08-05-2009, 05:32 PM
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All members are encouraged to participate. Please follow the general posting order, please. Read this information on the ceremony (scroll a little) prior to posting. This thread is the seventh day of the ceremony, and thus the final day. Choose a food your character will sacrifice. I'm skipping the round where everyone just arrive, it just takes up time, it's more fun to get to the point  Roleplay as if your characters were already there. You do not have to match this post's length.It was daylight now, and behind the male was a small pile of ripe corn from their fields, along with a much larger pile of fish and meats from the recent pack hunt. The outcome of the crops hadn't been everything he'd hoped for, but it could be excused with having had a hard time getting started, and new and unknown fields to sow in. Besides, it seemed to be a long time ago since the areas had been used for growing anything but grass, and he didn't expect a fantastic outcome at first attempt. It was enough, what they had, but if the tribe continued to grow like now they would have a problem by next autumn. Then again these things were only to supply some variation, as meat was never challenged as their main dish. But when prey was scarce it was nice to have something at all to chew on, especially in the long winter nights. The spiritual fire roared beside him, complementing the warm hues of his own pelt. Even in daylight he seemed as if alight with flames when he stood by the large circle of heat, and no wonder: the thing stuck more than just a few feet into the air, and the flames even higher. It was a proper bonfire. There was a reason why it was named as it was. He wore his leather suit and his mane was decorated with colorful feathers - he was a sight in itself. The paved stone beneath his feet made up the sacred ground, and he waited for the members to gather there. He'd spoken to them and prepared them for what was to come, not forgetting that many were still new to the concepts he introduced. Smiling he watched them arrive one by one, and when they had all come to give sacrifice and gratitude to their sources of food, he finally spoke, choosing to reveal the news of Ember's nudge in rank before the ceremony itself was started. "Hello AniWayans! Thank you all for coming. Before we begin I would like to reveal news to you. Ayegali has chosen me to take her place as Chief, and Ember has risen to take my place as sub-leader. She has proven to be a valuable addition to our ranks from the second we formed our meager settlement, and I am certain she will continue to be just that." Pausing, Dawali looked at Ember and smiled, also giving their members some time to take in this and perhaps comment if they would like to do so. He was proud to have the female as his right hand, and he hoped she saw what it meant to him both professionally and personally. Looking again to the rest of the members, he continued: "Now, we have each sacrificed one food for six days, and the harvest is ripe and edible. Let's give our sacrifices to the ceremonial fire as a symbol of our gratitude." Walking towards the fire to exemplify, he threw a small package on the fire. It contained no food, but tobacco, because the Kalona's fasting was not finished on the seventh day. He would not eat the kind of fish he'd sacrificed for this ceremony until several days later, but the members of his tribe understood his gesture nonetheless. As the male stepped away from the fire and breathed in the scent of tobacco - one of their holier of plants - he watched his members do the same gesture. Within the sun's setting tonight they would all have their tummies filled by the luxurious foods behind him, and they had deserved it, too. |