[OOC] General information - Start here! *STICKY*

[Usafi Tukufu]

Just the info thread, but please make sure you read everything smile As more people come in, we'll add onto the traditions and cerimonies and possibly the ranks heart  

[Usafi Tukufu]

The Usafi'tukufu are settled somewhere deep in the Congo jungle(How deep is something of question.. As the map's not big enough right now xd ; ), in a long-abandoned human temple. Current history has lost most knowledge of what it was for, not that the current leopards particularly care.

The temple itself is a maze of passages, rooms, even a few water pools. It's an ideal place for a cat to laze around, or a cub to run exploring. By the time many reach juvenilehood, they know their way around like the back of their paw. Newcomers are warned to stick to the side of a native so as to not get lost for days.

Jungle surrounds the temple, as well as mountains and rivers. The most prominant river, seen to the west from one of the higher mountains(Even through the thick jungle foliage... If one can find a clear spot, or climbs), is the Congo River itself. Leopards are wary, though, to get too close to the river. Hippopotomae lurk under the surface, ready to attack anything that gets too close to their calves or territory. Relations with the gorillas, though, are far better.

Weather

The weather in the Usafi'tukufu lands is unpredictable. Being in a tropical rainforest, it rains quite often, sometimes almost daily. There are days with no rain, and there are days where all it does is rain, but it is always hot and humid.  

[Usafi Tukufu]

The true history of the colony has long been warped or lost, changed as it passed from mouth to ear down the many long generations and dynasties. What has remained consistent is thus.

Once long ago, leopards and lions and cheetahs existed semi-peacefully. The odd scuffle would rise with the presence of a kill, but not much more. It came to be, at some undetermined point, that leopards were adept in the jungles, while lions and cheetahs were confined to just the plains. As such, a group soon formed in the jungles of the Congo. When humans built a temple, the leopards watched. It seemed strange, this collection of stones.
Then they began to capture leopard cubs, raising them in their temple. This continued for some generations, until the leopards of the wild converged with those of the temple and drove the humans out. It was then that the wild discovered that the temple was filled with statues of strange bipedal leopards. Mesmerized, the wild leopards and the formerly tame leopards banded together, claiming the temple as their own and forming the Hekalu Colony.

That was some centuries ago. The colony changed with time, becoming almost xenophobic in their deep-jungle temple. Over that time, many 'dynasties' of ruling families rose and fell, with each family bringing some different tradition.

In recent history, Lakshmana, a general of the prior chief's army, has taken control of the colony. After staging a coup on the chief, he imposed a new belief in the colony - Leopards are supreme. As such, he put forth a new name for the colony - The Usafi'tukufu, or Supreme Purity. Years of campaigns into the plains have shown him that plains leopards are willing to breed with lions and cheetahs freely. Because of this, he began to consider them weak, and did his best to shelter the colony from it. Imposing the idea of purity being the only way, he's refused all counsel as the prior chief had, and refuses any trial for any leopard accused of mixing blood.
But as always, change was in the air. Rajani'rukmini, Lakshmana's mate, made sure their children grew up with an open mind. This would later create Lakshmana's downfall as chief.
The oldest son, Kamawi, was too soft for Lakshmana's liking. The only daughter, Sayen, was just that - Their only daughter. Like any father, he wished to protect her, and this included denying her the throne for fear that she would be usurped and killed. She WAS still his baby girl, after all.
This only left the middle child, Mkorogo. Rebelious and having a nasty streak of his own, Lakshmana found twisted pleasure in forcing his son to fight. This continued for a while, until Mkorogo was an adolescent. He then did the unthinkable - Mkorogo, in a fit of anger, killed a cub of the colony. Filled with shame at what he'd done, he fled, leaving his mother grief-stricken and his father more than displeased.

Years passed in relative calm for the colony. Devestation soon hit, though. The lands were shaken up, quite literally, when an earthquake rattled much of the land. What leopards didn't die in the quake succumbed to illness, rendered to their very bellies by a long-dormant disease, released from the catacombs it was locked in by the earthquake.
Of those left alive, many fled.

With the colony in its bleakest times, it eventually reached Lakshmana's ears. Mkorogo was alive out there, but he was further disgracing the colony. He was with a lion. In a blind rage, Lakshmana left to find and either beat sense into or kill his son. Worried for the same son, Rajani followed, her other two children following behind her. With the chief-by-coup gone, it didn't take long for Uduak's daughter, Fumananya, to take the throne. Thought Nava, a newcomer with intimate knowledge of humans, holds the title of consort, he is not her mate but Sayen's. What will come of him remaining with the title is yet to be seen. It is a sign of hope that at least Sayen will return to take the throne next to Fu as the first pair of friends to co-rule in over thirty generations.  

