russianspacegeckosexparty:

lazaefair:

I wouldn’t even say primitive-looking. I’d say just different-looking. Primitive is a little bit of a Westernism there. The movie and countless Afrofuturistic works proved that the future doesn’t automatically look like an iPod, or Tony Stark’s aesthetic, or New International. Even in the real world, we’ve seen artists produce jaw-droppingly alien and wondrous wood builds.

There’s a line in Neil Gaiman’s American Gods that talks about Egyptians who knew if you caulked the boats enough and stocked enough jars of sweet water, you could make it all the way across oceans to the new world. Obviously the Jabari have progressed way beyond the ancient Egyptians, but I imagine there’s a bit of a throughline there: while Europeans assumed that you needed metal and machines and that they were the first to get anywhere, everyone else knew better. The iPod doesn’t equal the future, and wood doesn’t equal primitive.

I really like the imagery you paint though. Sunlight, steam, herbalism. The sacred wood can be transmuted into light, strong, powerful, biodegradable substances that function as the Jabari version of plastic polymers (and bonus, doesn’t spontaneously burst into flame the way the first celluloid products did, and doesn’t leech into the environment like BPA). 

I came across this picture below a few years ago and have always loved it for the simplicity of design, natural feel, and break from traditional Western device design. Bio-engineered plants, bio-engineered wood. Terraced orchards, rank upon rank of trees that have been planted and cultivated for a millennia, each terrace designated for a different purpose.

chiu chih’s survival kit for the ever-changing planet

I dunno if you’ve ever watched Tenchi Muyo but they have these sacred “royal” trees which function as the brain and hearts of these powerful ships. The Jabari would definitely utilize something similar. Semi intelligent trees that power vessels and also can provide produce (fruit, vegetables) maybe purify the air in areas heavy with pollution. Also! Hammocks like the ones from James Cameron’s Avatar that are the traditional thing for Jabari to sleep in rather than mattresses. They have physical therapy benefits maybe.