced to retreat to the Kalinagos islands. The battle of Kali'na was one of the last confrontation of the crusade and saw the defeat of the fleet led by Aulus Visellius which was unable to take over the fortified island, and was washed ashore by a violent storm. Most of the crusaders were either killed or captured and sacrified by the Mutulians.

The battle of Kali'na could have signed the failure of the crusade, as after it, the latins lacked the transports and the manpower to oppose a second Mutulian incursion in Belfras. However, Tecuman sent ambassadors to the crusaders, to negociate. The resulting treaty, known as the Treaty of Beikena, divided the Kustakuna in two. The colonies in Skraelingia would be under Latin supervision, while the Oxidentale colonies would join the Mutul.

The historians can only make suppositions about the reasons behind this sudden change of tactic by the K'uhul Ajaw. Theoretically, the manpower of the Mutul was far from depleted and a second expedition in Belfras was possible, especially after the victory at Kali'na. However, there is evidences of an important epidemy touching the Xuman Peninsula around AD 1260, and it is possible that Tecuman was too busy dealing with the situation at home to allow more men, time or funds to oppose the crusade. Expecting latins reinforcement to come before the epidemies ceased, which would give the edge to the Latium, it is possible that Tecuman prefered to settle for the current Status quo, making sure that as soon as the epidemy would end, he could take over the Kayamucans colonies with ease and without opposition from the Latin Empire.

The Xuman Crusade

The Belfrasian crusade was followed by a period of relative peace. After taking over the old Runakunian colonies, Tecuman was able to expand the Mutul eastward, profiting from the weakness of Kustakuna and the truce with the Latin Empire. 30 years after the Belfrasian Crusade, both the Mutul and the Latin Empire had recovered enough power in the region so that a war was inevitable.

Leon Aegidius, a greek-latin aristocrat with interests in Belfras, convinced the Emperor to take over the strait separating Skaelingia and Oxidentale and in general to deal a fatal blow to the K'uhul Ajaw. Both the Pope and the Emperor declared a Second Crusade upon the Mutul. With his efforts to gather the troops, the funds and the manpower to go through the Thalassan Ocean, Leon Aegidius became the leader of this expedition.

Despite initial success, the crusaders managing to land on the Mutul coast and establish a bridgehead for supply, the crusaders were soon cut from the rest of the world when the Mutulian troops managed to cut their supply line. The lack of intel on the Xuman Peninsula, it's infrastructures, settlements, water and food sources, proved to be fatal to the Latins, as it's only then they discovered that the Xuman Peninsula lack any kind of river and it's only sources of water are cenotes,all of which were either fortified or destroyed by the Mutul to deny water to the crusaders.

Of this crusade, only one survivor is known, as one of the missionaries was spared by the Mutulians and sent back to Belfras. Most of what we know about the rest of the expedition after the destruction of the bridgehead port is known from his testimony and the monuments built by the Yajaws to celebrate their victory on the Latins. Today, Leon Aegidius is considered by the Fabrian Catholic Church of Latium as a Martyr, like Valens Tarentus (who even became a saint) and Aulus Visellius.

Purity Quarrel

The Temple of Wijya was one of the main hotspot of U'wa resistance during the Quarrel

In 1328, Tecuman II the Wise' religious scholars finished the Bitzk'uh, a religious document separated in four books and considered to be the unified sums of knowledge gathered by the different religious orders of the kingdom. The U'wa people, who had their own district in Puylum, while they continued to accept the Divine Nature of the K'uhul Ajaw refused to adopt the Bitzk'uh as their main religious text. Instead, they maintained their own Oral Corpus of complex religious hymns and songs, with their own practices far removed from those in the rest of the Mutul. Their perception of non-U'wa as "impure" and their many purification rites when in contact with foreigners casted major doubts on the U'wa' loyalties.

In 1366, the U'wa were pushed out of Puylum by the local Viceroy who wanted to force them to recognize once for all the authority of the Bitzk'uh, accusing the U'wa of practicing sorcery and shamanism and of conspiring against the Divine Lord. These episode of forced convertion led to the uprising of the U'wa clans against the Mutul, an event known as the Purity Quarrel. Led by their Werjayás (Elders) and Karekas (Shamans), they continued their guerilla warfare for 15 years before the reinforcements from K'alak Muul with the support of local Dule allies secured the region. In 1382, a treaty was signed between the Mutul and the eight U'wa tribes. The latter repeated their submission to the K'uhul Ajaw and their attachement to certain White Path principles such as the plurality of Creator Deities and the rejection of Monotheism. In exchange, they were allowed to preserve their oral traditions and religious customs as their own Sakbeist denomination: Karekaism.

Yao Wars

Copy of a stelae depicting Viceroy Kohbalam capture of Upaj

The U'wa were not the only people unwilling to accept the new orthodoxy imposed on them by K'alak Muul. In the south of Xukaj, the Ette Ennaka, nominally under the tutelage of the Viceroy in Puylum, had their own state and their own monotheist religion. The demands of the Mutul to recognize the divine nature of the K'uhul Ajaw, to accept the existence of multiple creator gods, and to adopt the Bitzk'uh as part of their religious litterature were not well received by the Ette Ennaka. Aj K'inob and Aj Menob from Puylum were banished from their territory and the Ette Ennaka refused to pay tribute to the Viceroy any longer. Chimichagua was elected war leader of the Ette Ennaka in 1359. The fiction of Mutulese control over the Ette Ennaka was lost when Chimichagua's troops defeated the columns sent by Puylum to suppress the revolt.

The Purity Quarrel (1366 - 1382) also prevented the Mutul from dealing with the Ette Ennaka, who were free to develop their state in the meanwhile, becoming the dominant force not only in southern Xukaj but also taking over the majority of modern Nohkaj. But as the Mutulese threat lost priority and Chimichagua launched himself in expansionists endeavors, dissenters appeared who contested Chimichagua' abuse of powers and who wanted to maintain the traditional tribal social structure,something Chimichagua increasingly autocratic rule threatened.

