nejuívanjí

Nejuívanjí is a ceremonial concept in the fictional culture of the Vesari people, appearing in speculative fiction and worldbuilding texts. It denotes a collective process of recording and passing down memory, history, and law.

The term derives from Vesari roots neju- “to gather,” ivan- “memory,” and -jí “act.” It is roughly translated as “the act of gathering memory.”

Origins lie in the Vesari oral tradition, with earliest references in the Lharan manuscript tradition, in-world dating to the 12th–13th centuries, though exact dating varies by source.

Typically held during the first new moon of spring, participants gather around a memory fire; elders and storytellers recite genealogies, laws, and myths; memory tablets encoded with clay or bone are sealed and buried in a designated memory mound; the ceremony closes with a communal feast and songs.

It functions as a mechanism for social continuity, legal legitimacy, and moral education; it is treated as a sacred rite, with restricted access to tablets and readings for designated custodians.

In contemporary fiction and worldbuilding, nejuívanjí serves as a motif for memory, identity, and collective responsibility; some game adaptations explore themes of memory preservation or memory theft.

See also: oral tradition, memory ritual, ceremonial archives.