|
This article is an expansion based on a canon element. For canon information on this topic, follow the link to The Witcher Wiki: Melukka. |
 |
|
This fan-fiction article, Melukka, was written by Witcher190, SMiki55 and Neverwitcher. Please do not edit this fiction without the writers' permission. |
Melukka (sometimes written as Mellukka or Melukhkha ) is a joint name given by Nilfgaardians and later adopted by Nordlings, for the set of kingdoms, lands, empires and city states situated south-east to the Korath Desert. It has the long trade history with the Nilfgaardian Empire, land of Barsa and Hannu, as well as futher east locations.
The name stems from the term the inhabitants use for themselves, the Mellu (sovereign people). When the people of Melukka refer to their home amongst themselves they usually call it Saîar or Mellusaîar, meaning "land" or "land of the sovereign people" respectively.
Etymology[]
Scholars suspect that one of the initial translators explained his saîar as Melukka, "the sovereign place", rather than calling it Mellusaîar, the land of the sovereign people, in order to impress the glory of the land itself onto the foreigners. It has indeed become a custom to call the land Melukka when speaking to outsiders rather than simply calling it the saîar.
History[]
The history of Melukka is as varied as its city states, and must be observed from multiple angles.
Arjvaktra Version[]
The Arjvaktra approach is a wholy mythological version to the history of Melukka, written in the book with the same name - the Arjvaktra.
Before the arrival of the Mellu, Saîar was inhabited by a variety of beings attuned with nature, such as nymphs, called apsaras by the Mellu, as well as godlings and sylvans, collectively known as the yakshas They speak of the gandharvas – a nearly divine race of high art and culture, whose civilization was destroyed by invading rakshasas during the Conjunction.
In legends, the rakshasa were monstrous barbarians, presumably ogroid, who decimated the gandharvan civilization and forced Yaksha tribes into submission. For centuries they would terrorize the land, before eventually being toppled by human newcomers and their deities. For having bested such a mighty foe as the rakshasa, they named themself the sovereign people - the Mellu. It is said that the last of the rakshasa kings, Dashaanan, cursed the humans for their interference, that "your bonds shall be as brittle as iron, your loyalties as thin as your blood, a land which shall know no king".
Kaunvakuma Version[]
The Kaunvakuma retelling of the Mellu history was written by scholars that sought to chronicle the world history in a purely factual approach.
They pose that the Mellu arrived in Saîar from elsewhere, and found a land filled with ruins and wonders along with a new threat - the rakshasa. Unlike the Arjvaktra version of events however, the Kaunvakuma states that the rakshasa were merely a highly intelligent ogre variant, and that they were neither a unified realm nor had kings. They offer no explanation for the downfall of the gandharvan civilization other than "no culture exists forever".
The Kaunvakuma describes the early Mellu settlers dealing with the rakshasa in a very dry and matter-of-fact way, that a bunch of prideful ogres stood no chance against human intellect and that they were eliminiated along with any other monsters that stood in their way.
Demographics[]
Although Mellu is the name used by the inhabitants themselves, it is not a designation for a specific ethnic group. Instead, it serves as a collective term for the diverse peoples and cultures within the region. The term was adopted by Nilfgaardians during their initial encounters with the people of the southeast and was later adopted as well by Nordlings. However, the term "Mellu" has led to some misunderstandings.
Nilfgaardians, upon first interacting with the region, encountered a patchwork of different groups, each with their own distinct languages, customs, and traditions. To simplify the complexity of the region's demographics, they began using "Mellu" as a broad term to refer to the various peoples they encountered. This term was intended to capture a sense of unity or common identity among the disparate groups but did not reflect the intricate and multifaceted nature of the region's cultural landscape.
Later, when Nordlings began trading and interacting with the region, they inherited and continued using the term "Mellu," solidifying its place in the lexicon of Common Tongue. However, the Nordlings, like the Nilfgaardians before them, did not fully grasp the local nuances and intricacies. They saw "Mellu" as a generic identifier rather than a reflection of the diverse and complex social fabric of the region.
Currency[]
The first currency known used by the Mellu was known as Umbin, meaning "fingernail", which supposedly was made from the fingernails of killed Rakshasa. The coin that found universal acceptance in almost all city states however was the Ninda, meaning "round", which was minted from silver and brass.
National Emblems[]
As Melukka is not a unified realm, it has no official national emblem that represents the entire region. However, a commonly recognized "national emblem" is often seen on trade ships from this area, originating from a short-lived empire that once sought to unify all of Melukka under a single banner. This empire later divided into various smaller empires, which eventually split into kingdoms and city-states. The emblem used a flower to represent its reach, with each petal symbolizing a region and the regent in the center, watching over them all.
Known territories[]
Kingdoms[]
- Telmun
- Waraḫše
Image Credits[]
- Melukka Coat of Arms by Neverwitcher
Trivia[]
- This region is intended to draw from Hindu and eastern Persian traditions, their precedessors, and the current Indian culture. SMiki invented its name in a similar manner to how Mr. Sapkowski named Zangwebar: Meluhha was a name the Sumerians used to refer the Indus Valley Civilisation. Much of the lore regarding Melukkan ethnic groups such as the Jammuttras was created through a collaborative brainstorming sessions by SMiki and Dark (Neverwitcher).
- In 2020 Melukka became "semi-official" through a mention during a charity Witcher RPG stream hosted by Cody Pondsmith.
- Waraḫše is a direct reference to one of the names for Marhaši (Sumerian: Mar-ḫa-šiKI 𒈥𒄩𒅆𒆠, Marhashi, Marhasi, Parhasi, Barhasi; in earlier sources Waraḫše. Akkadian: "Parahshum" 𒁀𒊏𒄴𒋧𒆠 pa2-ra-ah-shum2-ki) a 3rd millennium BC polity situated near Elam, on the Iranian plateau. It is known from Mesopotamian sources, but its precise location has not been identified, though some scholars link it with the Jiroft culture. Henri-Paul Francfort and Xavier Tremblay proposed identifying the kingdom of Marhashi with Ancient Margiana on the basis of the Akkadian textual and archaeological evidence.
- While Telmun is another name for the ancient East Semitic-speaking civilization in Eastern Arabia mentioned from the 3rd millennium BC onwards known as Dilmun. Based on contextual evidence, it was located in the Persian Gulf, on a trade route between Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley civilisation.
- Real cultures that could serve as an inspiration as proposed by Witcher190: