dorulanmad

Dorulanmad is a term used in speculative fiction and worldbuilding to describe a method by which a community constructs and maintains a shared memory through iterative storytelling. The concept is not part of established folklore or anthropology; it appears in fictional texts and theoretical discussions as a device to examine how cultures preserve histories.

Etymology and scope: Dorulanmad is a constructed coinage, with roots imagined in a fictional language. The exact morphemes vary across authors, but the general sense links memory, narration, and collective identity. The term is mostly used as a descriptive label for a process rather than a fixed ritual in any real culture.

Concept and mechanics: Dorulanmad centers on recursive storytelling in which narrators recount events while others add details, reinterpret motives, or insert corroborating documents or symbols. Over time, the cumulative narration can stabilize into a canonical narrative that guides communal memory and social legitimacy. The process often involves collective participation, ritual repetition, and cross-referencing of oral and symbolic records.

Context and use: Writers use dorulanmad to explore themes of memory fragility, authority, and continuity. In worldbuilding, it provides a mechanism for why a fictional society remembers ancient deeds and reconstructs pasts after upheaval, offering explanations for shared myths and identity markers.

Variants and reception: Some authors propose variants where dorulanmad includes ritual elements, artifacts, and performative recitations. Critics of the device note that it can resemble circular storytelling and may risk reducing diverse memories to a single, canonical narrative.

See also: collective memory, oral tradition, narrative theory, worldbuilding.