Conlang & worldbuilding blog focused around the Kel Dor species from Star Wars. This all started out as worldbuilding for a fic project and yet it promptly ate my life. Askbox is open, questions and suggestions welcome!
keldeorínyaa is the planetary standard language spoken on the Expansion Region planet of Dorin (deorin), primarily by its indigenous species, the Kel Dor (keldeor), and throughout the galactic Kel Dor diaspora.
Out of universe, keldeorinyaa is a WIP conlang created by a novice conlanger ( @plokoonsdisapprovingeyebrows ) with zero linguistic qualifications, so please adjust expectations accordingly. XD I am primarily a worldbuilder; my conlanging ventures are as much about the sociocultural world of the Kel Dor as they are linguistic. Both will feature on this blog.
Some things to note:
Canon worldbuilding for the Kel Dor is a little sparse, and with a couple of exceptions the tidbits of canon language we do have are very keyboard-smashy in vibes. I have kept some canon stuff and discarded other stuff, but I also can't say for sure that I've seen it all. Feel free to ask about my reasoning!
The language has been under development for two years now and is currently undergoing some... reforms. If something changes overnight, it's because it's been bugging me for a while and i finally got around to doing something about it.
On a related note, there are a handful of synonyms and near-synonyms in the dictionary. This is usually deliberate, but feel free to ask if you find one because I may have something to say about it.
I do have a writing system/alphabet under development! Someday I will actually post it! XD
Please also see @exosorcery for some awesome art and comics utilizing keldeorinyaa! <3
Kel Dor Worldbuilding Posts
Baran Do / Jedi Relationship
Theft of Food = Capital Punishment?
Dorin’s Native Creatures
Dorin Geography
⤷ Initial Thoughts
Kel Dor Spirituality
Ksangokiya Karáákse: Spirits of Dorin
"It belongs to the wind now."
Kel Dor Social Organization
Kel Dor Given Names
Kel Dor Clan Names (WIP)
The Motherlineage: Family Structures (WIP)
Imperative Hospitality (WIP)
Kel Dor Biology
Noelek + attitude to disability
"The known galaxy will be your buffet line."
Sensory Organs: Kolmi (WIP)
Kel Dor Conlang (keldeorinyaa)
Conlang Spreadsheet (GSheets)
Keldeorinyaa Pronouns (needs updated for spelling!)
Keldeorinyaa Greetings
Talking About The Weather
Intro to Numbers (WIP)
Active vs Passive Verbs (WIP)
Strong Speech (WIP)
Terms of Endearment
⤷ Little 'Soka
Some Demonyms
More keldeorinyaa translations! This is a few lines from Fight Together by Namie Amuro, albeit translated first into English.
Here's a link to my dictionary sheet.
Disclaimer: this is Baby's First Conlang and I'm doing it for fun; don't expect linguistic accuracy. My primary motivation for conlanging is as worldbuilding first, learning some cool stuff about linguistics second. Also I have never taken a thing 100% seriously in my life.
Pronunciation notes---
š = the 'sh' in sheep
ň = the 'ng' in thing
č = the 'ch' in cheese
ao = oh, as in "oh dear"
ë = schwa-ish, very unstressed vowel, 'uh'
ř = rhotic r, american-english style
r = tapped r, spanish-style
rr = rolled r
Translation Notes---
What can you defend by lying?
ninan di ka tsakaoriyi ksoli yadërai kya?
[thing.2] [topic.p] [ability.p] [to lie] [instrumental.p] [defend-passive] [question.p]
⟶ ninan = 'stuff'; both pronoun and question word here!
⟶ tsakaoriyi = to lie, to speak deliberate falsehood; tsakao means lie or falsehood, and is used on its own as an expletive along the lines of 'bullshit!"
⟶ yadërai = passive form of yadëri, to defend, used when the focus is what's being defended rather than who does the defending. The verb in the song I'm translating was originally passive-form, but the english translation made it active form, so I put it back. :D
tsakaoriyi is an active verb, which strongly implies it's a choice. yadërai is a passive verb, because the question is more about the lying than the actual defending. Active verbs get used when agency is in question; passive verbs are for avoiding or de-emphasizing agency.
Both verbs are in base form, present tense. keldeorinyaa tends not to conjugate verbs unless tense/aspect information is actually important, which it isn't here.
there's no shame in falling to your knees
jejmak a parizdai ei koegoe jakaviki ya
[joints] [???.p*] [collapse] [focus.p] [nothing] [shame] [moral.p]
* I still don't know exactly what to call the a particle and at this point I'm afraid to find out lmao
⟶ jejmak = joints, specifically the ones in ur limbs. Keldeorinyaa's words for specific joints (zangečamak = knees) sound very anatomical. The construction here, jejmak a parizdai, literally means 'joints collapse', but figuratively means going limp, you've stopped fighting, you're exhausted, you've given up and now you're a dead weight. Importantly, the connotation is of someone who's worked their ass off and literally collapsed from exhaustion — not someone who did the bare minimum and gave up.
⟶ jakaviki = shame, embarrassment. This has much stronger connotations of moral weakness than in english — and it's only applied in circumstances your actions could reasonably influence. Being exhausted and taking a rest is not one of those circumstances.
kel dor culture historically dealt with so much hardship and suffering as a result of just. living on Giant Storm Hellworld that they largely default to assuming that a certain amount of struggle / bad luck / failure / weakness etc. will just be a part of everyone's lives no matter what you do. Suffering isn't special, it's not sacred, but it also is never assumed to occur because you did something to make it happen. That goes double for significant suffering. Nobody's gonna judge you for getting struck by lightning, bc that shit just happens semifrequently on Dorin lmao.
Basically, this line says that failing is just going to happen sometimes and you shouldn't make the mistake of thinking it says anything about your value as a person. Sometimes you need to flop down and rest, and that's normal. <3
just always make sure to stand back up
lelame paali nazadizi ge
[again] [stand] [to do-habitual] [command.p]
⟶ lelame = again and again, repeatedly, once again…
⟶ paali = to stand/stand up (same verb). Once again this is in basic present form because the actual information is on the next verb in the chain…
⟶ nazadizi = habitual form of nazadi, to act (as in to do something with purpose). You're getting up to try again, and that's what's important. <3
⟶ the command particle ge is used for encouragement as much as actual commands; the vibe here is more like "you can do it!!"
so we can see each other again
tsvikyo zakhi tooyadiča ka naa.
[each other] [purpose.p] [meet.future-certain] [ability.p] [comment.p]
⟶ tsvikyo = 'each other'; reciprocal pronoun. Technically it should be tsvikyo a tsvikyo, but the full grammatical form is becoming limited to formal language.
⟶ zakhi = purpose particle. Usually it wouldn't be in the middle of the sentence but there's only one verb here, so the verb has to come last.
⟶ tooyadiča = future-certain tense of tooyadi, to meet. You could use the future uncertain tense here, I guess, but that would indicate that you don't actually have much confidence in the outcome. XD
⟶ ka naa = mood particles, capability and emphasis respectively. Mood particles are the only words allowed to follow the primary verb in the sentence.
ok so i was trying to come up with a word for 'clone' in keldeorinyaa, right? after many failures i finally thought of uanyaan, from the roots 'reflection' and 'person'.
the catch is that this is DEFINITELY going to sound like 'onion' to Basic speakers. i.e., the clones. skjhgdfkjhs
#im gonna keep it i just think its going to cause much hilarity among the clones lmfao
#for a while they call taking their armor off 'peeling the onion'
redoing some of my old keldeorinyaa translations! Here's the first verse of 'Soldier of Heaven', by Sabaton:
er di oro mušilan i laňadiča
I won't be coming home
er di oro inyake i nadiča na
I won't be going anywhere
konzandao de loroykedurisan di na
I will guard this post forever
nak yayziem de lilaane yeteri dal ei indaliča na
Here on the alpine slope where I did my final stand I shall remain
yay ade dadekiyeh ajhi riičao runa de.