[Usafi Tukufu]

There aren't too grandly many ranks amid the Usafi'tukufu

Chief - A rather unisex title, there can be as many as two chiefs - This is usually a sibling-held joint title, if it's jointly held. Now and then, it can be shared by cousins or even very close friends.

Consort - The mate of the chief

Heir/ess - The next leopard chosen to lead the colony after the current chief; Now and then, the hier/ess isn't even of any relation to the chief or his/her consort

Prince/Princess - The other children of the chief(s)

Priest/ess - The title of any adolescent or adult seer in the colony

Accolyte - The title of any cub/juvenile seer in the colony

General - The leopard all guards and warriors answer to

Guard - Another unisex title; Any leopard who wishes to guard the colony from intruders; They are the first to meet any outsiders coming in.

Warrior/ess - Leopards who wish to fight for the colony in the army; In times of war, adolescents are defaulted to this status in hopes of keeping the colony safe

Mist Walker - The silent eyes of the colony, the Mist Walkers are Leopards especially talented at fading into the jungle mists, often performing tasks related to reconnaissance and deception. They report directly to the Chief(s) and Consort(s).

Hunter/ess - Default title of all adolescent/adult leopards

Youth - Default title of all cubs/juveniles

There are no nannies, as it is considered the responsibility of the parents to raise the children right, with their own views being the major contribution to those of the offspring.  

[Usafi Tukufu]

The Usafi'tukufu have only a few traditions and ceremonies, and don't worship any particular god or goddess.

Ceremonies

Appointment of the Chief - A ceremony not held that often, the name is self-explanitory; A leopard doesn't necissarily have to post in a thread for the ceremony if they're not directly participating, it can simply be presumed that they're present. Leopards who are ill, injured, too old and weak, too young, or otherwise having young are exhempt from having to attend.

Birth/Cubs - The birth of even one pure leopard cub is a celebrated thing, and all cubs are cherished by the colony. The cubs aren't named until their eyes open and they're presented before the chief, but they may be refered to by pet names by family; Only family, especially emediate(Parents, older sibblings, aunts, uncles, and grandparents), are permissible near the cubs, simply out of old tradition. Orphan cubs found near the border, or orphaned as a result of war, famine, plague, or otherwise, are given a foster family to grow up with the litter of.

Courtship - Typically, when a male leopard shows interest in a female, he climbs up the highest mountain near the temple to retrieve a flower that only grows on a cliff there. Bringing the flower back to his love interest shows he is serious about his persuit. If they're still adolescents, though, he must still go through her father and any older brothers; The flower's retrieval, though, still remains the hardest task.

Death - As they tend to not want to think about death, leopards in the colony extract themselves from the rest when they know their time is near. Where they go is up to them, as no leopard has yet died in the same place as another.


Traditions

Hybrids - Hybrids are not only frowned upon, but any, especially those spawned from a leoapard, are killed emediately. Any leopards who have spawned them are, too, killed. The only instances of forgiveness are either if the leopardess were forced by a lion or cheetah, or if the leopard parent denounces their other-species mate and children for a leopard mate and children. In the case of the former of the two, it will be the colony's ultimate decision, as a whole, what will happen to the cubs, if the leopard is the mother. This will be a colony-wide decision, with the only ones NOT voicing their opinion of the fate of the cub(s) being the Chief(s), Consort(s), Heir(s), and the leopard parent of the hybrid cubs. If the colony votes in favor of the cub(s) living, then they vote on when to turn the cub(s) out of the colony to fend on their own.

Humans - When any human wanders into their part of the jungle, every leopard is expected to hide. Only the guards are to show themselves, to let the humans know they're there... But nothing more. Only when they leave does everyone relax and come out, as nobody wants their cub to end up as the newcomer, Nava, described - Living in a cave called a cage, with no way out.

Gorillas - A mixed relationship is had with the local gorillas. There are leopards they cannot stand, and gorillas the leopards cannot stand, but there are those that have created a wary truce generations ago, and those that uphold it. They have land between their respective territories that is considered shared territory, where no leopard may kill a gorilla or vice versa. Entering one another's domains, though, is something one does with great caution; The only time gorillas or leopards will go into the other's land with permission is to discuss diplomatic matters.

Jungle elephants - Stupid is the leopard who crosses an elephant, and deserving are they of any a**-beating they get from it. Elephants are respected by the pride, regardless of the jungle herds being of smaller stature than their Plains cousins. It's often best considered wiser to stay away, and if they pop up, get OUT of the way.