Murtumis

Murtumis is a term used in ethnographic and speculative fiction contexts to denote a traditional practice centered on the creation, display, and exchange of figurative objects known as murtumis. In variants described in sources, communities carve or assemble these figures from clay, wood, or mixed media and place them in homes or public spaces as part of seasonal rites.

The word is described as deriving from a root meaning form or image in the fictional Valaran language, with the suffix -umis signaling a collection. Local tellings offer several variants, but all treat murtumis as portable tokens of memory and obligation.

Early references place murtumis in oral traditions of the Valaran hills, with diffusion into neighboring regions through trade and marriage networks. The practice is typically associated with harvest or renewal festivals and communal feasting.

Craft production is often communal. Apprentices learn carving and painting from elders, and color choices carry symbolic meanings. During the ritual cycle, households display murtumis in shared spaces, exchange figures with neighbors, and recite narratives that link the images to ancestral lineages. The figures may be blessed, gifted, or returned to owners in a rotating custody arrangement, reinforcing social ties.

In contemporary scholarship, murtumis are discussed as material culture in ethnographic and world-building literature. They appear in museum catalogs and in speculative fiction as a device for exploring memory, reciprocity, and identity.

See also: Murti, Figurines, Ritual art.