- “The people here are divided and things are different.”
- ―Raya in the Raya and the Last Dragon
Kumandra is the central location of Disney's 2021 animated feature film, Raya and the Last Dragon. Inspired by Southeast Asian cultures and geography, Kumandra is comprised of five separate kingdoms—Fang, Heart, Spine, Talon, and Tail—that together form the shape of a dragon.
Background
Long ago, humans and dragons lived together in harmony in all of Kumandra. One fateful day, an evil force known as the Druun awakened and threatened to destroy the peace. The dragons sacrificed themselves to defeat the Druun and, in doing so, saved all of humanity. Out of petty greed of acquiring the orb created by the dragons to fend off the Druun, the once united kingdoms were then divided into five separate lands that sought to acquire the orb.
Geography
Kumandra's geography is diverse in each of the five regions. The nation has the shape of a dragon (quite similar to Sisu), formed by a huge lake or central river, from which many more small rivers are born.
Most of Kumandra is made up of an immense tropical jungle in the center-west, the northern part is made up of an abnormal mountainous and snowy area full of snow-covered forests and the eastern part consists of a huge desert where most of the rivers and rivers disappear. It is characterized by its valleys full of rock arches and dead vegetation, having some towns on the banks of rivers.
In some maps, it is implied that Kumandra is a nation with access to the sea (in others it is shown as a nation without access to the sea, similar to the country of Laos), in addition to showing that the tail territory had only a one river, flows into a kind of bay in the northeast, in addition to showing that the territory is made up of islands.
Places of interest
- Heart: Led by Chief Benja, and home to Raya.
- Fang: Led by Chief Virana, and home to Namaari.
- Spine: Led by the Spine Chief, it is a northern region and home to Tong.
- Talon: Led by Chief Dang Hai, it is a floating market region, and home to Noi.
- Tail: Led by the Tail Chief, it is located in the eastern part of Kumandra, a desert region, and home to Boun.
Culture
Before the separation, all the people in Kumandra lived under the same culture of worship towards dragons and what they symbolized.
After separating, each party developed its own culture, clothing, architecture and cuisine. Much of it is unknown individually, but some examples are recognized such as:
- Worship of water as a source of protection against the Druuns.
- Worship of dragons as protectors.
- Selling craft products made of paper, wood or cloth in colorful markets.
- Gastronomy based on natural ingredients such as herbs, chili peppers, rice, lemon, fish and steamed dough.
Trivia
- Each of the five lands has its own signature color(s) which is/are also worn by its respective people. Heart's colors are blue and green, Fang's colors are white and gold, Spine's colors are navy and gray, Talon's color is purple, and Tail's color is yellow.
- Raya is the only character who doesn't always wear her land's signature color.
- Jade seems to be used as currency in Kumandra.
- Throughout the movie, there are some words in Kumandran language that are commonly used.
- "Ba" is used as an affectionate term for father. The word most likely originates from the word ba, which means "father" in Vietnamese.
- "Binturi" is used as an insult.
- "Dep la" is used as a way to call someone a best friend. The term seems to be derived from the Vietnamese word đẹp, which translates to "beautiful" in English.
- "Toi" is used as an expression of feelings of surprise, incredulity, or pleasure equivalent to the English interjection "Oh My."
- "Draa" is the word for dragon.
Gallery
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