Guide to the Flock-- RE Festivals and Celebrations

[mindsend]

Guide to the flock
Festivals and Celebrations

 

[mindsend]

Festival Harvest's Victory
First weekend of every season

For the whole weekend, there will be no hunting and no foraging although the guards will have to resume their patrol as per normal due to security issues. During the day, they will eat and have fun in the day. When night comes, they will set up a bonfire in the middle of their territory and everyone will dance around it late into the night. Although males are not allowed to join in uninvited, if a female is kind enough, they will invite a male to dance with her - of course, dance badly and you might get Snubbed any ladies watching!  

[mindsend]

Dance Festival
Tenth day of Spring

As if dancing during festivals is not enough, Harpies also dedicated a day just for dancing. However, it is not so much a festival as a competition. The Queen will be the only judge and just on that day, on the dance floor, every sister is equal no matter the rank. The winner will receive a crown of flowers made by the Queen herself.  

[mindsend]

All Hallow's Eve
Last day of Autumn

Despite their long lifespans, like all living things, sisters of the Flock will one day join the Great Spirit - some might have died a natural death while others might have died out on the field. Either way, All Hallow's Eve is a day whereby sisters remember and pay their respects to their fallen comrades. For the whole day, no meat is to be consumed by anyone in the Flock. However, for the female children of the Flock, this day is when they dress up in whatever materials they manage to get their claws/hoofs on and go trick or treating with their mother or nanny by going nest to nest. Take note though - not all Harpies appreciate being disturbed at night! Only nests with fruits hanging from should be approached!  

[mindsend]

Jubilee Call
Last day of Winter

This day was rumored to be the day the Angeni left her children, the first Harpies, and went back to her heavenly home. Everyone would gather together in a clearing outside of their territory as the sun is setting and set up a bonfire. By the time the moon appears in the sky, the bonfire would be done and dancing would commence. Harpies are encouraged to sing their thanks to the Great Mother for a good year.  

[mindsend]

Guilder's Fair Market
Last weekend of every Season

While basic necessities are available, for free, year round, anyone willing to go to the various guild locations to purchase things are able to buy things at any time of the year, the Guilder's Market is when it is all gathered into one centralized location at the end of each month. It is hosted on the southern edge of the Sacred Maiden territories, a Traditional Secondary zone for better behaved unclaimed stallions.

Instead of the simple blankets spread out in the Safe Zone's artisan trading post, Each group with a shared type of product have a tent specializing in that Food, Accessory,instrument, Preserves, beverages, or sampling the various specialty foods.

The Brewer's guild, Artisan guild, and Farmers Guild Get together to trade with one another, and to trade for materials, favors, or Bells (a currency introduced by one of the founding members of the guild and grown to be a popular way of showing a form of "wealth" to decorate themselves to show their skill.). The Traditionally female but now slightly more unisex but still female dominated Performance guilds, also show up to show their latest moves or newest songs.

It is one of the few times where males and females are fully on equal terms, and the only thing that matters is skill. Frequently, a Female member of the guild (or a Familiar member) Will do the bartering however, to keep the males from feeling they need to accept whatever is offered.

Many artisans will Dress up in some of their finest work to show off their skills in hopes of drawing future commissions. Farmers will often wear perfumes and wear things symbolizing their specialties. A Farmer who specializes in growing flowers for dyes would dress in flowers and dyed silks, a rancher would wear fine leathers and furs from animals they raised, and a chef would often smell of spices and have blankets that have food designs woven into them, Brewers would use bottles as bells, and so on.

Each one would have a Specially marked and colored Strip of fabric (akin to the Whistler stallions, but different colors and designs) they'd wear showing their guild affiliation and what specialty they have to help separate them from those who simply couldn't wait to try on their new wares.

Whistlers Who have their own tents will often try to find mares (or stallions depending on their taste) to sample their own "wares" in the privacy of their own tent on the outskirts of the fair.

 

[mindsend]

Adulthood Ceremony and Celebration of becoming an Adult

Before the Ceremony

As most of you know, Foals spend one year in a mixed gendered classes before, at the end of the season of their first birthday, Foals are split by gender for separate learning.

Females stay together for their entire training for the full Year and a half after that and Fillies who have special gifts (Such as those who have shown they have the makings Oracle Acolytes, or those who's Mother wishes to continue her own education) getting additional training at the end of the day after the rest have headed home.

Males however spend half the day getting unified training, then those who wish to learn a skill will often be able to apprentice under a mare (or a qualified and approved male with a female at his side) to learn such skills, while the males that don't wish to are given a broad sample of examples they could do or allowed to just play.

