Jakálla: The City Half As Old As Time, Green Princess of the Eqúnoyel River[]
The large metropolis of Jakálla. Capital City of the Kaija Protectorate. Estimated population: 800,000 (600,000-1,000,000)
Source: A Tekumel primer. (2016).
J is for Jakalla, brawling, bustling, steaming port city of Tsolyanu. The spicy cuisine of Jakalla burns even the iron palate of a Sarlavyani, the entertainments are saucy enough to pop the eyes of the most jaded Livyani aesthete, and the sprawling bourses regularly change millennial fortunes in a matter of minutes.
Source: "Tekumel Lineages, Clans, and Notes 2" Tekume Yahoo group
Jakálla: There are three Jakállas - Pála Jakálla, Jakálla, and Músa Jakálla (from N to S. Population averages are: Pála- 30,000, Jakálla- 600,000, Músa- 7,500. The Gate of Bones (that gate which leads to the City of the Dead) is officially named the “High Gate of Chaimaktel” who was a mistress of Ssirandár I, but the gate was really built during the last Ditlána. Jakállan accent is soft and lilting.
Tórunal Island in Jakálla harbor is a prison.
Public love making not uncommon in Livyánu or Jakálla but less so in Khirgár.
Sa'alúr of Jakálla; Race:H; Clan:(); Personal Status:High; Religion:Change; Deity:; Profession:Military Writer; Friendly To:; Opposed To:; Notes:Authored a classic military manual. [KD]
Nyélmu; Race:H; Clan:(); Personal Status:; Religion:; Deity:; Profession:Wizard; Friendly To:; Opposed To:; Notes:Doomed wizard confined to the Garden of Weeping Snows beneath Jakálla for ever. [SB]
Edifice of Sublime Eloquence: Advanced academy in the Temple of Thúmis in Jakálla.
Tórunal Island in Jakálla harbor is a prison.
source: Mitlanyal p.54-56.
There are music academies dedicated to the 31st aspect of Avánthe, Jogái “The Songstress” in Jakálla, Béy Sü, Tumissa, and Thráya. Jakálla being the most famous.
50) Orodhún "The Paragon of Unimaginable Allure": Principle of beauty, grace, pure form and perfect dimensions. Patron of art, painting, sculpture and physical perfection. Her studios and academies are found in Thraya, Ferinara, Jakalla, Usenanu, Tumissa, and Chene Ho, but Her greatest shrine, with an extensive art school and museum attached, is in Béy Sü.
Description of the City[]
Ancient Jakalla slumbers in luxurious, decadent splendour above the yellowish tidal flats, cut in two from east to west by the darker waters of the Equnoyel River. With its Ditlana already over 400 years overdue, the site of the present-day city has been occupied since at least the time of the City States of the Triangle – some 30,000 years – and was probably occupied before that; after all, Jakalla is the “City Half as Old as the World”. The city became capital of the First Imperium from –22932AS to –22882AS; its name at that time was Ja’akath, which became Ja’akal in Middle Engsvanyali before becoming the Jakalla of today. Famed for its Jakallan wines and sea products, the city is a centre for the worship of Dlamelish; its population is now in excess of 500,000; with the average lifespan of a citizen of Jakalla at some 43 years, there could be anything up to 9 million dead bodies in and around its City of the Dead.
Jakalla is renowned for the sensuous rhythms of its songs and its dances.
The actual location of cities drifts over the millennia; the current City of the Dead, for example, is located over old parts of Jakalla, and the priesthoods must keep digging down to get to their old temples and holy sites.
The average temperature range in Jakalla is 26-40c; in the height of summer, temperatures can reach as high as 51c.
Capital city of the Kaija Protectorate
Most of the clans have lands around Jakalla anyway, and clan-members tend to live outside of the city on their own lands, rather than cramp the clanhouse in town.
Geography[]
At the base of a mighty river, so constant flow of silt and sediment from the north which makes the bay shallow, eventually creating a vast delta. Dredging is a major operation; the people who do it has rich dredging relics out of the silt.
Jakálla itself is built on a point of fairly solid rock — great sedimentary, yellowish colored rock, largely lime, with sand deeper below. still deeper, and bits of outcropping in various places. slopes down gradually from east to west. The pointed area, the rise in the far west where the temples are, is the underlying rock. Farther south, you’ll find large areas of yellowish-grey mudflats, and flat ugly yellowish river fish, full of worms that eat the considerable garbage that flows out of Jakálla.
North of Jakálla across the Mssuma River is the suburban city of Pala Jakálla, which have no imperial edict that keeps them from expanding. Pala Jakálla and along the Mssuma River are very popular in terms of middle and lower-class laboring environments. The old labor class clans in Jakálla itself are squarely in the center of the city, just north of the turn in the Eqúnoyel river.
The Society of Jakalla[]
1.The Clan of the White Crystal
The Clan Head in Jakalla is Neqo hiArsanmra, who in spite of his unimpressive height and impressive girth, is a mellifluous speaker and a skillful politician. He has helped the clan prosper, in spite of the civil war - or perhaps because of it, since he has sold grain and hides and other supplies to Prince Eselne, to Prince Rereshqala, and to the Imperium.
Supposedly Engsvanyali, like its "parent", the Clan of the White Stone, the Clan of the White Crystal is one of the agricultural clans of the Engsvanyali Empire. Its members often became local officials, and now it is famous for its numerous bureaucrats all across the Empire. No one knows when it was founded, but it is supposed to have been during early Engsvanyali times somewhere near Jakalla or north along the River.