Among the ice and snow that binds me to this mountain.
itsërran ča tarrumya yaran ei, haššao bei hayamale
A force of nature too strong, sent from above
indao de karaak ei rrewanadi a, ran di laigoe neri ya.
Where spirits lead the way the winds will never fade.
I am fully going to turn that last line into a kel dor proverb, it fuckin slaps and also goes realllllll well with their culture. Something something don't let your fear lead you around, it won't make anything better.
*cracks knuckles*
I’m sorry in advance this gets a bit messy toward the end cause it took way longer than i thought and im writing this past my bedtime haha ;A;
pls listen to the song its amazing <333
Pronunciation notes—
š = the 'sh’ in sheep
ň = the 'ng’ in thing
č = the 'ch’ in cheese
ao = oh, as in “oh dear”
ë = schwa-ish, very unstressed vowel, 'uh’
ř = rhotic r, american-english style
r = tapped r, spanish-style
rr = rolled r
Sentence structure—
er di oro mušilan i laňadiča
[1Psing.] [topic particle] [negation particle] [home] [destination particle] [to return-future certain]
I won’t be coming home
er di oro inyake i nadiča na
[1Psing.] [topic particle] [negation particle] [any/everywhere] [destination particle] [to go-future certain] [intentional mood]
I won’t be going anywhere
konzan de loroykedurisan di na
[outpost/distant place] [locative1] [loroyke kedurisan, eternal watchman] [to do-present] [intentional mood]
I will guard this post forever
nak yayziem de lilaane yeteri dal ei indaliča na
[here] [mountainside] [locative1] [last/final] [to be defeated-passive-present] [to do-past] [focus particle] [to stay behind-future-certain] [intentional mood]
Here on the alpine slope where I did my final stand I shall remain
yay ade dadekiyeh ajhi riičao runa de.
[mountain] [locative2] [to bind-ongoing] [referential] [snow & ice] [within] [locative1]
Among the ice and snow that binds me to this mountain.
itsërran ča tarrumya yaran ei, haššao bei hayamale
['nature’] [possession2] [tawidawi rrumya, too powerful] [weather] [focus particle] [skies] [origin] [to give-past]
A force of nature too strong, sent from above
indao de karaak ei rrewanadi a, ran di laigoe neri ya.
[place] [locative1] [spirits] [focus] [to lead-present] [link] [wind] [topic] [never] [to lessen-present] [moral mood]
Where spirits lead the way the winds will never fade.
Vocabulary—
er = 1st-person singular pronoun, 'I’
di = topic marker; divides sentences into topic vs. comment
oro = negation particle, tells you the action/event in the sentence isn’t happening
mušilan = home, the dwelling you live in plus all its contents and other residence (what makes a house a home?)
i = short form of the destination particle iyë, marks the end-point of a journey (or final state in a series of changes)
laňadiča = laňadi, to return (to where you came from), to come back, + -iča, future-certain tense conjugation, used for things that will (or definitely won’t) happen
inyake = anywhere, everywhere
nadiča = nadi, to come/go (same verb whether you’re coming or going), + -iča future-certain tense conjugation
na = mood particle used to emphasize either plans or stuff you’re going to do for whatever other reason.
konzan = shortening of konzandao, outpost, distant place (associated with a particular culture or group of ppl)
de = locative particle, this is where shit’s happening
loroykedurisan = literally 'eternal watchman’; usually this is a statue or carved post placed in a high location to look out over the village, but sometimes it might be an ancestor’s corpse (or several). The di attached to this sentence is the verb 'to do’; I will do the job of the eternal watchman.
nak = proximal demonstrative, aka 'here’.
yayziem = compound made of yay (mountain) and ziem (hillside, but poetic).
lilaane = lilaan, noun form of lilandi, to end, plus -e ending which is a vestige of the qualitative particle re. lilaan re >> lilaane over time.
