Clans

[Tom]

One of my cultures has four clans, with the members in a clan all descended from the same common ancestor. So far I have three clans figured out: Raven, Bear, and Wolf. (No prey animals, because this is a survivalist culture that takes pride in its reputation as fierce warriors.) I was thinking Owl for the fourth, because I wanted a balance between mammals and birds.

It's believed that a person can assume their clan animal's form in dreams, or even in real life (though that's only been told of in their sagas). A person's clan isn't determined by matrilineage or patrilineage; when a child reaches about thirteen or fourteen, they're given the choice between their mother's clan and father's clan.

What are some characteristics that could be associated with each clan? I also haven't figured out rituals or special traditions of the clans.

And yes, my inspiration for this was the clan system of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy (also known as Six Nations or Iroquois). I love the Haudenosaunee Nation. It's one of the best parts of living where I live.

 

[WooHooMan]

Many animals have a symbolic or mythological meaning. For example...

Bear Clan - Bears are usually symbols of power and ferocity. Logically, a bear clan would have some militaristic traits. Mother bears are known to be protective so maybe give the bear clan a matriarchal lean. For real-world inspirations, the Ainu people of Japan are known to have revered bears.

Raven Clan - Ravens are depicted as cunning and ominous. Norse mythology regarded them as symbols of Odin and as such, were associated with destiny, wisdom and intelligence.

Wolf Clan - Wolves are big in Japan, Norse and Mongol culture. Some people say they're majestic and noble, others say they're like any other predator, others say they're viscous beasts. Associated with hunting. Perhaps this clan gets most of its economic power from hunting and fur trade.

So, there's some ideas.

I was also in the same position as you: I had deer, snake and shark guys. It wasn't a clan thing but same principle.

 

[SM-Dreamer]

I have a couple books on symbols. In no particular order…

Bear — Celtic symbol of the warrior caste; word for bear, artos, = Arthur. Cardinal direction is north. Opposite the boar, the priestly caste. “In Gaul there was even a goddess, Artio, who still more powerfully underlines the female character of the warrior caste.” Equivalent in older European cultures of the lion — worldly power, authority. For the Ainu of Japan, the bear is their ancestor, a mountain-god, ruler of all. In China, a male symbol, in harmony with mountain and conflict with the serpent. In Islamic esoteric tradition “[…] a wretched, disgusting creature”; cruel and lustful. In Siberia and Alaska, the moon and the annual cycle of vegetation. Often held to be the ancestor of man. The Algonquins called the bear Grandfather. Greek, companion to Artemis (again, relating to ‘artos’). Bear’s relationship is with instincts, intuition. The Pueblo Indians associated the bear with the powers of the underworld. On the darker side, it is “powerful, violent, dangerous, uncontrolled; an emblem of cruelty” and blood thirst, brutality. A glutton. Masculine courage or maternal warmth.

Owl - Sacred to Athene, Greek goddess of wisdom. Related to the moon, contrasting with the eagle. Symbol of rational knowledge, the perception of reflected (lunar) light. Attributed to seers and second sight, hidden knowledge, covert information, secrets. Also represented by the Greeks with Atropos, the Fate that cuts the thread; serves as her interpreter. Witches and witchery, solitary nature due to association with Hecate. Egypt, the owl is cold, darkness, and death. Hindu iconography holds the owl as an attribute of Varahi, the mother. China, a terrifying creature, symbolized yang, manifested at summer solstice, identify with the drum and thunder. Smelting. Believed to cause draught. Plains Indians believe it holds dominion over the night; Algonquins believe it is the conductor of souls It’s often regarded as a messenger of death. Aztec’s saw it as the god of the underworld, also an avatar of darkness, rain, and storm. Associated with death and the “lunar-terrestrial powers of the unconscious which govern the waters, plants, and growth.” To the Welsh, wisdom and practical experience.Sometimes destruction and decay (for inhabiting derelict buildings.)

