Ritual Process

Marriage ritual in Takanir culture is extremely precious because of their extraordinary emphasis on relationship.  Marriage means taking on the animal dignitary of your husband as a wife, or as a husband extending your personal dignitary to your wife.  Believing that the Zebra god has graced his people with the possibility of unity, the entire village (and often surrounding Takanir villages) joins in the marriage ritual. Marriage is not arranged and individuals are free to choose or decline, man or woman. Anyone, so long as they are sixteen years of age can initiate the desire for a marriage by asking the individual with their entire family present. The age sixteen is considered the age of a truly adult man or woman in Takanir culture. An individual does not need familial approval to partake in a marriage, but it is considered respectful to asked in the presence of your loved ones. The ritual for a marriage celebration lasts seven days. Its purpose is to create a social understanding of marriage in combination of a religious understanding of marriage. The first day, the entire village partakes in acquiring food for the celebrations that will ensue in the following days. Beer is prepared as well, for later use within the week. The second day is when the decorating occurs as well as the continuation of the gathering of food and the beer production. The entire village is filled with flowers, and the common space (often used for meetings and social activities and the like) is decorated. All of the wooden benches in the common space are adorned with flowers and greenery, and every door of every hut is expected to follow suit. Meat is taboo in Takanir society, but it is eaten at births, deaths, and marriages. A group of a few men (including the groom) are sent out to kill a zebra to bring back for the marriage meal. It is eaten to show that the Zebra, physically by being eaten, becomes a part of the marriage. The rest of the village eats the meat as an act of consensus; proof of the sacred marriage. The evening of the second day, a cart is prepared and decorated with flowers and greenery, as well as silk blankets for the couple to ride around in. The couples stay in their respective family’s homes until the next morning (the third day), when the entire village meets at sunset. Carrying food and water, the couple is chauffeured around the village in a cart, with all of the townspeople singing and chanting Takanir songs of joy in Yarewiq.  Upon the ending of the travel (re-arriving back at the village), a ceremony takes place in which the meat is eaten. The bride and groom exchange the bracelets they made for one another (as seen as the cultural symbol of a marriage in blog one) and they paint themselves in their respective dignitaries colors to symbolize their new kinship. The entire village is also freshly painted as their dignitaries, so as to add to the switching of kinship.  Fires are lit representing each dignitary, the zebra, and the to-be-married couple with flags beside the fire painted to represent each group. Those of each affiliation stand by each designated fire. Thus, the zebra fire would have no individual by it; it is made specifically to honor the Zebra god. People would stand by their flag and fire. The marriage flag is painted dually as each individual’s previous dignitary, so as to represent the crossing over of the woman’s after the ceremony is complete. The entire village prays over the couple to the Zebra god. There is no religious “shaman” of any sort, so much of the ceremony is not lead by a specific person. However, many of the older Takanir direct the ceremony as it goes, as the as it goes, as they are often in control of the process of the food and beer production. The bride sings a song to the Zebra god, a Takanir bridal chant, in which she thanks the Zebra for allowing her to be protected by her husband’s dignitary and how she will raise in her children in the way of the Zebra. The groom sings a chant to the Zebra god, a strictly male Takanir song, promising to look over his family and avoid violence at all cost. Then, the village sings in celebration and beer and zebra meat is respectively drunk and eaten all evening. On the fourth day, the newlyweds go to a hut for the following three days, which is especially designed for those just married. It is far off from the village, at a mile’s distance, and they are sent off with a myriad of food and gifts from the villagers. The remaining four days, the villagers drink and eat and build a hut for the newlyweds. Upon their return, on the seventh day, one last celebration is had. This celebration is performed without meat, and is mostly based upon the consumption of beer and nuts. The end of the seven days accomplishes the acceptance of the couple back into the village in a respectable, community-built Takanir home.

At the first of every month all Takanir participate in a sacred ritual in reverence to the Zebra god. Assuming a twelve month, 365 day calendar, it is imperative that the ritual occurs on the first day of every month. Weddings never occur on this day, and births and deaths are simply incorporated into this ritual. It is thought to be a very special, beautiful occurrence if one dies or is born on the first of the month --- one is assumed to be in communion with the Zebra god. The ritual is mandatory, and everyone meets in the middle of the village at sunset. Everyone paints themselves the color of their animal dignitary, as well as with white and black stripes to assume union with their god. Everyone goes out into the forest during the day to gather wood and rocks, and a huge bonfire is built in the middle of the village. Chanting occurs for the first few hours after the fire has been attended to.  Then, chanting ceases and songs and prayers written for the Zebra god ensue until the following day’s sunrise. It is not uncommon for someone to begin a song or a prayer, and for many of the people to join in unison. There is no leader of this ritual, nor is there any specific course of events. This seemingly simple ritual of painting oneself, lighting a bonfire, chanting, singing, and praying is very precious to the Takanir because they so firmly believe in an individual relationship with their Zebra god. To have a shaman or leader would ruin and possibly taint this direct interaction. The purpose of this ritual is to glorify the Zebra god and it accomplishes such worship as well as deep unity and sense of communitas amongst the Takanir.  

