Mendi haujetan jaio ginen

Mendi haujetan jaio ginen

Estmerish: We were born in these mountains
National anthem of Lemovicia
Lyrics	Amiczys Mikolajewski, 1891
Music	Amiczys Mikolajewski, 1891
Adopted	1979

Mendi haujetan jaio ginen (meaning We were born in these mountains) is the national anthem of Lemovicia, adopted upon its declaration of independence from West Miersa following the outbreak of the Miersan War between West Miersa and East Miersa.

Written and composed by Amiczys Mikolajewski in 1891, it quickly became the national song of the Lemovician people, to such a point that the song faced several bans, first by the Soravian government in 1909, and by the West Miersan government in 1936, due to their close associations with Lemovician nationalism. However, its use among Lemovicians meant that upon Lemovicia's independence, Mendi haujetan jaio ginen became the national anthem of the country.

History

Amiczys Mikolajewski, 1891

The song was first written and composed in 1891 by Amiczys Mikolajewski to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the partition of the Lordship of Lemovicia between the Miersan Commonwealth and the Unio Trium Nationum, and as a protest against continued Soravian rule over Malomiersa (which is today split between West Miersa and Lemovicia). The melody was, according to Mikolajewski, meant to represent "innocence, suffering, and hope, in that order," with the hope that one day, Lemovicia would become "part of the Euclean order of nations along our fellow kith and kin within the Soravian state."

The song quickly became popular among Lemovician nationalists, which led to the song being banned in the aftermath of the 1909 Miersan revolt, due to its use in an abortive uprising in Malomiersa by Lemovician nationalists. Despite the ban, it continued to be widely used among Lemovician nationalists, including during the 1936 Miersan general strike which forced Soravia to give independence to Miersa. However, Lemovicia fell under West Miersan control, with the west instituting policies of Miersanisation against the Lemovician population, and banning traditional Lemovician symbols, including Mendi haujetan jaio ginen.

By the 1970s, the song became popular among Lemovicians to such a degree that many Lemovician organisations, such as the Lemovician Nationalist Party, the Lemovician Cultural Alliance, and the Lemovician Section of the Workers' International used the anthem. Thus, when Lemovicia proclaimed its independence from West Miersa in 1979, Mendi haujetan jaio ginen became the de-facto national anthem of the fledgling state, and the following year was officially codified in the Lemovician constitution as the national anthem of Lemovicia.

Lyrics

Lemovician	Estmerish
First verse
Mendi haujetan jaio ginen Esnejak elikacen gintuen Gure hizkuncaz, gure kulturaz Mendiko jendea ginen!	We were born in these mountains We were nourished by the milk Of our language, of our culture We were the mountain people!
Second verse
Laurehun urte, sufritu genuen Ipaŕaldetik eta mendebaldetik Gure kultura galcen hasten gara «Zibilizazioaren» izenejan!	For four hundred years, we suffered From the north and the west We begin to lose our culture In the name of "civilization!"
Third verse
Orain garaile ateracen gara Zapalkuncaren hilobitik Askapenaren argira Gure luŕaren alde, Mendiluŕa!	Now we emerge triumphant From the grave of oppression Into the light of liberation For our land, Lemovicia!