Family Structure

For the Elk, horses are central to all aspects of life. As a strong and healthy horse is the most important requirement for an Elk, most herds are dominated by one or two horse bloodlines. The focus on horses, rather than humans, as the defining unit of community means that an Elk’s biological parents are less important than the herd they are born in and the horse they will ride when it comes to defining identity. This is especially true because new parents are still young and capable warriors; even if they weren’t typically eager to resume riding again, they are often required to by circumstance.

Thus, Elk children are raised and named by the herd as a whole, and forming a strong bond with their biological parent is largely up to chance. Elk warriors are also free to discard their herd-given name and take a new one as part of their coming-of-age ceremony, although due to the spiritualism associated with Elk names this is rare.

The Elk coming-of-age ceremony is when the Elk warrior announces to the herd which horse they have bonded with, forever linking their souls and their names. This ceremony includes weaving a lock of horsehair into the Elk’s own hair.