The Takanir, as has been previously mentioned, are a people of peace. War is atrocious and disgusting to the Zebra god, and Takanir are taught to believe all people are created equally. However, this does not take away from their intrinsic, deep-rooted feelings of patriotism.  Celebrating their institution of government on the first of the new year, the Takanir engage in a patriotic ritual lasting three days.  Much preparation for food and beer occurs in the days leading up to the first of the new year, and by sunset everyone is painted (as always) in their dignitaries colors. Women bead and make beautiful jewelry for this patriotic occasion, and everyone in the village is seen sporting some sort of beaded or weaved jewelry. A large Takanir flag is hoisted up through a structure made of bamboo trees, and the flag has the symbols shown in the first post of this blog. The religious symbol of the Zebra is painted on a flag hoisted up next to the Takanir flag. Everyone is given a torch that has been previously collected and the young men play drums. The women, men, and children engage in a dance called Kiwqud (pronounced KEE-QWA).  Performed in two lines, one of men and one of women, the two parties face each other for this dance, never touching but always twirling and tapping to the drums. The older men and women smile and laugh and often prepared the food as this dance occurs, sometimes joining for a few moments.  This dance is special to the Takanir, because it is a dance their ancestors danced upon first coming to land the Takanir have been on for thousands of years. Singing occurs to the Zebra god after the Kiwqud, and people dance in jubilee and praise around both hoisted flags with their torches. Often masks are put on meant to look like each dignitary, and sometimes children act out little plays with adult encouragement. Then food and beer is eaten, and the dancing ensues until sunrise. This occurs three nights in a row.  The simple act of dancing and singing is important to the Takanir because it is a purposeful celebration of being Takanir.  Hardly ethnocentric, this may appear impromptu; that is quite the purpose of this annual patriot ritual. The Takanir look to accomplish pride in their communities without cultivating ideas of individuality or superiority. To be Takanir is to be joyful, to be peaceful, and to celebrate the precious animal dignitaries as well as the Zebra god. This ritual accomplishes patriot pride without arrogance.

All of the rituals thus far have been exciting, filled with dancing and beer, and they are seemingly unspecific and broadly celebrated.  The kinship ritual done for birth, however, is extraordinarily structured. When a couple is expecting, they are treated with the utmost dignity and respect.  Many of the women will visit the pregnant wife and help her with her chores and her other children if they are present. Men often bring the expecting husband food or simply visit to amiably discuss his soon-to-arrive child. Upon going into labor, many of the older women and men who are most deeply respected help the expecting mother and father by coming immediately to their hut. This is precisely when the ritual begins.  The village does not immediately or loudly celebrate; in fact, they fall silent. The entire village waits outside the home of the to-be-parents quietly, and from a distance. It is considered extraordinarily rude and insulting to be loud or to talk while a woman is trying to birth a child. They all continuously kneel and pray to the Zebra god for a safe and healthy birth. This occurs until the baby is born; quietly one of the older Takanir will come out and say the gender of the baby and verify the safe birth that has occurred. There is not any clapping or smiling amongst the faithfully praying Takanir, nor is there between the messenger and the recipients. Life is too beautiful and too sacred. Everyone immediately and careful gets up to make a gift for the child. Flowers, greenery, and hand-crafted toys are placed in front of the new child’s home for days to come. It is imperative that the child, according to Takanir folklore, not see anyone other than its parents and siblings for a week. Once that week has expired, the child is brought out for a ceremony. The night before this seventh day (the day the child will be brought out), a few men go out to hunt a zebra. As aforementioned, meat is eaten during marriage, births, and deaths only. The entire village gathers outside the home of the parents, waiting for the emergence of the couple and their child. Before arriving, everyone washes themselves and unusually, they are not painted with their kinship colors. The baby is carefully and delicately passed around. Each villager says a prayer for the child while holding it. These ceremonies can last hours, but it is absolutely necessary for the Takanir. Then, pieces of meat are passed around to assume communion with the Zebra god and his favor and protection for the child. The purpose of this ritual of praying, gift-giving, aholding the child, and meat-eating is important because birth is considered sacred and numinous. The entire village must welcome the baby because if the baby does not receive this all-encompassing, drastically large prayer circle ceremony, the baby could come down with an illness because it has not been touched by all of the community, or worse, the child could not accept the Takanir faith. It accomplishes the solidifying of the child in their community as well as in their faith in the Zebra god.

Considering a life-cycle ritual, or perhaps a rite of passage, the Takanir consider children as “coming of age” once they have experienced their dream, given to them by the Zebra god. Before the dream, children are protected by the Zebra god himself, but they are not protected by their family’s dignitary as are the rest of their family. This dream always occurs before the age of ten. Van Gennep’s ideas of separation, liminality, and re-incorporation are quite present in this ritual. Separation occurs when the dream occurs; the child is no longer protected by the Zebra god specifically, nor is he fully protected by his revealed animal dignitary. There is a process that must occur before this protection is fully incorporated. The completion of this process occurs in the liminality stage. The child, once having this dream and understanding his new protector, must go out into the forest for one evening alone. He is not allowed any food, water, or weapon; he must have full faith that his new dignitary will protect him and show him the way until the following morning. Quite terrifying, the child cannot rely directly on the Zebra god, and must trust the Zebra god and his decision to give the child his revealed dignitary. However, this process takes faith – the child will never be protected by the new dignitary without this overnight stay in the woods. Thus, to be reincorporated, this child must go through this overnight liminality with the absolute presence of faith – he is betwixt and between. If and when the child returns, he is considered reincorporated, and fully protected by his dignitary.