Verse:Chlouvānem Inquisition/Līlasuṃghāṇa

Līlasuṃghāṇa
Liysuṃghuṇa

Official name	Līlasuṃghāṇa ga nīrvaṣa Eparchy of Līlasuṃghāṇa
Coordinates	14º33′53.2′′N 0º0′58.4′′W
Country	Chlouvānem Inquisition
Tribunal	Jade Coast Area
Diocese	Nanašīrama
Divisions	24 sectors, 21 cities, 11 parishes, 15 villages
Largest division (pop.)	Usāṃrātnam core sector (1,372,443 (5.62.2ᘔ312))
Official language	Chlouvānem
Other languages	Nanašīrami vernacular (Līlasuṃghāṇi dialect)
Demonym	Chl.: Līlasuṃghāṇi ; Līlasuṃghānyūs Nan.: Liysuṃghuñn ; Liɂñ
Area	4.486 e (7.59010) 8,500.8 km2 (3,282.18 mi2)
Population	29,698,169 (9Ɛ.42.53512) (6422 (387212) census)
Population density	2.321/e (3,91310) 3,493.57/km2 (9048.3/mi2)
Government type	Eparchy
Eparch	Chilamulkāvi Narṣakarai Lārta
Capital	Līlasuṃghāṇa
Time zone	LIL (Līlasuṃghāṇi time — Līlasuṃghāṇi avyāṣa)
Telephone area code	(+87) 02

Līlasuṃghāṇa ("[place of] singing nāmñē cubs"; Chlouvānem pronunciation: [ɴ̆iːɴ̆ɐsũgʱäːɳɐ]; Līlasuṃghāṇi vernacular: Liysuṃghuṇa [ɴ̆ii̯ʃỹˈɡʱyːɳɐ]; popularly shortened to (Chl.) Līlah [ɴ̆iːɴ̆ɐɦ] or (vern.) Liɂ [ɴ̆iɁ]) is the capital of the Chlouvānem Inquisition, the holy city of the Yunyalīlta, an eparchy (Chl.: nīrvaṣa) within the diocese of Nanašīrama, which it is also the episcopal seat of, and the largest city on Calémere, even though it is not, administratively, a single city.

Līlasuṃghāṇa lies on the southeastern shore of Lake Lūlunīkam (an inlet of the Jahībušanī sea) in the Jade Coast, with most of the eparchy's area extending south along the southern branch of the Lake, formed by the clearwater Lanamilūki river coming from the wetlands and várzeas of Talæñoya. Most of the area where the present-day core sectors of Līlasuṃghāṇa lie were formerly a swampland where the Ēmīlumi river ("river of tigers"), the Talitanah river ("cocoa river"), and the Rajālyāti river ("silver-black river") - all three blackwater - reach Lake Lūlunīkam. This former swamp, nestled between low forested hills and the shore, was mostly drained through centuries and is now one of the most densely populated pieces of land on Calémere. Despite lying just south of the 15th parallel north, Līlasuṃghāṇa has an equatorial rainforest climate with constant rainfall throughout the year and no distinct seasons.

Despite being referred to as a "city", Līlasuṃghāṇa is an eparchy, which means that it has - at least for the core wards, called sectors (chūltāk, sg. chūltām) a consolidated government at the level of cities, circuits, provinces, and even some functions of the diocese itself. Administratively, there are, however, places in Līlasuṃghāṇa designed as cities, parishes, or even villages: the area of the eparchy is extremely large, covering also some valleys of tributaries of the Lanamilūki river to the south where the only settlements are floating villages in the middle of igapós. About 45% of the land area of the eparchy is covered by rainforest or swampland.

