Clan Life

Code of the Clan

Roles in the Clan


Leader: In charge of the whole clan. Makes big decisions and announcements. Has a special connection with gods and can receive prophecies.
Deputy: In charge of patrols. Will become leader when the leader dies or retires.
Healer:  Trained in the ways of medicine. They have a special connection with the gods and can receive prophecies. Though receiving a prophecy is a rarity these days.
Warrior:  Fighters of the clan. They face any threat the clan is faced head-on.
Hunter: In charge of hunting prey for the whole clan. May be used as backup for warriors as they also know how to use their claws well.
Crafter:  Forges items for both purpose and pleasure, crafters are the most creative cats in the clan. 
Caretakers:  Caretakers do what their name describes, take care of others. Caretakers are responsible for kits, elders, and can act as nurses for cats recovering in the healers' den. Cats can become temporary caretakers when pregnant or nursing.
Apprentice: A cat at least 6 moons of age in training to become a role.
Kit: A cat younger than 6 moons, still being taken care of by their parent(s) and/or the caretakers.
Elder: Any cat 80 moons or older who chooses to retire and spend the rest of their days peacefully. Some cats may retire early. Cats are forcibly retired at 100 moons.

Chief: There is a chief healer, warrior, hunter, crafter, and caretaker who act as a council for the leader and are just below the deputy in the hierarchy of the clan. These cats are decided by the leader. When a new leader ranks up, they can pick new chiefs or leave the ones that are already in place.

General Clan Life

Patrols

It is not uncommon for cats to go on patrols for hours to days at a time.
When the deputy organizes a patrol, they always consist of at least one of each of the following roles: warrior, hunter, healer.
Crafters can be included, they do not leave camp without protection in the form of a warrior or hunter.
Caretakers leave camp on an even more infrequent basis and also require protection. Caretakers tend not to go on patrols as their duties are camp-centric. 

Vigils

The following roles serve vigils on the night of their rank-up.
Warriors: Silently guard the camp all night. 
Hunters: Go out on an all-night hunting trip alone.
Healers: Go to the Star Cavern and spend all night cleaning it. (Accompanied by warrior or hunter of choice)
Crafters: Go to the Star Cavern and paint the walls/touch up the existing murals. (Accompanied by warrior or hunter of choice)

Music

The clan and music have deep ties.
Crafters will make primitive instruments with things they can find in nature.
Sometimes they trade with Ackee for materials for crafting instruments.
Common instruments made by the cats are the following:
Drums:  Made from a hollowed-out log. Sticks are typically used to decorate the drums as well as cravings on the side of them. The tops are made from the hides of larger prey, typically hares.  This hide is held on with either rope left by twolegs or vines found in the jungle. The most common instrument of them all. Drums are the first instrument most crafter apprentices learn. Very important for celebrations as the leader will speak to the beat of the drum.
Rattles:  The cats puncture a small hole in gourds and leave them to dry out. Once dry, the gourd can be shaken and the seeds make noise from inside it. Sometimes given to kits as toys, commonly used in celebrations alongside the drum.
Whistles:  Made from wood, reeds, or bone depending on the sound trying to be achieved. The material is hollowed out and a hole is added to the middle to achieve a whistling sound. Whistles are typically given as toys to kits but are sometimes used in celebrations by younger apprentices that haven't mastered tougher instruments.
Flutes: Very similar to whistles except more complex. Flutes have extra holes along the top side of the material so cats can play them and make different noises with the same instrument. They take a while to master, these flutes are exclusively used by crafters who spend many hours learning how to play them.

Tools

Another job of crafters is making items to improve every day life. These tools come in many forms.
Below are some of the most common tools and objects crafted that are not musical:
Paint:  Made from leaves, berries, mud, flowers, and basically anything that creates a pigment, paint is used in rank up ceremonies as well as for daily decoration of pelts and objects. Paint is made in baobab bowls and crushed with rocks into a spreadable liquid. It typically does not stay wet long but the addition of water can reactivate the paint.
Baobab Bowls:  A dried baobab fruit is cut in half and the insides are scooped clean to be used as a vessel. Typically used to hold liquids.
Baskets:  Weaved from vines, long grass, fronds, or any combination of the three, baskets are typically taken on long patrols where carrying back items with the mouth alone would be too difficult. Baskets can be used as storage around camp as well.
Accessories: Made for wearing on the body, crafters will experiment with combinations of different objects to make interesting wearables. There is a variety of skills involved in crafting accessories as there are as many options to make accessories as one can imagine providing the materials exist.
Twoleg Items: The proper use of many twoleg items is unknown to most. Twoleg items are typically received through a once-a-season trade with Ackee, the traveling monkey merchant. Somehow he knows the use of most things from his extensive travel and encounters with twolegs. He is easily the go-to with twoleg related questions.

Celebrations

Most celebrations, regardless of type, involve music and/or dance.

Mateships: Starting at sunhigh a couple's front paws are bound and the clan partakes in festivities. From sunset to sunrise the couple stands vigil at the center of camp together. The couple prays to Jasiri for the courage to trust one another for the rest of their lives.
Pregnancy: When a cat is expecting, their loved ones help gather soft nest material (feathers, cotton, etc.) to make their nest in the nursery. Soft music is played and advice is given to the pregnant cat. Kifo and Bahati are prayed to for safe delivery.
Births: When kits are born, the majority of the clan participates in a cleaning ceremony where everyone participating licks the kits until they are clean. 
Rank ups: Loud drumming is played while the clan chants the new names of the ranking cats. Ranking cats are adorned in body paint relating to their role.
Funerals: A festival of life. Cats recount stories of the deceased and spend the whole day remembering them. Kifo is prayed to, hoping the deceased has a safe trip to StarClan. Cats leave gifts at the burial site.
Dry Season Festival: Celebration of Kiburi, Jasiri, Uhuru, Damu, and Pesa. Celebrated from the first half-moon of the season to the opposite half-moon. Each rank has contests amongst themselves related to the gods they are celebrating. 
Wet Season Festival: Celebration of Ndoto, Kifo, Kasi, Bahati, and Akili. Celebrated from the first full moon of the season to the new moon. To celebrate the unity of the clan, the cats give gifts to each other and patrol the far ends of the territory. In the end, when everyone has returned, the whole clan has a feast. 

Religion

The clan believes in the ten gods; feline gods representing the ten species of wild cats in Africa.
Additionally, there is belief in StarClan, where cats go when they die.
Click on the names of each god to learn more about them!

Kiburi
Goddess of Pride/Strength

Jasiri
God of Courage/
Determination

Kasi
Goddess of Speed/Grace

Ndoto
Deity of Dreams/Medicine

Uhuru
God of Independence

Bahati
Goddess of Luck

Akili
Deity of Wit

Damu
God of Valor

Pesa
Goddess of Commerce

Kifo
God of Death/Birth

When a deputy becomes leader, all the gods except Kifo give them a life to celebrate their new role.
When a cat dies, Kifo greets them and brings them to StarClan. Kifo also greets leaders when they lose a life.

Some gods are associated with certain roles in the clan.
Jasiri -> Deputy
Kiburi -> Warriors
Kasi -> Hunters
Ndoto -> Healers
Pesa -> Crafters
Kifo -> Caretakers
Their colors are used for the body paint that they adorn when ranking up.

Stories about the gods interacting amongst themselves and with clan cats of the past are often told by crafters and caretakers at festivals and to kits.