yeteri = to be defeated, beaten. A passive verb, used because the focus is on the guy who got beat. Keldeorinyaa has a ton of different verbs depending on if you’re talking about the person doing the thing or the one being done to, because there’s a cultural taboo against referring directly to people you care about if possible.
dal = past tense form of verb di, an auxiliary verb giving the past tense information.
ei = a many-purpose particle used to indicate a sentence object, a part of focus within a sentence, and more! Here it’s a focus particle bringing attention to the final verb.
indaliča = indali, to stay behind, to remain, + -iča, future-certain tense conjugation
yay = mountain
ade = also a locative particle, specifically indicating an enclosed location or setting in which a specific action occurs (here, being mummified in ice into the mountain…)
dadekiyeh = dadeki, to bind, to chain, to fix in place; + -iyeh, ongoing aspect conjugation
ajhi = referential pronoun, used for everything from people to inanimate objects.
riičao = compound word, riam (snow) + ičao (ice)
runa = locative postposition, means 'within’
itsërran = contraction of itsërrandao, not an exact translation for 'nature’; has more of a vibe of 'sea, sky, stone’ and living things are kind of an afterthought. Dorin’s natural environment is heavily dominated by the inorganic stuff.
ča = sort of a reverse possession particle; whatever’s being talked about is the possessed thing; in this case, an icestorm is part of the overall concept of weather.
yaran = weather. Broadly understood as the force of nature on Dorin. :D
haššao = sky. Not exactly a substitute for 'heavens’; the sky is just where weather lives. :D
bei = marks an origination point, the beginning of a journey or starting point of a series of changes. In this case. storms come from the sky. :D
hayamale = hayami, to give, + -ale past-tense conjugation.
indao = a place, 'where’ in this context. (You'll notice a lot of location nouns end with 'dao', this is why.)
karaak = spirits! Kel dor have few gods and a shit ton of spirits, which range from extremely dangerous to mischievous to very seldomly benign. The spirits of wind and storms are the most feared.
rrewanadi = to lead, to go first, to blaze a trail
a = usually hadi a, a conjunction particle linking two ideas, but the hadi is dropped here because rrewanadi has that same ending sound and avoiding the repetition just sounds better.
ran = wind. Keldeorinyaa has a lot of words for wind but this is the big one, synonymous with the enormous power of the natural world.
laigoe = never; specifically used to describe frequency and likelihood
neri = to decrease, lessen. The wind never goes away on Dorin, it just gets gentler, softer.
ya = moral particle, often used in contexts of obligation or moral concern, but also (as here) in sort of a moral-of-the-story way.
I was gonna add some general translation notes here but as mentioned, I’m up past my bedtime lmao. Feel free to ask questions i guess, if you’re interested? XD
These are kogónati rínyaa, which can be directly translated as 'good-telling language', and more loosely as 'greetings' (although they encompass more than just greetings). It's the things you say to express respect and shared space to the people you're interacting with.
An important cultural note — kel dor are very egalitarian, and too much formality can actually be considered quite rude. It's better to underestimate than overestimate, within reason.
Hello!
⟶ kohtóóyaa!
This is your general all-purpose greeting, can be a polite hello to someone in a formal setting or it can be something you use on family, especially family you haven't seen in a while. If you don't know what level of formality to use, go for this one.
⟶ koyáá!
This is the most common slang greeting, used between people who know each other and in contexts which otherwise demand casual speech, such as between children and coworkers and people otherwise on the same team, so to speak. It's actually somewhat rude not to use koyaa in the correct situations; you'll be seen as being aloof or giving yourself airs.
⟶ kíši!
Slang again, used both as a greeting and a term of address. It comes from kiah de šínon, which is more or less 'my love', except it covers all forms of love. Perennially very, very popular with teenagers and young adults, among whom it takes on a similar sort of vibe as 'bestie' (and yes it can also be used ironically or with hostility lmao). Do be sparing with it if you don't want it to start sounding ironic.
⟶ oe!