Vurosa hiTukun of the White Crystal is clever, rather dishonest, and tremendously wealthy and influential. The Tukun lineage is said to date back to a hero of Dormoron Plain, but this is a fiction: it is probably no older than late Ensgvanyali times.
Members of the Clan of the White Crystal
- Barik hiVezhre, sorceror-priest of Karakan and military-priest in the Legion of Serqu;
- Korikadan hiVezhre, worshipper of Sarku and kasi in the Legion of Serqu;
- Ssochne, the Shen slave of Korikadan and follower of Durritlamish;
- Gachakoi hiArsanmra, worshipper of Qon (and possibly a member of a secret society);
- Ksenchu hiAkhutho, priest of Dlamelish and (until recently) believed by the clan to be dead;
- Narel hiTukun, former soldier and veteran of the war with Yan Kor until suffering a debilitating head wound;
- Maleya hiÜthsuke, wealthy Aridani girl currently of the Golden Sapphire clan;
- Zu'ena, a N'lüss half-breed Aridani warrior, member of the Clan of the Scarlet Mantle and Maleya's constant companion.
2.The Clan of Dark Flame
Located in the southeastern quadrant of the city.
3.The Ito Clan
Located in the southeastern quadrant of the city.
4.The Charunai Lineage
Said to date back to late Engsvanyali times.
5. The Clan of the Granite Shield
A clan of medium status and medium wealth, with a long history of providing stout warriors, including a disproportionately high number of clan women who become Aridani, to the Tsolyani legions.
6. The Clan of the Golden Bough
7. The Clan of the Rising Sun
8. The Clan of the Ripened Sheaf
9. The Clan of the Glory of the Worm
10. The Clan of the First Moon
11. The Clan of the Moon of Evening
12. The Clan of the Golden Lintel
Moneylenders
13. The Clan of the Red Flower
14. The Clan of the Plume of White
15. The Clan of the Round Rock
16. The Clan of the Bright Sword
17. The Clan of the Sinking Land
18. The Clan of the Hand of Compassion
Famous Individuals of Jakalla[]
Lord Hisun hiTankolel, Governor of Jakalla[]
The Governor is a leading light of the Royalist Party.
Lady Mnella[]
Started as a rather lowly clangirl, and has kept “marrying up” until she has become rich and prestigious.
Jakalláni Culture[]
Jakalláni culture? Isn’t that a little redundant? — Shekkára Tlakotáni, expressing a popular sentiment among Jakalláni
Though Jakalla is thought of by other Tsolyani as a “looser” sort of place, visitors often find themselves being looked down upon for their lack of etiquette. For the point of loosening etiquette is to do it in a way that demonstrates that you know the rules, and are deliberately flaunting them, rather than breaking them through ignorance. You also have to know not only the rules… but when it’s okay for you to flaunt them. Our best advice? Seek guidance from your local clan-cousins; they’ll know the ropes. Watch your use of pronouns —there are some in common use among the Jakalláni upper classes that haven’t been applied elsewhere since before Engsván hla Gánga sank—and try to acquire the gentle grace with which native-born Jakalláni bow and speak. And by the Gods, don’t make noise when you chew; Jakalláni call that “eating like an Ahoggyá.”
Where Khirgár is militaristic and rather stiff, and Tumíssa is intellectual, Jakalla is pleasure-oriented and lax. Many social strictures are eased in Jakálla; bribery and trafficking in favors are a way of life. In Jakálla, you can buy anybody or anything.
The decadent Jakalláni go in for music, dance, mime, jugglers, alcohol, drugs, and street parties in a big way. Jakallani also have a more relaxed attitude toward morality than most Tsolyani. You will see things in public here that would not even be whispered of in private in, say, Khirgár.
This relaxation of strictures, however, has also created a renaissance of literature and the arts in Jakálla. From a social and intellectual point of view, Jakálla is the place to be. Filled with schools, with poetry symposia, with both genuine and aspiring artists and writers, Jakálla is unequalled within Tsolyánu as a home for the intellectual elite. The average Jakalláni on the street knows more of poetry and literature than the upper-class citizens of more work-oriented cities.
Clothing and Ornamentation[]
Jakálla is one of the hottest (and sometimes most humid) cities of the Empire. Combined with the noted Jakalláni attitude toward sex and pleasure, Jakálla has become one of the barest cities of the Empire as well. Dress in Jakálla is a lot looser, more nude than up north. As elsewhere, the laboring classes in Jakálla have always gone pretty well naked; the question is a more interesting one as applied to the higher classes.
Daily Wear[]
Jakalláni women may wear nothing more than a strip of cloth around their hair to keep it out of their eyes —for ornamentation and convenience, not for cover. More elaborately, perhaps a dab of ribbon and a few pieces of jewelry with their clan symbols and any relevant symbols of rank. Earrings, necklaces, and pins are good.
Men often walk around stark naked, or with nothing more than a mantle to protect them from the brutal sun. higher-status men may wear a elaborate headdress, fancy jewelled collar, and a little kilt of firya-cloth. Clan symbols go around the neck, on a belt buckle, or on a mantle —perhaps on a tabard down the front of their kilt, if they wear a kilt.
