First Hunt of the Qoitiken

Images by Kbignell via Midjourney

In the Qoitiken tribe of the Seven Tribes of Uhl there is a ritual hunt that ushers boys and girls of 14 turns into adulthood. The hunt takes place in The Desert of Quouribi and requires the capture of a live sand-shark.
The Qoitiken venture into the Quouribi Desert a couple of times a turn, hunting sand-sharks and searching for haanth cactus, but a hunt that is a first for a child passing to adulthood is special and celebrated with great ardor for the whole tribe. A great party is held the night before the hunters head out onto the white, desiccant sands. There is much dancing and music as well as races across the border between the Quouribi and the normal desert lands, usually late at night or in the very early morning, the prime times sand-sharks hunt. In fact the party, noises, and races are all designed to attract sand-sharks to the area for better hunting. Water is also ritualistically poured upon the white sands by those participating in their first hunt.
At mid-day following the celebration, the chandri, the children on their way to become adults, head out onto the white sands of the Quouribi desert, accompanied by the lead huntsmen from their families and equipped with brand new spears and nets. They must capture an adult sand-shark (mutuibarando in the old tongue) alive and mark it with their names before letting it go again into the sands. It is a sign of great luck and good fortune to capture a sand-shark that has been marked by previous hunters, the more marks, the more prestigious.
The hunt is dangerous and lives, and limbs, are lost nearly every turn.
There has never been an unsuccessful First Hunt, the candidates always capture a mutuibarando and all survivors make their marks upon it.
After the hunt, the former chandri return to the Tribe encampment near the edge of the Quouribi and the rite of passage is completed with a night of dancing, singing and telling of the stories of the hunt, where the new adult members all tell their own story of the hunt, adding embellishments and jibes at their counterparts, each trying to out do each other. At midnight, all who participated are doused with wine and water while they stand naked before the tribe. Each new member will get a tattoo commemorating the hunt and will begin their new lives in the tribe as adults with adult duties.

Sand-shark (mutuibarando in the old tongue)

Kbignell via Midjourney

Primary Related Location

The Desert of Quouribi

Important Locations

• The Desert of Quouribi

Related Ethnicities

• Qoitiken