Volfyn Nation
Volfyn Nation | |
|---|---|
 Flag Flag | |
| Motto: "Mis-Sema, Is-Sliem." English: From the sky peace. | |
| File:Online | |
| Official languages | English, Maltese |
| Demonym(s) | Volfyn |
| Government | Absolute Monarchy |
| Establishment | 2008 (as AKRanza), 1 May 2013 (as independent Volfa) |
| Currency | Euro (de facto) |
| Time zone | (UTC+1) |
The official scripts of Volfa were the Volfer, Velasi and Latin scripts. | |
The Volfyn Nation (colloquially: Volfa) was a new nation project originally established on 18 January 2013 as a Sandum Autonomous Province. Volfa peacefully seceded from the State of Sandus on 1 May 2013 following months of preparations and talks with the Sandum government. Volfa went through various forms in terms of its organization and governance, but generally retained similar aims, namely the exploration of cultural development and identity in the 21st century. Other than a brief revival in January 2020, Volfa has now been inactive for many years, and is generally considered to be defunct.
Etymology
The etymology of the name 'Volfa' is unclear, but the most likely theory is that it was created while attempting to develop a new language, and the predecessor country name of 'Blesbi' was vowel shifted and mutated.
History
Volfyn history begins with AKRanza, an offline micronation with little information about it remaining. BlueSkies was the next incarnation of AKRanza, founded on 1 May 2010 with a presence established on MicroWikia. Following BlueSkies was the Kingdom of Quolia, followed by a brief departure from micronationalism by the nation's founder. Soon after, Blejord was formed which later became known as Blesbí. Eventually, it was no longer an independent nation but formed part of Sandus. On 18 January 2013, Volfa established itself as a Province of Sandus. Soon after, on 1 May 2013, Volfa became independent and was ruled as a Diarchy. Due to the nature of the Volfyn project, it was deemed that no formal government was necessary.
By early 2015, only Volfym, the leader of the Volfyn Nation, remained active, with Volfa becoming more of a cultural project as opposed to a traditionally structued nation. Several years of dormancy came to an end on 26 January 2020, when Volfym announced a revival of Volfa, but it soon fell back into inactivity.
Foreign Relations
Due to the lengthy period of dormancy, and non-traditional structure, the foreign relation standings of Volfa were always somewhat unclear. The only nation known to have held official diplomatic relations with Volfa was the Empire of Austenasia, with which Volfa established mutual recognition January 2014. This recognition was eventually withdrawn by the Empire on 23 May 2024 due to the apparent collapse of Volfa.
Culture
Volfyn culture was developed mostly from its predecessors' cultures (those of Malta, BlueSkies and Blesbi).
Dates in Volfa are written YYYY-MM-DD, sometimes replacing the year with Era name and year in that era (for example, Era 3 would therefore mean the 3rd year of the Era era). The current era is ElBiduw (the start), which started in January 2013. To write dates before 2013, the era is called ElQabel ("the before"), and is written backwards in years (2010 would be ElQabel 3, 2008 would be ElQabel 5)
Volfyn music is electronic-centric, and the local sound is influenced by breakcore, IDM, Rave (including its subgenres), as well as other experimental genres. Volfym keeps a library of works from various macronational artists, which often reflect the taste of the rest of the nation. Ixstrum was a joint Erephisian-Volfyn collective with the intent of forming a community of artists which release musical and other artistic works digitally and freely (of no expense).
Volfyn music is not solely electronic, some short melodies for the thumb piano are found often in Volfa. There is also a project to translate some foreign songs into Maltese, one such example is "Hava nagila", translated as "Ejjew nifirhu".
Volfyn poetry and visual art both follow minimalist styles. Volfyn poetry is short, involves haiku-like juxtapositions, and usually considers the aesthetic beauty of life. Visual art instead is split mainly in two forms, glitch photography and native Naakafi design. The Impressionist, Surrealist and Pop Art movements are highly appreciated as well. A new form of pattern work, sometimes coupled with Naakafi design, has also formed, and is called "Volfyn paisley" or "Mewweg" (derived from mewg, waves). There are also a few figures of speech derived from poems that are used in Volfa.
Marievi is a board game based on draughts, but highly adapted to become unique to Volfa. The few rules with regards to gameplay cause longer and more complex rounds.
Lavender is commonly grown and has become a symbol of Volfa. Gyoza, which are Japanese pan-fried dumplings, remain the national dish of Volfa, which was one of the BlueSkian cuisine's main dishes. Unlike the usual Japanese version, these normally include carrot and spices. Many spices are used in Volfyn cuisine. A drink made of black tea with a teaspoon of jam and honey, called Terusk (literally Russian tea), is often drunk in Volfa. Other drinks include Orzata (almond drink for summer), various other teas and tisanes, and coffee. These are widely consumed.
There are three dates celebrated for the New Year. They are the Sancta New Year (March 1), Gregorian New Year (January 1st) and the Volfyn New Year (Autumnal equinox). Between these dates, citizens prepare resolutions, look back on the past year and prepare for the next year. Often poems are written also around these days. In Volfa normally the years used in official documents correspond to Gregorian years. A poetry day is held every first Friday of every other month (beginning from February, then skipping March, etc.). Poetry challenges are held on this day.