Older people of either gender tend not to go as nude; maybe a fancy vest of fírya and a not really wrap-around kilt, sometimes with pleats sewn in.
Both sexes may wear religious symbols for aspects of divinities they particularly like, often as jewelry of some sort. More tiny precious-stone phalluses of Hríhayal are seen around, even among Jakalláni who aren’t primarily worshippers, as it can mean they enjoy a good time. Active-duty legion personnel wear a legion symbol, but only if they are in uniform.
Party Clothes[]
Party dress in Jakálla is usually not completely nude, because it shows status to wear something elaborate and expensive, but in good taste. It will almost always be thin —thésun-gauze or fírya, with exotic dyes and colors, covering a variety of parts of the body as needed to make things interesting. The headdress is often more important than the clothing - clan symbols are worn on the head dress or tunic.
The clothing issue, especially at parties, is complicated by the fact that there are so many styles and protocols to keep track of. If you go to an Imperial party, for example, you have to worry about the “24 Forms” of ceremonial dress. If you go to a high clan party, some idiot will have decided to wear Form 4—very recognizable, almost like it has a number on it—and the other guests will be laughing at him behind his back because, don’t y’know, that just isn’t appropriate for a party at Sea Blue this season. To further complicate matters, high-status Jakállani will often stretch the bounds of the forms and protocols to fit their whims.
Military Dress[]
Standard military uniforms in Jakálla for both sexes consist of a kilt, a tunic, and light boots in the appropriate Legion colors. They generally do not wear the armor except in emergencies, as it is far too hot. If a legion soldier or officer goes to a fancy party where status is important, they can wear an “undress” uniform including light gilded or painted chlén-hide armor to show their status. They can add a clan color, and/or god symbol, to that; officers generally do. Legion dress uniform itself involves actual armor, and is generally avoided in Jakálla outside of certain official ceremonies.
Cuisine[]
Jakalláni chefs present diners with dishes both subtle and dramatic, using spices and fragrances to create a feast for all the senses. One can generally characterize Jakállan cuisine as spicy and sweet, making use of hlíng-seed and an array of exotic flavorings, some brought directly to Jakálla’s docks by ships from far lands. Though true connoisseurs know that Jakálla’s cuisine differs from neighborhood to neighborhood — food in Músa Jakálla is hotter than in Pála Jakálla, for example — there is certainly enough in common to talk about “Jakalláni Cuisine” as a unit.
Jakalláni cooking involves a variety of elaborate cooking techniques (example: in Lonmá, partly done meat is removed from the stew, wrapped in gold leaf, and then returned to finish cooking), as well as a much wider range of ingredients than most Tsolyáni regional cuisines. Jakalláni meals are often served with a wide variety of outlandish condiments so the diner can experiment and discover new sensations for themselves.
The most remarkable aspect of Jakalláni cuisine is that chefs pay special attention to the fragrance of many dishes, adding floral and herbal essences to produce tantalizing, haunting odors. These powerful essences — sometimes only one drop in a stew is needed — are almost all manufactured in Pála or Músa Jakálla and sold in special shops. You can get them in other cities, but there they market them as “Fragrances of Jakálla.”
There is a general saying about Jakálla that applies perfectly to the cuisine — love it or hate it, you will never forget it. Newcomers to Jakálla sometimes find the dishes too spicy for their taste, or too rich, or confusing; in contrast to Jakalláni cooking, most Tsolyáni food is bland and uninteresting. With exposure, discerning visitors learn to appreciate the cuisine, which is, after all, the product of some 20,000 years of culinary experimentation. Pity a Jakalláni forced to live elsewhere in the Empire, pining away for a taste of Tekhá or Mehldoá!
Beverages[]
It is fitting that we begin our culinary exploration of Jakálla, city of decadent pleasures, with a listing of some of the city’s most characteristic alcoholic beverages. Though recreational drugs are popular in Jakálla, alcohol, too has its place.
Dedén —a powerful rum-like drink made from burnt Dmí-sugar and other ingredients (the vintner clans won't reveal what they are exactly, which may be just as well). Dedén is brownish in colour, thick, and very intoxicating. It is drunk by people who think of themselves as “warriors:” followers of Vimuhla, Karakan, and their Cohorts. It costs about 1.5 Káitars per bottle, and that will usually be enough to turn 3-4 imbibers into Kurukú (little chattering beasts).
Onúsa — thick, syrupy Másh-fruit brandy, into which the juice of sour unripe Dlél-fruit is squeezed to give it “strength.” Mixed with water, this makes a cool and tasty summer drink. The priestesses of Dlamélish and Hríhayal mix one of their “blue powders” into it to give it an aphrodisiac quality that is said to be powerful enough to “raise the manhood of a stone statue.” About 5 Qírgals a cup (about the size of an American coffee mug). The “powders” are extra: a Hlásh or two more.
Desserts[]
In the area of desserts where Jakalláni chefs truly push the limits of their decadent expertise. Here, only two descriptions of the most traditional Jakalláni desserts, but at any banquet in Jakálla will have fancies the likes of which you had never contemplated.
Mehldoá —thick fruit pudding, made like a custard and served hot as a dessert. It is filled with whatever fruit is in season, although Dlél-fruit predominates. Other fruits are also used, as are berries and sweet “sea-grapes” (actually a species like a sea urchin that is found on the beaches along the southern coasts).
