Ishval, culture and architecture
(during the war, but before the alchemists came through, chapter 58)
Riza says it's nothing more than rocks and sand there. I know watermelon can grow in hot, dry areas, but they'd need a fair bit of watering. I wonder if it's imported from an ally like Aerugo (who were also shown to be importing weapons for them, up to a point), or if Riza never got to see the spots suitable for growing this kind of produce before the Amestrian military destroyed it.
(a warrior priest teaching young students, chapter 58)
Shoes off before they step on the rug. Sitting on the floor together. The teaching area is so close to the public area, not hidden away.
Also, I'm starting to really pick out the plain+ornamentation kind of style. It's partly the art style, and how much Arakawa likes to give the eye something to focus on without cluttering the panel - but the Ishvalans specifically seem to have this contrast of plain (clothes, architecture, decoration), with a little bit of ornamentation. I'm looking at the plan stone of the building, with one rug (detail implied) and an ornate vase(?) in the centre. I'm looking at the plain, rectangular pillar with little decorations down at the bottom - the same decorations also on the curtain next to it.
(Ishvalans bury their dead, chapter 58)
Every culture has its rituals around death. Burial with a headstone is presented both in Amestris (Hughes) and here in Ishval.
One of the grieving women wears a veil over her face.
Still looking at architecture, the buildings above are shown with flat roofs, some with jutting up bits that seem to indicate walls around a surface that could be accessed. Could be used for storage, a space to dry out wet laundry, or an open area for the occupant to be in. Buildings shown here typically have multiple floors.
(it looks like Arakawa really wanted to show the Ishvalans as having their own culture and style, rather than just brushing them off as 'other', chapter 58)
The buildings follow the decorative look with a little embellishment: the first metre or so of them seems to be built of a more textured medium, like brick or stone, and then up from there is a smooth surface. This looks like an architectural choice rather than a visual shortcut for "I didn't draw this bit" because of the abrupt cut-off.
Windows sometimes have bars, sometimes nothing, sometimes have cloth hanging over them. Doors typically seem to have a cloth entrance.
(the consistency of this style gives it significance, chapter 58)
The decoration around the above building is just really nice.
(even as there's little left of Ishval, we keep seeing it, chapter 59)
This tall building - one window high up - could have been a bell tower, a storage area, or a watch tower. Still, at the top, there's that little bit of ornamentation.
(and in the end, this is what Amestris leaves, chapter 59)
You can still see, in the little that remains, the decorations that makes it Ishvalan. That makes it theirs. And the rest is rubble.
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