CULTURAL PROVINCES
Cultural Provinces are those with a primary vision to establish or re-establish a particular culture or cultural feature.
Historic and Heritage Culture Provinces
Un Province de
La Belle Epoque
beraud-jean-1900-apr-s-l-office-l-eglise-de-la-ste-trinit
In this example, people create a Belle Epoque Province to restore what was probably the most beautiful culture of humanity. It was the period between the end of the Napoleonic wars and World War I, a golden age characterized by peace, optimism, prosperity, expansion, and innovation; a time when high fashion, or haute couture, was invented, and all of the arts flourished.
Paris, the center of this Beautiful Era, is once again chosen as the place to inaugurate the Province. Elegant period costumes, travel by horse and carriage, and refined customs and manners are all restored as the Province gradually expands from a few properties to many streets in the city and beyond.
"Camelot"
A Medieval Heritage Province
In this example, Humanity’s greatest mythical medieval society, Camelot, is created as an amalgam of the Chivalric world, and eventually becomes the center of a Medieval Province Federation, which includes such glorious walled towns as Carcassonne, France; Avila, Spain; Taroudant, Morocco; and Pingyao, China.
Here the rich tapestry of Chivalric culture is preserved as a living province. Camelot decides to run itself with a Knights of the Round Table, and a Ladies of the Round Table, each chosen annually in a glorious tournament. King Arthur and Queen Guinevere are then selected and crowned in a cathedral ceremony, for there is also a vibrant high-Church culture; and monasteries, outlawed in England by Henry VIII, are revived here in the Medieval provincial world.
A Sioux Heritage Province
Indigenous peoples can form creative provinces to revive and protect their cultures, and to create their own protected regions beyond government-imposed reservation boundaries.
In this example, a Sioux Nation Heritage Province is formed with the Vision of reviving the Sioux Nation to its pinnacle culture—the pre-industrial society where its tribes lived a migratory and nature-centered life of hunting and gathering, and honoring the Earth.
In the Sioux Nation Heritage Province, provincials ride horses, usually bareback, hunt deer and buffalo with bow and arrow, revive migratory gathering traditions, live in teepees, make and wear traditional costume, speak the Sioux language, and engage in pow-wows and other heritage traditions.
The Province develops an enormously successful provincial visitation industry, which includes teaching visitors Earth-centered healing and spirituality, and Earth-respecting hunting and gathering.
The Sioux Nation Heritage Province also participates in provincial activities with many other creative provinces, such as historic battle reenactments with the Zane Gray Wild West Province.
A Federation of Ancient Provinces
Creative Provinces with the same, similar, or complimentary visions can join together to form Province Federations, for the purposes of sharing information and other resources.
In this example, various Ancient Provinces, such as Ancient Rome, Greece, and Egypt ,form a Federation of Ancient Provinces, for mutual benefit in expanding the magnificence of their creation.
As with individual Creative Provinces, Province Federations can overlap, and exist inside one another. Creative Provinces can also belong to many federations, and remove themselves from such federations if they so choose.
Cultural Concept and Fantasy Provinces
Possibly the most interesting of all creative provinces will come under the category of Cultural-Concept and Fantasy Provinces. Here imagination can really stretch through provincial creativity.
In Cultural-Concept Provinces, any kind of cultural features, such as costume, physical appearance, activities, attitudes, behaviors, or ways of communicating, can be the essence of the Province’s Vision.
In Fantasy Provinces, the visions of fantasy writers and artists will provide a wealth of ideas for truly magical ways to live. Such provinces can take form as Other Worlds of breathtaking beauty, delight, and awe. From the Munchkin’s Land of Oz, to Tarzan’s African Jungle, to Robin Hood’s Sherwood Forest, and on to the moonlit desertscapes of sci-fi worlds, provincials will be able to bring to life the most enchanting and interesting communities of their imaginations.
A Province of the Angels
Angel Over the City of Los Angeles
Pastel by Vance A. Larson
A creative province can begin with the inspiration of a particular place’s “Name of Destiny,” described in Part III of this book.
In this example, people form a Province of the Angels in and around the city of Los Angeles, with the Vision of creating a true “City of Angels,” with angelic arts, charitable endeavors, and “portal” activities for birth and death transitions and communications with the spiritual realm.
