Post by Casey Romano on Sept 10, 2009 16:02:36 GMT -5
Lycanthrope social organization
Taken from: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shapeshifter_(Anita_Blake_mythology)#Lycanthrope_social_organization
Werewolves
The social habits of werewolves are probably the most fully described in the series, both because of Anita and Jean-Claude's association with the wolves and because werewolves appear to be the most prevalent type of shapeshifter, particularly in the St. Louis area.
Dominance
Dominance is a key element in werewolf social organization. The pack is structured in a clear hierarchy, and pack members move up or down by winning or losing challenges against other pack members.
Although most dominance battles end when one participant backs down, leadership of the pack is only transferred by a battle to the death.
A dominant pack member may issue any order to submissive member, provided that the dominant does not order the submissive to do anything illegal.
A pack member may offer or receive "protection" to or from another member. A pack member must accept all challenges on behalf of any person to whom he or she has offered protection.
Non-werewolves, such as Jean-Claude and Anita Blake may be classified as "dominant" to certain members of the pack, but may not typically be considered "alpha" or full members of the pack. (Anita is an exception).
Werewolf terminology
The werewolves have a variety of private terms, primarily borrowed from Norse mythology although a few stem from Greco-Roman myth as well.
Bolverk
The Bolverk, named after Bolverk of Norse mythology, is the enforcer of the Ulfric. The Bolverk carries out punishments or performs duties the Ulfric does not want to do himself, or if he is not available to do so. For example, in the Thronnos Rokke clan, Richard makes Anita the Bolverk of his pack because he is too kind-hearted to carry out punishments necessary to those who defy his authority. Generally the tasks assigned to the Bolverk are the most unsavory in terms of "normal" acceptance, i.e. having to kill a rogue member. Often at times the Bolverk is used as almost as a bogeyman to keep other wolves in line. The Bolverk is allowed three helpers called Baugi, Suttung, and Gunnlod. The titles Baugi and Suttung are based on the two giants Bolverk tricked to get the mead of poetry; the Gunnlod is named after Suttung's daughter, who Bolverk seduced for the mead of poetry.
Erato and Eros
Erato, a muse of erotic poetry, and Eros is the god of love or lust. For the werewolves, these roles are held by other werewolves who help the new werewolves learn to control themselves and their physical form during sex, usually to prevent the change from human to wolf during sexual release.
Fenrir
An official challenger to the Ulfric, named after Fenrisulfr or Fenrir, the wolf that is destined to kill Odin in Norse mythology.
Freki and Geri
The Ulfric's second and third in command. Named after Odin's wolves of Norse mythology.
Freyja
A lupa who declares herself independent of the Ulfric and challenges the Ulfric to reclaim her. Any male wolf may win her by having sex with her. The male wolves will do anything, including kill each other, to win her. Anita is forced to do this in Blue Moon under the control of Raina's munin. She is ultimately reclaimed by Richard in one of the cabins. SEE: Freyja.
Lupa
Named for Lupa, the mother of Romulus and Remus, the position is reserved for the Ulfric's chosen mate. Although the lupa need not fight for her/his position, the position of most dominant female (or male in the case of male Lupas) is determined by conflict. The term is Latin for "she-wolf" and "prostitute."
Lupanar
A meeting place for the werewolves, possibly their place of power. For Richard's clan, there is a huge rock that the Ulfric sits on that looks like a throne, hence Thronos Rokke clan. In Blue Moon, the lupanar of the Oak Tree Clan has an incredibly huge oak tree in it.
Munin
The munin are the spirits or memories of the dead pack members, named after Munin, Odin's raven of memory in Norse mythology. Live pack members can "call the munin," drawing on memories or abilities of former members. Various packs appear to preserve the munin by different methods. For example, the werewolves of the Thronos Rokke clan preserve the munin of dead pack members by eating their bodies. Anita has called the munin of Verne's pack. She can also channel the munin of former Lupa of the Thronos Rokke clan, Raina. This is possible because Anita personally killed Raina, and her necromancy powers and ties with the Ulfric of the clan allowed Raina to bind her munin to Anita. Anita can use Raina's munin to heal badly injured lycanthropes, although this requires her to be at least somewhat sexually attracted to her patient and Raina will usually try to extort a price for the healing, usually something unpleasant or embarrassing to Anita.