The eparchy of Līlasuṃghāṇa, at the 3872 (6422₁₀) census, had a population of 9Ɛ.42.535 (29,698,169₁₀) people. The Līlasuṃghāṇa metropolitan area is the second-largest in the world (after the polycentric conurbation of eastern Hachitama diocese) and extends into neighboring parts of Nanašīrama and also the dioceses of Talæñoya to the south as well as Bhūsrajaiṭa and Kāṃradeša across the lake. Usāṃrātnam sector is the most populated subdivision in the eparchy; the areas typically know as "the center" are Ṣrāvamaila sector, seat of the Inquisitorial Palace, of the Blossoming Temple, and of most central institutions of the Inquisition, and the six sectors encircling it (Lūṣyambādhi, Hūneidauṣa, Nājāmiḍāra, Haleikēlṭah, Saṃryojyam, and Janaimarta).

Etymology and name

The name of Līlasuṃghāṇa predates the city, and is a bahuvrihi compound of līlas - the name (nowadays archaic) of cubs of nāmñē, a tropical seal living along most of the Inquisition's tropical coasts - and suṃghāṇa, meaning "melody". The name thus means "melody of nāmñē cubs", intended as "the place where nāmñē cubs sing melodies".

An inhabitant of the city is referred to as Līlasuṃghāṇi or, more formally, Līlasuṃghānyūs. In the vernacular, the demonym is Liysuṃghuñn [ɴ̆ii̯ʃỹˈɡʱyɲ]. The vernacular-derived form Liɂñ [ɴ̆iɁɲ], rendered as Liɂña in Chlouvānem, is commonly used both in the vernacular and in Chlouvānem, albeit only informally.

In foreign languages, it is mostly known by transliterations of the Chlouvānem name (Qualdomelic: Lilasunggana, Skyrdagor: Ninaszungana, Nordulaki: Ninasungana, Cerian: Nínasungána, Holenagic: Ngingasunggana), but in Brono-Fathanic it is commonly called "Holy City" due to it being the holiest city of the Yunyalīlta (Bronic: Boraosovahisy, Fathanic: Brawswahes), with the full form "Holy City of Līlasuṃghāṇa" (Bronic: Lilasongana boraosa ovahisy, Fathanic: Liŋaseuŋgan braws wahes) being only found in a few official reports or in lists of holy cities and places.

In Imuniguro-Xenic languages apart from Qualdomelic and Brono-Fathanic (whose borrowing of the name was earlier than most of their own Imuniguro-Xenic stock), the name is an adaptation of the Chlouvānem one, but written as in Chlouvānem due to all these languages having adopted the Chlouvānem script. In phonetic romanization, the main ones are:

• Soenjoan: Ŋieŋasuŋkhŏna /ŋie̯ŋasuŋˈxɔna/
• Kuyugwazian: Niinasŭngaana /niːnasɯnˈɡaːna/
• Lenyan: Qinasunğona /qinasuŋˈɣɔna/
• Enegenic: Nynasunggana /nɯnasuŋˈgana/
• Jalašmakhian: Nynåsungana /nɨnɔsunˈɡana/

Epithets and popular names

Common epithets and popular names include:

• Līlah (vern. Liɂ), a shortening which is how the city is usually called in common speech;
• junyāmite marta — the Blossoming City (a reference to its main temple, seat of the Great Inquisitor, the Blossoming Temple (junyāmiti lārvājuṣa))
• brausire marta or brausamarta — the Holy City
• uryultai — the Capital
• lilūri uryultai — World's Capital
• amaha — the Palace (a reference to the Inquisitorial Palace)

Especially in the Western World, the city is used as a metonym for the Inquisitorial power - just as "the Inquisition" is used as a metonym for the country. However, among Chlouvānem people, amaha (the Palace) is used this way.

History

The area around Lake Lūlunīkam, including the location of present-day Līlasuṃghāṇa, has been inhabited for millennia by tribes speaking languages such as Laiputaši or Old Kāṃradeši. In the early part of the 4th millennium, this area was outside the realms of the Kūṣṛmāthi civilization but in its sphere of influence. About halfway through that millennium, Lahob-speaking tribes (the Ur-Chlouvānem) settled in the area, finishing their long migration journey across the whole continent and started settling together with the local people, with common intermixing.

