mokjimo

Mokjimo is a fictional traditional art form described in speculative fiction and game lore. In its depicted setting, it is a syncretic practice that blends performance, carved objects, and narrative ritual, developed by the people of the fictional Mokri region. The term is presented as a compound from a constructed language, with elements that translate roughly to movement and memory.

In its traditional form, mokjimo centers on a sequence of coordinated gestures performed to a sung or spoken ritual text. Participants move in measured patterns while manipulating carved wooden boards, known as mok, which bear symbolic motifs. The performance balances breath, timing, and spatial order, and is typically led by an elder storyteller who guides the group through a breather cadence between sections. Instrumentation within the lore often includes a small drum or wind instrument that marks the tempo.

Historically, mokjimo is described as arising from village rituals connected to seasonal cycles and the telling of ancestral histories. Training is imagined to occur within craft guilds or family lineages, emphasizing discipline, group cohesion, and intergenerational transmission of motifs and verses. Performances are staged at seasonal festivals, memorial gatherings, and rites of passage, serving social functions such as community bonding and the preservation of language and lore.

In modern in-world settings, mokjimo appears in fictional ethnographies, role-playing guides, and world-building resources. It is typically depicted as a living tradition with revived interest among younger generations and in cultural exhibitions within the Mokri realm. See also: world-building terms, cultural rituals, speculative ethnography.