In reaction to the rebellion, the K'iche built a new Sak B'e going from Kʼumakah to the south-west border of Xukaj. A decade long monumental work through hundreds of kilometers that allowed the Ilok'tab to reassert their control over the southern reaches of the Mutul. With the end of the Purity Quarrel in 1382, Chimichagua' coalition found itself forced to fight a two-front wars against the K'iche. The latter notably targeted the Ette Ennaka' plantations, freeing the slaves and promising them their ancient masters' lands as communal holdings. In 1385 Chimichagua and his lieutenants took their own lives to avoid being captured and the last holdouts of the rebellion surrendered.

The Ette Ennaka were forced to recognize the K'uhul Ajaw as a deity, to accept Yao as an Avatar of Itzamna the main Creator God of the Mutulese pantheon but only one of thirteen, and to respect the Slave Code among other laws of the Mutul, further destabilising their caste-based society. The liberation of all slaves who had supported the K'iche, the redistribution of lands, the deportation of war prisoners, and the division of the Ette Ennaka' kingdom in half between the Viceroyalties of Xukaj and Nohkaj, aggravated the triple social, economic and religious crisis of the defeat for the Ette Ennaka.

A new Yaoist rebellion would be led a generation later by a new religious warchief, Upaj, who rejected the multiplicity the Divine and wanted to re-establish a Ette Ennaka state. It would last from 1415 to 1422 and end once again with the defeat of the Yaoists, the deportation of war prisoners, but also with the destruction of the main temple to Yao and its reconstruction as the modern Solar Temple of Tamaja. The cult of Itzamna-Yao, or "Narayajana", became especially popular among the freed slaves and the new colonists, who adopted parts of the Ette Ennaka rituals and theology in the broader framework of the White Path. Tamaja is thus today the heart of the province' religious life.

Mutulese Empire

Main article: Mutulese Ochran

See also: Akutze Selenecha

19th Century

Sajal War

Main article: Sajal War

20th Century and Modern Days

The Arm Race

From the 1890s to 1911, a naval arms race between the Divine Kingdom and Belfras took place. This tense arms race lasted until the war broke out. While technically ending in a "draw", neither side having gained the upper hand over the other, it ingrained in the public and political consciousness of the time the idea that the two nations were mortal enemies.

War of 1911

Main article: Belfro-Mutulese war of 1911

In 1911, the state of Eunos retracted itself from the Treaty of the Federation, declaring itself as an independent, sovereign, nation : Hachawaya. Immediately, the new state was recognized by the Mutul, which escalated the conflict. The war officialy began with surprise attack on Zuz Peten by the Belfrasian Navy, which had long lasting repercussion on the rest of the conflict notably giving an edge to the Federation on the naval theatre, an edge it quickly exploited leading to the Xuman Campaign during whichPrince Nicholaus was killed. The war ended with the Belfrasians being forced to leave the Xuman Peninsula, their naval hegemony contested by the new Mutulese submarine fleet, and Hachawaya defeated and forced to re-integrate the Federation.

The Sunrise

Main article: The Sunrise (Mutul)

Arrest of a teacher supposed to have Orientalists and Monadists sympathies, with a mob of students in the background

By the fifties, the Orientalists had outlived their usefulness. Internally, they now had too many enemies leagued against them, from the Traditionalists to the Occidentalists, to be viable without the support of the K’uhul Ajaw. At the international, their policies failed one too many time to bring Belisaria closer to the Mutul for the K’uhul Ajaw to care about them anymore, especially now that alternative policies had been theorized by their rivals. The 1954 Yisraeli embargo on Mutuleses goods was used by the enemies of the Orientalists as the final proof of their failure as a political ideology. All that was waiting was a public sign that the K’uhul Ajaw had definitively abandoned them, which came the year after.

In 1955 the Orientalist politician and administrator Yu Kun Maax was arrested on charge of sedition and treason. He was notably accused of having secretly converted to Fabrianism to marry his wife, to have favored the diffusion of monotheistic ideas among the population, and generally to have worked alongside Belfras, Latium, and other Belisarians powers against the Mutul’s social order and the K’uhul Ajaw. Quickly his process became one for the entire Orientalist movement. The protests and riots that had punctuated the late forties and the first half of the fifties suddenly started to target Orientalists sympathizers and everything related to them : from their meeting places to their houses and even businesses when possible. The Traditionalists made sure to accuse them of being secretly Fabrians or, even worse, atheists with no god nor laws. the Occidentalists condemned them as being the enemies and oppressors of the faithful workers. Brutal display of “Popular” justice led to the death of thousands of sympathizers, while following the Yu Kun Maax case, the police kept arresting many Monadists and other “liberals”. Monadists teachers or students at universities were brutally aggressed by mobs of Orthodoxs. These violences continued well into 1956, even after most Orientalists politicians had died in prison or forced to flee the country, replaced by a new wave of Traditionalists and Occidentalists politicians who now pushed for laws against the Monadists and reiterated their opposition to Fabrianism and other religions considered to have been created by the "Enemies of Mankind".

The Cohabitation

For the next 9 years, the country knew a period knwown as "The Cohabitation" with a government made of both Occidentalists and Traditionalists ministers and politicians. The first year of this government were relatively peaceful, both side agreeing on the necessity to revert the Orientalists policies and laws, as well as the application of a Land reform which came into law in 1959. But this "honeymoon" would not last and quickly divides appeared inside the government. By the time the land reform came into action, both the Orientalists the various Traditionalists movements were in an open war. Given the situation, the Occidentalists managed to convince the K'uhul Ajaw to retire the most elderly of Traditionalists Ministers and replace them with their own partisans. In 1964, the Divine Lord Jasaw Chan K'awiil IV did just so, announcing a great "Governmental Rejuvenation" by removing all ministers above 65 years old no matter their movement. However, they were replaced only by Occidentalists as per the plan. This sparkled outrage among many Traditionalists movements but the divisions among their many schools and sects prevented the formation of a common front against the Rejuvenation, especially when considering many had been pushed away from the higher instances of power by those who had just been hit by the changes.

