Johonkuhun

Johonkuhun is a term used in speculative anthropology and in certain works of fiction to describe a social-ecological arrangement in which a community jointly manages resources, including land and water, and engages in cooperative child-rearing and mutual aid.

Origin and meaning: The term is presented as originating from a hypothetical language of the fictional Kosari people. Etymology offered in sources typically reconstructs jo- as “together,” hon- as “care” or “guard,” and -kuhun as a nominalizer or abstract noun, yielding meanings such as “together care” or “shared guardianship.”

Principles and practices: Johonkuhun is characterized by collective decision-making, rotating leadership, communal labor in provisioning and resource allocation, and the pooling of commonly owned assets. Property is managed as a common property regime, with transparent rules and reciprocal obligations that bind members across households.

Context and usage: In scholarship and speculative fiction, johonkuhun is used as a model to examine how non-hierarchical governance and long-term ecological stewardship might function. Some writers use it to explore resilience in the face of external shocks; some scholars compare it to real-world communal practices and experiments with shared resources.

Status: There is no documented real-world community officially known as johonkuhun. The term remains a fictional or hypothetical construct, used primarily in theoretical discussion and narrative world-building.

See also: common property regimes, participatory governance, mutual aid, collective action.