Silwane

This article is about the country. For other uses, see Silwane (disambiguation).

Union of Silwane Inhlangano kaSilwane
Flag Seal
Anthem: "National Anthem of Silwane"
Location of Silwane in Hylasia
Capital	Umoya
Largest city	Dwaleni
Official languages	Sholo Fallish
Recognised regional languages	Ulwimi !qáxa Lamane
Ethnic groups (2022)	83.8% Sholo 11.1% Lamane 4.3% Ixolo 0.8% Other
Religion (2022)	68.3% Gregorianism 17.5% No religion 12.6% Folk religion 1.6% Other
Demonym(s)	Silwanean AmaSholo
Government	Federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy
• Monarch	Sipho Dlamini
• Speaker	Sanele Mthembu
• Chief Justice	Vusumuzi Cele
• Prime Minister	Ayanda Madlala
Legislature	People's Assembly
History
• uMzantsi migrations	c. 400-2,000BCE
• isiLwane Federation	c. 1050-1290CE
• KwaSholo Empire	26 November 1781
• KwaSholo unification	3 August 1825
• Fallish colonization	1877
• Independence	18 October 1944
Area
• Total	387,749.2 km2 (149,710.8 sq mi)
• Water (%)	1.2
Population
• 2022 estimate	23,602,780
• Density	60.87/km2 (157.7/sq mi)
GDP (PPP)	2022 estimate
• Total	$120.067 billion
• Per capita	$5,087
GDP (nominal)	2022 estimate
• Total	$75.364 billion
• Per capita	$3,193
Gini (2022)	33.2 medium
HDI (2022)	0.687 medium
Currency	Ingwe (Ɨ, SLI)
Time zone	UTC-2 (Silwane Standard Time, SST)
Date format	dd-mm-yyyy
Driving side	right
Calling code	+289
Internet TLD	.sl

Silwane, officially the Union of Silwane, is a sovereign state in Southern Hylasia. The country is situated between the Isibaya river to the east and the Amanzi river to the west, and it is bordered by Borvastaat to the east, X and X to the northn, and X to the west. Its capital city is Umoya while its largest city is Dwaleni.

A country of roughly 23.6 million people as per 2022 census, Silwane's largest ethnic group are the Sholo, who make up 84% of the population, followed by the Northern Lamane and other smaller minorities. Silwane has 2 official languages, with Fallish and Sholo being the most common. Silwane is a member of the United Congress, the Southern Hylasian Development Community, the Hylasian Union, and the Southern Hylasian Free Trade Area.

Beginning in the 11th century, during its late Iron Age, the uMzantsi people (who would become the ethnic Sholo) built the state of isiLwane; the state became one of the major Hylasian trade centers by the end of the 12th century and collapsed by the end of the 13th century. With the isiLwane occupying most of the eastern part of modern-day Silwane, its collapse left the area politically disorganized and subject to inter-tribal strife and conflict for the next few centuries. After about 400 years of relative isolation, the tribes began to re-integrate with the arrival of foreign Calesian and Abarian personnel. This led to the creation of the KwaSholo Empire in the 1780s, though it did rule over much of modern-day Silwane until the 1820s. By the 1870s, with spillover conflicts from Süd-Hylasia (now Borvastaat) and internal divisions weakened the KwaSholo, allowing Falland to force the country into a protectorate status, where it remained held until 1944 in the aftermath of the Great War when it gained its independence.

The country is ruled as a constiutional monarchy, with the king, Sipho Dlamini inKhamani having ruled the country since May of 2021, when his father, King Siphezi, died. The country has a long history of parliamentary democracy, with only 2 historical coup attempts, each of which failed. This rather robust democratic system is considered one of the most stable in all of Hylasia, and it is among the longest lasting sub-terene democracies, having lasted from 1945 to the present. However, the country has been racked with many economic and environmental issues, including pollution from mining and rampant inflation, though both have been managed in time.

History

Ancient

Cave paintings near Umgcwebakazi

It is estimated that hominids lived in Silwane during the !Pleistocene. Stone tools and animal remains indicate that most areas of the country were inhabited at least 400,000 years ago.

