Ingary

Introduction

The land of Ingary and its neighbours feature in Dianna Wynn Jones' fractured fairytales Howl's Moving Castle and its sequel, Castle in the Air. It is a nation largely composed of fairytale cliches, with an environment reminiscent of early 19th century Europe (esp. Georgian Britian and Napoleonic France). In Hayao Miazaki's film adaptation of Howl's Moving Castle, Ingary is a land with a Victorian steampunk feel to it, rather than a fairytale one.

Politics in Ingary

Ingary is a monarchy/magocracy (rule of magic). The King of Ingary seems to share a significant amount of power with his brother, the Prince of Ingary. As general, the Prince of Ingary's duties are largely military in nature. The King may also be advised by a body of aristocrats. The success of Ingary's often belligerent foriegn policy seems to rely on the post of Royal Wizard, who provides Ingary's army with fantastic weapons and equipment. An interesting nuance of Ingarian foriegn policy involves defeating a neighbouring country, then organising a political marriage with its now-deposed ruling family and paying a bounty to its defeated soldiers, both of which act as a safegaurd against rebellion. The practice of ostracism, when dealing with dangerously powerful individuals, is a common practice in Ingarian law. The boundless, barren flatland known as 'the Waste' is a popular place of exile amongst some Ingarian rulers. Ingary has recently experienced a period of prodigious prosperity with the lucartive trade agreements that have accompanied the establishment of the Ingarian Embassy and the post of Ambassador Extraordinary for the Realm of Ingary.

Ingarian Culture

Arcitecture

The arcitectural styles of Ingary are many and varied. Wooden or stone, thatched-roofed houses are favoured amongst the lower classes of Ingary, whereas her wealthier inhabitants favour country-side mansions with beautiful, well-tended gardens, exquisite statues and sculptures and detailed facades. The arcitecture of Porthaven is largely composed of dull and practical dock-side shanties. The well-to-do people of Market Chipping tend to build in a style that favours both pragmatism and style. Ingary's capital, Kingsbury, is famous for its opulent, baroque and beautifully crafted palaces and mansions of marble.

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Kingsbury

A denizen of Earth may find that Kingsbury's arcitectural style is reminiscent of the domes and walls and towers of Late Roman Constantinople.

The Ingarian Military

The military of Ingary, as mentioned before, is commanded by Ingary's Prince, and relies heavily on the use of magical weapons and equipment. The military is organised in much the same way as an early 19th century army, with infantrymen (equipped with musket and sabre and sporting a green uniform), calaviers, bombadiers and cannoneers. During the time of the Wizard Howl, Ingary's armies were equipped with a variant of seven-league boots. Some sources alude to strange but effective 'wizard first-aid kits' being distributed amongst Ingary's soldiers during the war with Strangia. Ingarian soldiers have a prestigious (and infamous) reputation as excellent and much sought-after mercenaries in the Sultanates of Rashpuht, far to the south of Ingary.

The Economy of Ingary

The economic hub of Ingary is Market Chipping, a wealthy community of merchants and traders, whose stock is supplied by the trade-ships of the dockside town of Porthaven. The fertile soil of the Chipping Valley provides ample agricultural land for the fruit and vegetable traders of Market Chipping. Ingary's currency is composed of three different types of coins: gold, silver and copper, gold being the highest measure of currency and copper being the lowest.

Religion in Ingary

There is no mention of any religious organisations in Ingary, although the people of the realm seem to revere denizens of the spirit world such as djinns, angels, fire-demons, genies and devils.

The People of Ingary

Ingary is populated mostly by humans, although mermaids have been sighted at the docks of Porthaven. Many wizards and witches call Ingary their home.

Ingary's Neighbours

The Sultanates of Rashpuht

The Sultanates are inspired by the Arabian Nights. One of the wealthiest and best-known sultanates of the south is Zanzib, a sprawling city state that lies on the edge of a great desert, famous for the magnificent palace of the Sultan of Zanzib and the wares of its amazing Bazaar. Popular beverages in Zanzib include fruit-juice and sherbert. Its most famous residents are perhaps Flower-in-the-Night, ex-princess of Zanzib, and Abdullah, son of Abdullah, both of whom are now great Ambassadors of Ingary. The children of Zanzib are rigourously educated in the ways of the spirit world, learning the Lists of both the Good and Bad Djinns, the Laws that bind the Djinn and the heirarchy of heaven. [[Image:Zanzib.JPG|left|frame|The Bazaar of Zanzib]The arcitecture of Zanzib consists of square brick houses with domed or flat rooves and opulent domed palaces (complete with gardens, fountains, towers and minarets) reminiscent of the Islamic arcitecture of Earth. The lands of Peichstan and Farqtan are also mentioned in the annals of Raspuht, though little is known of them. The people of Raspuht refer to Ingary as 'Ochinstan', whose people are considered barbaric by both the Raspuhti and the Zanzibbeys. The currency of Zanzib follows much the same formula as Ingary, although its value is considerably higher.

Strangia

Strangia is a land that lies in close proximity of Ingary. Most recently in has been incorporated in the kingdom of Ingary after losing the Battle of Strangia against the Ingary's wizard-backed armies. It is the custom amongst the gray-clad soliders of Strangia to sport a long, single pigtail at the back of the head. As in Ingary, beer is the most popular beverage in Strangia.

Other realms

Many other strange lands are mentioned in Ingarian history. These include Alberia, High Norland, Thayack, Dorminyde, Inhico and Tsapfan. Tsapfan, it is said, is a nation of short, yellow-skinned and prolifically reproductive people, a land reminiscent of the Earth's Far East. The Tsapfanese have been known to produce a paper-thin candy that comes in an ornate box called 'Summer Leaves'. Also, legend has is that there is a floating island many miles away from Ingary that can only be found once every hundred years.

Relations with Earth

Ingarians and their neighbours know very little of Earth, though two of their greatest sorcerers, the Wizards Howl (Howell Jenkins) and Suliman (Benjamin Sullivan) originate from an Earth-land known as Wales, thought by the Ingarians to be a land under the sea. An evil fire demon once disguised itself as an Earth-woman known as Miss. Angorian, accessing the strange planet via the Wizard Howl's black portal.

Sources

Howl's Moving Castle, by Dianna Wynn Jones

Castle in the Air, by Dianna Wynn Jones