Thronos Rokke
The name of the St. Louis clan of werewolves, named for the "throne rock" on which their Ulfric sits.
Ulfric
The ultimate alpha male of the pack. The Ulfric will be replaced by whoever defeats him in combat. In theory it does not have to be a death fight, and the Ulfric can in fact step down, but the new Ulfric will usually kill the old one to prevent a dominance split, as Jacob intended in Narcissus in Chains. Theoretically, female weres may become Ulfric, but female Ulfrics are rare because the strongest males normally have a significant strength advantage over even the strongest females. The term is a derivative of the Norse "ulfr," meaning "wolf."
Wereleopards
St. Louis's wereleopards are substantially less numerous than its werewolf and wererat counterparts. A likely reason for this phenomenon is the low contagion characteristic of cat-based lycanthropy.
The social rituals of the leopard pard is more difficult to discern in comparison to the wolf pack. There could be many reasons for this difficulty. It is possible their smaller numbers or Gabriel's decision to reshape the pard members into submissive prostitutes warped their social structures beyond recognition. Another possibility is their introduction as a group occurred later in the series (Burnt Offerings - book 7) as opposed to the wolves and they have not been featured in as much detail as the wolf pack.
The principle social characteristic of the pard members is a need for physical contact as a source of emotional reassurance. Pard members frequently rub against one another and against Anita as if they were cats.
An interesting and notable characteristic in wereleopard terminology is the existence of three different titles for their leaders: Nimir-Raj/Nimir-Ra, leoparde lionne, leopard passant. The titles do not affect the functional, internal authority of the leader, but they do describe the type of leader currently in power.
Wereleopard terminology
Pard
"pard" is the term wereleopards use to refer to their group. (In Middle English, "pard" referred to panthers or leopards).
Nimir-Ra and Nimir-Raj
A given pard's queen is its "Nimir-Ra," and its king is its "Nimir-Raj." (Nimir appears to be a version of "Namir," the word for panther in Hindi, Arabic, and Hebrew. "Raj" is Hindi for king or ruler.)
Léoparde lionné and lion passant
Terms based in French heraldry to describe a wereleopard leader who is not of a Nimir-Raj or Nimir-Ra status. According to Gwen in Burnt Offerings, a "léoparde lionné" refers to a rampant leopard -- an alpha who is a brave protector or avenger such as Anita. Gwen states that a "lion passant" refers to a sleeping lion -- an alpha that leads but does not protect.
In fact, the pard's understanding of heraldry appears to be in error. Under standard heraldry terms, passant means a walking animal (three legs on the ground, one leg up), while dormant means a sleeping animal. The term "léoparde lionné," however, is used correctly -- the term referred to a leopard in the typical pose of a heraldic lion, i.e. rampant.[1]
Wererats
The wererats of St. Louis refer to their community as the Rodere. They are led by Rafael, their Rat King. Rafael's rats include a disproportionately high number of soldiers and mercenaries, and are more likely to use guns than most other lycanthropes. They make up the majority of Jean-Claude's security at the Circus of the Damned.
Rafael has allied his Rodere with Richard and Anita and, through them, to the Thronos Rokke clan and Blooddrinkers clan. The name of Rafael's clan is the Dark Crown Clan, and Rafael has a crown branded into his arm to show he is the king.
Wererat Terminology
Rom - King/Leader
Werehyenas
The werehyenas are one of the major power groups in the St. Louis shapeshifter community, together with the werewolves and wererats. Their leader, Narcissus has recruited only men as werehyenas, because hyenas in nature are matrilineal, and since Narcissus is a Hermaphrodite s/he won't have to fear including a female alpha into their group as s/he will not take another female werehyena into the group.
Werehyena Terminology
Oba- Female clan leader.
Werelions
Mentioned in Danse Macabre, the werelions of St. Louis are a pride of mostly-submissives who were led by their Rex Joseph, prior to The Harlequin, whom the position of Rex was gained by Haven.
Werelion terminology
Pride
The name werelions use to refer to their groups. Groups of regular lions are also called prides.
Rex and Regina
A given pride's king is its "Rex," and its queen is its "Regina." ("Rex" is Latin for absolute ruler or king, and "Regina" is Latin for queen.)