Mehldoá is not usually made by the food-preparation clans but by the fisherfolk of the Green Stone clan in the little villages that lie along the coasts east of Jakálla. It costs about 2 Hlash per "bucket" (largish earthenware pot, serving 4-6). This is specifically a Jakalláni dish and is not made elsewhere — though Jakalláni consider mehldoá to be a wonderful remedy for stomach distress, many “inlanders” complain that it makes them ill.
Neninél — the ultimate Dlamélish/Hríhayal sweet dessert, made from the translucent, greenish flesh of the Nél fruit, which only grows in the Flats of Tsechélnu, west of Jakálla. These fruits are peeled, sliced thin, and layered with perfumed Dmí-sugar over fine pastry. Spices and “powders” are then put over this, or between the layers, to provide temporary “highs” that can be enjoyable, though too exciting for older folks.
The best Neninél is prepared at the House of the Pleasant Hour in Jakálla itself. It also figures in certain rituals of the Inner Temple of Lady Dlamélish. The worshippers of Hríhayal also love it and mix it with one of their special powders that deadens pain and enhances wild passion and lust. Older and more conservative persons are careful to peek between the layers before tasting it!
Neninél costs about 10 Qírgal per serving without the powders —and about 2-5 Káitars per serving with some real headliners! It is also made into “candy” and shipped in special little wooden chests all around Tékumel. It retains its greenish, translucent hue (looking rather like a green gumdrop), but Jakalláni connoisseurs are never satisfied unless they have the fresh stuff.
Main Courses[]
Despite their love of drugs, alcohol, and desserts, far be it from the Jakalláni to neglect other pleasures of the meal. Jakalláni main dishes are spicy, aromatic, delicious — and an adventure for those who are new to the city.
Lonmá —a very rich and expensive stew made with the best Hmélu meat, rare spices, and certain hard-to-find vegetables that cost up to a Káitar each (rather like truffles). There are only two food-preparation clans in Jakálla that really know how to make this — the local clanhouses of the Flowering Life and Green Opal clans. The pieces of meat are removed, wrapped in gold-leaf so thin that it will be eaten along with the food, and then returned to the stew. (Gold-leaf does not harm the digestion; Jakalláni believe it is good for it!) Lonmá is eaten with refined “pure-red” Dná-grain bread and maschín, a sort of whitish butter made of Hmélu or Hmá milk.
The dish is so rich and heavy that a sharply acidic, watery, white wine is served right after it in order to “cleanse the mouth and the stomach.” Lonmá cannot be had without an advance order, and it costs perhaps 5 Káitars per serving. Only the richer banquets ever provide it.
Maridzó — a savoury meat or seafood stew. Made with Ngála-grape raisins, Dmí-sugar, bits of fish or Hmélu browned and baked, various vegetables, and lots of different spices. It might remind you of Spanish paella, but this is hotter and sweeter. Maridzó is an expensive dish, costing a Káitar or two per pot (serves four) —cheaper can be had, but so can food-poisoning!
Rettúna — fried Yáfa-rice, mixed with shredded meat or fish, steamed in a pot and sprinkled with petals of the bright red Yelél flower; these have a powerful, pungent, sweet-spicy taste. Rettúna is eaten with flat, unleavened Dná-grain bread and accompanied by thin, vinegary local wine. This is a particular favourite of the Karakán/Chegárra clans. It is eaten in Khírgar also, but there they leave off the flower petals. They also do not make it as hot-spicy. In Jakálla this costs about 10 Hlásh per pot.
Tekhá fish — this white-fleshed fish is a river fish, and to outsiders it is said to taste like mud. It is filleted and breaded, then fried in spices and oil. The Jakalláni love it and say that “one who does not eat Tekhá in the month of Dohála cannot be from Jakalla.” Of course, there are certain groups that eat no fish at all, but they either eat Tekhá clandestinely or else are forgiven for not eating it! A Hlásh or so per fish (which serves two).
Street Foods[]
Jakálla has a well-developed culture of street vendors, and even upper-class Jakalláni will venture into a slightly seedy neighborhood (with an escort, of course) to enjoy a favorite dish from a favorite vendor whose family has sold it at the same spot for some 2,000 years (probably to their ancestors!). Though trends in street cuisine come and go like other cultural fads, some items are staples on the Jakalláni scene. Here are a few of the most traditional Jakalláni street foods:
Alél —thin slices of Hmélu meat smeared with spices and Hlíng-seed paste, then wrapped in Gapúl leaves and baked in the ashes of a slow fire. Very spicy and not much liked by those who prefer mild cuisine! This is cheap: 10 Qírgals or so per slice in the market. The food-preparation clans do a better job and charge up to a Hlásh per serving; they also deliver to your clanhouse.
Áng — a marketplace staple; slices of Hmelu meat tenderised with Moró root and stir-fried on an open brazier. Can only get it in the market. A serving costs 5-10 Qírgals.
Mélmel (some accent the second "e")— fried Dná-grain kernels mixed with salt and hot spices. This is served in little paper cones at the Hirilákte Arena and serves as a sort of “Tsolyáni popcorn.” Some vendors insert a few tiny metal statues, coins, and other “favors” into the mix for the children. About 2 Qírgals per paper cone.
Mrügé —dried, spiced Hmélu or even Tsi'íl meat (softer than jerky). This is not precisely a street-vendor food — it is carried by travellers and is eaten by laborers in the fields since it is said to impart energy — but it is sold by vendors from carts and in the marketplace. It looks awful (long, blackish stringy, greasy pieces) but it tastes good and is nutritious. Costs about a Hlásh per “bunch” (feeds one or two).
