olendi

Olendi is a fictional ethnolinguistic term used in worldbuilding and speculative fiction to describe a distinct people and their language. In many settings, Olendi refers to inhabitants of the Olendian archipelago, a coastal cluster in the imaginary continent of Valara. The name is treated as the autonym, with the people calling themselves Olendi and their language also named Olendi. The term is not tied to any real-world culture.

Geographically, Olendi communities are described as distributed across several islands and rocky coastlines, with hilly interiors and sheltered harbors. Population estimates vary by author, but Olendi are typically depicted as small-to-medium communities organized around kinship networks. Local governance often centers on guilds or councils of elders, with strong maritime traditions and seasonal gatherings.

The Olendi language is presented as an agglutinative, SVO language featuring vowel harmony and a rich system of evidential markers. The writing system alternates between a syllabary and an alphabet depending on era and author. Sample phrases emphasize hospitality, migration, and trade.

Cultural life emphasizes seafaring, craftwork such as woodcarving and mat weaving, and oral storytelling. Music centers on slit drums and bamboo flutes, with songs that recount migrations, ancestral heroes, and seasonal rituals. The economy typically relies on fishing, shellfish gathering, boatbuilding, and trade with neighboring regions, facilitated by navigational knowledge and seasonal winds.

In narrative use, Olendi stories explore themes of belonging, diaspora, and contact with other cultures. Some writers imagine historical traumas, trade treaties, or colonization as forces shaping Olendi society. Because Olendi is a fictional construct, details vary across works.