B (101:07)
Today's infiltrating the Tri Council topic is tribal cultures. Specifically the Takul Clan and the Tuuka trial. There are many clans scattered across the Botanic Plains which is the southernmost part of the Burn. These tribes thrive in the harsh environment where no others tend to live live. The way of life for many of these clans is more mysterious. And unknown the further they are from the Burns capital. These clans are renowned for producing strong and gifted warriors with unmatched fighting abilities. The Jakkuul clan, the strongest of them all and our primary focus in today's segment at least. The Jakuhl clan has their own language. Though it's not clear if they share a common language with the other tribes or if this language is Jakul specific. Speaking of the Jakuul clan, let's go ahead and dive in. The Jaquil clan is one of the many warrior clans that reside in the Botanic Plains. But they are known to be the strongest. Like I said, they are located off the river Akt near the mountains. Again, this is the southern side of the burn according to the map, which puts them fairly close to the northern wall of the Fade. That's why Rafe's plan was pretty realistic. To float on the log down the river till she reached the Fade. In more recent years, the Jakuh clan has claimed the crater that was formed when the saber scythe moon Orva fell eight phases ago. When the small adolescent moon crashed and formed the crater, it did not shatter upon impact. Because of this, the clan placed the moon in a large domed tent just to the side of the crater and created a place of honor for Orva. In this tent, tribe members are able to take a flower from the basket outside and place it at the dragon's base as a sign of great respect in hopes that no other moon will fall on the their place of living. The clan lives inside and around a saber sized skeleton that is approximately four times the size of Raigon who remember is gigantic. So that gives you an idea of how extra huge this dragon was. Remember that not all dragons can fly up to become moons. Some unfortunately die too soon here on the earth before they can get up to the sky. The chest cavity of this massive beast has been mostly hollowed out with with holes in the ceiling in between the ribs that allow for light to enter. The people of the school clan live in domed tents made of different animal heights that have been stitched together and painted to look like the scorched ground. This allows them to be camouflaged from anyone flying on a dragon above who might happen to look into one of the many skylights. This is really showing their cleverness with blending in and working with the environment. Each dwelling has elaborately carved stone arches that showcase different creatures. Predominantly dragons of course. Carved in exquisite detail. The women here wear silk bands around their chests, whereas the men are typically topless. Naked bodies are not something to Be shy about here. No matter their shape or size, remember that the people of the Burn, where it's really hot, they don't feel like flesh is some big secret to them. Breasts are worshipped for the way they nourish the younglings of their clan and are not viewed as sexual objects. As a mother who has needed to breastfeed but been so scared to in public, yes, to this. The Oja, or king, which I'll get into in a minute, wears a black cuff in his ear as well as has copper rods hanging on strings draped over his shoulders. He also wears a crown of bones and has a throne of dragon bloodstone. The Jakuh clan's hierarchy structure is based on how many dots someone has on their Radi Reedi is the dotted text tattoo on the back of a warrior where each dot represents a victory won, and a heavily tattooed back is a show of great strength and honor. Because they've won that many victories, the person with the largest rei holds the position of Oa or King, and their bonded is the Oa I or Queen. This person is also known as the Raska e, which translates to the greatest. Technically, the Raska e is Khan, but when his PA died, he offered the position to his Uber, Uth Rusker. Uth Rusker is the title for the second greatest. So Khan, he gave the king title to the second greatest here because he had to go be King of the Burn. But he has not given up his title as the greatest, only as the King. I know it's a little bit confusing. In these tribes, the kingdom crown like the Burn King mean little to nothing to them as his clan does not claim to be part of the kingdom. Along with these titles of status, they also also pound their chest a certain number of times as a sign of respect, depending on someone's rank. For example, three times I assume is acknowledging another warrior before they fight, as Hawke does with his first opponent. Four times for the greatest, the Raska e, which is Khan five times for the Oa, AKA their king. Yes, even though in this case Khan is the greatest, is higher than their Oa. Khan pounds his chest six times. But remember, this is unheard of as we talked a lot about earlier. So let's go into the Tuca trial. What is a Tuca trial? A Tuukka trial is when two warriors fight for the privilege to bind with another. This trial is also a fight to the death, unless it is the female who is fighting because she opposes the winner. In this case, she would have to kill him, whereas he only needs to get her to submit. This is what Veya would have had to do. But just because a female wins her Tuuka trial does not protect her from having another one. One. But the females here generally don't view Tuka trials as a negative thing like we're talking about with that real cultural difference there. They want to bond with one deemed worthy to give them strong younglings. But again, that is just a generalization. So now that we know what the trial is, what does it look like? In the Chukua clan, the Tuuka trial takes place in Orva's crater where gongs are hit in a slow beat. Before the fight begins. The female is tended to by the other females of the tribe behind a silk curtain. Her clothing is removed, she is washed from head to toe and then she is painted with colt blood. After this is done, a long strip of blood red silk is draped as a skirt and piece of silk is wrapped around her breasts along with a necklace made of copper rods. Then we have the warriors who will fight for her, both of which have also been painted as coke blood and wearing a malmer. Malmers are hand carved pendants that are offered to whoever the warrior is cording, but again it's more like very symbolic of like an engagement ring. These Malmars are often made from things like dragon scale, bone, copper or stone and carved with something that is relatable to the male that is very connected. Designs we have seen include hawks, which is a black pendant engraved with a serpent. Of course it's a serpent Xaurons, which is a tawny diadem bearing an embossed fawnica. And then of course there's Kant, which is a dark saber scythe and silver moonplume embrace racing. During the Tuca trial, the males kneel before the female and each offer her their malmer which she then must accept and place on the rug before her. Once this is done, the males are then permitted to select their weapon of choice. Options include, but are certainly not limited to batons with a length of chain attached to the end, topped with spiky balls, giant hooked swords, small flat blades with serrated teeth and bludgeoning stick with metal spikes strikes. At this point, the warriors will step into the ring and fight until the death. The crater in which they are fighting has iron mixed in with the sand to prevent anyone who can hear any of the Creator's songs from using them during the fight. It's all equal footing here. When one of the warriors is slain, the victor will then cut off his head and present it to the female. After the trial is complete and the victor is determined, the clan throws a great celebration. But we don't know quite what that entails, just that they have one. After the celebration, the victor will then escort his new female to his tent and show her the pelts of his kills. This is their version of Netflix and Chill, Upon which they will hopefully make many strong sons and daughters, and the bound couple's bond will grow strong and sturdy. Another extremely important aspect of the clan's culture is their belief in prophecy. The Jakuh clan has a member that is known as the Soul. This female has milky white eyes and the ability to see and tell prophecies. She does this by reading the will of the creators, which all we know involves chanting, reaching toward the sky and grabbing and throwing sand. The Kallu prophecy in particular is that many cycles ago the Soul foretold that the Fate Herder would bring Kalu to the Chakua clan and that the Kalu's offspring would tether the moons to the the sky forever. They believe that Rave is Kalu. So when they arrived at the clan, they held a Tuuka trial, which we talked all about this episode. And there we have it, friends. That is the Takuul clan and the Tuca trial.