Music[]
Órodai hi Takólu[]
93 years old, thin, wispy, wrinkled and stooped, but still sings beautifully. The most famous of the epic singers of Jakálla, his most famous piece is the "Lament to the Wheel of Black," in the Engsvanyáli recension. He rarely travels now, but still appears at Jakállan feasts. He charges very heavily (5-10,000 Káitars per appearance), but his presence can truly make an occasion. Much of his time, now, is spent in training younger singers, some of whom command respect and high fees in their own right. Órodai has four much younger wives, uncountable children, grandchildren, etc.
Accommodation in Jakalla[]
The poorest visitors to the city who cannot stay with clan relatives must endure the insects, bad food, and human riffraff of the Tower of the Red Dome; the Hostel of Birruku the Allaqiyani is appropriate for those of lower-middle station; the Court of the Fourth Emperor serves guests of upper-middle rank; the Palace of Mruthri offers suitable accommodations to those of the upper class; and the opulent Lordly Domicile of the Hand of Hrugga is patronised by the wealthy and aristocratic. Nonhumans will find premises fitted to their needs in their own sectors of the foreigners quarter.
Holidays[]
Every city in the Empire has its own festivals and holidays, sometimes commemorating historical events special to that city, other times simply festivals sacred to the city’s primary deity or deities. Jakálla, beloved of Lady Dlamelish, seeker of pleasure, is no exception.
We have listed here the major holidays honored in Jakálla; there are of course hundreds sacred to specific temples. If you are fortunate enough to be visiting Jakalla during one of these holidays, rejoice and take part; throw yourself into merrymaking with a will, for that is the Jakalláni way — and as we Jakalláni will be doing so, you won’t accomplish anything else until the holiday is past!
If you can manage to be in Jakálla during the Intercalary days, you are especially fortunate; we celebrate festivals on four of the five days, culminating in the joyous public carnival on Chitlasha, the Masque of the Old and the New Year. Though other cities hold such carnivals, none can approach that held in Jakálla, the Mistress of the Empire!
1st Hasanpór — New Year’s Day[]
(Month 1, Day 1) Celebrated throughout the Five Empires, this is a day of feasts, gift-giving, pageants, and parades. Perhaps nowhere is it so grand as in Jakálla, ....
3rd Langála — Summer Solstice[]
(Month 4, Day 3) Another national holiday, honored with rich feasts and much merry-making.
2nd Drénggar — The Unveiling of Beauty[]
(Month 6, Day 2) Sacred to the Goddess Hriháyal, cohort to Jakálla’s patroness Lady Dlamelish, this festival is publicly celebrated only in Jakalla. It is commemorated with spectacular rituals and wonderfully debauched orgies. Many of these celebrations are open to worshippers of other deities who wish to participate.
9th Drénggar — The Enhancement of the Emerald Radiance[]
(Month 6, Day 9) Following close on the heels of the Unveiling of Beauty, the Festival of the Enhancement of the Emerald Radiance is celebrated throughout Tsolyánu — but nowhere else is it as grand as in Jakálla, Lady Dlamélish’s very own city.
With a whole week to recover in between, Jakalláni throw themselves into this festival with a will, honoring it with elaborate feasts, more rituals, and more orgies. Again, public participation is welcome. Not to be missed.
9th Lésdrim — The Birthday of the Seal Emperor[]
(Month 11, Day 9) Commemorated with processions, as well as military parades and drills by Jakálla’s own legions: the Legion of Girikteshmu (23rd Imperial Archers), the Legion of Mengano the Jakallan (12th Imperial Artillery), the Squadrons of Tlaneno the Steersman (3rd Imperial Marines), and The Legion of Guruggma (3rd Imperial Ahoggya Auxiliary Heavy Infantry). Be sure to see the Fleet pageants as well.
10th Dohála — The Accession of the Seal Emperor to the Petal Throne[]
(Month 12, Day 10) Celebrated, as throughout Tsolyánu (but with that unique Jakállani touch) with feasts, Imperial pageantry, and parties.
Ikáner — Entering in unto the Goddess[]
Sacred to Lady Dlamelish, and celebrated with rituals and orgies.
Vraháma — The Celebration of Splendid Victories[]
Rare for a Jakállan holiday, in that it is dedicated to warlike Lord Karakán, this festival is commemorated with military pageants at the various Legion barracks and at the Temple of Karakán.
Ngaqómi — The Feast of the Many-Colored Lanterns[]
Sacred to Lady Hrihayal, but celebrated throughout the city with feasts and orgies.
Chitlásha — The Masque of the Old and the New Year[]
Celebrated with public carnivals
Winter Solstice[]
A large outdoor party up and down the street. Sometimes ends up in riots; drunken parties. still class-based. Nobles, unless stoned out of their mind, won't wind up in lower class area. Nobility commonly celebrates at their own clan, with kegs and foodstuffs laid out for neighbors and visitors. If lower-clans persons comes to ask for help, they are likely to give any request (perhaps as a loan), as higher clans take care of there lower-clan supporters.