[strong speech] This is a perfectly normal thing to say to your parents and grandparents, and to good friends, but not so much casual acquaintances. There isn't a good English equivalent, as far as I can think of. The vibes are a bit like "hey bro!" but intimate rather than casual.
⟶ kóhti tóóyaa!
This is a more formal greeting, a step above kohtóóyaa. kóhti means 'good'; it gets crunched down to ko/kóh when prefixed to a word. Only use this one for explicitly formal contexts, like courtroom settings, business meetings, etcetera. If you say this when meeting a random kel dor, they'll probably assume you either think you're hot shit or are intimidated by them.
⟶ kogónati kóhdatóóyaa.
This is the super-formal greeting, used in very formal situations only, such as planetary government or top-level clan administration. The prefix kóh is contracted from kóhti, and the prefix da is an intensifier. Do NOT use this if you're at all unsure; outside of these super-formal contexts it is seen as pompousness, giving oneself importance beyond what's actually there.
Thank you!
⟶ kóysaa!
"Thanks!" Like kohtóóyaa, this is the general all-purpose thankyou, appropriate to almost all social and familiarity levels.
⟶ gísi!
[strong speech] A very informal thankyou, along the lines of "chur" or "shot, bro". As with all strong speech, use this with close family, if you're trying to flirt, or trying to pick a fight.
⟶ kóhti áysaa!
The formal version of kóysaa. áysaa comes from a root meaning 'help, assistance'; it's not only used to say "Thank you for your help!", but that is a large part of its use cases. You would not usually use this with your friends and family, but it can be called for if they've really done you a huge favor.
⟶ kogónati kóhnari áysaa de!
The most formal expression of gratitude, reserved for government-level formal situations or possibly if someone's literally just saved your life. The latter is very rare; it needs to be a genuine near-death experience and most people will still be discomfited by receiving such intense gratitude.
I'm sorry.
Where English (and Basic) can use the same words to express both guilt and condolences, keldeorínyaa distinguishes between the two.
⟶ koméšinai.
The general expression of condolence and sympathy. Technically this is a verb, from mešíngiah (feelings of sympathy, compassion), but it's basically only used in this way, to say "I recognise your suffering." Broadly appropriate for the vast majority of contexts.
⟶ koméši.
More or less "RIP my dude", or "that sucks, bro." Expresses genuine sympathy, but in a very casual way, and therefore should be used a little differently depending on how close you are to the person you're sympathising with. Use it for your classmate who failed an exam, your sibling who just got fired, or the stranger on the road who just stepped into a deceptively-deep puddle.
⟶ méši de.
[strong speech] "Haha, RIP in fuckin' pieces bro," or "Sucks to be you, I guess." This is not so much sympathy as a lack of it… you got yourself into trouble, you should have seen it coming but you didn't and now you're gonna get roasted for it. Limited to close relationships, for obvious reasons.
⟶ kogónati koméšinai de.
The most formal expression of sympathy. Basically reserve this for funerals of people you didn't know well. The other main usage will be officials on space!TV expressing condolences to the victims of natural disasters.
⟶ komézakhai.
"It's my fault, I'm sorry." This is what you say when you fucked up and are trying to put it right. It's broadly appropriate to everyday contexts, from stepping on someone's toes by accident to kids apologizing to each other after a playground fight.
⟶ koméz.
[strong speech] More or less equivalent to "Oops, my bad." You might be genuinely contrite, if you're saying it to family or close friends. If not, you might not be sorry at all. Use this with someone you're not very close to and you might get punched in the face.
⟶ kóhti mézakhai de.
"I apologize for my actions." More formal than komézakhai, and usually implies a more severe degree of fuckup. If you deliberately did something to hurt another person, this is your default apology. It might also be used for unintended harm of significant magnitude, or a minor action that snowballed into unforeseen consequences. It also has to be accompanied by action; if you don't genuinely try to atone, this apology becomes an insult in its own right.
⟶ kogónati komézakhai de.