Sensing the desunion, Jasaw Chan K'awiil IV and his Occidentalists ministers accelerated their plan. They began to arrest political opponents, forced the remaining Traditionalists ministers to resign and then to go on semi-exile far away from K'alak Muul, and published decrees making illegal many of the main Traditionalists organizations, cutting them from their base of support. Through this Rejuvenation, the Occidentalists were now fully in control of the government by 1965.

Geography

A typical scene of the Nik'ajal highlands.

The Mutul is a vast country with a great diversity of biomes and environments. Despite this, it is often broadly generalized into five "bioregions" which had great consequences on the human populations of these lands.

The Xaman Peninsula is the northernmost bioregion of the Mutul. The peninsula is the emerged part of the Xaman Platform, and is composed of carbonate and soluble rocks, being mostly limestone although dolomite and evaporites are also present at various depths. The whole of the Xaman Peninsula is an unconfined flat lying karst landscape. Sinkholes, known locally as cenotes, are widespread in the northern lowlands. Because of its Karstic nature, the Xaman Peninsula is almost entirely void of rivers but is the host of most of the country's oil reserve.

The Western bioregion is commonly refered as the Cho'ok Volcanic Belt. It is a volcanic belt that covers most of the Cho'ok Administrative Region. Several of its highest peaks have snow all year long, and during clear weather, they are visible to a large percentage of those who live on the many high plateaus from which these volcanoes rise. It was formed by the collision between the Oxidentale and Skraelingia plates.

The central regions of Mutul are mostly comprised of the Nik'ajal mountains. These relatively old mountains predate the apparition of volcanism in the Cho'ok Belt, and are an expansion of this long mountain range. The Nik'ajal highland are the birthplace of the Mutulian civilization.

Biodiversity

The Mutul includes a diverse range of habitats from alpine heaths to tropical rainforests, and is recognised as a megadiverse country. Because of the continent's great age, extremely variable weather patterns, and long-term geographic isolation, much of Oxidentale's biota is unique and the Mutul is no exception to the rule. Many of these animals have played important roles in the fabrication of the Mutulese culture.

Drawing of a B'alamb.

B'alamb : this species was and still is a symbol of power and strength. In the religion of the Chibcha people of eastern Mutul, the B'alamb was considered a sacred animal and during their religious rituals the people dressed in B'alambob skins. In Western Mutul, the Olmec—the most influential culture of this region—developed a distinct "were-B'alamb" motif of sculptures and figurines showing stylised jaguars or humans with B'alamb characteristics. And in the city-states that will become the Mutul, the B'alamb was believed to facilitate communication between the living and the dead and to protect the royal household.

A reconstitution of an extinct Terror Bird species.

Terror Birds : Phorusrhacids are an important clade of large carnivorous flightless birds that were the largest species of apex predators in South America during the Cenozoic era. Despite the fact most of their larger representants were largely extinct by the time of the modern era, the latins reported that the Mutuleses armies still used Terror Birds from 1 to 2 meters tall in-lieu of wardogs and some of the last sight of individuals more than 2 meters tal happened during the Belfrasian Terror Wars. Carnivorous, fast runners, hunting small and large prays alike, the Terror Birds, called Sajal Mutob in Mutli were prized trophies after a hunt, and this since at least the Paol'lunyu Dynasty as proven by the mural paintings in the ruins of Kaminyajunlyu. Today, most species of Phorushacids either still live in the protected Mutulese jungles and forests, or are raised for their meat and feathers used in the Mutulese fashion industry. Some of its smallest species are often pets in Mutulese households, and many species have been raised for war purposes, gambling matches, or for races.

White-tailed deer : , also known as the whitetail or Sakal Neh is a medium-sized deer native of both Oxidentale and Norumbia. They are very common in the Mutul and have been part of the local diet since forever. Recently farms have been developed to answer the high demand in venison by the Mutuleses, and deer meat is common all thourough the country. Despite this, the Sakal Neh is still common in the wild, and hunts are regulary organized to control its population, who might otherwise cause damages to the farmlands and other human environments.

A Tzabcan.

snakes : The Mutul possess a wide diversity of snakes. In the Xuman alone, more than 200 species of snakes are recorded to date, with 18% of them endemic to the area. The Xuman Neotropical Rattlesnake, also known in Mutli as Tzabcan, is one of the holy animals of the Mutul, closely associated to the Royal Family and temples often have columns carved in the form of this snake. In Mutuleses traditions, Tzabcanob are said to be bringer of rains and messengers of Chaac. The venomous but shy K'an pok, the feared Chac can, and the truly dangerous Taxinchan, are other endemics species of the Mutul.

birds : The Terror Birds are not the only members of the Aves clade in the country. In fact, the lack of great mammals in Oxidentale means that the marsupials and the birds are occupying ecological niches that are not free for them in the rest of the world. Counting the different species of Sajal Mutob, more than 2000 species of birds are recorded in the Mutul. Bird-hunting is one of the oldest activities of the Mutuleses peoples and is depicted in many legends, the Heroic Twins were bird hunters, and in numerous mural painting be it of palaces or of graves. Even today, bird hunting is, one way or another, considered a passtime in rural Mutul, even if the Divine Throne as put in place many rules and restriction to regulate this activity and better protect the biodiversity of the country. Turkey and poultry in general are at the base of the Mutulese diet and the Mutul is one of the world's largest producer of poultry.