Jakalla Food Riots[]
Every summer, in Firasul, it gets so hot and dry that the river dries up somewhat, water brought over the mudflats from distant areas, canals dry up, and the water is nasty. High clans sometimes have wells to supply them decent water. During a drought, food becomes scarce as it doesn’t come in by ship or cart. Transport clans quarrel as prices go up, and the poor cannot afford it. The summer heat is so uncomfortable that people get angry and touchy, which start the riots.
History of Jakálla[]
Jakálla the Mighty, the Mistress of the Empire — those who would disparage her, mostly jealous Northerners, have ruder names for her — is one of the oldest cities in Tsolyánu. La, though she is a bit worn about the edges, she is still glorious; and who among us would hope to look better after twenty millenia?
Though Tsolyáni speak of “Jakálla” having been around for twenty millenia, the truth is that there have been a series of settlements at or near the mouth of the Eqúnoyel river. And whatever these settlements were, they probably weren’t called anything remotely similar to “Jakálla” until the time of Nayari, when it was called “Ja’akath.”
The major population center in the area has moved three times — it was originally to the Northeast, in what is now swampland, then out in the present Jakálla Bay, and now, since the sinking of Engsvan Hla Gánga, at the current site. The earliest ones didn’t really even overlap with what is now Jakálla, except perhaps for an “underlap” of subterranean tunnels which gave access to the sea or to other small settlements.
Very little is in fact known about “Jakálla” in those earlier periods, because very little is known about those periods themselves. There are no written records available of the Three States of the Triangle period, for example, which leaves scholars with naught but meager archeological evidence and the legends — all of which are probably false or at least distorted. There are rumors that the Chancery in Avanthár has books from those times, on leaves of gold, but the Emperor isn’t saying.
Ditlána — Urban Renewal, Tsolyáni-Style[]
If we do not do Ditlána, we are no better than beasts! — Source Unknown
Ditlána, the custom of renewal, has taken place four or five times in Jakálla that we know of. Traditionally, one razes existing buildings to their foundations, and then rebuilds them atop the pile in the same general style. As a result, the city keeps getting higher and higher — a desirable side effect, considering Jakálla’s proximity to the sea and her low elevation. The temple areas rise especially fast, as temple foundations are unusually high; much of the Temple District is now about 50’ above the surrounding plain.
Levels buried by ditlana can become part of the city’s underworld. Because Jakálla is so old, and has moved several times, her underworld covers quite a large area and is unusually complex. (See Beneath Jakálla.)
It is perhaps worth noting that, by most reckonings, Jakálla is about 500 years overdue for ditlána. Given the current state of the Imperium, one is not even a remote risk until things stabilize — but after that, who knows?
History[]
In “The City Half as Old as the World,” history is a fact of life. Every day, one walks (or is carried) past buildings dating back centuries, or even millenia. Those who claim to be the first families of the city have been living in the same homes, albeit rebuilt again and again, for ten thousand years. In Tsolyánu, only Avanthár and Púrdimal can claim greater antiquity — all the other great cities, Bey Sü, Fasíltum, Usenánu, and the rest — are but new-sprung settlements… to a Jakalláni.
For Jakálla has been continuously occupied for as far back in history as we can tell, and most likely farther still — perhaps even in the time of the Ancients, before Tekumel’s isolation from the rest of humanspace. Its site on the delta of the mighty Eqúnoyel, with natural harbors giving access to the ocean, is an obvious site for a city
Interestingly, Jakálla’s actual location has moved over time. Some of this migration is due to the alluvial shifting of the land around the delta. Indeed, were it not for the efforts of Jakállan dredges throughout the ages, the constant flow of silt from the Eqúnoyel would have created vast tracts of swampland reaching far into the ocean. Following the fall of Gánga, however, Jakálla also moved — as part of the city was lost beneath the waves.
The oldest parts of Jakálla’s underworld, therefore, are flooded, requiring special magic to enable one to breathe (and perhaps even to withstand the pressure at depth), though few have returned to tell the tale, and those who have returned seem unwilling to share their experiences.
History of the City[]
During the First Imperium, before Pavar, the deity dazzling Chotl the Blinding Sun (an Aspect of Ksarul) was worshipped in Jakalla. In –18784AS the ancient temple of Sarku in Jakalla was sold and torn down. Ssirandar I, Emperor of the First Imperium, moved the capital from Purdanim to Jakalla for the next 2 generations, until his grandson founded Bey Su. In –3639AS, after the Fall of Ganga and during the Time of No Kings, the city was the site of a war between the Jakallans and the Hlutrgu and Hluss.
Jakalla has moved quite some distance over the years - parts of the underworld are under water, for example.
Ancient Times (Before The Time of Darkness)[]
During ancient times, the main settlement was to the northeast of the present city, in what is now swampland. Jakálla (though it was not called that until the Time of No Kings) was a river port, not a seaport, though it had a better harbor than those on the muddy delta itself.
Some brave souls who have ventured deep into the underworld beneath Jakálla have returned with tales of metal-walled passageways, leading off to the northeast, and ancient writings. These passages are very deep indeed, and go on for many tsán; some are filled with silt or water.
The Three States of the Triangle (-23,00 AS to -23,265 AS)[]
Jakálla, possibly under a name similar to Ja’akath, was the southern capital of the Three States of the Triangle (Úrmish was the western one, and Thráya the eastern). Very little is known about this truncated state, which grew out of the wreckage of the Empire of Llyán of Tsámra.
