sulakeet

Sulakeet is a fictional term used in worldbuilding and speculative ethnography to denote a ceremonial object central to seasonal rites in a coastal archipelago imagined as Sulakea. The object is typically a carved wooden figure, though regional variations exist; construction uses driftwood or salvaged timber, with pigments from ochre, charcoal, and shell. Forms range from stylized sea creatures to small boats, with sizes from a few centimeters to about a meter.

In ritual practice, sulakeet is carried in a public procession during the harvest festival and is believed to embody a protective sea-spirit. An appointed keeper performs chants and rituals to activate its presence, after which it is displayed in the town square and later returned to a shrine.

Cultural significance: The object acts as a focal point for communal identity, craftsmanship, and exchange. Variants differ in motifs, colors, and the precise role in ceremony. In contemporary contexts, replicas appear in museums and tourist markets, while traditional workshops continue in some communities.

Etymology and historiography: The term sulakeet is commonly treated as a compound of fictional Sulakean roots meaning "sea" and "voice" in worldbuilding glossaries; earliest fictional references appear in travelogues within an imagined 17th–19th century literature, with debates about authenticity.