potlauje

Potlauje is a fictional ceremonial practice described in some speculative fiction and worldbuilding contexts. It resembles the potlatch tradition in its core mechanism—hosts organize communal gatherings in which goods, foods, and sometimes wealth are redistributed to attendees—but potlauje is rooted in settings outside real history and geography. The term is typically used to explore themes of reciprocity, status, and social obligation within constructed cultures.

Etymology and context

The word potlauje appears as a neologism in authorial glossaries and game world texts. It is often presented as a constructed-language term whose sounds are intended to evoke ritual significance rather than to convey a precise meaning. In fictional regions where potlauje is practiced, it functions as a key social instrument, signaling alliance, trust, and communal responsibility.

Practice

A typical potlauje event centers on a large communal pot or set of pots used to prepare food for the participants. The host provides hospitality and initiates rituals, while guests contribute goods or services through ceremonial gifts, performances, or labor. Over the course of the gathering, wealth and surplus are redistributed, and social ties are renegotiated through storytelling, music, and public acknowledgement of generosity and obligation. Ceremonial feasts often culminate in the proclamation of reciprocal duties or the bestowal of honors.

Social function and variation

Potlauje serves to reinforce kinship networks, resolve disputes, and regulate resource distribution in its fictional culture. Variations may emphasize different forms of gift exchange, gender roles, or political status, depending on the worldbuilder’s goals. Critics within the fiction may depict debates over debt, coercion, or inequality arising from such redistributions.

In media and games

Potlauje appears in some novels and role-playing game settings as a device to advance plot, deepen cultural worldbuilding, or explore political dynamics related to wealth, generosity, and reciprocity. See also: potlatch, gift economy, reciprocity.