Overview
Lions live in two different types of groups: prides and rogues. Prides consist of one to four adult males, called "sheikhs", their harem of females, and their offspring. Rogue groups consist of either lone females or harem-less sheikhs who have banded together in search of females. The key difference between the two is that prides hold territory while rogue groups are primarily nomadic and, occasionally, war-like.
In a pride, the harem females will mate and breed freely with any of the sheikhs, though it isn't uncommon for a lioness to show favoritism among the males - and vice versa. The resulting offspring are raised by the lionesses; upon reaching adulthood, male cubs are driven out of the pride, while females either willingly disperse with their brothers or stay in the pride's home territory to mate with an unrelated sheikh (who is usually one of her father's close companions).
In a pride, lionesses are charged with the task of hunting and raising the cubs, while the sheikhs are in charge of defending the pride's borders from rogue males and other threats. Adolescent females will habitually follow adult females on hunts, but are not considered adults themselves until they are capable of leading a hunt. Indeed, leading a successful hunt is a rite of passage for all adolescent lionesses - both a great honor and a great responsibility. Adolescent males are considered adults when their manes have begun to fill out.
It is not uncommon for pridal sheikhs to be displaced by a group of younger, stronger rogues who have moved into the area. Upon taking over the territory and harem, the new sheikhs will usually kill the all the juvenile cubs belonging to the previous rulers, though this is not always the case.
Beliefs
According to their beliefs, every lion has at least three spiritual beings. Firstly, there is the spirit "Emi", which resides in the heart and lungs and is fed by the wind through the nostrils. It allows a lion to live – breathe, run, hunt, speak, hear, see and mate. The second one is "Ojiji", the shadow, which follows its owner everywhere and provides comfort and strength in times of need. The last spirit, "Eleda", can be translated as "guardian soul", which will warn the lion of danger, although it often cannot be heard.
Before the death of a lion, the Emi appears in their relatives' dreams to let them know that they will die soon. Even in daytime, the chilly presence of a dying relative may be felt from far away. On rare occasions, particularly sensitive lions who are about to die may hear the spirit of death, Kifo, call them, and will then be led to the place where they will go to sleep for the final time. After death, the Eleda goes to the moon, to the court of Shujaa, the first lion, where it will confess in detail what it has done on earth. As more souls go to Shujaa's court, the moon waxes more and more, and when it is full, Shujaa begins to judge them until the moon wanes to nothing, when the court convenes. Lions that die after court has begun must wander the desert until Shujaa has finished his judgement. Good, noble souls are sent to night sky where they become stars and will look after their descendants until they come to join them, while bad, ignoble souls are sent to the Shadowlands to be eternally and ironically punished for their misdeeds.
The spirits of lions that have not been especially good or bad in life, or cubs that have died before they have had a chance to define themselves, are sent to wander the desert until someone will vouch for them. In the case of cubs, their mothers will sometimes wander the Kalahari in search of their lost cubs, guided by their Ojiji, which can hear the calls of the cub's Eleda. If the lioness dies before finding her cub, she will continue to look for them even after death. Nearly every species has some story or another of someone encountering a strange lioness who would ask for help finding her lost baby, or of strange lions, male, female and cubs, asking if they would say one good thing about them. A mother who abandons her pride to search for her cubs is not likely to be welcomed back in the event that she survives, although she might be accepted into another pride.
If a lioness who has gone looking for her dead cub hunts or eats, her Ojiji becomes distracted and cannot hear the cubs' Eleda. Because she must refrain from hunting and eating, the spirit of death begins to stalk her the moment she leaves to search for her cubs. Because of this, only a lioness who has a strong Ojiji can hope to find her cubs before she joins them.
Mythos
Prides
Currently, there are no active prides on Kalahari; if you would be interested in forming one, please do so through RP and alert staff once your @group has reached the five member minimum.
Rogue Groups
Currently, there are no active rogue groups on Kalahari; if you would be interested in forming one, please do so through RP and alert staff once your @group has reached the five member minimum.