Rajaarvo

Raajarvo is a ceremonial practice described in speculative ethnography as part of the fictional coastal society of the Liravon archipelago. The rite occurs annually at the turning of the southern monsoon and centers on the exchange of crafted objects, songs, and stories designed to reinforce community bonds and mark the passage of time. Participants carry responsibility for different roles—designers, carriers, narrators, and elders—each with specific tasks during the rite. The centerpiece is a formal ritual exchange in which objects are handed from one household to another in a structured sequence, accompanied by a completion of tales that trace lineage and collective memory. A final communal meal closes the event.

Etymology: raajarvo derives from the Raajar language, where ra-ja meaning "bind" and arvo meaning "season" or "time." The term appears in early theoretical reconstructions of the Raajar rite in fictional archives; as a canonical source, the practice is described in several worldbuilding compendia.

Variations: Sites differ but share motifs. Some communities emphasize the design of objects rather than exchange; others foreground performance and oral history. The rite typically takes place in a public plaza or harbor amphitheater, sometimes on boats; frequencies vary from annual to biannual in some variants.

Significance and use in fiction: raajarvo is used by writers and game developers to illustrate social cohesion, ritual authority, and the transmission of culture through material and narrative exchange. It is not a real-world practice, but a constructed example used to explore anthropological themes.