The arts in the Province of the Angels include angel statuary, murals, paintings, and other visual expressions of the heavenly realm. Fashion is decidedly angelic. Music is also angelic, featuring, among other things, harps, New Age compositions, and choirs dressed in gossamer robes.
To manifest the Province’s Vision to be a place of charitable activities, charitable organizations are encouraged to join the Province, and provincial activities for peace, love, and assistance reach around the globe.
A Strange Province
Environmental Changes
Walter Gurbo, from "The Back Page" of The Village Voice
In attitude provinces, things can start to get a bit bizarre, but certainly interesting. Possibilities include Happy, Cheerful, Cool, Silly, Funny, or Melodramatic. I would recommend staying away from Sad, Miserable, and Angry; however, a Boring Province might be just the cup of tea for some people.
In this example, a small group of people forms The Strange Province as a lark, and no one is more surprised than they, when the Province takes off and becomes enormously popular.
The Province Vision is that you have to be strange in some way, or your abode needs to be strange, to belong. Provincials do odd things, like walk backwards, wear weird clothing, and have peculiar houses and gardens. Surreal and quirky paintings, such as the works of Salvadore Dalí and Walter Gurbo, adorn interior landscapes. Streets meander to unexpected places. Plays have surprising endings. There are bizarre Province traditions. People have unusual pets.
Oddly, but perhaps not surprisingly, some very interesting new ideas come from this Province.
Artistic and Architectural Concept Provinces
A creative province might feature a particular artist, architect, or a particular school or type of art or architecture. Some of the major categories to consider are:
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A kind of music or soundscape, such as Baroque music, choral music, church bells, or birdsong;
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A kind of dance, such as Scottish country dance, tango, samba, ballet, or dancing in the streets;
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A kind of visual art, such as watercolor painting, statuary, or topiary;
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A particular color palate, such as using color-coded buildings, doors, etc., to replace signs, or designating that architecture, costumes, and other visual expressions are a certain color;
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A kind of textile art, such as quilting, beadwork, or pottery;
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A type of written or dramatic art, such as Ancient Greek Tragedy, Beat poetry, or wandering minstrels;
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A kind of food, beverage, or cuisine, such as soul food, gourmet French cuisine, or local micro-brewed beers;
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A scentscape, such as old-variety flowers, essential oils, or natural fresh air;
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A particular tactile feature, such as fur, velvet, or hard metals;
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A particular architecture or architectural concept, such as Scandinavian Stave churches, tiny houses, houseboats, geodesic dome/balloon houses for living and travel, or Medieval walled cities;
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A particular architectural element, such as gargoyles, murals, white picket fences, thatched roofs, or unusual doorways.
A Monet Province
In this example, people form a Monet Province, with the vision of creating a place inspired by the artist's works, with beautiful ballet dancers, flower gardens, and impressionist landscapes everywhere brought back to life.
A Pretty Tiny House Province
A type of dwelling, such as such as tee-pees, mud huts, caravans, A-frames, igloos, or houseboats can be a defining feature of a creative province. A type of architecture or building material can also be featured.
In this example, people form a Pretty Tiny House Province with the vision of creating a community of small dwellings with aesthetically pleasing designs. Architects and builders join the Province, creating small dwellings of beauty and economy of space. The Pretty Tiny Houses are linked with footpaths through gardens, meadows, and woods.
The Province culture includes house building, and awards for the most beautiful, endearing, livable, and economical dwellings.
https://funmoneymom.com/ uploaded to Pinterest
Relationship and Life Stages Provinces
In this category we have creative provinces comprised of people with a primary vision of focusing on certain relationships, familial or friendship, or focusing on particular life stages and events.
Many creative provinces will also have such relationship and life stages customs among their supporting visions: events such as births, marriages, and funerals; and relationship customs such as courtship.
A Viking Funerary Province
Philosophical, Religious, and Spiritual Provinces
There are numerous religious proto-provinces that have developed organically. Religious communities that have dispersed around the globe have, over the centuries, connected with one another through houses of worship, many creating neighborhood hubs, such as the Orthodox Jewish communities. Monasteries and Convents are also a type of religious intentional community.
By provincializing, religious communities can expand their connections so that they form hubs for engaging in the spiritual life. Such creative provinces could be either allied with a specific religion, or be non-denominational and focused on a particular religious concept.
