The day of Choosing had arrived.
All of the boys gathered in the center of town, carrying only small rucksacks with food and essentials. Their eyes darted to one another, then back to the ground as if examining the already familiar scuffs and scrapes on their shoes. The town square buzzed with excitement, murmurs were traded by the townspeople and blended with the din of animal sounds. Each grown man was accompanied by his totem – the animal that complemented him, giving balance to his personality and strength. These men had all been through this ceremony, the passage from being a boy into becoming a man.
Most of the boys knew which animal would choose him; it tended to run in the family. If he got the same totem as his father, the family’s status in the town would be sustained. Some families lost out in the process, others made significant gains.