A Thalassian crocodile.

crocodiles : the Thalassian crocodile is a species of crocodilian found in the Neotropics, with populations in both southern Belfras, the West-Thalassian Islands and the Mutul. In the latter, It's habitat consists largely of coastal areas. It is also found in river systems, but has a tendency to prefer, not merely to tolerate, some level of salinity, resulting in the species congregating in brackish lakes, mangrove swamps, lagoons, cays, and small islands. It's large presence in saline water means that many coastal settlements in the Mutul have a temple dedicated to the animal, and he's a common sacrifice during religious ceremonies. Today, some crocodilians cults raise Thalassian crocodiles specifically to serve as sacrifices, and otherwise finance large campaigns for the protection of the animal.

turtles : both sea turtles and freshwater turtles are present in the Mutul. like the crocodiles and sharks, they are commonly venerated and sacrificed in water-related temples and cults. Turtles carapaces were often used as musical instruments by Mutuleses peoples. The turtle is an important symbol in today's cults, as it represent resurection and rebirth. Since antiquity, local legends tell the stories of gods using shells or turtles carapaces as home, but only in the later dead gods are depicted coming back to life.

Drawing of two Chaknob.

A Spider monkey.

Chakni : Resembling a humpless camel with a short trunk, though it is not closely related to them, Macrauchenia also called Long Nose (Chakni) in Mutli, is an herbivore living out of tree leafs and long grass. It's main defense mechanism is its great speed and ability to outrun its predators, like the B'alamb or Terror Birds. It ability to twist and turn at high speed have enabled it to evade pursuers. An herd animal, Chaknob have been some of the first animals to be raised as livestocks in Oxidentale, primarily for their wool, especially in mountaineous areas where they also help transporting equipment. As they were not useful to the populations living in the jungles, domesticated Chaknob were introduced to the Mutul only after the K'iche established their dynasties during the 13th century.

Monkeys : Oxidentale monkeys are the five families of primates that are found in the tropical regions of the continent. Callitrichidae, Cebidae, Aotidae, Pitheciidae, and Atelidae. The five families are ranked together as the Ceboidea. In the Mutul, the two most important species of monkeys in the Mutul, both in presence and culturally are the Spider Monkey and the Howler Monkey, called respectively in Mutli Batz and Max. Both of these species are strongly linked to scribes, artists, and artisans in Mutulese religion and traditions, and are considered holy animals.

Politics

Main article: Divine Monarchy of the Mutul

See also: Central Library

See also: House of Shadows

The official glyph of the Divine Kingdom.

The Mutul is an absolute monarchy in which all legislative, executive, and judiciary power ultimately rests in the hands of the hereditary K'uhul Ajaw.

Jasaw Chan Kawiil is the head of state and also directly controls the foreign affairs and defence portfolios. The K'uhul Ajaw has absolute power and issues laws by decree.

The K'uhul Ajaw has no system of checks and balances, and thus no separation of powers. All power is concentrated in the Divine King, who is also chief of staff of the armed forces and chairman of the Central Bank. All legislation have been promulgated through royal decrees. The K'uhul Ajaw appoints judges, and can grant pardons and commute sentences.No political parties or national elections are permitted.

Outside of the Ilok'tab Dynasty, participation in the political process takes the form of the royal family consulting with the various Ch'ob, the religious authorities and members of important commercial families on major decisions. This process is generally not reported by the media.

By custom, all citizens of full age have a right to petition the king directly through the traditional Ch'ob. Local Ch'ob may send their demands directly to the Divine Throne who then promulgates orders or delegate the demand to more regional entities, like the Yajaw or the Batab, or refuse them.

Government

Four Pillars and Nine Generations

Beside the K'uhul Ajaw who act as Chief of State and Chief of Government, the central administrative system of the Mutul is traditionally composed of a total of thirteen "ministers" : four "Bakabob" representing the regal powers of the State, and the "Bolon Tz'akab" which are responsible for various other precise areas. Under jasaw Chan K'awiil V, these ministries are titled :

Four Bakabob :

• Kan Tziknal : Minister of the Economy and Finances. Current holder : Wak Tun Chanil
• Josanek : Minister of Foreign Relationships and Diplomacy. Current holder : Ahin Chan Toktan
• Hobnil : Minister of the Armies. Current holder : Walaj Kaan
• Sak Kim : Minister of the Interior. Current holder : J'el Tun Tz'unun

Nine Bolon Tz'akab :

• Minister of Justice
• Minister of Education
• Minister of Land Gestion
• Minister of Public Health
• Minister of Cultural Life
• Minister of Agriculture
• Minister of Rites
• Minister of the Treasury. Current holder : Sakal Chel
• Minister of the Public Workforce

A position akin to that of a prime minister also exist, the K'awiil, but is not regularly filled. For example, there has been no K'awiil since Jasaw Chan K'awiil V became K'uhul Ajaw in 1991. But before that, his father and grand-father made extensive use of the position as a political tool.

Legal System

The administration of justice is highly personalized, with limited due process protections, especially in political and security-related cases. The Constitution of 1844 is supposedly the cornerstone of the Mutulese legal system and it operates as a constitution for the country. It was last amended in 1998.

Economy

See also: Banking in the Mutul

The Mutul has a mixed economy with abundant natural resources, active in agricultural, mining, manufacturing and service sectors. The agricultural sector in particular as recently known an important growth rate because of the demand for bio-fuel in Sante Reze, which meant the latter started to import more foodstuff and farming products. The country has been expanding its presence in international financial and commodities markets, and has become one of the largest car market in the world. Major export products include electrical equipment, automobiles, ethanol, textiles, footwear, iron ore, steel, chocolate, and venison.

Agriculture

Main article: agriculture in the Mutul

Various kind of maize are cultivated in the Mutul, with colors ranging from yellow to blue.

According to the census, there are 12 millions farmers in the Mutul, about 10% of the total population. There are currently 5 millions registered farms representing a total of 250 millions cultivated hectares. The vast majority of farms are private, family owned farms. About 75% of the cultivated area is used for food crops. The most important crops in the Mutul are the agriculture. Other crops cultivated in every farms dedicated to food production are the sweet potato, the Chaya plant, Avocado, and Cassava.