It was claimed to have been the birthplace of all modern humans from around 200,000 years ago. Evidence left by modern humans, such as cave paintings, is about 73,000 years old. The earliest known inhabitants of southern Hylasia are thought to have been the forebears of present-day tǃʼàu ("Bushmen") peoples. All groups therein speak click languages and inhabit wide portions of Silwane and Borvastaat. When cattle were first introduced into southern Hylasia about 2,000 years ago, pastoralism became a major feature of the economy since the region had large grasslands free of izintethe flies.

It is unclear when uMzantsi-speaking peoples first moved into the country from the north, although between 200 and 600 CE seems to be a consensus estimate. In that era, the ancestors of the modern-day Sholo peoples moved into what is now the north-eastern area of the country. These proto-Sholo were closely connected to states in modern-day Borvastaat as well as to the Kingdom of Motlalepula.

One notable remnant of this period is Hlonyama ruins, a cultural and heritage site in Silwane initially occupied towards the end of the Motlalepula period (900-1300 CE), with stone walls that have an average height of 1.8 meters. The site is a respected place for the people living in the region, and it is believed that the chief lived on the top of the hill with his helpers or assistants. These states, located outside of current Silwane's borders, appear to have kept massive herds of cattle—apparently at numbers approaching modern cattle density—in what is now the X District. This massive cattle-raising complex prospered until around 1300 and seems to have regressed following the collapse of Motlalepula. During this era, the first Sholo-speaking groups, the Vuthu, moved into the southern areas of the Izintabaluhlaza mountains. These various peoples were connected to trade routes that ran via the Inkazana River to the South Medan Ocean; trade goods from Calesia such as beads and, on occasion, weapons made their way to modern-day Silwane, most likely in exchange for ivory, gold and rhinoceros horns.

Medieval

Other areas unique to the post-Motlalepula (post-1300 CE) are the remains located 80km northeast of Dwaleni at the Buhlezwe Hill Iron Age settlement, whose radio-carbon dates range from the 7th to late 19th century, indicating it was occupied for more than 1,000 years. The hill was part of the formation of early states in southern Hylasia, with cattle as a major source of economy. The Vuthu settlement includes house-floors, large heaps of vitrified cow dung, and burials while the outstanding structure is the stone wall. Around 1000 AD, the Vuthu people moved south and east into modern-day Silwane.

However, agriculture also played a vital role in the longevity of Buhlezwe Hill's extended occupation, as many grain storage structures have also been found on the site. Many different stratified layers of housing floors further signal continuous occupation over hundreds of years. The arrival of the Sholo speakers' ancestors who came to control the region has yet to be dated precisely. Members of the Izugco, a chieftaincy under a leader named Kgabo II, made their way into the northern part of Silwane by AD 1500, at the latest, and his people drove the Sholo inhabitants west into the eastern desert, with the Izugco lter becoming the Lamane. Over the years, several offshoots of the Sholo moved back into adjoining territories. The Shoto tribes (pre-Sholo consolidation) occupied areas to the west, while the inKhamani tribes moved northeast into former Vuthu areas. Not long afterwards, an Ulwimi offshoot known as the Ulweme migrated into the Isibaya river valley, probably in the mid- to late-18th century.

Colonial

Battle of Dwaleni, 1826

Sholo policemen, 1890

Geography

• 

  Mt. Intab'ezulu in northern Silwane

• 

  A beach south of Dwaleni

• 

  Midland savannah near Umlando

• 

  The Umthunzi Wamatshe (UW) mountains

• 

  Yamazulu mountains

• 

  Isibaya river

Government and politics

Government

Branches

Silwane's system of governance is a complex one, consisting of 3 primary branches: the legislative branch, the judicial branch, and the executive branch. However, each branch is structured quite unlike many foreign equivalents, and thus creates a system wholly unique to Silwane.