What is known is that there was probably more than one settlement in the area. The primary city was much smaller, and was farther out in the bay, in what is now the harbor. Regrettably, any relics remaining of Jakálla’s days as capital of the Three States are now buried under some six hundred feet of silt and mud.
Any remnants from this period were probably not from that city, but were actually part of its northern suburbs — portions of villas, fortifications, and the like. Jakálla still possesses a few coins, bricks, and buildings that date from the Three States period — little more than a surviving brick here and a brick there that have stamped seals bearing the blocky Llyáni-like writing of the time, and cartouches of long-lost monarchs.
If you wish to see these remnants of Jakálla’s ancient heritage, go first to the large tower to the southwest of the Governor’s Palace. This thick-walled building was originally a Three States fortification of some sort, and much of the original walls, though built upon in succeeding periods, still stand. The Governor’s Palace itself has courses of brick beneath it dating from the Three States period, but they were built over in the Bednálljan and Engsvanyáli periods and may not be open to public view.
The Temple of Karakán contains a colonnade dating in part to the time of the Three States of the Triangle. A suitable donation to the Temple’s coffers should gain you admittance — and a knowledgeable tour guide, for the priests of Lord Karakán take pride in the history of their temple, and have preserved the ancient bricks for public viewing, along with a few coins they recovered from the site. (The colonnade is sometimes used for classes in the Temple school, so it may not always be open to the public; it is best if you send a servitor ahead to make sure.)
The Dragon Warriors (-23,495 AS to -22,990 AS)[]
By the time the Dragon Warriors arrived, the Three States had grown weak and foolish. The fearsome warriors from the north announced that they wished to have the city, and Glorious Jakálla — never a city of warriors to this day; we prefer more refined pursuits and the finer pleasures of life —surrendered to their rule without a fight.
Once the Dragon Warriors took Jakálla, they built fortresses all the way down the coast, hoping to control the whole area. They hung on to Jakálla for centuries.
Little else is known about this time in Jakálla.
The Fisherman Kings (-23,300 AS to -22,989 AS)[]
After centuries, the “Fishermen Kings” — Gámulu and his sons — rose to brief prominence. The Fisherman Kings found Jakálla a much harder nut to crack than had the Dragon Warriors. Perhaps several hundred years under the Vimuhla worshipping Northerners had made warriors of the Jakalláni, or perhaps the galleys of the Fisherman Kings were too far from home, and without support; in any event, their ships and siege equipment were not equal to the task. They besieged Jakálla, but failed to overcome her.
Frustrated, the forces of the Fishermen Kings simply went home, leaving Jakálla to her own devices and leaving much of the west in the hands of the Vimuhla worshippers of the Bednalljan successor kingdoms.
The First Imperium of the Bednálljan Dynasties (-23,000 AS to -19,963 AS)[]
This was the time of evil Queen Nayári, Nayári of the Silken Thighs, and of the Bednálljan Empire and lost Purdánim. Scholars have speculated that Nayári may have lived in Jakálla at some point as a courtesan, and had learned to love the city, for as Queen, she lavished attention on Jakálla, rebuilding parts, constructing other parts anew, and dedicating the city to Lady Dlamélish. Though Nayári ruled from Purdánim, she spent a great deal of time in Jakálla.
Nayári’s story is well known, so we will not repeat it here, except for a few brief excerpts. One of the earliest legends of Nayári in Jakálla is that, after working her way up to marrying the Clanmaster of Purdánim, she had the poor man immured, naked and alone, in the sealed temple of She Who Cannot Be Named beneath our city.
Nayári’s lesbian mistress, Mnekshétra, who has lent her name to an array of potions and nostrums, lived in Jakálla. The evil Nayári’s counsellor, confidante, and lover supposedly lies entombed beneath the city, close by the tomb of her Queen — but if any know the location of her burial place, they are not saying.
After Nayári’s death, her children squabble over her empire. Finally, one of her sons attained the throne. Ssirandár I, as he styled himself, moved the capital of the Imperium to Jakálla, leaving Purdánim and its horrific past behind to wither away. Ssirandár I became a ruler of considerable power, managing to forge Nayári’s strife-ridden state into a true empire. He built many structures in Jakálla, including its impressive city walls. The Sákbe road system began in Jakálla, under his reign.
About a century after Nayári’s death, Ssirandár I’s grandson, Utékh Mssá, decided in turn that Jakálla was too hot, too sticky, and filled with terrible memories. Echoing the actions of his grandfather, he again moved the capital — this time commanding that a new city be built, on fresh ground. Utékh Mssá raised the city now called Bey Sü upon virgin soil, and forced Jakálla to undergo its first, and most extensive, period of ditlána. No longer the capital of an empire, Jakálla settled into a role similar to that which it holds today — a wealthy and powerful port city, ruled by mighty governors reporting to their rulers in Bey Sü.
Many structures still stand in Jakálla from the Bednálljan period. Perhaps the most spectacular is the impressive pyramidal tomb of Ssirandár I, which looms over the City of the Dead. Nayari’s tomb lies in ruins in the northeast corner of the City of the Dead, though she herself is rumored to be buried somewhere beneath present-day Jakálla.
Within the city proper, the landward sections of the city walls were first built in Bednálljan times, but have been added to since then. (Other structures? e.g. temples, etc. Governor’s palace?)