Reserved exclusively for the worst, most severe fuckups, and usually those committed by someone with a high degree of social standing. Think of politicians resigning after a scandal; it's that level of serious.
Note. Kel dor culture also believes that certain actions simply cannot be apologised for; any attempt to do so will be seen as refusing to accept the magnitude of one's actions. This includes crimes like murder and manslaughter, theft of food during times of famine, and also unforced participation in war.
Similarly, there is no real concept of forgiveness, or of accepting an apology given to you. Either the apologiser proves they can do better, and are worthy of being trusted (mostly by everyone else around them), or they don't (and find themself experiencing social consequences for it).
Goodbye!
⟶ leksana di!
"See you next time!" This is the everyday goodbye, equivalent to kohtooyaa. It's a contraction of lede ksanadiča ka — le de means 'next', and ksanadi means 'to see'. This is often accompanied by a tap of two fingers to the forehead above the eyes, the equivalent of a polite wave.
⟶ haláššao (alílamai) yatá!
"Clear skies be with you!" Just slightly more formal, tends to be said of longer partings, such as a child going on a school camp or a friend going to work or study in a faraway city. Clear, sunny skies on Dorin are very rare; if it's not water vapor it's dust clouds, and if it's clear but windy it doesn't count lmao. alílamai is the verb, and it can be dropped in casual speech, because yatá is a benefactive particle, i.e. you're wishing something good for the person you're talking to.
⟶ lekde!
"Seeya!" Very casual, but still broadly appropriate; say this to the uncle you ran into at the supermarket, or your friends heading home after school. You probably would not say it to someone you didn't expect to see again sometime soon.
⟶ šáápage!
[strong speech] A forcible goodbye, said to shoo your close friends out of the house so you can get some damn sleep. Outside of close relationships, it's more or less "Piss off!" It's much softer for close friends and family and implies a practical reason; a common use is sending the kids off to bed in the evening.
⟶ lede ksanadiča ka!
An everyday-formal goodbye, usually in arranged, organized contexts, such as going back home after visiting faraway relatives, or a school trip thanking their hosts. A fairly direct translation is "Until we see each other again!"
⟶ kogónati kóhdatóóyadila de.
A super-formal farewell, used to conclude public events, and in high-level official, legal, and government proceedings. Here, tóóyadi (to meet) is put into the completive aspect to indicate that the meeting is now over. As with the greeting, avoid using unless you're sure it's called for.
I've figured for ages that Little 'Soka is more or less a direct translation of a keldeorinyaa endearment, but until now I haven't thought about what that endearment might actually be!
Answer: gepetka sosoka.
gepetka is simple: the word gep, meaning 'young' + etka, the gentle agent suffix.
sosoka is how Ahsoka's name would be nicknameified in keldeorinyaa - basically, pick a pleasing syllable and duplicate it. Ahsoka's name is three syllables, compared to native kel dor names which are almost always two syllables or less, so she loses a syllable in the process.
On a related note... Plo's childhood nickname was laolao, and Sha would have been šašša. :D
better idea: theyre capable of eating just about fucking anything within their homeworld environment and a whole lot outside of it. kinda makes up for the 'nerfed by the plentiful nature of oxygen' thing lol.
The joke among kel dor goes thus:
When the Primordial Force was designing people, it set the first kel dor down among the fertile mud of their homeland and said, "Well, there's good news and there's bad news, which do you want to hear first?"
And the kel dor chose bad news, because one must always prepare for the worst. So the Primordial Force told the first kel dor thus: "The bad news is, you will be able to breathe unaided on exactly one planet in the known galaxy. That kind of sucks, so here's the bright side--the known galaxy will be your buffet line."
The kel dor, collectively eyeing the rest of the universe: "Hm."
Kel dor digestive systems are capable of digesting and getting nutrients out of just about anything, including mud, dirt, and certain types of rocks. (Nobody has fun on a mud diet, but it's better than starving.) They can and do eat bones, shells, wood, and they can digest plastic, it's just not good for them.
