Zerɮudō Matings

Execution

The ceremony of mating is a grand affair. Zerɮudō prefer the word 'mate' to refer to their partner and the ceremony, but their connotation is the same as the ɮudō 'wedded partner' or the human 'husband/wife/partner.' Their word for the mating ceremony roughly means 'melding of minds.' It is where the people who want to spend the rest of their lives together, who want to create life and ideas together, truly join and become one.
The adults of the clan gather in a circle around the mates. This area is considered sacred, and is only used for a mating. No one goes there otherwise. The area may be a naturally occurring clearing, or a sorcery-made flat circle in the mountains. The mates stand in the middle, the adults gathered around. Children are allowed to see, but not participate, and are relegated to behind the adults. They often climb whatever is nearby to be able to see.
The mates have been painted beforehand in ash. The elders fill an earthen bowl with damp wood ash, as dark as they can get it. They use their wing tips and claws dipped in ash to paint the mates, standing next to each other. The whole body is covered in designs; the focus being on faces, wings, and chests. The designs have been refined and passed down through the generations, each time trying to capture what they believe will be most beneficial for the mates. There are designs for patience, for understanding, for passion, for introspection, and on. All mates have the same designs painted on them. The bowl is later given as a gift to them after the ceremony. They wait for the ash to dry, then they head to the mating circle.
The elders in the circle begin to stamp their feet. Slowly, in rhythm, forming a kind of drum beat. The other adults begin to follow suit, from oldest to youngest. Once the whole circle is joined in stamping to the beat, the mates in the middle begin to dance, using their body language to indicate when they should begin. The dance is a tradition passed down through the clan. Each has their own dance, focusing on different styles and different parts of the body. Some are entirely aerial, in some they never leave the ground. But the point is movement and fluidity. To have multiple people moving every inch of their bodies but still in sync, brushing together, intertwining, but never getting in the other's way. The majority of the dance will have them touching in some way. It can last anywhere from ten minutes to almost an hour. But the point is to show their union and how much they are willing to dedicate themselves to another person, that they would spend several weeks learning such an intricate dance.
There are several different dances for each zerɮudō clan, one each for however many mates in the relationship there are, usually up to around eight or ten. The ideal of communal family is incredibly important to them. Typically the more mates there are, the more complicated the dance is, but it will be shorter. The elders of the clan know intimately all the dances and are able to teach them.
Once the dance is finished, the circle breaks into applause via stamping their feet and flapping their wings. The couple bow to each other. One by one, the elders come forward. The mates and the elder bow to each other. The elder then gives them the blessing of whatever element they represent and then make that element roll over the couple. IE: the elder representing the wisdom of water comes, and all bow to each other. The elder gives them the blessing of water, and then causes a wave of it to roll over the couple, soaking them and then immediately drying them. Once all five elders have given their blessing, they arrange themselves in a semicircle in front of the mates. In unison they give the blessing of shadow and for a brief moment make the world go dark. The mates were separate before the shadow touched them, and after, they are one.
Afterwards there is a huge celebration lasting long into the day. Zerɮudō dance and sing and congratulate the new mates. They feast and recite stories until they become too tired to remember them properly. Once it is over, the mates are allowed to bathe together and wash the ash off their bodies. This must be done in a river or lake, it cannot be done with sorcery; if they must fly for hours to the nearest body of water large enough, so be it. It gives them time to talk and enjoy each other's company for the first time as mates.

Participants

Elders

The elders of the clan run the ceremony, and really are the only ones truly involved other than the mates themselves. The elders teach the traditional dance, paint the mates in ash, and give their blessing. They also are the ones who begin the beat of the dance; it is entirely up to them how fast or slow it goes.

Crowd

The crowd of adults watching the ceremony have the job of keeping time throughout the dance. The younger ones are allowed to stamp on half notes rather than whole notes if they so choose, to quicken the tempo.

Partners

The ones being mated.

Observance

It begins in the dead of night, usually on nights without a moon for the darkest possible surroundings. The darkness is supposed to envelop them and surround them and fill them with peace as they are surely nerve-wracked. It is to fill them with joy and comfort, the darkness holding them almost physically, protecting them. To be in the dark is to be closer to the purity of the world; in Zerɮudō culture, the world began in darkness, and it will end in darkness. But not harshly- peacefully.