Contest closes Friday at midnight. Here’s the rules & the link:
Below I’ve posted (as promised) the complete map of my world. You get until next week to find a place name on the map, trace its etymology/guess at its purpose, and comment below. Some of the etymologies are easy: “ROSE” comes from the english word “ROSE” meaning “the red flower” however, those that have simple english names are very important to the plot/history of the world. If the etymology’s that easy, you’ll need to also guess at its purpose.
Each comment needs three pieces:
1. The name of the city/forest/island/etc. that you picked from my map
2. The etymology (of a complex name) OR a guess at the purpose (of a simple name)
3. An interesting fact that I don’t know (for a tie-breaker)
As you can see, in the event of a tie (I don’t expect it to be all that easy) I will require an interesting fact from you. Think of this like a class period with Elodin: the fact needs to be (1) interesting (2) true/provable (3) something I don’t know. Example: The Burmese King Minrekyawswa was crushed to death by his own elephant in 1417. That’s interesting, true and I didn’t know it before right now. Here’s the real map (the black and white one). Click on the link below and then on the map to enlarge. Good luck:
Before we fillet into the meat of this post (sorry Rob & April), I want to whet your appetite with this: There will be a giveaway contest at the end! via The Gig
Hi.
The Nothern part of the archipelego The Blazing World is named for a the colors of the rainbow in order:
Rue-Red, a bitter herb, once used medicinally for certain matters involving blood… sometimes most sadly. The word also means “street” in french. Populous islands?
Orange= A citrus fruit, the name derives from aur(um) latin for gold. French: Or = gold.
Sol-Yellow (Ancient Roman sun-god. Latin…solaris=”Sun”
Verde-Green in Spanish
Caruleus- Latin for deep blue/azure literally “caeruleus”…(akin to caelum, meaning sky).
Indigo- Named fror a blue dye obtained from various plants, espicially from the genus Indigofera. Indigo blue became the name of the color after the dye.
Violet=bluish-purple from the latin “viola” the name for a low stemless or leafy-stemmed herb of the genus “Viola”. The name of the color violet was derived from the purple color of many of these plants.
As a Judeo-Christian symbol, after Noah’s flood the rainbow gained meaning as the sign of God’s promise that terrestrial life would never again be destroyed by flood.
(Genesis 9:13–17)
Maybe the Blazing World was once flooded? Or are there atolls?
Also, does the Northern part of the archipeligo have vast amounts of rainbows because of their location in this world…due to physics?
Interesting facts: The word “Rainbow” is English by way of the Germanic. ME reinbowe; OE regnboga; G regenbogen
Most cultures see rainbows as bridges between the divine and the earth…or as a divine property. Only one culture (that I know of anyway) sees them as a negative thing. The Amazonian peoples such as the Incans associate them with malign spirits that can cause harm. It is the custom in many areas, particularly Peru to close one’s mouth at the sight of a rainbow.
Also posted on The Gig
phenomenal work, as always. I’ll be doing the judging after midnight on the eighth.
And yes, I did not know that last bit about rainbows. very nice.
Hi… still not well at all, sorry for the sloppy spelling and strange punctuation.
I feel like I’m in the 19th century with this illness lasting so long and the weakness that has resulted.
so sorry, sis. May you get well soon.
Hi:
Link to rainbow info: http://www.incaglossary.org/kextra.html#k’uychi
thanks sis. that was really funny.
Funny? How so?
well… I get a supreme joy in reading the old myths – some just for the absurdity. I love Norse mythology simply because it makes me laugh, and for the humor I incorporate it a lot.
See Snain
I was wondering if you meant funny strange or funny ha-ha.
Snain!
Do you think absurd qualifies as a combination of both in this case?
I think I did not win this. Will you post who did? I never even knnew what the giveaway was, so I am curious. Thanks!
Actually, you did win:
http://writinggig.wordpress.com/2011/04/15/winner-thoughts-from-vonnegut/
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