Trial of Growth

This ceremony marks the point where young hgtoha become eligible to start training fully as warriors.

Execution

When a young hgtoha approaches the age of 8 they are tasked with collecting two jars of Burning Ants, one of workers and the other of soldiers. There is rarely a lack of such ants but if there it seems the tribe will be moving through an area with less of them, the collection will be started a bit earlier. While they will have been taught how to find and collect the ants, most of this training flies out of the young hgtoha's mind in the excitement. This isn't helped by the fact that the established warriors will be watching them and mocking every little mistake.
Once the jars of ants have been collected a meal is prepared for the child's 8^th birthday, or as near as is practical. While some tribes (mostly human ones) track the exact date of birth, most count someone as a year older on the day of Midsummer with all of the eligible children taking part on the same day.
The exact contents of the meal varies from tribe to tribe, and will depend on what is available in the area. In most cases it will contain:

• Bowls of sweet fruit such as ogo berries and a type of food that the child dislikes.
• Flatbread.
• Seared strips of meat, usually elk or a similar animal that forms that tribes staple food.

Regardless of the exact contents, it is the two sauces that have been prepared by the tribe's shaman that form the core of the trial. One of these will be made from the worker ants. This sauce will cause a burning sensation in the child's mouth and throat. This typically coats the bowls of fruit and food the child dislikes. The child can only pass this part of the trial if they eat all of the bowls of food and consume all of the sauce. During this the child is not allowed anything to drink.
The second part of the trial involves the strips of meat. These have usually been soaked in the second sauce, made from the soldier ants. While this second sauce burns like the first one, the real test is in how the child reacts to the soldier ant poison. They are told in advance that the poison is there, with part of the trial being whether they will eat food they know may cause them harm. The other part is to test whether the child is sturfy enough to resist the poison. If the child is weak or sickly then the poison will paralyse them or knock them unconcious, so the trial is whether they can resist the poison.
If the child pases then they will be welcomed as a potential warrior by the tribe's shaman and presented to the chief who will assign a warrior to begin their full training. Failing the trial can have different consequences depending on how the tribe is fairing. If the tribe is fairing poorly then failure can mean banishment from the tribe (or a quick death if the chief is feeling merciful). If the tribe is doing well then the child may be given another chance, but will spend a year doing the worst jobs and will be forced to endure the taunts of all those around them. In these cases the shaman will prepare a stronger version of both sauces for the second attempt.

As the trial approaches wise parents make very sure to keep on the good side of the chief and the shaman. Since the strength of the sauces can be adjusted quite easily the shaman can reduce or increase the difficulty of the trial as they see fit.

Primary Related Location

Savage Lands

Related Ethnicities

• Hgtoha