The Mutul is the world largest cocoa producer. Cocoa is produced in dedicated farms with strict quality control and an extensive label system certifying the origin and the quality of the cocoa beans and then of the chocolate. 3% of the total cultivated areas in the Mutul are dedicated to the production of cocoa and there are more than three hundred registered kind of chocolate products in the country.

Turkeys on pasture at an organic farm

Many other kind of fruits and plants, such as tomato, chili peppers, breadnut, guava, Soursop, mammee apple, papaya, pineapple, vanilla, epazote, Achiote, annatto seed, canella, root beer plant, garlic vine, redbrush lippia, and allspice, agave. cotton fields are common in central and western Mutul.

The Divine Kingdom is also an important producer of poultry, with production ranging from industrial battery cages to free-range when raised in small farms alongside other animals and crops. Poultry in the Mutul are raised for their meat, eggs, but also for their feathers and even leather. turkey, chicken, duck, and pigeons are all commonly raised, but there are also species of the Terror Birds family that are raised for the quality and beauty of their feathers.

The country is the largest supplier of farm raised venison, with an estimated stock of 10 millions deers that are raised for their meat, but also for their skin, fur, antlers, and velvet.

Energy and minerals ressources

Mineral resources are the "nation's property" (i.e. public property) by constitution. As such, the energy sector is administered by the government with varying degrees of private investment.

Energy production in the Mutul is managed by the state-owned companies, the Commission for Energy Distribution and Mut-Ektaha.

Mut-Ektaha, the public company in charge of exploration, extraction, transportation and marketing of crude oil and natural gas, as well as the refining and distribution of petroleum products and petrochemicals.

The Mutul has an abundant potential for hydroelectric power production due to its considerable river network and mountainous terrain. Most of the total hydroelectric capacity is situated in the southeast and west of the country. Geothermal energy is also exploited in the western mountain range. Together, hydroelectric and geothermal electrecity represent 40% of the Mutul's production.

Exploitation of the biomasses is also being promoted by the [[Commission for Energy Distribution], with for example, bagasse, being exploited for their energy, producing close to 2,500 MWh per year, allowing for some sugar and rhum factories to be autonomous energy-wise. The Divine Throne support a certain number of program to allow for the production of electricity and other form of energies from agricultural wastes.

Industry and Manufacturing

A Bolon Ek'in electric sport car charging before a race

Among the most important industrial manufacturers in the Mutul is the automotive industry, whose standards of quality are internationally recognized. The automobile sector in the Mutul differs from that in other developing nations in that it does not function as a mere assembly manufacturer. The industry produces technologically complex components and engages in some research and development activities, notably with Rezeses industries, in the domain of electric and hybrid cars.

Numerous Rezeses companies have been operating in the Mutul since the end of the 20s, soon to be followed in the 60s and 70s by ArthuristansLatins and other Belisarians enteprises, but also Tsurushimans and Tarsans consortiums. . Given the high requirements of components in the industry, many factories and equipment and parts suppliers have emerged around these big local and foreigns manufacturers. In the town of Kimik'ik alone, 70 industrial part-makers cluster around the local car manufacturer.

The most important representative of the Mutulese car industry is Manich 5 Mawin a manufacturer of trucks, busses and military vehicles that is notably known for its line of electric busses and is generally considered a pioneer of electric public transports. There are many other enterprises, producing cars, trucks, and all sort of vehicles both for the Mutulese market and for export.

the Mutul share with the rest of Oxidentale a long history of auto racing and many Mutuleses enterprises possess a racing team, or more. The Divine Kingdom is notably home of the Ek' Xak'in race track, which is often in use by the many prestigious Oxidentaleses or even worldwide competitions. Ek Xak'in is also the "home city" of Bolon Ek'in, a car producer famous for his hybrids vehicles. the Royal and Divine Automobile Show of K'alak Muul is the most important annual event of the Mutulese Automotive Industry and is held every 18 Kank'in.

An important part of the Mutulese industry is dependent on the production of parts and equipments for the Rezeses markets and consortiums. For example, the Conglomerate Ch'ob Tasil possess Oxaja, is the largest producer of bottles and soda cans for Rezeses products. The Ch'ob Tasil is also famous for its production of Tequila and other alcoholic beverages.

Electronics

A Rezese high definition LCD assembled under OEM contract in the Mutul

The electronics industry has grown enormously within the last two decades. The Divine Kingdom is one of the largest electronic industries in the world, behind Tsurushima, Sante Reze, Belfras, and X. The Mutulese electronic industry is dominated by the manufacture and OEM design of mobile phones, circuit boards, semiconductors, electronic appliances, communications equipment and LCD modules. Currently electronics represent 20% of the Mutul's exports. The Mutul is especially famous for its batteries, battery packs, and other devices of which the Rezeses and Tsurushimans markets have a great demand for.

The success and rapid growth of the Mutulese electronics sector is driven primarily by the relatively low cost of manufacturing and design in the country; its strategic position as a major consumer electronics market coupled with its proximity to both the large Belfrasians and Sante Rezeses markets. Government support is visible in the form of low business taxes, simplified access to loans and capital for both foreign multinational and domestic startup tech-based firms; and a very large pool of highly skilled, educated labor across all sectors of the tech industry.

There are almost half a million students enrolled in electronics engineering programs with an additional 100,000 electronics engineers entering the workforce each year. From the late 1990s, the electronics industry began to shift away from simple line assembly to more advanced work such as research, design, and the manufacture of advanced electronics systems such as LCD panels, semiconductors, printed circuit boards, microelectronics, microprocessors, chipsets and heavy electronic industrial equipment.

Semiconductors

The Mutulese Semiconductor Industry, including the manufacturing and design of microchips, represents a major part of the Divine Kingdom’ IT industry. The country is home to a wide array of different companies, either national or foreign, with a variety of business models: from IDM who handle designing and manufacturing in-house to fabless ones who only design their products and outsource the production, and pure-play foundries who only manufactures devices for other companies. The largest companies in each category are: the IDM Two-Rivers Technology (Kaja-Tech), the pure-play manufacturer NOSM (North Oxidentale Semiconductor Manufacturing, based in K’alak Muul), and the fabless Ocean Silicon (K’anab Zuz, based in Yu).