Uncommon wereanimals
Weresnakes
Throughout the series, the only weresnakes Anita has encountered are werecobras and (perhaps more indirectly) wereanacondas.
Of the werecobras, the leaders are called Kadra (female) and Kashyapa (male). They have the ability to have offspring like mammals or like reptiles.
Werebears
The queen of this group is called an Ursa, which might imply there are more than a handful of members but Anita only meets a few. The King of this group is called an Ursus.
Weretigers
One of the rarest forms of lycanthropes, there is only one weretiger in St. Louis, named Christine.
In The Harlequin, another were-tiger appears named Soledad. It is presumed that she is running from an arranged marriage. This leads to the discussion of Were-tiger society.
There are only four clans of tigers within the United States. They all keep to themselves. Their culture is also divided about purebloods, inherited lycanthropes, and attacked. Being given tiger lycanthropy is seen as a reward for a job well done. They think it is a sin to give it to someone not worthy. Tiger lycanthropy is one of the harder-to-catch strains. It is also one of the few that can be inherited, as well as caught. Tigers tend not to announce they are infected and entire families may stay in "the closet." Tigers have forced their clan members to marry other clan members, sometimes to keep the strain amongst themselves. Most have arranged marriages, they have been known to abduct known tigers, if an arranged marriage cannot be done. They are also a matriarchal (led by a woman/queen) society, unlike most of the other lycanthrope societies which are patriarchal (Led by a male/king)
Weredogs
The only weredogs mentioned are Janet Talbot and her son. Janet says that her shapeshifting ability is inherited and is not tied to the moon; they are able to resist changing during the full moon if they choose to. This enables them to carry offspring without risk of miscarriage.
Werefox
There is only one werefox mentioned, Gilbert (also called "Gil"), who is exceptionally timid.
Also notes that the werefoxes for the majority are hidden in China and remain the only weres in the country after the government had local wizards search and drive out the other were groups and witches.
Werejaguars
Primarily located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, there hasn't been any mention of them in St. Louis. They are ruled by the Vampire and self proclaim Aztec goddess Itzpapalotl (Obsidian Butterfly)
Taken from: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shapeshifter_(Anita_Blake_mythology)#Lycanthrope_social_organization
Werewolves
The social habits of werewolves are probably the most fully described in the series, both because of Anita and Jean-Claude's association with the wolves and because werewolves appear to be the most prevalent type of shapeshifter, particularly in the St. Louis area.
Dominance
Dominance is a key element in werewolf social organization. The pack is structured in a clear hierarchy, and pack members move up or down by winning or losing challenges against other pack members.
Although most dominance battles end when one participant backs down, leadership of the pack is only transferred by a battle to the death.
A dominant pack member may issue any order to submissive member, provided that the dominant does not order the submissive to do anything illegal.
A pack member may offer or receive "protection" to or from another member. A pack member must accept all challenges on behalf of any person to whom he or she has offered protection.
Non-werewolves, such as Jean-Claude and Anita Blake may be classified as "dominant" to certain members of the pack, but may not typically be considered "alpha" or full members of the pack. (Anita is an exception).
Werewolf terminology
The werewolves have a variety of private terms, primarily borrowed from Norse mythology although a few stem from Greco-Roman myth as well.
Bolverk
The Bolverk, named after Bolverk of Norse mythology, is the enforcer of the Ulfric. The Bolverk carries out punishments or performs duties the Ulfric does not want to do himself, or if he is not available to do so. For example, in the Thronnos Rokke clan, Richard makes Anita the Bolverk of his pack because he is too kind-hearted to carry out punishments necessary to those who defy his authority. Generally the tasks assigned to the Bolverk are the most unsavory in terms of "normal" acceptance, i.e. having to kill a rogue member. Often at times the Bolverk is used as almost as a bogeyman to keep other wolves in line. The Bolverk is allowed three helpers called Baugi, Suttung, and Gunnlod. The titles Baugi and Suttung are based on the two giants Bolverk tricked to get the mead of poetry; the Gunnlod is named after Suttung's daughter, who Bolverk seduced for the mead of poetry.