However, for the last half of their third year, or sooner if they start "noticing" the opposite sex (or even same sex) in New, more adult ways, All of them get taken to the northern edge of the Sacred Mother territories: Females in the Eastern Camp and Males in the Western Camp, to spend the first part of their day getting a new type of education, And then some minor Skill focus for the rest of the day, and then return to their camp under the Sacred Maiden's watch to prevent them from wandering off with their new hormonal urges.

This is when they get the more Adult part of their education, about what is happening to their body, what they're starting to feel, what they know of the reproductive process, why they should only be 'active' with flock approved members, teaching the importance of Consent,. They'll often meet individuals who are a season before them and then some the season below them, so they can see the rapid changes happening as they leave foal hood and begin to enter foal hood.

As the foals of their season reach adulthood at the end of the year, those who are lagging behind physically will remain behind to finish developing, but those who have finished their education and are now fully Physically developed move into the Adulthood Ceremony.

Adulthood Ceremony

Regardless of gender, this is a proud moment for the mothers of the children, and they will often go to the ceremony, frequently headed by The Oracle, The Voice of the Oracle, or The Sacred Mother who acted as their main teacher. On rare occasions, the Queen will proceed over the female ceremony.

Adulthood Ceremony: Mares
The Mares adulthood ceremony begins in the Eastern Camp with the Rising sun. After a speech from the head of the ceremony, they will call the individual mares forward and take a charm from them (either a feather, a lock of hair, or if lacking either, a symbolic charm given earlier) to be taken by the priestesses and put in their vault of protection,to help bless and protect the child now as an adult rather than a child. They are then given ceremonial arm wings in the simple, traditional style, with White feathers -- later they may have the feathers dyed and painted to match their own hair or feathers, or get fancier customized feather bracelets.

Adulthood Ceremony: Stallions
The stallions adulthood ceremony begins in the Western Camp with the Setting of the Sun by the light of a small bondfire and torches. After a speech from the head of the ceremony, they will call the individual Stallions forward and take a charm from them (either a feather, a lock of hair, or if lacking either, a symbolic charm given earlier) to be taken by the priestesses and put in their vault of protection,to help bless and protect the child now as an adult rather than a child. Those with wings are then also taken to the side to get their adult piercings if bat winged, rubbings if flutter winged, and feather clippings if feather wings, an additional rite of adulthood, as a symbol that they will not wander from the flock.

Adulthood Ceremony: Cases of Gender Queer individuals

As sexuality, sex, and gender are taught to them, often times a Colt or Filly may discover that they are Otherspirited (Their gender not matching their biological sex).


These individuals end up going through their own ceremony combining at noon the day after the other two ceremonies the two genders ceremonies, and would be allowed to join the Celebration of the gender they feel would better suit their sexuality, and be assigned a "Guardian": They are paired up with a Mare to keep them from getting mis-gendered from their sex. Often times, in the event of a Female that was designated as a Colt as childhood, they'll get paired with a Male that was designated as a filly as the Males guardian, to prevent the DCAB Mare from being constantly called out for being without a guard.While Gender fluid individuals need a guardian who is female in sex and gender so when they suddenly feel as a different gender, they don't have to seek one out.

They spend the next three days together with their new partner to make sure they mesh before going to a ceremony.

All members of this section are strongly suggested to stay with the sacred maidens after the Celebration, and to think about becoming an acolyte, since their Gender not matching their body means, in flock terms, they are more attuned to spirits. However, they are welcome to simply go to their preferred, gender neutral profession

Celebration of Adulthood

For Mares
After a Feast and party till noon, they are then taken into a special, large tent specifically set up for it, introduced to Whistler stallions (and some Sacred Daughters for those who prefer the company of mares) , to talk with as well as, if they choose, take to the smaller surrounding tents for privacy to make sure their first time is pleasurable. They can also just spend time together, enjoy their first moments of adulthood. The celebration continues for a week.


For Stallions

After a Feast and party till Midnight, they are then taken into a special, large tent specifically set up for it, introduced to Sacred Daughters (And some Whistler Stallions for those who prefer the company of stallions), to talk with as well as, if they choose, take to the smaller surrounding tents for privacy to make sure their first time is pleasurable and how to please others. They can also spend time together for one last time, often times setting up betting pools of which stallion gets scooped up by a mare first or what they're hoping to do now. The celebration continues for a week.

For Gender Queer
They have the option to join into their own gender's Celebration late (if they are transgendered) or join the one that matches their sexuality best, or simply join a smaller one in one of the caves with with the sacred mothers, the Whistlers, and the Sacred Daughters. When the Male and female ceremonies end, the ones that joined them can opt to continue the celebration with the other Gender queer members of their season, or opt to end it early and join society.

AFTER

After the Celebration is over, the Mares (And Stallions who's mothers raised them) Are greeted by their mother and, if the mother wishes, their sire. either in the morning (mares) Or Afternoon (Stallion) And any younger siblings they may have.