"nin di ran ta." = [shrugs] "It belongs to the wind now."
or, what you say when you've lost something and turned your house upside down looking for it and have realised it's fuckin Gone.
The wind spirits (most spirits, but ran karaakse especially) taking things away is a very common idea in Kel Dor cultures across Dorin. Sometimes this is for oooo spoooky reasons; sometimes it's more like "Can't have shit in Dor'shan!" The wind is almost always characterised as the most destructive natural force, and therefore frequently blamed when bad shit happens for no easily-explicable reason.
This is especially true for minor things, such as a favourite sock going missing. "nin di ran ta" is something said as a verbal acknowledgement of loss for these small things; you're accepting that you're out of ideas and not going to get whatever it is back. You don't do anything about it, just shrug and move on.
In the event that ur fav sock does turn up later... that is when you go to the wind shrines and thank the spirits for bringing it back. You don't do it before then, because that's just asking for them to take more of ur shit.
i'm officially on holiday. my project: drawing a bunch of critters for my kel dor worldbuilding. :D
here's the dictionary entries for the main critters:
haššantegar — (n.) // — lightning bat; a goose-sized flighted animal resembling a downy azhdarchid pterosaur that frequently swarms in huge numbers as storms approach
nawaleh — (n.) // — carrion bat; an enormous gliding flier with downy skin, a very large toothy head, and a wingspan that can reach 6m across
yanšigir — (n.) // — whaleseal; the largest predator in Dorin’s oceans, a cold-adapted diving predator with grasping claws on its front flippers, reaching up to 15m in length
kyevičoe — (n.) // — a very large (2m+) worm species found in Dorin’s extensive tidal mudflats, frequently hunted with only partial success, capable of regeneration
erem — (n.) // — a small (~40cm) snakelike predator frequently kept as household pets and for pest control
More critters!! Credit to @exosorcery for the bil'oni ponies, i love them lmao.
injarra — (n.) /in.dʒa.ra/ — a six-legged burrowing animal the size of a large rabbit, native to Dorin's desert interior, where they congregate in large groups and dig enormous underground warrens to reach subsurface water. Sometimes kept as pets, often eaten.
bil'oni — (n.) /bil.o.ni/ — a midsized scavenging omnivore native to Dorin's temperate grasslands, often called 'bil'oni ponies' by offworlders for their equine looks. Everything is food to a bil'oni pony; as ravenous as they are delicious. Often kept as livestock or pets.
ňebirra — (n.) /ŋe.bi.ra/ — a small armadillo-like quadruped often found in cellars and subterranean homes, kept as pets and pest control. Highly social, highly intelligent.
khapartaň — (n.) /kʰa.paɾ.taŋ/ — 'blueknife', a species of fist-sized snail with a sharp defensive edge to the shell, commonly used for blades after being eaten. Shells are mottled shades of blue and often used for decoration.
alakye — (n.) /a.la.kje/ — a lizardlike creature about 30-40cm long with a wide tubular body, very small legs, and a tongue up to 2m in length which shoots out to catch insects.
i find the 'rough justice' concept in the canon kel dor worldbuilding so interesting, but there's very little of it in action. Currently having some thinky thoughts over what that might look like in practice...
On the one hand, the Kel Dor were noted for their hospitality, they would never turn away a stranger in need. Yet, Kel Dors were not averse to taking the law into their own hands, and had no compunctions about putting to death a thief who was merely stealing to feed himself.
direct quote from the wiki. I thought this was quite interesting, contrasting a strong emphasis on hospitality with the death penalty for stealing food. I have a suspicion this might be from one of the rp guidebooks, but the wiki hasn't got a source note so I'm not sure.
and now, my personal Interpretation!
-- kel dor evolved and grew to sentience on a world that is constantly doing its best to kill them. The best defense against such a hostile environment is teamwork. This, coupled with a reproductive strategy that requires LOTS of willing co-parents, meant that kel dor cultures pretty much without exception became very collectivist.
