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 Posted: Sun Apr 15, 2012 8:02 pm
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Posted: Sun Apr 15, 2012 8:03 pm
Religion
The Great Lion
The Mwezi'Johari pride is guided and protected by a deity known as the Great Lion and acknowledge no other god, even those that might have physical form and interact with them. His watchful gaze is seen as the glowing moon, high in the sky over the pride at night. As the moon cycles through its phases, the Great Lion closes his eyes and rests.
Under a full moon, the Great Lion is most watchful and the pride is most protected and happy. It is a popular night for celebrations, particularly weddings and ceremonies welcoming adolescents into adulthood. Lions born in these times are favored by the Great Lion, who blesses and watches over them from birth. Under a new moon, the Great Lion is asleep, leaving the pride to themselves. It is when the pride is least active, choosing to stay safe at home more often than go about the lands as they please. There is only one ceremony held on these nights and it serves to maintain the spirituality and safety of the pride while the Great Lion rests. Lions born in these times are ignored by the Great Lion, unable to gain his blessing at birth.
The blessing of the Great Lion is never questioned: Offending the Great Lion puts the pride at great risk, there is some tolerance for doubt and questioning in unfortunate circumstances but overall it can be dangerous to doubt. This is one of the few circumstances that can result in eviction from the pride, even those in the High Class.
Religion and Daily Life
Every aspect of the day-to-day life of the Mwezi'Johari is in some way connected to their beliefs and their dedication to the Great Lion.
The spirituality of the pride as a whole is maintained by everybody, guided by their belief and their interactions with each other. Each member is expected to show proper respect to the Great Lion, the pride and all members that are of a higher class. When it comes to members of lower classes, it is implicit that all members have some value as a part of the pride as whole, sharing in the spirit and protection of the Great Lion. In general, poor treatment of lower classes when being shown respect or for no reason at all is frowned upon. In rare, extreme cases, lions may be reprimanded for unfair treatment of those below them.
The only lions in the pride not expected to actively contribute are members of the high class, who may choose to take advantage of their rank and allow others to care for them while tending to more personal social causes. As favorites of the Great Lion, it is hard for anybody to argue with their decision not to work.
For information on special occasions, see the Traditions post.
Stars and the Afterlife
When a Mwezi'Johari lion dies, he is allowed to join the Great Lion in the night sky and become a star. This is a certainty for any devout pride member except for members of the low class, who must work for that honor. This is part of the motivation for slaves to happily engage with the rest of the pride, hoping to gain favor from the higher classed lions and earn themselves a place in the sky when they pass on.
Typically, funerals are run by the Host Priestess and held within a few nights of the death, where family and friends may say goodbye and ask the Great Lion to welcome their loved-one to the sky when he awakes.
Other Celestial Bodies
Shooting Stars - Considered a sign of good luck, especially following the departure or death of a friend or family member. They take on no greater significance.
The Sun - Despite being the celestial body opposing the moon, hiding the Great Lion's eye during the day, the sun is treated primarily with indifference from a religious standpoint. The physical, observable benefits of the sun, coupled with its nightly retreat that allows the Great Lion's return, allow it to be considered a minor inconvenience at worst on a spiritual level.
Other Deities
No other gods are acknowledged by the Mwezi'Johari, even those who might physically approach them. Similarly, no existing god corresponds to the Great Lion, even the God of the Moon. They are all considered lesser than the Great Lion and it is considered dangerous to give them too much respect or consideration. They are never openly discussed by the pride and anybody with divine blood keeps it to themselves.
Seers are not fully understood by the pride, they are given no special attention or purpose.
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Posted: Sun Apr 15, 2012 8:04 pm
TraditionsOfficial Welcome
Birth - Overseen by a Midwife
The birth of cubs is generally a happy occasion. When a pregnant lioness nears the time to give birth, she is expected to remain near the central lands where she will have quick access to a midwife when the time comes. All births are overseen by a midwife, who acts as a reliable witness to the event so there is no doubt of what class the cubs enter. The midwife also calls the attention of the Great Lion to the new members of the pride. Her efforts may vary from a roar on nights of a small moon to a hum on nights of a large moon.
If cubs are born without a reliable witness, they are treated as middle class members until they reach adolescence when they may be initiated in the same manner as rogues. When this happens, cubs of the same litter are not always the same rank. The common explanation is that when they are initiated in this way, they undergo a second birth. Their time in the pride before this takes place is seen as an opportunity to gain favor with the Great Lion in their own way.
Intentionally birthing cubs in the absence of a midwife is taken very seriously. While it sounds nice that cubs may have the opportunity to create their own favor, it is considered a very poor start when their parents make them part of actively ignoring the Great Lion's traditions.
Coming of Age - Overseen by the Host
While growing up, cubs are generally all treated the same. High class cubs may be given more freedom and low class cubs may be given stricter rules, but overall they are all taught about the ways of the pride in the same way and it is not until they are adolescent that they are expected to take their proper place in the pride. When this time comes, a ceremony is held to officially welcome them into their class and into adulthood.
The ceremony is held on the night of a full moon, extending an invitation to the Great Lion as well as the pride. The Host gives a speech, welcoming the adolescent(s) into their class and officially introducing them to the pride. They then declare their new rank before being welcomed into adulthood. This public decision is seen as a sign of acceptance of an adolescent's place in the pride and this is even more true for those of the low class, who must name themselves as slave even though they have no other options.
Formal introductions to the King, Queen, Shaman, Priests and Heads are done and then the adolescents are allowed to mingle as the party continues. All members of the class the adolescents enter are expected to introduce themselves and welcome their new class-mates.
Low class parties tend to be subdued and short, with attendance by other classes at a minimum.