Raven — India compares ravens with messengers of death. China and Japan associate it with filial gratitude, family affection. Japan — messenger of the gods, good omen, herald of victories and mark of virtues. In China, they are solar birds, connected to yang and the sun. In Genesis they are birds of clear-sightedness. Greece — also solar. Celtic — prophetic roles; the war goddess takes on the name of the carrion-crow, thus associations as the harbinger of death and ill omens. Scandinavian/Norse mythology — mind/thought and memory, the creative principle. The Tlingit Indians (North-West Pacific), the crow is the primeval hero, made the world. Thunder, the sky, wind. Some Native American myths hold is as the symbol of the creator, protector of man, shape shifter. Likuba and Likuala tribes in the Congo hold is as a guide and guardian spirit. May be seen as a symbol of solitude, deliberate isolation “to live upon a higher level”, hope. May guide souls to the afterlife. Tricksters, intelligence. Teamwork because they do work together.

Wolf — English and French symbol of savagery, trickery, malevolent intentions, a sinister warlock nature. Also can be seen as light, the sun, the warrior and hero in Scandinavia and Greek mythology. Chinese and Mongol dynasties are believed to be founded by the “Celestial Blue Wolf” known for its strength and fighting abilities. The Turks held the blue wolf as a manifestation of the power of the light of Heaven. Chinese also held it as a watchman’s role. Japanese see it as the protector of people against other animals, exuberant strength expended in blind savagery. The she-wolf of Roman mythos was terrestrial, fertility-oriented. In Scandinavian mythology, it is the devourer of stars (or, its mouth is night, the cavern, the Underworld). Greek associations with Zeus and Apollo — masculine power, energy, sexuality. Sometimes a conductor of souls. Both a pack-hunter (loyalty, teamwork) and solitary (loner, isolated, outcast).

And you could also go with the eagle instead of the owl, to keep with the birds motif; they’re solar, warrior-like, and powerful beings in their own right.

-The Penguin Dictionary of Symbols, 1996
-The Element Encyclopedia of Secret Signs and Symbols, 2007

 

[spectre]

You pretty much have all the inspiration as advice you need here, but I would like to point out that it would be kind of relevant to know what kind of setting your working in, because time and place is a lot. So is "standing position" and you don't have to model the traits of your clans after these animals, but just incorporate some aspect of lore into the society so that they are significant symbols. In fact if the culture was to be completely modeled after an animals habits, in the real world the profile of that culture from a psychological viewpoint would differ from that of others but be the same as another nation who modeled themselves after animal traits. You have loyalists and separatists and a plethora of profiles you could look at in order to establish your clan ergonomics. What is obvious is that these are most likely tribal groups but even still the American Indians, while all believing in a similar religious structure that influenced their science, were as different as could be whether they believed in the same symbol or not. Waumponogs were at first very rite oriented but became more commercial when colonials came, Naragansett were pillagers, the 5 Iriqouis Nation were largely isolative until after the uprising of Prince Phillip where about they were the fatal blow to his attempts to free his people and release them back into their own Indian culture.

What I'm saying is that if you decide that each clan will function as a metaphorical animal in day to day life, as people who understand real economics of the animal kingdom and the religious kingdom, there might be an expectation for typical responses bear is a lone goer, wolf is a pack with an alpha, ravens are carrion eaters, owls are nocturnal veracious hunters with great senses. This works, especially if the clans don't really mingle, but I would offer you the advice of not solely personifying an animal (perhaps outside of the idea that they are lycanthropes --for lack of a better word-- of some kind) because the day to day life of even groups that worship animals are still tailored to suit the world around them, and where they are not, the systems fail.

Then again, you can create a very nice story with the sort of attitudes that go along with tribal living deeply involved in symbolism and legend, but the actual traits of your clans are still definitely going to be shaped by a wider picture without some circumstances like being isolated from the other clans, where they can focus on animal worship (for lack of a greater detail), or being forced into this type of worship, whereby the main clan is going to be somehow violent or capitalist but that also is something which animals are not. Not many animals in the wild dominate other animal populations --except maybe canines that I can think of or primates and that's within the clan-- so there would be an outside reason for that, or again their actions are based on some kind of religious motivation. So time and place I think will balance out a certain number of traits important to the wider picture.

 

[Tom]

The clans are set in a Viking-like culture. Since they're at an Iron Age technology level, I think the clans influence their everyday life a lot less than they used to. The biggest thing would probably be fulfilling ceremonial duties and traditional roles assigned to each clan.

A little like modern Haudenosaunee--one of my friends is a member of the Deer Clan, and her family goes to Seneca gatherings a few times a year to perform the duties of their clan within the tribe, but for the most part belonging to the clan has a minimum influence on her everyday life.