For Mares
In one last bit of Ceremony, The mother Greets her Daughters as her "Sister", welcoming them to being her Equal. If they have brothers, they will join her to meet their brother and help send him off to adulthood.

Otherwise, she will take them out on their first official hunt outside of flock territory the next day.

A Week after they return from a successful hunt with their mother, they report back to the teacher who taught them how to capture stallions in their third year, and get assigned to a border guard, who then takes them out to search for an outsider stallion to capture and bring back to the Sacred Mothers. They can be assigned to groups, to a small team, or one on one, depending on the young adult mares personalities.

For Stallions
If their mother (And father/a representing Whistler stallion and sisters if they were included) greets them, they are greeted warmly and proudly, and escorted by her to the Safe Zone, often in the most convoluted way to reach it, introducing him to every mare she'd like to pick him.

Once they arrive at the safe zone, the father or Whistler Stand in will remain with him to introduce him to other all the other stallions. If he was not raised by his mother, he is instead greeted by a sacred mother and a Whistler stallion, who fill the roles of mother and father for him.

Once they are introduced to at least every flockborn or flock loyal stallion, they are then encouraged to socialize with outsider stallions with their father/father stand in in hopes of helping the outsiders relax. There are a bunch of classes they can take if they have a field in particular they wish to go to too, such as courtship dancing lessons, apprenticeship with artisans, training to be a guard or Dueling stallion etc.

For Gender Queer
As their celebration ends a little later if they choose, they and their guardian are escorted by the same as the males and females, Also a sacred mother, who introduces the parents to their child with their proper pronoun and title, and then taken to spend more time with the priestesses, whistlers, and sacred mothers to introduce them to that life to try, one more time, to entice them into it.  

[mindsend]

Smaller Celebrations

Birthdays
The importance of Birthdays, as with Humans, Familiars, and Most other Soquili, differ depending on the individual harpy. However, in the flock Culture as a whole, it's taken as a celebrtion!

Even the most Grumpy Harpy does at least celebrate their Birthday, since the entire flock finds out and they don't really get the option not to. At the beginning of Each moon, there is an announcement of every birthday that Month and the Dates of each one, brought throughout the territory by messangers along with other important announcements. The day before and the day of, it is announced for the individuals who have birthdays that day, including that of Flock born males, and on occasion the "entry" day for Males who are born as outsiders but have Proven Loyal to the flock to be accepted as honorary Harpy Males.

Friends, family, and those they work with specifically will give them Simple Gifts (Such as accessories, Blankets for their nest, nest decorations, materials to use as desired, One of their own feathers, promises of favors etc) when they meet them, and will actively seek them out to do so. Singing of traditional songs is common.

At the end of the day, they are then summoned to the Quarters of the Sacred Mothers, who keep track of every birth within the flock, and they are welcomed to take a Week feasting others who's birthday it is with and being pampered, by Whistlers, though they can politely deline if uninterested or too busy to really do so. Claimed stallions bring their Mistress and one guest of their choice, while Unclaimed stallions and any Mare can bring two guests to share this luxury. If they decline the offer, they can send three they feel are worthy to take their place.

In addition, They will receive a charm from The priestesses to insure them additional protections for the next year. Frequently, for males, this means they get a lock of hair cut or a feather trimmed as if they were reentering adulthood or being reclaimed for the flock, the sacred mother's making a charm out of it and keeping it themselves to keep safe.

Frequently the mare (or unclaimed stallion) will return from her vacation to find a small gifts from hopeful suitors, friends who missed them the first day and so on. Unclaimed stallions, as they tend to not have permanent nests as they sleep in communal areas,usually are given a basket or two with any gifts they had received while away..

As Basketmates tend to share a birthday (Even if they don't share a Popping date) it can be a serious affair, since each one can bring two different flock members with them. Some choose to organize ahead of time to bring their mother (and sire if they and their mother are on good terms with them) and help bring together guests they all agree on. Often times however they celebrate Their day as THEIR Day, bringing some friends for the party-week and doing a more smaller, more private celebration with their family members on Popping day (or, if they were later in term living or were brought in as an outsider stallion/adopted, they'll choose another day such as their adulthood ceremony anniversary or their ACTUAL birthday instead of their flock-initiation date).




Basket Popping

In most situations, The "Basket Popping" is a small private affair, the mother with her baskets helping them out. Often times, it's treated as a small second-birthday in anniversary. Since Baskets can Pop at the same time or even on completely different dates from their fellow basketmates, the Popping day Anniversary party can be shared with their siblings or be spread out over a week.

The day of the popping however, usually either The Oracle, The voice of the oracle, or a Seer is called upon to bless the area and tell the foals fortune.




Funerals
What happens shortly after a Flock member dies

Wake

Funeral

Memorial

Time following after.