My next fic will be coming out within this month! So I'm going to start talking about it. Here's the Clans and the worldbuilding behind them!
G E N E R A L I N F O R M A T I O N:
The Clans believe that everything has a spirit. This means every blade of grass, every animal, every leaf. This, like a lot of the worldbuilding for these Clans, is based off of traditional Maori culture, as these are New Zealand Clans and I felt it was important include Maori traditions. Traditional Maori people believed that everything had a life force, or Mauri. The Clans believe that this spirit binds everything together, just as the Maori do.
The Clans believe that they were made from clay or dirt by the Gods. They were brought to their current home on rafts made of large hollow pieces of wood. It's believed that each Clan arrived on a different piece of wood. This is adapted from the Maori creation story in which humans were made of red ocre, and how Maori came to New Zealand on waka. (canoe-like boats)
The Clans believe in a kind of monster called The Dweller. The Dweller is said to be large lizard monsters that inhabit rivers, caves and waterways. There is debate over whether The Dweller is a predator or a protective guardian. RushClan view Dwellers as a guardian and as they live near the largest river and incorperate water into their culture, feel they are the closest to Dwellers. The other Clans have more conflicting beliefs and are likely to encounter The Dweller in dark caves and smaller rivers. Some claim to have witnessed a Dweller, others say they don't exist. Dwellers are based on Taniwha, a creature in Maori mythology.
The Clan cats greet another by touching noses in formal settings, like the Maori greeting, a hongi.
Clan cats believe certain things to be sacred and that each individual is filled with a power. Some cats and beings have more powerful essence than others, namely chiefs (leaders) and prophets (medicine cats.) It is said that essence is inherited in a way through family, meaning prophets and chiefs tend to stay in the family, though RimuClan does not partake this tradition. If this essence is expressed in a person or object, certain restrictions and dicaplins fall in place in order to preserve the sacredness. Disobeying results in punishment. Punishment has gotten less severe over time, thought it used to result in death. This is based off the Maori concepts of Mana and Tapu.
They believe in StarClan. As well as StarClan, they believe in four gods. These are The Mother (sky, moon and sun goddess) The Father, (forest, plants, living things god) The Healer, (healing, water and air god) and The Warrior. (seasons, mountains, earth goddess) These gods were all very loosely based off of Maori gods. I won't explain the whole Maori creation story but i'd recommend looking it up, it's interesting!
When cats die, their body is smeared with clay or dirt and a wreath of flowers are placed over their head. RushClan wrap their body in woven grass. The body is put in a curled up position. Cats related to the deceased would mark each other's faces by clawing a long, deep line under each eye. Then the body is buried or hidden in caves and collected later after decomposition. The prophet then collects the bones and are once again painted with clay or dirt. Then they're buried again.
R I M U C L A N
RimuClan are a militaristic Clan. They have battle songs. The Clan is split into Legion warriors, Secondary warriors and lesser warriors depending on fighting ability. Secondary warriors makes up the majority of the Clan. This is where average-good fighters are categorised in. Lesser warriors are the cats who are pretty shit at fighting. They aren't very respected in the Clan. Legion warriors are specialised fighters, exceptional warriors. They are highly respected in the Clan. When cats become warriors, they face a fighting test and are placed as either a secondary or lesser warrior. They must then later prove their skill and that the're worthy to become a legion warrior. Lesser warriors generally try to improve their skills to be placed as a secondary warrior.
A deputy must be a legion warrior.
RimuClan make a lot of rock drawings as an art form. They use sharp rocks usually. This is inspired by the Maori people.
B E E C H C L A N
BeechClan do not have fighters categorised in the same way RimuClan does, but they also split up their ranks. All warriors have a secondary rank - kit-sitting, gardening herbs, being a merchent or a trader, entertainment, and builders.
They have a form of currency using rocks! Having more rocks earns cats more privaleges in the Clan, like more prey, better shelter, fastest treatment. The use of currency is fairly new in the Clan.
I was considering not bringing this up for the purpose of including a hidden message or whatever but people don't know nz history so I'll just tell you all. If you remember the basic plot, RimuClan and BeechClan unify and merge Clans, and how this has a disasterous effect. You might notice how BeechClan are significantly different from RushClan and RimuClan. This is because they're actually supposed to represent the British settlers who came to New Zealand and colonised the place. It's supposed to show how Britain's imperialism was harmful to the indiginous cultures of the places they took over. This wasn't the original purpose of the book but I thought there was no way I could write something based on my country and the Maori people without acknowledging what the European settlers did. I'm Pakeha, a new zealand european. They original settlers are not my ancestors, but I profit off of the world they left behind.
R U S H C L A N
RushClan have a rank known as "The Protecters." This is usually a small group of cats, two to five, who are regarded to be as high ranking as the leader and the prophet. This is usually passed down through families. The Protecters serve their Clan by protecting them - if a clanmate is in danger, they're expected to step in and save them, even if they have to sacrifice themselves. They're sort of a good luck symbol as well - said to protect against natural disasters and problems. Obviously they cannot do that and if a Clan encounters really bad times, the Protector role is given to another family. I'm not sure how they're chosen yet. Probably through an omen.
The Clan is split into "teams" of six. Cats are sorted into teams and they're expected to look out for each other and view each other as family.
They do a lot of weaving, as flax weaving and such was a big part of Maori culture. This is a job usually reserved for the she-cats and is used for tools.
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That's all I've got for now. I don't really need to add anything else to it :)