While for many centuries there were various settlements in the swamplands and by the hills of today's Līlasuṃghāṇa, the founding of the city itself happened in 4826 (2962₁₂) by order of Great Inquisitor Ṣrāvamaili ga Kālomitāvi Dalaigana, aiming to build the holiest city the world had ever seen. The center of this settlement was on a bigger hammock in the swamp, not far from the Talitanah river and about three kilometers upstream from the lakeside - today's Ṣrāvamaila ("clear water") sector, named after the founding Great Inquisitor's regnal name. The only access to the early city was from the Talitanah river, and a smaller settlement was built at its mouth, functioning as a gate for the city - this area has been later remodelled by land reclamation and it is now the Janaimarta ("port city") sector; many foundation-era buildings can however be seen in the talitanah ga maiti memāyi jarmāṇa (Talitanah River Mouth Park), part of Saṃryojyam sector, and by the rest of the Saṃryojyam lakeshore. Haleikēlṭah, just opposite the Talitanah from Ṣrāvamaila, became in the following centuries an important merchant quarter.

Other older settlements later integrated in the main area of the city are found everywhere in the eparchy; quite noticeable, ancient, and near the central area, are the former lakeside village of Kānuṣāṭham (part of Lūṣyambādhi sector, northeast of the Inquisitorial Palace) and the "village of Huneidauṣa", today only a small, pedestrian area in the center of the eponymous sector, southeast of the Inquisitorial Palace. Such villages were often founded after the city itself, as farming settlements in the swamp that was being drained in order to support further growth of the city.

Līlasuṃghāṇa, the lower Lanamilūki valley, and most of the territories around Lake Lūlunīkam were the only areas in the Chlouvānem world to be continuously ruled directly by the Inquisition before the Consolidation; its status as a holy city ensured its neutrality in the broader Yunyalīlti world, where the Great Inquisitor had a major influence over the politics of most countries.

Geography

Līlasuṃghāṇa is situated in the diocese of Nanaširama, comprising almost all of its western third, extending from the southeastern shore of Lake Lūlunīkam (lūlunīkam ga gūltis), a tidal inlet of the Jahībušanī Sea (jahībušanī ga jaryā), linked to it by the ~150 km long Kyūkamiša ria (kyūkamiša ga omotē), to the rainforested hills dividing the Lanamilūki valley (lanamilūki ga maiti inai) from the rest of Nanaširama (which drains directly into the Kyūkamiša ria or into the Jahībušanī Sea).
The eparchy is the largest subdivision of its kind in the Inquisition, and - if considered as a city - one of the largest municipalities by area on Calémere. However, the urban area is far smaller - about half of the land area in the eparchy consists of forested areas or wetlands.

Its geographical coordinates, usually measured at the Old Astronomic Observatory in Ṣūmrāti Park, Nājāmiḍāra sector, which is the reference point for the Chlouvānem longitude system, are 14º32′27.3′′N 0º (Cerian/Western standard: 143º35′11.7′′E). The traditional center of Līlasuṃghāṇa, at the center of the Holy Square (brausire gaurāta) in Ṣrāvamaila, where the Blossoming Temple and the Inquisitorial Palace are, is located at 14º33′53.2′′N 0º0′58.4′′W (Western: 143º34′13.4′′E).

Most of the central built-up area is located on a former drained swamp; the necessity of draining the swampland resulted in many central sectors of the city (most notably Haleikēlṭah, Hūneidauṣa, and Lūṣyambādhi, but also Ṣrāvamaila and to lesser extents Saṃryojyam and Hilaiñāña) having a network of canals; especially in Haleikēlṭah and Ṣrāvamaila, which are the oldest parts of the city, these were constructed in ancient times in order to ease movement of goods. The whole sector of Janaimarta, nearly all of the island where the main airport lies (in Abhākṣamyalka sector), about half of Saṃryojyam and Hilaiñāña, and parts of Lūṣyambadhi were reclaimed from the lake.