Erato and Eros
Erato, a muse of erotic poetry, and Eros is the god of love or lust. For the werewolves, these roles are held by other werewolves who help the new werewolves learn to control themselves and their physical form during sex, usually to prevent the change from human to wolf during sexual release.
Fenrir
An official challenger to the Ulfric, named after Fenrisulfr or Fenrir, the wolf that is destined to kill Odin in Norse mythology.
Freki and Geri
The Ulfric's second and third in command. Named after Odin's wolves of Norse mythology.
Freyja
A lupa who declares herself independent of the Ulfric and challenges the Ulfric to reclaim her. Any male wolf may win her by having sex with her. The male wolves will do anything, including kill each other, to win her. Anita is forced to do this in Blue Moon under the control of Raina's munin. She is ultimately reclaimed by Richard in one of the cabins. SEE: Freyja.
Lupa
Named for Lupa, the mother of Romulus and Remus, the position is reserved for the Ulfric's chosen mate. Although the lupa need not fight for her/his position, the position of most dominant female (or male in the case of male Lupas) is determined by conflict. The term is Latin for "she-wolf" and "prostitute."
Lupanar
A meeting place for the werewolves, possibly their place of power. For Richard's clan, there is a huge rock that the Ulfric sits on that looks like a throne, hence Thronos Rokke clan. In Blue Moon, the lupanar of the Oak Tree Clan has an incredibly huge oak tree in it.
Munin
The munin are the spirits or memories of the dead pack members, named after Munin, Odin's raven of memory in Norse mythology. Live pack members can "call the munin," drawing on memories or abilities of former members. Various packs appear to preserve the munin by different methods. For example, the werewolves of the Thronos Rokke clan preserve the munin of dead pack members by eating their bodies. Anita has called the munin of Verne's pack. She can also channel the munin of former Lupa of the Thronos Rokke clan, Raina. This is possible because Anita personally killed Raina, and her necromancy powers and ties with the Ulfric of the clan allowed Raina to bind her munin to Anita. Anita can use Raina's munin to heal badly injured lycanthropes, although this requires her to be at least somewhat sexually attracted to her patient and Raina will usually try to extort a price for the healing, usually something unpleasant or embarrassing to Anita.
Thronos Rokke
The name of the St. Louis clan of werewolves, named for the "throne rock" on which their Ulfric sits.
Ulfric
The ultimate alpha male of the pack. The Ulfric will be replaced by whoever defeats him in combat. In theory it does not have to be a death fight, and the Ulfric can in fact step down, but the new Ulfric will usually kill the old one to prevent a dominance split, as Jacob intended in Narcissus in Chains. Theoretically, female weres may become Ulfric, but female Ulfrics are rare because the strongest males normally have a significant strength advantage over even the strongest females. The term is a derivative of the Norse "ulfr," meaning "wolf."
Wereleopards
St. Louis's wereleopards are substantially less numerous than its werewolf and wererat counterparts. A likely reason for this phenomenon is the low contagion characteristic of cat-based lycanthropy.
The social rituals of the leopard pard is more difficult to discern in comparison to the wolf pack. There could be many reasons for this difficulty. It is possible their smaller numbers or Gabriel's decision to reshape the pard members into submissive prostitutes warped their social structures beyond recognition. Another possibility is their introduction as a group occurred later in the series (Burnt Offerings - book 7) as opposed to the wolves and they have not been featured in as much detail as the wolf pack.
The principle social characteristic of the pard members is a need for physical contact as a source of emotional reassurance. Pard members frequently rub against one another and against Anita as if they were cats.
An interesting and notable characteristic in wereleopard terminology is the existence of three different titles for their leaders: Nimir-Raj/Nimir-Ra, leoparde lionne, leopard passant. The titles do not affect the functional, internal authority of the leader, but they do describe the type of leader currently in power.
Wereleopard terminology
Pard
"pard" is the term wereleopards use to refer to their group. (In Middle English, "pard" referred to panthers or leopards).
Nimir-Ra and Nimir-Raj
A given pard's queen is its "Nimir-Ra," and its king is its "Nimir-Raj." (Nimir appears to be a version of "Namir," the word for panther in Hindi, Arabic, and Hebrew. "Raj" is Hindi for king or ruler.)