Rogue Initiation - Overseen by the Shaman, Nurse and Host
Once a rogue has been accepted into the pride, they wait until the next full moon to undergo initiation. A special preparation of moon flower is administered by the Shaman, putting the rogue to sleep until they are called back to consciousness by the Great Lion. Sleepers are watched by the Nurse, who knows how to deal with any rare complications that may arise and assures there is food readily available when they awake.
When a rogue awakes, they undergo a welcoming ceremony similar to a Coming of Age ceremony where they are introduced to important figures, declare a rank and meet the rest of their class. This is not necessarily held on the night of a full moon, happening instead at a time deemed safe and convenient.
This ceremony is seen as the rebirth of a rogue as a Mwezi'Johari pride member.
Marriage
When a couple decides to marry, they take the class of the female partner. She, as bearer of cubs, is considered the heart of the family and so it is her class that carries over to her partner.
Before their union can be made official, they must first get the blessing of the King and Queen. The rulers deny requests only in extremely suspicious circumstances, allowing the majority of the pride to make these decisions and mistakes for themselves. With their approval, a wedding is planned for the next full moon.
When the full moon is high, the ceremony begins. It is overseen by the Shaman but it is led by the host, who greets the guests and the couple and invites the Great Lion, asking for his blessing. The Host continues in a speech explaining the benefits and consequences of the ceremony taking place and the couple must verbally agree to the marriage, the first words spoken by either during the ceremony. With their consent, they are reintroduced the pride and the Great Lion together and the celebrations begin.
The types of celebration vary depending on the preferences of the group, though there is often much storytelling and well-wishing.
Attendance is only mandatory for the King, Queen, Shaman and Priests but it is typical for the majority of the pride to attend. Slave weddings tend to be the smallest, though the entire low class typically attends to show their support.
Separation
When a couple decides they would like to dissolve their marriage, they must go to the Monarch and justify their decision. The Monarch and the Shaman discuss the situation and may ask further questions before deciding if it is most appropriate for the male partner to keep his rank or return to his old one. All decisions are entirely case-by-case and no lion can simply dissolve a marriage and decide he'll just go back to what he was before.
In the case of death, no rank changes are discussed. A surviving male partner keeps the rank assigned to him through marriage, though it may change again by re-marrying.
If you have a couple that would like to separate from their mate, please PM Ecavi.
Funerals
Funerals are carried out the night of or immediately following death. It is a ceremony led by the Host and acts as a final goodbye to a friend as they are welcomed into the night sky. The phase of the moon does not matter for this ceremony, if the Great Lion is sleeping the pride knows their friend will be waiting to greet him when he wakes.
There is no extended mourning period except when important figures pass away.
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Posted: Sun Apr 15, 2012 8:05 pm
Life in the Mwezi'Johari
Pregnancy & Birth
Pregnancy is a big deal within the Mwezi'Johari, mainly because it is so important that a Midwife be present when the cubs are born. A lioness is expected to make her pregnancy known to the midwives well in advance, though she may be approached if she becomes noticeably pregnant without a word. The Midwives, with plenty of time on their paws between births, are always on the lookout for pregnant mothers and so all pregnancies are discovered eventually.
The birth of the cubs is generally a happy occasion, though the timing may be quite distressing. When an expectant mother nears her time, she stays nearer the dens so that a midwife may quickly be called to her aid when the cubs arrive. It is the midwife's job is to support the birthing mother and call out for the attention of the Great Lion. Methods vary between midwives and generations though the birth is usually followed by song, from a roar on the nights where the moon is small to a hum when the moon is large.
The midwife is expected to be an unbiased and truthful observer of the birth, reporting back to the pride on the status of the new members. Without the presence of a midwife, cubs bear the same status as any rogue wishing to join the pride and wait until adolescence when they may be initiated and welcomed into the pride properly.
For class and rank information, see the Ranks post.
Daily Life
Because of the pride's dedication to the moon, it is not uncommon for many pride members to stay awake through at least part of the night. While they are not primarily nocturnal, neither are they primarily diurnal. The most active time of day within the pride is at dusk and dawn, where the Great Lion may be greeted or bid farewell. It is when the pride members who choose the night meet with those who choose the day.
Hunts are organized both during the day and the night as necessary and there are always guards on duty, regardless of the time. Ceremonies are always held at night and under a full moon. The one exception is the ceremony associated with the night of the new moon, when the pride is entirely without the Great Lion.
New Members
The conversion of rogues into full members of the Mwezi'Johari is not taken lightly. To join, a rogue must understand the seriousness of the commitment they are making. If they cannot accept the Great Lion, they are not welcome to stay. The main way of testing their faith is their acknowledgment and acceptance of the fact that, should the Great Lion ignore them, they would become slaves and so not be allowed to leave the pride.
Any lion who accepts this undergoes a ceremonial rebirth, performed by the Shaman on the night of the full moon. The leaves of a special plant which blossoms under the moon, giving it a common name of moon flower, are consumed by the new member and induces a sleep that lasts for two weeks unless the Great Lion calls them back to consciousness.
New members are watched over by the Nurse Priest during their sleep to make sure nothing goes wrong. She is joined by a specially appointed guard, the Rogue Guard, when the new moon approaches to make sure newly initiated slaves do not cause any trouble.
This process is considered safe for adolescent and adult lions. Any rogues who join as cubs are taught and treated as members of the middle class, prepared for any possibility, until they are old enough to be properly initiated. This is also one reason no non-lions are accepted, the effects of the moon flower on other species are unknown. The second reason is that their deity is a lion. They have no problems with non-lions or hybrids but they are simply not welcome as members of the pride.
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