Carnivàle

The streets and alleyways in The Swill district are almost always bustling with life and activity, but for several days each season, and during the whole season of Life, the district explodes with activity and celebration. Each season has it's own distinct activities, theme, and name, but the collective act of these celebrations in the Swill is referred to as "Carnivàle".
Though Carnivàle is primarily a Cherut Das tradition, residents will also observe some variation of the festivities in other City States as well. For example, in Manu Das, the Pala Ra is observed as the Biyaya Ra, a more grateful event where symbolic offerings are burned in Ra's name before an altar which is carted around the city.

Parades

Seasonally appropriate celebrations take place all throughout The Swill; taverns will have special menu items and decorations related to the season, alleyway communities will decorate their alley and host block parties within, but the main draw to the Odo district during Carnivàle are the two sets of perpendicular thoroughfares that connect to form a wide block around the district. It is on this block of streets that the main attraction of Carnivàle takes place, the parades.
Several times a day during the height of a season, Krewes will run decorated floats through the parade route. These floats are typically a large wagon or platform that has been decorated with things like flowers, paint, and plaster. These floats are usually accompanied by dancers, performers, and marching bands that walk ahead of or behind the floats. Depending on the size of the Krewe running the parade, there may be a dozen floats, or none at all. Most parades with floats typically have one seat of honor on the main attraction reserved for the Swill King to sit at, should they deem the parade worthy of such an honor.
Not all parades that run through the district are related to a specific seasonal celebration. The Golden Graap is known to hire a Krewe (usually Bacchus) to throw a Birthday parade on the original opening date of the Golden Graap itself. The Krewe of Muses often puts together protest parades in response to unpopular decisions made by the Council of Families, usually lambasting council members involved in the decision.

Seasons

Saolú (Birth)

The first full week of the Birth season is the Festival of Saolú (Sal-you). During the Festival celebrants will adorn themselves in flower crowns and decorate in light pastels and white colored clothing. The main attraction during Saolú is the Lovers Dance. Several tall wooden poles covered in flowers are erected on the grounds of the Grand Bazaar, and all the eligible singles among the participants approach the pole wearing white dresses and specially made flower crowns. Each grabs a length of ribbon that is attached to the top of the pole and then begins a dance that swirls and weaves the pieces of ribbon around the pole. At the end of the dance, each dancer is paired up at random with another dancer that their ribbon has intertwined with. It is tradition for the two dancers to then wander the streets, hand-in-hand, and eventually go on to a romantic dinner together. Many taverns reserve their best seats for these couples, and often comp their meals, as being seen with these lovers eating in your establishment is a sign of good luck for the year to come (particularly if your atmosphere is so romantic that they keep coming back long after the festival).
Parades during this period typically lean heavily onto floral adornments for their decorations. Themes of new life, new love, and hope for the future are typically featured in Saolú celebrations. One common tradition for parade floats is to feature several large wooden hooks on the exterior of the float. Celebrants in the crowd will write a wish for the year to come onto a small and easily thrown object, tie a ribbon to it, and throw it at the parade float in hopes that the ribbon will catch these wooden hooks. A wish that connects with the hook is said to be sure to come true in the coming year.

Olay (Life)

From the Mehune word for the season, the Olay is a vibrant and raucous celebration of the living and of life itself. The phrase has entered the common vernacular of most Hesperians as a rallying cry for celebrations. The streets come alive from the beginning of the month all through the culmination of the celebrations on the last day of the month, "Olay Maikai" (Olā My-ka'ee), or "Good Life Day".
Taverns, shops, and even some more closely knit communities (alleyways are popular) will often decorate their spaces according to the theme of the year. All competing to win the Swill King's eye, and therefore the highly sought-after trophy for best decoration.
Each year there is a theme (chosen by The Swill King) upon which most of the Parade Krewes and citizens base their decorations and floats. Every other year at the end of Olay, a new Swill King is crowned as the final act of Olay Maikai day celebrations. The (existing or newly crowned) Swill King will close out the Olay Maikai with the traditional requesting permission to come aboard by the crowd, and then a small speech, reflecting on life from the past year.

