
Overseas Vespians
| |
Total population | |
---|---|
TBD (as of 5995 Ʋ) | |
Regions with significant populations | |
TBD | |
Languages | |
Vespian | |
Religion | |
Zheaniism |
Terminology
History
Demographics
Language
The language of the Vespian diaspora has remained relatively stagnant, do in no small part to the inflexible nature of Vespian culture and the refusal of its members to adapt to new cultures and societies. The Vespian langauge has remained the primary method of communication within the overseas population, who have refusal to "sully" their lips with the tongue of the "foreigners". Vespian families, colleagues, and business associates speak the language among themselves, and even when in the presence of non-Vespians, have taken to using esoteric terms within their own language for no other reason than to exert their "cultural superiority". The dialect of Vespian spoken by the diaspora, known as Colonial Vespian, is differentiated from the traditional Imperial Vespian dialect by its use of less "power-focused" syllable stressing. The pronunciation of the words, rather than the organization of speech, is what sets the colonial variant from its imperial counterpart. Thus, Vespians from the homeland and living abroad and understand one another perfectly, though members of the disapora are identified within the Vespian population by their more "relaxed" speech.
Religion
As is common within the Vespian population, religiosity remains incredibly high within the overseas Vespian population as well. According to census reports across all of the nations where the Vespians have residency, all Vespians counted in the figures stated their belief in a higher power and the existence of an afterlife. Unsurprisingly, all of these Vespians also stated themselves to be practicing adherents of Zheaniism, though most had acknowledged that they were not performing human sacrifices. Because of the tenets of the Vespian faith, human sacrifices play a crucial role within their society. Due to the implications of killing citizens of another nation, the Vespian priesthood announced that human sacrifices could be made within Vespia on behalf of all Vespians, regardless of their current nation of origin. As such, the sacrifice of humans has been restricted to the Vespian homeland, though there are still reports of kidnappings and murders in many areas where the Vespian diaspora reside.
Many foreign governments have attempted to restrict or outright ban the Zheaniic faith due to its other doctrines, such its allowance of polygamy, incest, pedophilia, murder, and theft of non-Vespian property for the furtherance of Vespian goals. Consequently, many of the Vespians residing overseas have found themselves having to practice their religion underground so as not to attract the attention of their hosts, and ensure that their faith remains pure and untainted by the influences of the natives. Incense-burning, religious tattooing, bleeding, and idol-making have made the Vespians an incredibly visible population, even without many of the more outlandish practices of their faith. One would find it easy to spot twenty-something year old black female with savage tattoos, totems, and knives praying in a discreet location, and identify a potential Vespian in their midst.