Külsleg

Külsleg is a term from the fictional Küls culture, used to describe a multiday ceremonial gathering centered on oral tradition. The event brings together storytellers, singers, and craftspeople to preserve and transmit ancestral legends, myths, and histories. In traditional practice, külsleg combines narrative cycles with refrains, ritual songs, and dramatized episodes performed by participants across generations.

Etymology and form: the word is said to derive from a Küls root meaning “story” or “legend,” combined with a nominalizing suffix that marks the term as a gathering or object. The pronunciation is commonly rendered as [ˈkyelsˌlɛɡ], with emphasis on the first syllable.

Practice and structure: külsleg typically unfolds at a designated site associated with memory and lineage. A rotating host village convenes, led by an elder storyteller or a council of storytellers. Each cycle features oral recitations, chanted refrains, and short theatrical scenes performed by apprentices and elders. Ritual artifacts, carved amulets, and symbolic instruments accompany the performances, and a communal feast closes the event.

Cultural function and reception: in the imagined framework, külsleg reinforces social cohesion, reinforces identity, and provides a formal channel for intergenerational knowledge transfer. In contemporary depictions, it is often used as a lens to explore memory, belonging, and resilience within a fictional culture.

See also: oral tradition, ritual performance, intergenerational knowledge transfer.