Climate

Līlasuṃghāṇa has, despite its location just south of the 15th parallel north, a tropical rainforest climate with no distinct seasons; the climate is evenly hot and wet throughout the year – the largest temperature changes are between day and night. Due to the extensive size of the eparchy of Līlasuṃghāṇa, conditions may vary across it. As a general rule, the central areas tend to have higher temperatures because of the urban heat island effect, still noticeable despite the large number of parks and green spaces in the city - many of which created in order to mitigate that effect.

The city is typically affected each day by frequent but short rain showers; the central area and most of the Lanamilūki valley are much less windy than most other areas on lake Lūlunīkam, but strong winds are occasionally felt in the hilly eastern suburbs. Fog - mist further away from the major water bodies - typically shrouds the low-lying areas in the early morning hours.

Data in the following table is expressed first (dozenally) in the Jahārāṭha scale, the temperature measurement scale used in the Chlouvānem Inquisition. The smaller conversion below it is in degrees Celsius; the Jahārāṭha scale is anyway similar in principle, but measuring from 0ºj to 100₁₂ºj, therefore 1ºj = 25/36 of a degree Celsius, or 1ºC = 1.44ºj. The precipitation row is expressed in lojlyē, and 1 lūj = ~1.20255 mm.

Climate data for the Weather Institute at G.I. Namihūlšāvi Šūlteniyæha Nājaldhīm Airport, Abhākṣamyalka sector (širē aveṣyotārire lallāmaha Namihūlšāvi yamei Šūlteniyæhom Nājaldhīmom camimurkadhānom lairkeike pāsaunašmilkūrah)
Month	Prgh	Glk	Mlt	Pṇḍ	Hny	Lnd	Mrt	Brs	Uṣr	Krm	Bhvy	Rvṣ	Prt	Cmr	Year
Record high ºj (ºC)	42 (34.6)	41 (34.1)	41 (33.9)	41 (33.7)	40 (33.6)	40 (33.5)	41 (33.8)	42 (34.5)	41 (34.4)	42 (34.7)	42 (34.8)	43 (35.0)	43 (35.4)	43 (35.1)	43 (35.4)
Average high ºj (ºC)	3ᘔ (31.7)	39 (31.4)	39 (31.2)	38 (30.9)	38 (30.6)	37 (29.8)	38 (30.5)	39 (31.1)	39 (31.4)	3ᘔ (31.7)	3ᘔ (31.9)	3Ɛ (32.5)	3Ɛ (32.3)	3ᘔ (31.8)	39 (31.3)
Daily mean ºj (ºC)	36 (28.8)	35 (28.5)	34 (27.9)	33 (27.1)	33 (26.8)	32 (26.4)	33 (27.0)	34 (27.4)	35 (28.1)	36 (28.7)	37 (29.5)	37 (30.0)	38 (30.3)	37 (29.1)	35 (28.3)
Average low ºj (ºC)	2ᘔ (23.5)	29 (22.8)	28 (22.3)	28 (22.0)	27 (21.4)	26 (20.5)	27 (21.3)	29 (22.6)	2ᘔ (23.5)	2ᘔ (23.8)	2Ɛ (24.3)	30 (25.0)	2Ɛ (24.4)	2ᘔ (23.9)	29 (22.9)
Record low ºj (ºC)	24 (19.1)	23 (18.9)	23 (18.5)	22 (18.3)	22 (17.9)	22 (17.8)	22 (18.1)	23 (18.6)	23 (18.7)	24 (19.0)	24 (19.5)	25 (20.1)	24 (19.6)	24 (19.2)	22 (17.8)
Average precipitation lūj (mm)	137 (224.4)	118 (196.8)	ƐƐ (171.6)	ᘔ9 (154.8)	8ᘔ (127.2)	Ɛ6 (165.5)	ᘔ2 (146.4)	102 (175.2)	10Ɛ (186.0)	126 (208.8)	114 (192.0)	134 (220.8)	159 (255.6)	18Ɛ (301.2)	116 (194.7)
Average relative humidity (%10)	83.3	81.9	80.5	79.2	78.3	77.9	79.0	79.9	80.6	81.5	82.4	82.9	83.6	84.1	81.1

Environment

The eparchy's area is mainly divided into three parts: forested wetlands and hills, which cover the majority of the territory; densely inhabited urban areas; and areas for agricultural use (mostly orchards and tea plantations).

