A Guide for Tourists in Omsarim!

[Omsarim]

[Some of the vacationers on the plane decided to watch the intro videos. Most are either going to just read the pamphlet, or just not bother learning about Omsari culture.  A woman appears in the video.  She is wearing a bright red dress, and has hair a mixture of red and black.  She has flawless brown skin (flawless to an unnatural extent), and a huge, slightly crazed smile upon her face]

"Hello! My name is Amare Vantana, and I will be your tour guide once you arrive at Omsarim! This vacation will be the best in your life, that is most certainly guaranteed!  Oh, how you'll love Omsarim!  Now, we are the world's friendliest country for tourists, but we also have one of the most interesting cultures in the world!  Now, sit your wonderful little selves back and enjoy these videos prepared by some of the best experts in all of Omsarim!

[the viewers sigh in relief that Amare Vantana will not be the one narrating all of the videos, as they find her enthusiasm a bit disturbing]

[the first video is a short, old, bald man.  He has large ears and talks in a squeaky, quiet voice]

"My name is Professor Vantura Amana. I am Professor of History at Usiros University. Omsari culture can first be traced back to over 6000 BCE, when the 'Stone Circle Culture', called that due to the large standing stone circles they made."

[a picture of one of the standing stone circles appears]

"Between 4000 and 3000 BCE, the al'Ta culture began to settle Omsarim. The al'Ta brought a variety of religious beliefs, and became the dominant ethnic group of Omsarim, entirely absorbing the Stone Circle Culture. The al'Ta cultural dominance was cut short by the 'invasion' of the Sindarin in approximately 3000 BCE.  Once believed, both among their own descendants in the North and in Omsarim, to have been a unified empire, the Sindari invasion is now widely considered to be more of a series of raids and trading endeavors, with no actual political domination.  However, the culture that now resulted was the Vristuta Civilization, well known for building numerous cities across  Omsarim.  The Vristuta promoted the cult of the god Vanata, widely considered the greatest of the gods at that time, and were noted for their temple structure.  The standard Vristuta temple was constructed in a a half-circle shape, with..."

[Amare Vantana's voice interrupts]

"So so so so so sorry Mr. Amana, but can you skip ahead, we are running a bit low on time? Thank you so much!"

[Professor Amana sighs]

"Very well then. The Vristuta culture was conquered by the Lagarin, a northern invader descended from the Sindarin, around 2000 BCE, and the Vristuta were driven into the mountains.  However, the Lagarin did not destroy the cult of Vanata, although they did sideline the god's worship. The Lagarin civilization and the Vristuta highlands were conquered by the Ardharin Empire from the South around 1100 BCE. The Ardharin language is the primary source of the modern Omsari language today.  By 500 BCE, the Ardharin had begun to decline, and the Omsari city-states were practically independent. During this time, the Ulari-Vanatan religion arose, and came to dominate Omsarim by 0 BCE. Despite religious, cultural, and linguistic unity, Omsarim remained politically divided until 974 CE, when the great king Jasara Camonan united most of the islands."

"Omsarim remained a monarchy until 1362, when an aristocratic Republic dominated by the Great Merchant families was established.  The First Republic was a time of great social and cultural advancement, until a series of political crises led to the monarchy being reestablished in 1570.   The new dynasty, the Usanarans... You want me to hurry up even more?  Fine.   Anyways, the Usanaran dynasty was overthrown in 1801, and the Second Republic was instituted in 1803.  This system of governance dominates Omsarim to this day.  Now, the Republic..."

[the video cut off, and Amare Vantana's face appears.  Some of the audience were bored enough that they don't mind her return.  Others prefer even the quiet and squeaky Professor Amana to her]

"Well now!  Wasn't that so interesting!  Now, guess what's next?  A summary of the religion of Omsarim, yay!  But first, an advertisement from a prominent Omsari company!"

[an advertisement interrupts the video.  The audience wonders what is coming next]

[Omsarim]

[After the advertisement, Amare Vantana appears once more on the screen]

"Hello tourists! Let me introduce you to our three panelists, Cleric Utara Nameron, Professor Ulena Tyrorus of Astrorus University, and Student Interfaith Alliance leader Kasose Anatore, also of Astrorus."

[Nameron is an older man with combed grey hair wearing a traditional red robe. Anatore is a young woman wearing Northern clothes. Tyrorus is a middle aged man, wearing an Omsari counter-culture outfit]

Nameron: "The Ulari-Vanataist religion has its roots thousands of years back in Omsari history. Vanata, the deity known by many names, was worshipped by all of the al'Ta people. However, they also worshipped other gods, with Vanata's cult being one among many. In the North and in Khem, the faith in Gaea, the life force which connects all living things, was also known. But it to Ulara of Tyros that it was revealed that while all living beings, god and mortal alike were bound by Gaea, that through Vanata we could see the purity of the spirit. For our material world is corrupted by Akranos, the force of evil. Only through the Light of Vanata can we overcome these evils, and be at one with Gaea when we die. Otherwise, we shall be reborn, our spirits trapped in the material world."

Amare: "Wow!  What a great summary of the religion of Omsarim!  But Professor Tyrorus, you seem to be shaking your head.  What do you think?"

