doruyu

Doruyu is a traditional cultural practice associated with the fictional Doruyi people of the coastal archipelago of Nethara. In its broad sense, doruyu refers to a communal system of memory and record-keeping that preserves genealogies, histories, and legal transactions through carved wooden tablets and accompanying oral recitation.

The term doruyu is thought to derive from Doruyi roots meaning “to tell” and “record.” In practice, the phonetic rendering and script show regional variation across the archipelago, reflecting dialectal differences among communities that preserve the tradition.

Historically, the practice emerged in coastal settlements during the early medieval period in the narrative history of Nethara, functioning as both a secular archive and a ceremonial instrument. Tablets circulate within kin groups and elders' councils, guiding inheritance, dispute resolution, and the transmission of genealogies and local laws.

Doruyu tablets are carved from hardwood or bone and protected with resin. Inscriptions combine logograms with phonetic markers, and pigments from charcoal and plant extracts render entries legible. Tablets are stored in family houses and public archives, and are recited during festivals and legal proceedings to certify records.

In contemporary scholarship, doruyu is studied as an example of mnemonic technologies that intertwine memory, ritual, and governance. Many tablets survive in museums or are digitized in archives, with community-led curation and ethical access emphasized to preserve cultural integrity.