Werejaguar Culture

* Werejaguar have a ritual called a Moka in which they take over another alphas territory
* The Moka involves giving a gift to the other alpha that is too large to repay

## Entries

These are the unedited notes of Smiling WIthin Records as he travels through the Jungles of Odonburg

*Day 1*

*I headed to this area after hearing that it was the homeland of the werejaguars. I have been wandering through this jungle for a few hours now. Some of the plants here have these crazy hanging leaves that grow in rows and others have these large fronds. The fog is pretty thick and there aren’t any paths to follow. It's so humid that I can almost swim through the air. I can only imagine how much worse this would be without my coat. I’m not really sure how anyone could live in such an area, but I have had it confirmed by a few trustworthy sources so I will press on.*

*Day 3*

*I have been wandering through the jungle for a few days now, it is easy to get lost and I think I was going in circles for a while. I had started marking trees I have figures out that most plants have their leaves or fronds in two rows so remove the third from the top of the direction I head in so I know which direction I took in just in case I end up getting lost. I have since realized that the fog is getting thicker the further into the jungle I go so I have been using that to gauge directions. I can’t see more than a few feet away anymore, so I’ve been progressing slowly to avoid stepping on a snake. Some of the snakes are venomous here but luckily I read about them in my research of the area and know that the ones with adjacent red and yellow bands are venomous and the one with black and red bands are safe. There are so many creatures I’ve never seen before in the jungle and would love to keep exploring but I’m getting even more excited since I imagine it can’t be much farther until I find the werejaguar civilization.*

*Day 4*

*I finally found a village of werejaguar. It is called Aktao. At first they were wary except Kai. Kai wanted to know about where I come from. It turns out that they are as interesting in our culture as we are about theirs. He offered to let me stay in exchange for information about other places. Once Kai approved, the others seemed to accept me. It appears that he is the leader of the village. Everyone seems to look up to him. It appears to be a rather small village just twenty or so werejaguars, but there are apparently three other villages nearby. The villages are apparently two of which are run by Kai the last is run by someone named Tanna. Tannas village is supposedly the largest, but still smaller than the other three combined. This seems unusual and I look forward to finding out why Kai alone runs three villages.*

*Day 6*

*The werejaguars are fascinating. It turns out Kai is not actually the ruler, but the what they call the “alpha” which is apparently a title of respect from the others. His authority comes from the support and recognition of the others as the alpha.The alpha seems to gain the status through persuasion and by others relying on them.*

*Day 7*

*I have learned that much of werejaguar society revolves around Couatl. They breed coatl and use them for hunting. But it turns out Couatl affect all parts of werejaguar culture. They are used to hunt which provides food, but as I noted previously, the alpha gets status by others depending on them, this includes providing food for those who do not have it. Werejaguar also use Couatl as a means of currency (though they also appear to use gold since they like how shiny it is). They name the Couatl based on its owners with each new owner appending their own personal tag to the end. This means you can track what transactions have occurred through the Couatl and even family trees in some cases. The were jaguar seem to worship a deity they call the “Great Couatl” though it may be “First Couatl” (the translation is slightly ambiguous). They worship it in this massive stepped pyramid. The prayer chamber has a large glass ceiling where they can watch Couatl fly by. The paintings in the temple appear very old. Kai didn’t seem to know how long ago the pyramid was built, just that it has been there as long as their kind remembers. This brings up all sorts of questions about when the pyramid was built and who built it, but that seems like something to research later since the answers aren’t here.*

*Day 9*

*Kai came to me today since he thought I’d be interested in what he called a “Moka.” I joined him and it turns out the Moka is a ceremony in which one alpha presents another with a large gift. The larger the gift is, the more prestige is obtained by the gifted. Kai basically gave Tanna a small dragon horde and a few dozen Coatl. Since Tanna is unable to repay this with a larger Moka, Kai is now considered a superior alpha and takes over her domain. This means that alpha man positions are not stable and can change at any time if a large enough Moka can be presented. I may be the first outsider to witness a Moka since I have not heard of them in any writings about werejaguars.*

*Day 12*

*I think it’s finally time I move on from here. I have learned a lot about werejaguars and have gotten to witness something no other outsider has. It had been an honor spending the last tenday with them and I’m almost sad to leave such an interesting society, but there is still more to see in this world.*