Religion

Climbing the Ikkin

If a human on our Island is to be taken seriously as a member of the Cat Worshipper religion, he/she must climb the tree, referred to as Ikkin, where our origin ruler, our God, our ancestral mother, Nikki I died. Most people who climb the tree are between the ages of 15-20, but anyone can choose to do this at any point in their life, and may choose to do it more than once. The whole Island must witness the climbing of Ikkin, and the individual must stay in the tree and pray three prayers: O Nikki my God, Nikki’s Prayer, and the Cat Creed. There is already a cat minister present in the tree to hear and confirm that all three prayers have been said. Upon return to the ground, Queen Nikki LIX herself tattoos the individual with the religion star, using pigment from various indigenous plants.  This ritual serves as a way to confirm those in the community who have a desire to be connected with their religion and their cat ancestors. The Cat Worshipping religion is a big part of the Kitty-Kats’ identity and it was holds the society together. The climbing of the Ikkin tree reinforces the value the members of our society place on religion. While not all humans on our Island will climb the Ikkin during their life, it is still seen as the norm for people do this at least once. Those who do not take part in this rite are not shunned in any way, but they are seen as different.

Government

The Queen’s Death Rite

            Upon learning that the current queen’s health condition is deteriorating, the planning for her death rite takes place. When her royal cat assistants believe the end is near, they send royal cat messengers to announce when the death rite ritual will take place. On the day of the rite, typically the day the royal assistants believe she will die, the entire Island gathers around the Ikkin tree where, under it, Her Majesty is placed on a bed of flowers. Every individual, cat or human, must pay their respects to the queen by placing another flower on her bed. The heir to the throne, her oldest cat daughter, initiates the ritual by placing the first flower, always a green rose, as green is the color of life and symbolizes Nikki I—the giver and taker of life, on her bed. Once the entire Island has had their chance to pay their respects, the royal cat assistances and the heir to the throne will wait by Her Majesty’s bedside until she dies. Sometimes other people and cats will stay in the area and watch from afar. Once the Queen passes, her heir becomes the new ruler, and, to assert her newfound dominance over everyone on the Island, she eats the body of the previous queen, her mother. Our society takes part in this ritual because we respect our queen. This ritual is especially for the humans, as it serves for the cats to emphasize their dominant role in our society.

Kinship

The Kitty-Kat Ceremony

            Since everyone on our Island is seen as kin, we all gather together on the first day of the year (January 1^st) for what we call the Kitty-Kat Ceremony. During this ceremony, everyone on the Island gathers at the Queen’s castle for a feast, where all humans and all cats eat fresh-caught fish out of a large communal vat. The Queen receives her own large vat full of fish and birds. Everybody recounts all of the important things that happened the previous year (births, deaths, marriages) to each other. They also bring homemade presents to give to their brothers and sisters. Each individual gives their homemade presents to their brothers and sisters who they feel they haven’t connected with very often in the past year. This ceremony gives the whole Island the opportunity to reconnect with each other, and reaffirm their ties as a community. Kinship is very important to us, and it is crucial to have a good relationship with everyone on the Island. We cannot let ourselves drift apart and lose connection with our brothers and sisters. Our Island is stronger when we are all close and have one another for support. At the end of the ceremony, everyone personally hugs each member of the society, until every person has hugged each other at least once.

Marriage

The Night before Marriage Ceremony

            For humans in our society, every marriage is arranged by the parents of the people to be married. The night before the wedding, the two people to be married, along with their parents, must meet under the Ikkin Tree. Here, a cat minister is present to witness the ceremony. He or she is the only witness. Each person, the bride-to-be, the groom-to-be, and their mothers and fathers will, one at a time, approach the tree and pray to Baby, the ancestral cat of love. They will ask Baby to bless the marriage, to make it stand the test of time, and for it to be fruitful. After each individual has prayed, they all gather together, holding hands around the tree and sing “O Baby Bless this Marriage”. After they sing, they all circle the tree, while still holding hands, five times going clockwise. After this is complete, the couple is ready to be married the next day in front of the whole Island. This ritual emphasizes how important it is for us to have lasting marriages that produce many offspring. Although our marriages are arranged, our parents still want to make sure the marriage will work out and be full of love. We must do this before we marry in order for Baby to bless our marriage with children in order for our society to live on.