The legislative branch is composed of three primary organs, the first being parliament, called the People's Assembly, colloquially known as the "isiShayamthetho" in Sholo. The second organ is the Control Chamber, colloquially known as the "Ukuphatha". The third and final organ of the legislative branch is the Tribal Assembly, which is colloquially known as the "Kraal" or "IsiBaya" (not to be confused with the Isibaya River). All three assemblies are enshrined in the 1945 constitution, and all serve unique functions within the legislative branch as a whole.

Silwane government structure graph

The People's Assembly acts as the democratically elected and directly proportional parliament of the nation, representing all regions and populations. However, it is constantly subordinate to the Control Chamber, who possess the power to audit the parliament and all constituent government bodies, and all members of the Control Chamber are appointed at the provincial level by the provincial governors. The Control Chamber also approves of the grand justices in the country's supreme court. Lastly, any legislation related to or affecting the nation's constituent tribes is subject to the Tribal assembly, who overlook, approve, and can veto (with a supermajority) any legislation that comes through their halls. The tribal assembly is composed of 39 members, 2 from each tribal government, and 5 nominated members from the king.

The judicial branch is modeled upon that of neighboring Borvastaat, and underwent extensive reforms in the 1990s to reflect this change. As such, it has courts that are involved in tribal/customary affairs, a variety of lower courts, and a variety of specialist and military courts, all of which are subservient to the supreme court. Supreme court justices are appointed by the parliament's prime minister, but must then be approved by the Control Chamber.

Lastly, the executive branch is controlled solely by the monarch and all associated advisors (who must be approved by the parliament, though they are nominated by the monarch). The monarch also gets to appoint five members of the Tribal Assembly, who then provide a limited check over the parliament and all legislation regarding tribal and customary affairs. Additionally, the monarch can veto any legislation put forth by parliament, though a veto can be overturned with a supermajority within the People's Assembly.

Parliament

Currently, no single party in Silwane has a majority of seats, with the monarchist party Unhlaba NoBukhosi (UNB, "Land and Monarchy") maintaining the plurality of seats. The country had been ruled since the pro-monarchist coup in 1994 by a coalition of Abakhathaleli BeSilwane (ABS, "Caretakers of Silwane") and Inhlangano Yenkululeko Yesizwe (IYY, "Union for the Nation's Freedom"); however, after a minor corruption scandal in 2021, snap elections robbed the parties of enough seats for a majority coalition. In the aftermath of this, many long-time parliamentarians where forced out and replaced either by members of the right-wing UNB or by members of the left-wing communist Izinsika Zobuzwe (IZ, "Defenders of the Nation"), which forced the parties to enter into a coalition with the IZ to maintain a left-wing government.

However, with the communists entering into the governing coalition, King Dlamini and his followers in the UNB vowed to "resist" the "communist takeover of Silwane," leading to several weeks of riots. Moreover, popular resistance to the left-wing governing coalition has brought into question the stability surrounding the upcoming 2025 general elections.

Overall, the ABS-IYY-IZ coalition maintains a total of 131 seats out of 237, with the Green Party and Ulwimi League both being "support partners", raising the total to 238. Meanwhile the opposition controls 99 seats out of the 237 overall seats.

Parties with seats in Parliament

Party Name	Ideology	Position	Seats in Parliament	Members
Umhlaba NoBukhosi (UNB)	National Conservativism Monarchism	Right-wing to far-right	89 / 237	~150,000
Abakhathaleli BeSilwane (ABS)	Orthodox Republicanism Democratic Socialism	Center-Left to left-wing	58 / 237	~96,700
Inhlangano Yenkululeko Yesizwe (IYY)	Civic nationalism National Liberalism	Center to center-left	51 / 237	~34,200
Izinsika Zobuzwe (IZ)	Socialism Communism	Far-left	22 / 237	~21,800
Amalungelo Esizwe (AE)	Combinationalism Conservativism	Right-wing	10 / 237	~3,600
Green Party (GP)	Environmentalism Democratic Socialism	Left-wing	6 / 237	~2,000
Ulwimi League (UL)	Minority rights Regionalism	Center-left	1 / 237	~1,500