Cityscape

Līlasuṃghāṇa's cityscape is typical of most Chlouvānem cities with a long history, as its street plan and architecture shows how many original different villages were inglobated in the growing city. Architectonically, the notable parts are:

• Old and historical districts, including for example the historical center and main downtown area, Ṣrāvamaila (where the main offices of the Inquisition's government, including the Inquisitorial Palace, lie), predominantly made of centuries-old terraced shophouses, detached buildings, and (less so in Ṣrāvamaila, more in other such older villages) former agrarian courts;
• Modern residential districts, which make up most of the built area of the city, predominantly made of panel apartment buildings, ranging from 4 or 5 stories tall in some earlier neighbourhoods up to 20 story tall buildings in more recently built complexes.
• The sector of Janaimarta (at the mouth of the Hanaiyami into Lūlunikam Lake) and the neighboring western part of Lūṣyambādhi are mostly made of office towers and include some of the tallest skyscrapers in the Inquisition and on Calémere. The Janaimarta ("port city") sector, actually, is a recent development on the site of the former lake port. Most industrial port facilities have nowadays been moved away from the city, directly on the sea, about 190 km east.
• On the hillier shores of Lake Lūlunīkam, south of the central part there are many small villages detached from the main urban tissue, mostly with the layout of older fishing villages. Some of them are still home to a few fishermen or descendants of fishermen's families which actually own the houses they live in (something very rare in the Inquisition), and some of those villages are more upper-class than other areas of the city as houses there have been assigned to artists or scientists. Aṃrāvāyana, one of those villages, is the birthplace of incumbent Great Inquisitor Hæliyǣšāvi Dhṛṣṭāvāyah Lairē, descendant of an old fisherman family.

Palaces

Līlasuṃghāṇa is possibly the Chlouvānem city with the highest number of old nobiliar palaces. For a period in Chlouvānem history, it was common for many royal families to have a "representation palace" in the holy city; this makes their number higher than in most other cities, where only the local nobles built their palaces. Most nobiliar palaces in Līlasuṃghāṇa (and all royal ones) are located in Ṣrāvamaila, with a minor number of them in neighboring Lūṣyambādhi and Hūneidauṣa.
After the deposition of nobility in the Nāɂahilūmi era and the expropriation of former noble properties in the first years of the Kaiṣamā, all former royal and nobiliar palaces are now property of the State and house either Offices of the Inquisition (for example the Dhārāṣmaja Palace, second-largest in the city (only behind the Inquisitorial Palace) and former representative palace of the Miś Bāniyār, houses the Inquisitorial Office of Economic Development), museums (e.g. Māyīmajālta Palace, just opposite the Inquisitorial Palace, which houses the Pan-Inquisitorial Museum of Natural History), or other institutions (e.g. the three palaces composing the Ūjaravāli complex, used by some departments of the Eparchical Ecumenical School of Līlasuṃghāṇa).

Skyways and covered walkways

The rainy climate of the city has resulted in public spaces being built in order to provide frequent shelter from the sudden downpours, which can be quite heavy, even if short. Especially in the liveliest and oldest sectors of the city, most buildings have covered arcades in front of them, while newer buildings are often connected by skyways above street level. In less central districts, sidewalks often have covered portions and the crossing of large roads is often done through covered skyways or, less frequently, underground passages; this also has the effect of reducing risks connected to traffic.