Rites of Passage

Birth

            Only the birth of a new cat is ritualized in our society. When a cat on the Island gives birth, she only has one kitten at a time. Everyone on the Island is present for the birth, which takes place under the Ikkin tree. A cat always knows the exact day she will give birth, so this rite is planned far in advance. Only other cats are allowed to help her in the birthing process, as they are wiser than any humans are. At the moment the kitten is born, the entire Island must pray the Birth Prayer in unison. This is initiated by one of the cats helping with the birth. After the Birth Prayer, the kitten is taken to the Queen and cleaned by Her Majesty. Once he/she has been cleaned, the Queen names the new kitten and  he/she officially becomes a new royal member of Kitty-Nikki Island.

Coming of Age

            The coming of age ritual, called Big Cat, is only for humans, as cats are already respected and do not need to prove themselves as members of our society. This rites takes place once a year, under the Ikkin tree. Every human, males and female, on the Island that turned 13 that year is obliged to participate in the rite. A cat minister administers the rite and serves as an elder to the individuals involved. The whole Island is invited to watch the initiates, who must paint themselves to look like cats. After all of the initiates are painted with strips, whiskers, and pink noses, they are separated from everyone else and put in a large tent under the Ikkin (separation). Here, they must stay until sundown the following day. They are not allowed to eat or drink or sleep. While in the tent they talk to each other and are taught about hunting and other useful skills from the cat minister. The cat minister leaves the tent for the night, leaving the initiates alone to bond and keep each other company to distract from the hunger, thirst, and sleep deprivation they feel (communitas). The next morning, the cat minister comes back to tell stories about the seven ancestral cats, and prepare them for their reincorporation that night. At sundown, everyone on the Island gathers at the Ikkin tree to witness the initiates coming out of the tent. They come out and climb the Ikkin tree together, then jump off together onto a big tarp. This signifies their jump from childhood to adulthood, and as official members of Kitty-Kat society. Once they land on the tarp they are adults and official members of Kitty-Kat society (reincorporation). From the time they go into the tent to the time they jump down from the Ikkin, they are between childhood and adulthood (liminal stage). By being able to live without food, water, or sleep, and jumping off the Ikkin, they are proving themselves to be as a strong as cats, and worthy of membership in our society.

Marriage

            After the public wedding ceremony, the couple leaves the venue (typically the home of the bride’s parents) and goes to a party at the Queen’s castle. They are considered a married couple until after this party. Besides a cat minister, only young, unmarried people are in attendance (separation), along with the new bride and groom. Since technically none of the people at this party are married yet, they are all equal and bond as young people (communitas). The bride and groom disregard the norms of how a couple is supposed to act. They flirt and interact with other people of both sexes for the first part of the party (liminality), and then the cat minister comes and calms the party down. All the young people gather around the minister who talks about marriage and how this party, for the bride and groom, is the last chance to have fun with other people. Then, the bride and groom must join together and sit alone for five hours, only talking to each other, while the other young people party around them. This signifies their restraint and their loyalty to each other. The bride and groom leave the castle (reincorporation) with the status as a married couple. During the second half of the party, they had to restrain themselves from being distracted by the temptations of other young people, which prepares them to be a married couple, as from then on out they have to be loyal to each other.

Death

            When a human dies the body is taken to the Ikkin tree and laid out. Besides a cat minister only the parents, blood siblings, spouse, and children may attend this rite. They must spend the night at the tree with the body. In the morning the family wraps up the body in cloth and takes it back to their home, for it to be buried in their yard. A deep grave is dug, and before the body is placed in it, lots of fresh caught fish are placed in the grave to provide nourishment for the deceased in the afterlife. The body is lowered into the grave and the minister blesses the deceased. The family waits at the grave for the Queen to arrive. Once she has arrived, she must go in to the grave and leave her scent on the body. After she has left her mark on the body, the grave is covered up and the soul can ascend in to Heaven. All of this must be done in order to guarantee that the soul goes to Heaven.