Kurnatults

Kurnatults are a class of ceremonial sculptures described in speculative ethnography and fantasy fiction as integral to the ritual life of the fictional Kurnati or Kurnat peoples. The term appears most often in works that describe harvest rites and initiation ceremonies, where life-sized masks function as intermediaries between the living community and ancestral or natural spirits. The objects are typically hollow, fired clay or stone, though some depictions show wood and metal variants. They feature simplified humanoid faces with prominent eyes and abstract ornamentations such as spirals, concentric circles, or animal motifs.

In practice, kurnatults are used in processions and ritual performances. A mask is carried on a pole or mounted on a wheeled frame during field rites, or worn by a designated ritual specialist during initiation, death, or seasonal transitions. The central disk or eye-like motifs are interpreted as focal points for viewing the cosmos or sun cycle.

Etymology: the name is derived from the fictional Kurn language, with no attestation outside the associated body of works. Chronology places kurnatults in a broad historical horizon within the fictional world, often placed in a Bronze to early Iron Age context.

Scholarly reception within the fiction emphasizes symbolic tension between communal solidarity and social hierarchy; some authors depict the kurnatult as a unifying symbol, others as a tool of elite ritual authority. In contemporary media, kurnatults are sometimes depicted as relics or artifacts in video games and fantasy literature.