Léoparde lionné and lion passant
Terms based in French heraldry to describe a wereleopard leader who is not of a Nimir-Raj or Nimir-Ra status. According to Gwen in Burnt Offerings, a "léoparde lionné" refers to a rampant leopard -- an alpha who is a brave protector or avenger such as Anita. Gwen states that a "lion passant" refers to a sleeping lion -- an alpha that leads but does not protect.
In fact, the pard's understanding of heraldry appears to be in error. Under standard heraldry terms, passant means a walking animal (three legs on the ground, one leg up), while dormant means a sleeping animal. The term "léoparde lionné," however, is used correctly -- the term referred to a leopard in the typical pose of a heraldic lion, i.e. rampant.[1]
Wererats
The wererats of St. Louis refer to their community as the Rodere. They are led by Rafael, their Rat King. Rafael's rats include a disproportionately high number of soldiers and mercenaries, and are more likely to use guns than most other lycanthropes. They make up the majority of Jean-Claude's security at the Circus of the Damned.
Rafael has allied his Rodere with Richard and Anita and, through them, to the Thronos Rokke clan and Blooddrinkers clan. The name of Rafael's clan is the Dark Crown Clan, and Rafael has a crown branded into his arm to show he is the king.
Wererat Terminology
Rom - King/Leader
Werehyenas
The werehyenas are one of the major power groups in the St. Louis shapeshifter community, together with the werewolves and wererats. Their leader, Narcissus has recruited only men as werehyenas, because hyenas in nature are matrilineal, and since Narcissus is a Hermaphrodite s/he won't have to fear including a female alpha into their group as s/he will not take another female werehyena into the group.
Werehyena Terminology
Oba- Female clan leader.
Werelions
Mentioned in Danse Macabre, the werelions of St. Louis are a pride of mostly-submissives who were led by their Rex Joseph, prior to The Harlequin, whom the position of Rex was gained by Haven.
Werelion terminology
Pride
The name werelions use to refer to their groups. Groups of regular lions are also called prides.
Rex and Regina
A given pride's king is its "Rex," and its queen is its "Regina." ("Rex" is Latin for absolute ruler or king, and "Regina" is Latin for queen.)
Uncommon wereanimals
Weresnakes
Throughout the series, the only weresnakes Anita has encountered are werecobras and (perhaps more indirectly) wereanacondas.
Of the werecobras, the leaders are called Kadra (female) and Kashyapa (male). They have the ability to have offspring like mammals or like reptiles.
Werebears
The queen of this group is called an Ursa, which might imply there are more than a handful of members but Anita only meets a few. The King of this group is called an Ursus.
Weretigers
One of the rarest forms of lycanthropes, there is only one weretiger in St. Louis, named Christine.
In The Harlequin, another were-tiger appears named Soledad. It is presumed that she is running from an arranged marriage. This leads to the discussion of Were-tiger society.
There are only four clans of tigers within the United States. They all keep to themselves. Their culture is also divided about purebloods, inherited lycanthropes, and attacked. Being given tiger lycanthropy is seen as a reward for a job well done. They think it is a sin to give it to someone not worthy. Tiger lycanthropy is one of the harder-to-catch strains. It is also one of the few that can be inherited, as well as caught. Tigers tend not to announce they are infected and entire families may stay in "the closet." Tigers have forced their clan members to marry other clan members, sometimes to keep the strain amongst themselves. Most have arranged marriages, they have been known to abduct known tigers, if an arranged marriage cannot be done. They are also a matriarchal (led by a woman/queen) society, unlike most of the other lycanthrope societies which are patriarchal (Led by a male/king)
Weredogs
The only weredogs mentioned are Janet Talbot and her son. Janet says that her shapeshifting ability is inherited and is not tied to the moon; they are able to resist changing during the full moon if they choose to. This enables them to carry offspring without risk of miscarriage.
Werefox
There is only one werefox mentioned, Gilbert (also called "Gil"), who is exceptionally timid.
Also notes that the werefoxes for the majority are hidden in China and remain the only weres in the country after the government had local wizards search and drive out the other were groups and witches.
Werejaguars
Primarily located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, there hasn't been any mention of them in St. Louis. They are ruled by the Vampire and self proclaim Aztec goddess Itzpapalotl (Obsidian Butterfly)