The Mutul is currently the second largest semiconductor market in Oxidentale after Sante Reze in raw volumes, although when reported to its population size it falls behind both Zacapican and Orun-Redisus. A large number of devices are imported from international suppliers, mainly Sante Reze, Tsurushima, and Orun-Redisus. Those same companies often operate fabrication plants within the Mutul, especially Rezeses and Redisans ones.

Textile

The textile industry in the Mutul is still an important sector of the country's economy, despite having lost in proeminence since the 19th century. The Mutul is one of the world largest producer of cotton and more than 50% of the textile industry is cotton based. But since the 20th century, synthetic fibres are taking a more proeminent role in the industry, notably since the early 21th century with the offshoring by many Sante Reze enterprises of their productions of Nylons, Acrylic and various Polyester fibers. In 2003 there has been incidents in factories producing Artificial silks as many workers were seriously harmed by the carbon disulfide used to produce the textile, which was one of the important triggers of the 2003 riots.

Joint Productions

A car assembly line in the Mutul

While many foreign companies simply install wholly owned factories in the Mutul, a number of foreign companies have set up semi-independent joint venture companies with Mutuleses businesses to manufacture and design components in the Divine Kingdom. These companies are independently operated from their foreign parent companies and are registered in the Mutul. These local companies function under Mutulese law and retain a sizable portion of the revenue. These companies typically function dually as in-company OEM development and design facilities and manufacturing centers and usually produce most components needed to manufacture the finished products. ome of these subsidiaries have grown to expand into multiple branches effectively becoming autonomous conglomerates within their own parent companies.

Demographics

Religion

Main article: White Path

Ethnics groups

the genealogy of the mayan languages. The official language of the Mutul, the Mutli belongs to the "Ch'ol proper" branch.

The Mutul is ethnically diverse; with people of several ethnicities being united under a single national identity, with more than 40 officialy recognized ethnic groups, most of which have their own languages, such as the K'iche or the Nahuatl. The overarching term "Mutun" is a collective designation to include the peoples that share some degree of cultural and linguistic heritage; however, the term embraces many distinct populations, societies, and ethnic groups that each have their own particular traditions, cultures, and historical identity. About 80% of the total population of the Mutul consider themselves of "Mutun" heritage. In the east another important family are the Chibchan peoples with 10 officialy recognized ethnies part of it. In the west, important ethnies are the Nahuas, Nuu Davi, Ben 'Zaa, Hinatho, Totonac, and Olmecs.

The official criteria recognized by the Divine Throne to distinguish one's ethnicities is the language. Census performed by the Divine Throne make the distinction between the Native Language and the Everyday Language. The most spoken language in the Central Region is the Ch'ol language, followed by its relatives of the Cholan branch : the Ch'orti language, Ch'olti' language, Chontal language, and the K'ol. Other widely spoken languages, especially in the urban areas of northern and western Mutul where Mutun-speakers settled during the multiple expansions of the Divine Realm include Tzotzil and Tzeltal.

Culture

Architecture

Example of Mutulese architecture.

A unique and intricate style, the tradition of Mutulese architecture spans several thousands of years. Often, the buildings most dramatic and easily recognizable as Mutuleses are the stepped pyramids. These pyramids relied on intricate carved stone in order to create a stairstep design. Each pyramid was dedicated to a deity whose shrine sat at its peak.

As Mutuleses cities spread throughout the varied geography of Northern Oxidentale, the extent of site planning appears to have been minimal ; Old cities having been built somewhat haphazardly as dictated by the topography of each independent location. Mutulese architecture tends to integrate a great degree of natural features. For instance, some cities existing on the flat limestone plains of the northern Xuman grew into great sprawling municipalities, while others built in the Central Hills utilized the natural loft of the topography to raise their towers and temples to impressive heights. However, some semblance of order, as required by any large city, still prevailed. At the onset of large-scale construction, a predetermined axis was typically established in congruence with the cardinal directions. Depending upon the location and availability of natural resources such as fresh-water wells, or cenotes, the city grew by connecting great plazas with the numerous platforms that created the sub-structure for nearly all Maya buildings, by means of sacbeob causeways. As more structures were added and existing structures re-built or remodeled, the great Maya cities seemed to take on an almost random identity that contrasts sharply with other great cities such as {{wp|Teotihuacan| and its rigid grid-like construction. When they first conquered the Mutul, the Chik'in Dynasties tried to establish grid-like settlements, but apparently soon adopted the Mutulese method of city building, sometime mixing the two styles depending on the architects and local preferences and possibilities.

Reconstitution of a Chaan Dynasty city center.

At the heart of the city exist large plazas surrounded by their most valued governmental and religious buildings such as the acropolis, great pyramid temples, and ballcourts. Though city layouts evolved as nature dictated, careful attention was placed on the directional orientation of temples and observatories so that they were constructed in accordance with Maya interpretation of the orbits of the stars. Immediately outside this ritual center were the structures of lesser nobles, smaller temples, and individual shrines: the less sacred and less important structures had a greater degree of privacy. Outside the constantly evolving urban core were the less permanent and more modest homes of the common people.

Classic urban design could easily be described as the division of space by great monuments and causeways. In this case, the open public plazas were the gathering places for the people and the focus of the urban design, while interior space was entirely secondary. But when a settlement was built on strategic locations for the control of tradelines or the defense of the borders, the urbanism was more fortress-like with defensive structures that lacked, for the most part, the large and numerous plazas.

The great cities of the Maya civilization were composed of pyramid temples, palaces, ballcourts, sacbeob (causeways), patios and plazas. Some cities also possessed extensive hydraulic systems or defensive walls. The exteriors of most buildings were painted, either in one or multiple colours, or with imagery. Many buildings were adorned with sculpture or painted stucco reliefs.