In many ways, the First Imperium was a time of glory for Jakálla, and one that has marked her to the present day. A number of clans that are powerful in Jakálla trace their lineage to the First Imperium. The Clan of Sea Blue are descended from Bednálljan nobility, and some of the Emerald clans (Emerald Diadem, for example) trace their heritage to Nayári’s court. The Clan of Green Malachite claims descent from Nayári herself.
Engsvanyáli Empire (-19,509 AS to -10,017 AS) []
In Engsvanyáli times, Jakálla (called Ja’akath in the earlier days, becoming Ja’akal toward the latter portion of the empire) retained its prominence as the great northern seaport, counterpart to mighty Gánga across the waters to the south. Jakálla was made so rich that it, unusual among the major cities of Engsván hla Gánga, never rebelled.
When the Great Calamity occurred, and Gánga sank, much of Jakálla was lost with it. Jakálla suffered earthquakes, tidal waves, and much ruination.
Ja’akal was much smaller, and was out farther in the bay in what’s now the harbor. The old, latter times city is long gone -- probably farther north and east than city of the dead, under thousands of feet of silt and topsoil.
Time of No Kings (-10,017 AS to 0 AS)[]
It was during the Time of No Kings that Jakálla became known by the name she bears today. The Temple of Avanthé in Jakálla has the best of the fragmentary materials covering the Time of No Kings in the Empire.
Recent Events in Jakalla[]
The Resurgence of the He'esa[]
There have been several attacks in Jakalla by persons who have turned to slime when killed. The attackers have been tentatively connected to She Who Cannot Be Named.
The Massacre in the Necropolis[]
Recently, a Semetl of the Tomb Police in Jakalla have discovered some recent excavations in the upper gallery of the outer halls of the tomb of Famuel the astrologer. Beneath the three faces of the gateway to the astrologer’s tomb, a pit had been dug, uncovering an even older stairwell adorned with inscriptions in ever-enduring praise to the glories of the Worm and the Emperor Durumu Tlakotani, “The Copper Blade of Sarku”.
Believing this to be an entrance to the collapsed tomb of Nikuma III and a major treasure find, the Tirrikamu has petitioned for the rest of his Kareng to be assembled, as a show of force to encourage the tomb robbers to come to an equitable solution. In response, however, the tomb robbers struck back at the Tomb Police from ambush, killing many of the Kareng’s Changadesha in the first few moments. As desperate reinforcements rushed to the battle, the tide was beginning to turn, until, with most of the tomb police’s Tsurum in the gallery, a terrorising shriek shattered the gallery, crumbling the roof as some abominable, loathsome, gibbenous horror arose from the depths of the underworld, rending both tomb robbers and tomb police alike with frightening glee, laying waste all around until both the forces of policemen and robbers lay shattered and dying.
With the Tsurum of the Tomb Police decimated and down to maybe 25 men, and the forces of the tomb robbers probably shattered beyond recovery, the situation looks bleak.
Legends of Jakalla[]
Nyelmu and the Garden Under Jakalla[]
Little except for legend is known of the mysterious Nyelmu and his “Garden of the Weeping Snows”. It is known that Nyelmu (the name has to do with “sleep” or “dream” in Engsvanyali) seems to have offended the Lords of Stability; some say this occurred at Dormoron Plain; others claim it was more recent, and had something to do with the Heroes of the Age during the Engsvanyali period. At any rate, he seems to have been condemned to dwell in the Garden until the End of the Cycles of Time; he is one of the most bored and saddest individuals one will ever meet, always seeking some new toy or pastime, and his comrades in the garden include many who have somehow wandered in there and become trapped.
Getting into the Garden itself is easy; one of the gates (which seems to open into a different Plane and not just into another area of the Underworld) lies in one of the lower levels underneath Jakalla. Once in, however, one cannot get back out. Not only does the gate not work, but the Pale Legion (Nyelmu’s silver-and-white-garbed soldiers) will stop the fugitive and take him to Nyelmu, who may then have the hapless victim put up on a special torture display dais to beautify the Garden. Using an Excellent Ruby Eye when the victim is suffering the most then makes the agony a permanent moment throughout time. This may last for eternity, or until Nyelmu grows bored and tries something else on the hapless victim.
The Garden itself is rather a large place (area unknown), with pure white plants with cotton-like leaves and flowers growing thickly all over it. There are paths of blackish, shining stone running in crisscrosses everywhere, and the Pale Legion (usually in squads of 20 or so) move easily around in it. These soldiers are human[oid] but are clearly constructs, and possibly androids. Nyelmu’s great black palace rises at one side of the apparent cavern in which the Garden exists, and it has many rooms, colonnades, balconies, and areas too numerous to be gone into here.
Nyelmu does receive some information of events in the outside world. He is curious about political developments, in particular about the possibilities of Princess Ma’in becoming Empress and perhaps freeing him (it is said that Nyelmu’s personal goddess is similar to Lady Dlamilish…). Nyelmu has plotted in he past to lure Ma’in down into his Garden, then hold her hostage until the Emperor (or the College at the End of Time) makes a deal with him. Without her, of course, history would be messed up, and many new and perhaps unwanted branches would perhaps arise and grow from the great Tree of Time.
Nayari of the Silken Thighs[]
In the time of the First Imperium, Nayari of the Silken Thighs cast her husband the Clanmaster of Purdanim into the sealed shrine of the Goddess of the Pale Bone (“She Who Cannot Be Named”) in the labyrinths beneath Jakalla.