Demographics

As of the 6422 (3872₁₂) census), the resident population of the eparchy of Līlasuṃghāṇa amounted to 29,698,169 (9Ɛ.42.535₁₂) people; the actual population at any time of the day is much higher due to the huge number of commuters from neighboring areas. 99.4% of the population consists of Chlouvānem citizens; the majority of foreign citizens hail from Brono, Greater Skyrdegan countries, or Eastern Védrenian ones.

84.1% of residents are ethnically Chlouvānem, with the remainder being made up of many other legally recognized ethnicities: Bronics, Kuyugwazians, and Soenjoans are the most represented ones, as the table below shows:

Ethnic makeup of the Eparchy of Līlasuṃghāṇa

Ethnicity	People (6422 census)	Percentage
Chlouvānem	24,987,471	84,14%
Bronic	802,279	2,70%
Kuyugwazian	635,109	2,14%
Soenjoan	583,824	1,97%
Qualdomelic	519,220	1,75%
Toyubeshian	408,223	1,37%
Skyrdegan	317,965	1,07%
East Vedrénian (Raina and others)	281,102	0,95%
Jīrandašai	114,833	0,39%
Dabuke (various peoples)	89,365	0,30%
Enegenic	65,953	0,22%
Leñ	62,506	0,21%
Timbarelai	57,227	0,19%
Jalašmak	53,539	0,18%
Džemlešwi	49,319	0,17%
Cambuṭai	48,737	0,16%
Snatårian	37,579	0,13%
Rǣrai	31,930	0,11%
Bazá	29,752	0,10%
Tarueb	24,105	0,08%
other ethnicities indigenous to the Inq.	386,849	1,30%
others	111,282	0,37%

Classical Chlouvānem is the city's most spoken language and its administrative language; 70% of all inhabitants also speak the local vernacular, Līlasuṃghāṇi (Liɂ ha dhaḷa [ˈɴ̆iɁ‿xa ˈdʱaːɭɐ]), a dialect inside the Southern Jade Coast dialect continuum. The most spoken native language excluding these two has been found to be the Western Chlouvānem Creole, spoken by about 4% of people. Among non-Chlouvānem languages, the most spoken include Bronic, Kuyugwazian, Soenjoan, Lenyan, other Kenengyry languages, and various languages from Eastern Védren.

Even by Chlouvānem standards, Līlasuṃghāṇa is a culturally diverse city, first of all because of its position between two major cultural areas, the Great Plain and the South, with traits of both found in the city and its surroundings, and also because of its political role, attracting people from all of the Chlouvānem world and beyond. Even if there is no distinction between Chlouvānem people originating from different areas of the country, it is estimated that only about half of the population (14.5 million people) ethnically belongs to the Jade Coastal subgrouping of the Chlouvānem ethnicity, with Eastern Plain, Western Plain, and Western Chlouvānem being the most represented out of the other subgroupings.

Culture

Entertainment and popular culture

Laišūkhrāvati Road (laišūkhrāvati aira), also known as Laišūkhrāvati Boulevard (a more accurate translation of the Chlouvānem term aira), is one of the major named streets in Līlasuṃghāṇa and a cultural attraction, constituting one of the most famous areas of the city in popular culture. It is located in the eastern part of the sector of Lūṣyambādhi, starting about two kilometres north of the Inquisitorial Palace, and is a part of the axis linking Ṣrāvamaila to the Janaimarta. It takes its name from Laišūkhrāvateh Temple, located at the northern end of the boulevard. The southern half of the boulevard is well-known for its cafés, shops, and theatres, while the northern half crosses the areas between the Inquisitorial Exposition Grounds on the eastern side and the main scientific-technological campus of the Ecumenical School of Līlasuṃghāṇa on the western side. If Ṣrāvamaila is known as the more traditional, religious and high-culture centre of the city with all political centres of the Inquisition being headquartered there, as well as many museums and the historical sūq area, the area around Laišūkhrāvati Road is often considered the major popular entertainment district of the city. Laišūkhrāvati Road, being a broad and iconic boulevard in a central area of the city, is also often used for parades and rallies.