First courtyard of the Chak Yaxnah Ho’kan, the Royal Palace of K'alak Muul.

Palaces and acropolis : These complexes are usually located in the site core, beside a principal plaza. Mutuleses palaces consist of a platform supporting a multiroom range structure. The term acropolis, in a Mutulese context, refers to a complex of structures built upon platforms of varying height. Palaces and acropoleis are essentially elite residential compounds, being both the places from were the K’uhul Ajaw or his Yajawob rule their territories. They generally extend horizontally as opposed to the towering pyramids. Large palaces, can be fitted with a water supply, and sweat baths were often built within the complex, or nearby. rulers were sometimes buried underneath the acropolis complex. A palace generally has one throne room, except in some of the royal palaces in which case multiple throne rooms are present, with roles varying depending on the social norms and rituals of the dynasties who built them. Palaces are far more than simple elite residences, and only regional capitals possess active ones. When they no longer serve an administrative purpose, they are generally reconverted into museum, or holidays residences of the royal or a ducal family.

K'uh Nahob : A K'uh Nah is a religious structure often raised on platforms, most often upon a pyramid. The earliest temples were probably thatched huts built upon low platforms. By the Khaan Dynasty, their walls were of stone, and the development of the corbel arch allowed stone roofs to replace thatch. By theend of said dynasty, temple roofs were being topped with roof combs that extended the height of the temple and served as a foundation for monumental art. The temple shrines contain between one and three rooms, and are dedicated to important deities. Generally, freestanding pyramids are shrines honouring powerful ancestors.

Reconstitution of Kaminyajunlyu Triadic Pyramid.

E-group are a particular arrangement of temples that are relatively common in the Mutul. They consisted of three small structures facing a fourth structure, and were used to mark the solstices and equinoxes. Due to its nature, the basic layout of an E-Group is constant. A structure was built on the west side of a plaza; usually a radial pyramid with stairways facing the cardinal directions. It face east across the plaza to three small temples on the far side. From the west pyramid, the sun is seen to rise over these temples on the solstices and equinoxes.

E-groups are generally compared with Belisarian Cathedrals, as they often are the most important religious monuments of a city. During the Holhun Lak’atunab, many E-groups were built, generally associated with vast abbey-like complexes, in association with vast libraries, observatories for various celestial objects, and Monkey Game’s courts.

consisting of a dominant structure flanked by two smaller inward-facing buildings, all mounted upon a single basal platform, Triadic Pyramids are other perls of Mutulese traditional architecture. No securely established forerunners of Triadic Groups are known, but they may have developed from the eastern range building of E-Group complexes,and are already being built during the Paol'lunyu dynasty. Oral traditions says that the triadic structure is a representation of the resurection of the Tonsured Maize God, accompanied by two other deities, supposed to be the Maya Hero Twins.

ballcourt : Most of the ancients ballcourts have been abandoned since the codification of the Pitz rules, as ballcourts tended to vary greatly in size and shape. Most of these monuments are today touristic attraction, sometime used as public plazas, or theaters. See the sport section.

Sweat baths : Originally, Sweat baths were for the Mutuleses a way to perform ritual purification, sweating out impurities and cleaning the bodies and the mind alike. They had an important role in traditional Mutulese medecine, and to this day public sweat baths are still in important part of all cities, with more wealthy inhabitations having their own, privates sweat baths. Similar to sauna, most sweat baths are today part of larger complex along with gymnasiums and swimming pools.

Theatre

A collection of traditional Mutuleses masks.

Dance has always been a central component of social, religious, and political endeavors for the Mutuleses people. In Mutulese religion, Dance served many functions such as creating sacred space, closing the gap between here and the otherworld, and releasing the dead from the grasp of Xibalba.

Ancient Mutuleses dances were often characterized by transformations of human beings into supernatural (god like) beings by means of visionary trance. Once in this state of mind the participants were transformed into their wayob or soul companions. These soul companions were depicted through the masks and the costumes people wore in the dance.

The distinction between the humans and supernatural beings was never sharply made during the Paol'lunyu and Chaan Dynasties. Through dance, people became gods and gods became people even if it were only for a moment. More than just acts of civic pride or piety. Dances were considered to be direct connections to the otherworld.

This antic style of dancing, generally nicknamed the “Wayob Dances”, was very public in nature and often involved the whole community, from kings to commoners, during religious festivities. This gave birth to the practice of specialized dancers, re-creating events and past histories, and generally serving as “vessels” for the gods, re-enacting their past deeds and exploits. These public dances became their very own art : Mutulese theatre.

Theatrical plays really became popular during the Nimabal K'iche Dynasty. Was often played the Life and Death of K’iche Achi, telling of the hero's capture, trial, and ultimately sacrifice, by the kingdom of Rabinal. These acts are still played today, during various religious festivals, and are a staple of the “Classical K’iche Theatre” style : based around cycles, the dances and even the text are repetitives, with minor changes each time, with lots of back-and-forth between the two princes, of the Rabineb and of the K’iche. dancers move in circle, with the two princes in the middle.

More recent and representative of the “Neo-Classical Mutli Theatre” style, the series of plays retelling the stories of the Hero Twins and their journey through Xibalba. The Hero Twins stories were and are still some of the most populars in the Mutul and the better known worldwide, but this representation of them was under many Belisarian influence, with the introduction of acts, different scenes, while keeping more tradition Mutuleses elements. The repetition and cyclic theme is still present, albeit smaller, as many of the action of the Twins echoes those of their father and uncle, and resurrection is also a central theme, along with the cycles of life and death through which all creatures goes.

Sports

Pitz

Main article: Pitz

A game of Pitz

The most popular sport in the Mutul is Pitz, a game traditional to the Chan culture that has been played in the country under various rulesets since it's apparition among the Chabk'ah. It is played in mesoamerican ballcourt, religious structures built primary for this sport. Pitz is the most popular representative of a family of sports known as the Mutuleses ballgames which evolved from local rulesets of a common original ballgame played throughout the Mutul but which has been codified differently between localities throughout history. Pitz itself come from "Legal Pitz" or "Ordeal Pitz", the version of the game played by the Mutul' aristocracy between the 15th and 19th centuries during trials involving two high born parties.