Tyrorus: "While his basic history of the religion is decent, Mr. Nameron is not portraying the most realistic picture of events.   Ulara of Tyros probably did not have some mystical revelation.  It is known that he came into contact with foreign traders and travelled at least to Alkemim [Khem], and perhaps all the way to what's now Eluvatrim.  From what he learned from foreigners, Ulara gave the cult of Vanata an intellectual backing that the other cults of the day lacked."

Nameron: "That's simply incorrect, Ulara's own accounts detail that he'd only had a few conversations with the foreigners, and his revelation came before his great journey..."

Tyrorus: "It's likely Ulara's accounts were edited after the fact."

Nameron: "That's nonsense, no serious historian doubts the authenticity..."

Amare: "Ok, let's calm down.  So, Ms. Anatore, what do you think of this debate."

Anatore: "Well, um, whether Ulara was true or not, the story of Ulara I mean, it well depends on what you believe.  So believe what makes you happy."

Amare: "That's... nice.  Now, Cleric Nameron, can you explain the daily worship of an average Omsar?"

Nameron: "Well, the worshipper will go to the Hanvorunos, the House of Enlightenment. He or she is encouraged to seek Enlightenment through one of three ways: prayer, meditation, or study.  I am a Garanosvra, a Cleric devoted to study.  In ancient times, Omsarin worshipped the gods via offerings, but that ended after Ulara.  In his time, the offerings were usually some sort of valuable already prepared food or drink, though in the most ancient eras animals were sacrificed..."

Tyrorus: "And humans"

Nameron: "There is no evidence of any widespread human sacrifice..."

Tyrorus: "There's plenty of evidence, just not from religious propaganda history books..."

Amare: "ALRIGHT, let's let Ms. Anatore have something to say.  Ms. Anatore, what do you do on a daily basis religiously?"

Anatore: "Well, I really appreciate the breaks in classes on holidays like Ulara's Day and the Day of the Sun and the Day of the Rains.  My favorite day is the spring day, the parties are wild.  Last year, I went to this orgie at the environment house and had sex with like eight..."

Amare: "That's quite enough of that.  How about more, what you believe on a day to day basis?"

Anatore: "What?"

Nameron: "Do you go to the Hanvorunos at least once every ten days?  Do you pray to Vanata, meditate, or read the holy texts?"

Anatore: "I pray before and after every exam."

Tyrorus: "All of this discussion has been about Ulari-Vanataism so far.  There are minority religions in Omsarim, and they deserve attention."

Amare: "That's right.  Cleric Nameron, what do you say about this issue?"

Nameron:  "Other religions have their rights, and we respect that not all people are guided by Gaea to the paths of Ulari-Vanataism.  However, Omsarim is a Ulari-Vanataist country, it's part of our culture and identity.  Minority religions need to accept this simple fact."

Tyrorus: "The majority of Omsarim isn't Vanataist."

Nameron: "The census shows that about two-thirds..."

Tyrorus: "The census includes people like Anatore here who don't actually worship but still identify..."

Amare: "Speaking of Anatore, what do the youth think of minority religions?"

Anatore: "There's like, the Gaeanists, who like worship Gaea but not Vanata, and they like gender Gaea for some reason.  And the Eruvites, who like, worship Eru you know?  And some other religions too.  All religions are cool, diversity you know."

Tyrorus: "You're the president of the Student Interfaith Alliance?"

Anatore: "I was the acting president, because I was the only officer present at the meeting when you visited.  I'm the Chief Advertiser."

Tyrorus: "What?"

Anatore: "I like, make posters and stuff to promote events."

Amare: "Well, that's all for this video. I hope that all of you tourists were very informed!"

Anatore: "Good, I thought I was going to miss the party going on at the Jutensan Cultural House."

Nameron: "Professor Tyrorus, do you wish to continue our debate about the accuracy of the census numbers?"

Tyrorus: "I'd love to.  I know this great place down near Anavra's..."

Nameron: "Lead on."

[the video ends]

[Omsarim]

Meanwhile, one of the readers of the Pamphlet read the part on Omsari names:

Pronunciation Guide for Omsari vowels:
Some vowels are very distinct for non-Omsar:
I-Pronounced as in Kiwi
E- Pronounced like the a in bay
U - pronounced as in blue

However, two vowels are more difficult for foreigners to grasp
A - pronounced as in "shah"
O- pronounced as in "bomb"

Often these two sounds are indistinguishable for non-native speakers of Omsari, but to native speakers the sounds, while similar, are distinct.

Naming Conventions for Omsarim
Male names always end in -a, while female names usually always in in -e.  Surnames can end in any combination, most commonly -os, with -on, -e, -am, -a, and -o also being fairly common. 

Nations and Demonyms
The Demonym's for Omsari are as follows:
Countries always end in -im.
Languages end in -i
People singular are the root without the -im.
People plural are -in.

Example:
"I am from Omsarim"
"I speak Omsari"
"I am an Omsar"
"We are Omsarin"

Selected Omsari names for foreign nations:
Eluvatar: Eluvatrim
al'Khem: Alkemim
St. Oz: Ozim
Jutensa: Jutensim
Myroria: Myrorim
Rykkovaa: Rikovim
Orristania: Oristim
Cathorcea: Catorcim
Imperial Sobek: Sobekim

[AwesomeSaucer]

What would the TDP be?

[Omsarim]

What would the TDP be?

Vinixim, as there is no "Ph" or "F" sound in Omsari.