-- their smallest, most basic social unit is essentially the village. The smallest families, the most newly-established communities, typically still number in the dozens. Family = community.
-- traditionally, ownership of anything particularly valuable (which food counts as) is communal. Everyone in the community is entitled to use of the thing. Everyone in the community is entitled to eat the community's food. You just have to let people know, so that the ppl who keep track of the food can make sure there's still enough to go around everyone else.
-- hospitality is considered not just a virtue but a moral imperative when you live in a place that randomly tries to kill you via frequent natural disasters. The kel dor have a saying: there must be no strangers when a storm comes. (baran di nadi ňa, kvorokyaan orodi ya.) Someone comes to you in need of shelter? You have a moral obligation to help. This obligation is not so strong when it comes to offering food, but so frequently is sharing a meal part of sheltering from a storm that the expectations and norms spill over.
-- there are communal restrictions on food/food sources from time to time. Typically these bans are placed in response to environmental or sustainability concerns; eg. koyaalo must not be harvested outside of the proper season to ensure than there will be plenty for all to eat when the season comes; they apply to everyone in the community, and often multiple communities.
-- all of this adds up to cultures that looks very askance on resource hoarding. Life is already hard enough, dude, and you want to make it harder for the rest of us? Stealing food is considered pretty much the same thing. If you're part of the community, all you have to do is walk into the village stores and see what's sitting out for snacks. If you're not part of the community, just ask for hospitality.
-- ergo: stealing food is considered a crime against the whole community. In times of plenty, it's the sort of thing a person could get exiled for. In times of hardship? You might become the food if you're really unlucky.
-- similarly, withholding food from an individual is also considered a crime against the whole community. The rule of hospitality only works as long as there's a mutual respect for it. Given the fickle environment, most people still expect they might need to use it someday... so it remains.
every time i check wookieepedia for more kel dor lore I get annoyed at the bit that says the Baran Do became irrelevant after the Jedi started coming around bc like.
a) there is no way the Jedi wouldn't want to like. team up with them instead lmfao
b) the numbers also don't add up. The Jedi have like ten thousand members in Prequel times, from species across the whole galaxy. Even if you scour the wiki, there's only like three, possibly four kel dor Jedi active at that time. Even if we accept the idea that these few are the absolute most powerful force-sensitive kel dor out there, there's no fuckin way a planet/species that can support its own extensive indigenous Force tradition just abandons that tradition, just bc a literal handful of kids in every generation goes offworld to learn from a different Force tradition.
c) the Baran Do also do a slightly different thing than the Jedi - it's basically Force-aided disaster risk/resilience/management shit. The Jedi can't make them obsolete just by existing; they're filling a different need with diplomacy and averting wars and shit. Sometimes their work crosses over, but that's not enough to put them in competition.
So, my headcanon—
The Baran Do don't have the same restriction on 'must be a child to join' as the Jedi do, so they're happy to allow children who get scouted to go off and join the Jedi, on the condition that that child gets the opportunity to come back and train with the Baran Do later on if they so wish. The Jedi are perfectly happy to allow this, both in a spirit of Interfaith Cooperation and also making sure their kids get the chance to connect with their ancestral cultures. So the relationship between Baran Do and Jedi is pretty relaxed and friendly overall.
...At this point, most of the kel dor children who are given to the Jedi were actually brought to the Jedi's attention by the Baran Do, because the Force metaphorically tapped on some Sage's shoulder and went like "hey. This one would do well with the Jedi." And that Sage phoned up the Jedi Temple like "hey could u guys send someone out, there might be a baby Jedi here for u." It's treated like a celebration for both parties, there's a festival and everything. XD
Plo happened to be the Jedi sent out to collect Sha; he didn't know the kid was his niece at that point, but then the moment he stepped off the ship he was Engulfed in a surprise family reunion. His mother, Sha's grandma, is a Baran Do Sage, and she'd requested Plo directly but then kept it to herself, so the rest of the family was equally surprised and delighted lmao.