Games are played between two teams of players. The number of players per team has been fixed at 6 since the codification of the sport in 1898. Originally, the game could be brutal and there were often serious injuries inflicted by the solid, heavy ball. Since the changes in the official ruleset, the ball became lighter, limiting the number of injuries outside the context of Day Bearing Games, special games held at specifics dates with traditional balls, and concluded with the ritual sacrifice of the loosing team's captain.

The game resembles a net-less volleyball, with each team confined to one half of the court. The ball is hit back and forth using only the hips until one team fails to return it or the ball leaves the court. Points are lost by a player who let the ball stop before returning it to the other team or who let the ball go outside the boundaries of the court. Points are gained (scoring) if the ball hit the opposite end wall. First team to win nine points win the turn. First team to win five turns win the game. The team that manage to pass the ball through one of the stone loops on either side of the playing field (marking) automatically wins the current turn, no matter the score.

Mutulese boxing

Main article: Ch'ak Tz'oj

Ch'ak Tz'oj, or Lightning Boxing, is the second most popular sport across the Mutul. It's a Combat sport and Martial arts originating from the Mutul and one style of combat in a galaxy of related Mutuleses Martial Arts. However, it outshine all other forms in sheer popularity and funding. It is infamous for the distinct look of its boxers with their heavy padding face, hips, and thighs protections and its two iconic weapons: the Shield and the Conch. At the professional level, the major competitions are the W'ajtun Martial Festival, the Nuu Davi Boxing Championship, and the Yopaat International Championship, all modern evolutions of religious festivities organised in the honor of Ch'ak, the White Path deity of storms and lightning.

Pokolpok

Pokolpok is a cousin of Pitz played mostly in the Xuman Peninsula, in the north of the Mutul. It is played on the same courts as its most famous cousin, but with the team (of two or four players) each facing one of the side walls. The goal of each team is to take possession of the ball and then mark points by passing the ball through the stone loop on the wall they're facing. A fault is commited if the ball stop, enter one of the End Zone, or move backward without touching first one of the Cornices. The mythology surrounding the game place its origin in the Yajawil of Kupul which remain the beating heartland of the sport.

Jul Jop

A kid playing Jul Jop in Danguixh

Jul Jop is the Mutli name of a sport similar to Hockey that is popular in the west of the Mutul, especially the Yajawil of Kanol. It's origins date back to Danguixh and the Chik'in Kingdom. During the K'uy Dynasty, Jul Jop overtook Pitz as the elite sport of the Mutul, relegating the hip game to the street or to foreign kingdoms such as the K'iche Kingdom. But even after the fall of the K'uy, Jul Jop remained popular among the Tatinak of Kanol. It gave birth to a number of Hockey-like games, of which Jul Jop remain the most popular one, with its own league (the Golden Square) and dedicated franchises.

Games are generally played in the street, around a block of houses. Professional stadiums replicate this configuration, with a square field with an outer perimeter of 800 meters and an inner perimeters of 752 meters for a total playing surface of 4656 m² and a 6 meters wide field. Nowadays, Jul Jop is played with or without rollers, the version with rollers also including heavy padding to protect players.

Unlike Pitz, Jul Jop' ball is not made from rubber but rather wood and fabric. Professional balls have a calibrated 12 cm diameter.

Cuisine

Main article: Mutulese cuisine

See also: Four Cardinal Beverages

Chaya : The Mutulese Spinach, is a popular leaf vegetable, similar to spinach as its nickname implies. The leaves should be cooked before being eaten, as the raw leaves contain a high content of toxic hydrocyanic acid. Up to 5 raw leaves can be eaten a day. Easy to grow, It is tolerant of heavy rain and has some drought tolerance. Leaves can be harvested continuously as long as no more than 50% of the leaves are removed from the plant, which guarantees healthy new plant growth.

Chaya is a good source of protein, vitamins, calcium, and iron; and is also a rich source of antioxidants. Traditionally leaves are immersed and simmered for 20 minutes and then served with oil or butter. Cooking for 20 minutes or more will render the leaves safe to eat. Along with maize-gruel, Chaya is part of the day-to-day diet of the poors in the Mutul.

The Mutuleses cultivate many other kind of fruits and plants, such as tomato, chili peppers, breadnut, guava, Soursop, mammee apple, papaya, pineapple, sweet potato, vanilla, epazote, Achiote, annatto seed, canella, root beer plant, garlic vine, redbrush lippia, and allspice, agave.

seafood being griled.

seafood : in coastal areas, maritime resources are regulary exploited, including fish, lobster, shrimp, conch, and other shellfish. Seafood became more common thourough the country in the past centuries, and are often present at social event, cooked with various spices, plants, and sauces. Surprisingly, even if it wasn't as common, seafood was already present on the tables of rich inland households, Archaeological evidence supported this as a diverse set of marine resources were found from subsistence and ceremonial contexts at Izapak. Stingrays, grunts, sea catfish, and parrotfish were brought to the site and transported while still alive. The important transportation network, based on roads and canals, maintained by the various Dynasties, allowed such trade to be relatively common and safe.

Venison escalope cooking in sauce.

deer : For most of their history and especially in the central regions, deer have been hunt for their meat, making it one of the most common meat in the Mutul after poultry. After the industrial revolution, hunting for savage deers became uncommon, until it seemed it would dissapear from the Mutuleses plates. But to answer the demand for venison from the appearing middle class, and of Belisarians Traders for pelts and antlers, the Divine Throne helped the creation of deer farm. Today, deer meat is a relative affordable food with 3 millions deer raised, and is even exported thourough the world. However, fear of Chronic wasting disease as lead to more strict controls on the industry, raising the prices.