Moonwake
Given how much each harpy clan seems to hate all others, it is unsurprising that there are not many things in the world that they agree on or conform to. The Moonwake is one entry on that very short list, and is arguably the most important one.
The tradition of the Moonwake is how such a sequestered and territorial people manage to keep their genetic pool from becoming shallow, as well as make up for their profoundly asymmetrical distribution of sexes. If the Moonwake hadn't been such a sacred and well-respected ritual, the harpy peoples certainly wouldn't have persisted and thrived through the eons as they have done.
History
Most harpy clans have a reverence for the open, nighttime sky, associating it with many sacred things. The gift of flight, the passage of time, navigation, and the afterlife are examples of things that are tied to the night sky for harpies, and the moon--being the largest object in this holy nighttime sky--stands as its most important feature. In Greymantle Marsh, the reverence of the moon is especially prevalent, given how important the shifting tides are to harpy life.
Harpies may disagree on their own origin story, or disregard it entirely, but the Moonwake tradition is generally agreed to be as old as harpies' presence in this world is. Upon breaking through the shell of this world--either as an initial birth or as an escape from one world to another, depending on who you ask--the sharp edges of this shell shredded the souls of the harpies. They survived this wound, but it left them lacking something vital. The first harpies felt incomplete.
The stories vary widely on what was done to negotiate with the moon, whether it be mournful pleading or the performance of heroic deeds, but the Great Guiding Eye of the moon ultimately set off on a trip across the sky to look for the lost pieces of harpy souls. Every night, the harpies glimpsed Her as she traveled, watching Her great eye as it slowly blinked over the course of a month-long search. When She finally returned to the harpies after so many days, her eye open wide with pride once more and shedding light across the land, a few of the lost pieces of the harpy soul were found to be following bhind her.
This was the arrival of the first Moonwake harpies. Now, every clan sees its few, precious males as those missing pieces of the harpy soul, without which the harpy peoples would not be able to continue on. So, once males come of age, they are encouraged to leave their birthflock and follow the moon as those first blessed fragments had, doing their part to unite the fractured harpy spirit.
Execution
The vast majority of harpies are those capable of carrying the next generation but unable to sire it, and so when those of the opposite sex are born, it is an occasion to be celebrated, even though those harpies will not be siring children within their own birthflock. In this way, the Moonwake tradition begins with the birth of these "male" harpies, and continues throughout their life as they are prepared for the sacred responsibility they will take on as adults.
It is not easy for harpies to fight their own proud and insular ideals in order to allow the Moonwake tradition to happen as it should. Even mothers who are enthusiastic adherents to the ways of their people may find it difficult to encourage their male children to leave the flock upon reaching adulthood, just as it can often be difficult for said children to say goodbye. The lifelong preparation helps this process be as painless as possible, but the fact that clans often have their own mourning rituals around the Moonwake shows the strain that it can put on all parties involved.
Once the harpies of the Moonwake set out on their grand journey, they do most of their traveling at night--both for their own safety and the ease of navigating via celestial bodies. And so, they fulfill their namesake by reaching foreign harpy clans by the light of the moon.
It is generally impossible to know when Moonwake harpies will appear in the territory of a given harpy clan, but meetings that begin on a full moon are considered especially lucky. If Moonwake harpies happen to be aware of the location of a nearby clan, they may attempt to wait until the full moon before reaching them.
When Moonwake harpies do arrive, a period of temporary peace falls over the territory as attention shifts entirely to their blessed visitors. Each clan's reception of the Moonwake is a little different, but it typically involves some wild celebration, and everyone making their Moonwake guests as comfortable as possible during their stay. During this time, taboos often abound, with the goals being to ward off bad luck of any kind and limit as much ambient stress as possible, attempting to ensure that any pairings have the greatest chance of successfully producing the next generation of harpykind.
In additions to these taboos and precautions, most clans also engage in various blessings. Body paint--both meaningful and purely decorative--is often utilized, as well as gifts of food and the most comfortable roosting places. Many clans also have ceremonial accessories such as jewelry or wreaths that the Moonwake harpies are to wear while they visit. At night, especially during periods of bright moonlight, they also indulge in dancing, singing, and imbibing whatever the local intoxicants.
To further honor the origin story behind the Moonwake, this visit typically lasts a full lunar month. However, if some insult or interrupting incident occurs, or an unforeseen obstacle affects travel, this visit can run shorter or longer than expected. Jilted clanmates and jealous neighbors can quickly become a source of great strife, so clan matriarchs do what they can to make sure Moonwake visits last as close to exactly one month as possible.
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