Hemonga (Death)

One day a week, for the whole month of Death is Hemonga Night. A night spent remembering the dead, and celebrating both their lives and the impact they had on the still living. Celebrants will paint their faces with a colorful skull, and wear all black formal clothing.
Small shrines are erected throughout the district with a name and portrait of the deceased person to be honored. Often they are prominently displayed inside a place that the deceased frequented, where visitors who knew the person can light a candle to offer a prayer, or attach a letter written to the deceased.
Parades through the district are typically smaller and shorter than other occasions. Parade organizers solicit residents to submit lists of names of dead to be honored, which are read aloud during the parade to the crowd, whom cheers and claps in response. All in hopes that the souls of the dead within the Tower of Souls will hear their names and the cheering, and they will be heartened and kept safe by the cheers.

Pala Ra (Decay)

Five days before the end of the month of Decay, is the day of Pala Ra (Rotting Ra). There is only ever one parade during the single day of Pala Ra, but the festivities begin the night before on the night of "Ra's Taxes". The Swill King begins the night by climbing into a pair of stilts and dressing up as Ra himself. He then gathers all the children of the district, and a few adult helpers, who take the opportunity to dress themselves as one of Ra's Priests. Then "Ra" and his coterie of "Priests" roam the district, moving from house to house. The children knock on the door, and demand to be let in so that the home can pay their "taxes", (relieve the home of their sweets, candy, and a few pint of Ale for Ra and his adult helpers). The Homeowners (usually parents of some children in the crowd) must then engage in a rhyming back-and-forth with "Ra", rhyming with reasons why they cannot let anyone in or pay their taxes, with Ra responding with threats of mischief from his assembled priests. After a few rounds of back and forth, either the homeowner or Ra will relent and come outside to disburse the goods, or the group will move on to the next victim. This continues until Ra and his Priests have had their fill on sweets, and the children are brought home.
The next day is the Pala Ra itself, a straw effigy of Ra is placed on a wooden boat, which is carted around the district. As the cart passes, everyone is to extinguish any fires, candles, or torches. As the boat with the effigy passes through the city, residents will throw into the boat some form of flammable sacrifice or offering. Usually this takes the form of a wooden carving or cloth doll in the likeness of the creator, usually with writing to indicate that it is their soul. In the hopes that when burnt, it will fool Ra into thinking that he has their soul already and does not need to send his priests to come collect their actual soul after they die.
Once the parade with the boat and effigy of Ra have made it's way through the district, they are brought to the edge of the city and set on fire. The boat is cast adrift into the sea where it burns until it sinks. The fire from this effigy is passed around to several torchbearers which bring the new years flame around to the rest of the district, from which each previously doused fire is re-lit.
The whole Pala Ra is almost exclusively celebrated within Cherut Das, other cities participate in a similar event, during which a sacrifice of real value is placed on a more permanent altar of Ra and burned before it. Depending on the city, this is either viewed as a necessary sacrifice to appease Ra, or is done to actively seek his blessing (as in Manu Das).

Krewes

There are dozens of organizations, called a "Krewe" (crew), that put on Carnivàle parades and events within The Swill. Ranging from large and complex formal organizations of several hundred members, to the small informal social club of only a dozen close friends.

Krewe of Akamu

The Krewe of Akamu is actually a large Mehune family that has lived in Cherut Das for a dozen generations. The Akamu family is well loved by residents of the Swill and would be a popular candidate for elevation to the Council of Families, but their popularity does not extend far beyond the Odo District itself. Their floats are always fantastically complex marvels of mechanical ingenuity which tend to draw huge crowds.

Krewe of Bacchus

By far the largest and most anticipated Carnivàle Krewe, Bacchus parades tend to be as much roving block parties as they are formal parades. They foster a wild and jovial atmosphere, with large numbers of musicians, and dancers. Every parade they hold features the Bacchasaurus, a Co-Sheirm Basin Diplodocus constructed of plaster, leather, and wood, dressed in seasonally appropriate garb. The Bacchusaurus is often rigged to spray wine at the crowd from it's mouth as it passes through the city.

Krewe of Muses

An all-woman Krewe within the district. Muses parades are always a satirical take on the existing Carnivàle theme, which is kept secret until the day of their parade. Their floats and events are also the most political, though the message is often obscured through symbolism, allegory, and other artistic abstractions.

Krewe of Vivali

A pet project of Ariadne Vivali, with the goal of increasing the popularity of the family within The Council of Families by sponsoring a Carnivàle Krewe. Kreew of Vivali parades and events are generally regarded as being the flashiest and most extravagant thanks to their sponsor, but lacking soul and substance.

Primary Related Location

The Swill