Overview
Bred to survive from birth to death and beyond, the hyenas of the Kalahari live their daily lives knowing that it's up to them and no one else to keep themselves alive. Because the desert is harsh and unforgiving, hyenas live in small clans to minimize the strain on the land around them, and will send members to join other clans or even divide themselves if they become too large. However, the organization of individual clans is loose, at best. Only the clan's shaman holds elevated status; beyond that, every member is on their own for survival. They primarily scavenge meat and eat fruits and plants they find, but when they do hunt, they rely on no one but themselves, knowing that the incapable are a liability to those who can make their own way. The one exception is when they stumble upon or make a kill large enough to feed more than one, or when their territory is invaded. Then, they will eagerly work together to defend what belongs to them.
As mentioned, only the shaman has elevated social status in the clan, and many important decisions are left up to them. Two of the most important decisions are whether the time is right for clan members to mate, and when the clan must move to a new location in their territory, or even leave their territory. Because the shaman has consulted the clan's ancestors on these and all other matters, the decisions are final, advised and ultimately made by those possessing more wisdom than the living members of the clan. Because of this importance, the clan will protect the shaman more aggressively than other members; a lost pup can be replaced, but a lost shaman can be catastrophic.
Beliefs
Hyenas believe in a creator god known as Mwezi (the moon), but this god has no interest in animals and does not (or cannot) interact with them. Therefore, most hyenas interact on a day to day level with their ancestor spirits, using divination to contact and placate them. Misfortune never "just happens"; it is all the work of evil sorcery or of angry spirits.
Within a clan, there is one member who serves as the shaman, and whose job it is to treat illness as well as tend to the ancestors of the clan, lest they become angry. At any time, there is only one shaman, because the spirits will only speak to and obey one shaman. Someone else who claims to be a shaman when one exists already is in fact a witch, who will use their sorcery for evil means. However, it is also possible for someone to be a witch and not know it; in this cases, it is up to the shaman to figure out who has caused a calamity and coerce them to undo the bewitchment, taking more drastic measures if they will not agree to it.
When a hyena dies, their spirit is set free from its home in the body, doomed to wander the endless desert until the end of time. This afterlife is extremely isolated and lonely, but is bearable if the clan communicates with the spirit of the deceased and occasionally offers them small gifts (a small piece of meat is most common). If the clan neglects the deceased, then the spirit will become angry and will enter the body of someone in the clan, making them fall ill. It is the responsibility of the shaman to discover, through divination (using the entrails of an animal), why the spirit is angry and placate them, after which the spirit will leave and the sick will recover. A particularly angry spirit (or group of angry spirits) may conspire to cause even more destructive calamities, such as drought, rock slides or even earthquakes, or they may frighten the clan's prey away to starve them. In light of this, the shaman's role is an absolute necessity to keep the clan alive.
At some point, the shaman will have a dream in which they will see their own, unavoidable demise. When they have this dream, they know it is time to divine who the ancestor spirits have chosen to succeed them as shaman, and begin teaching them the rituals and methods to communicate with the spirits. When the shaman dies, their power is freed from their spirit and bonds with the spirit of the new shaman for the rest of their life, and the cycle continues.
If the clan neglects their ancestors, they may become "mizukabaya"; evil spirits that seek to torment the clan, causing mayhem of all sorts. In the most extreme cases, the mizukabaya may possess a member of the clan and cause them to run amok, attacking everyone around them in a blind rage. If the clan is plagued by mizukabaya, the shaman will separate themselves from the others and fight with the spirits, threatening them if they do not leave. If the shaman succeeds, the mizukabaya will flee for fear of being destroyed and go to the Shadowlands, a place where evil spirits reside. Sometimes, they may return and the shaman must threaten them again.
If the shaman is not able to drive the mizukabaya away after two days, they will sacrifice their own life to destroy the spirits. if the shaman does not return to the clan after two days, they will disperse to join other clans. Because they no longer have ancestor spirits to watch over them, they will be stricken with bad luck until one or more of them dies and becomes a spirit.
Mythos
Clans
Kalahari currently has one brown hyena clan, Zimeibiwa, led by shaman Majaliwa. For information on joining, please contact Majaliwa or Ahali in-game.