The Tribe of Rushing Water (known more commonly as "the Tribe") are an organized group of wildcats who live three-day's journey east of the lake in the mountains. Although they share some similiarites with the Clans in terms of organization and reliance on their heavenly ancestors there are also many cultural and physical differences between the two groups. The Tribe has appeared in books Moonrise, Dawn, and Outcast and are also anticipated to feature in Sign of the Moon.

JUMP: Territory • Culture • Organization • Spirituality • Language

Territory

Note: There is currently no officially released map of the Tribe's territory. Warrior's Wish will eventually put up a rough outline of the mountains with information from the books.

Borders

Prior to the events in Outcast the Tribe set no borders, but their territory spanned the mountains around the tribe cave. In Outcast the Tribe is forced to set borders because other cats enter the mountains and competing for prey. The first border is set at a twisted spike of rock, and continues along a ridge to a valley, then on across a plateau.

Cave of Rushing Water

The Tribe's camp is made inside a huge cavern hidden behind a waterfall in the heart of the mountains. The cave stretches far back into the mountain, and the roof is covered in stalactites. The cave is shadowy and dark, the only light comes from beyond the waterfall, casting dappled shadows. Farther into the cave is a small stream and drinking pool. Like Clan cats, the Tribe hunters also supply the Clan with a fresh kill pile, located near the drinking pool.

Beside the cave walls are shallow scoops of earth lined with moss and feathers that serve as nests. They are in clusters, much like the Clan apprentice, warrior, and elder's dens. The nursery is attached to the main cave via a separate tunnel.

Cave of Pointed Stones

Another tunnel leads to "the Cave of Pointed Stones" a holy place for the Tribe cats where they can communicate with their ancestors. The cavern is smaller and quieter than the central cave, and a jagged rift high in the roof allows moonlight in. There are also many more stalagmites and stalactites.

"The only light came through the rushing water, pale and
wavering, so that it was like standing in the depths of a pool. " - Moonrise, p. 111

Path of Rushing Water

The cats need to pass through the waterfall to get to the main cave-- a small hole in the falls at the top of a narrow slippery rock ledge, known as the "Path of Rushing Water."

Culture

Because of their very different environments, the Tribe has adapted physically and culturally to the mountains in ways very different from the Clan cats. They tend to be smaller and leaner than Clan cats, and use mud to camouflage and insulate their fur for hunting.  Hollypaw describes Brook's accent as low and strange compared to the sound of the forest cats, (The Sight 70) and in an interview with Warrior's Wish in 2008, Victoria Holmes said that she imagines the Tribe cats to have Welsh accents.

They also have different eating customs, two cats share a piece of prey and exchange pieces before eating the prey in a ritual called "sharing." Brook says that the Tribe cats have a saying "that prey eaten slowly feeds us longer." (The Sight, 69)

Hollypaw notes in Outcast that the Tribe "understands about duty and being fair" (Outcast, 284) despite having no warrior code. Previous to the events in Outcast, when the Tribe is forced to mark borders and learn combat, they were much more peaceful than the warriors and didn't believe in fighting with other cats.

Organization

Healer

Stoneteller (Teller of Pointed Stones) is both the leader and the medicine cat, known as the "Healer" of the tribe. He also decides who will be Healer after him.

The cat's future roles in the Tribe are decided by Stoneteller when they are kits, depending on their physique they are divided into two categories. Although it is not impossible for a cat to make their own choice later, this is rarely done.

Prey-Hunters

Prey-Hunters are in charge of hunting prey, and need to be agile and swift, using their mud-camoflagued fur to blend with both the appearance of scent of their rocky territory. In order to maximize the prey, they have developed a technique of "baiting" large birds. Locating smaller prey, like a mouse, the cats wait until a large bird of prey like a falon or eagle comes to hunt the mouse. When the bird comes down a cat leaps on it and kills it, eventually bringing both the mouse and the bird to the Tribe's fresh kill pile.

Cave-Guards

Cave-Guards are stronger and skilled fighters, who protect Prey-Hunters on hunting patrols and defend the cave. Their main opponents are the dangerous birds of prey which hunt in the mountains, and as proved in Moonrise and Outcast the Tribe doesn't have the same battle-history as the Clan cats, and the Cave-Guards are often ill-equipt to deal with greater challenges like intruders or mountain lions.

Kit-Mothers

Like Queens, Kit-Mothers are Cave-Guards or Prey-Hunters who have temporarily suspended duties in order to raise their kits.

To-Be's

Apprentices are known as "To-be's" and do not have separate mentors, but train among the other to-bes in their chosen roles.

“Stoneteller chooses what we’ll be,” Pebble told her. “Kits
who look big and strong get to be cave-guards, and ones that
look like they’ll run fast and leap high become prey-hunters.
I’m going to be a cave-guard.”  - Outcast, 225

Spirituality

The Tribe cats refer to their ancestors as "The Tribe of Endless Hunting." Unlike StarClan, whose warriors pride themselves on a culture of battle, the Tribe is much more pacifistic, and "it is not the way of the Tribe to fight and kill other cats." (Outcast, 234).

The physical appearance of the spirit cats seem similar to StarClan cats. Some of the older spirits are faded, and merely outlines, while the most recent members in Outcast still appear to have oozing battle wounds. The cats take on the same forms of their living bodies, but with the shimmer of stars in their fur.

Stoneteller communicates with the Tribe of Endless Hunting by interpreting the signs and messages in the Cave of Pointed Stones. Early on, in Dawn Stoneteller claims that he doesn't share dreams with his ancestors, but only interprets their voices in the signs of "rock and leaf and water" (Dawn, 205).  Later on in Outcast this is contradicted when Jaypaw spies on Stoneteller's dream and sees that he's also able to communicate with ancestors who visit him with messages. In Moonrise the entire Tribe gathers in the Cave of Pointed Stones to share in what Stoneteller calls a "Telling" although the text doesn't elaborate on how often these occur.

“When the Tribe of Endless Hunting calls, we come to listen. In rock and pool, in air and light on water, through fall of prey and cry of kit, through scrape of claw and beat of blood, we hear you.” - Moonrise, p. 152

Language

Naming

Kit-mothers choose the names of their kits, and tradition dictates that it should be what they first see after the kits are born. Rock in Cats of the Clans notes that you would think this would cause many kits to named "Wall of Cave" or "Floor of Cave." Unfortunately, it's never elaborated on as to how kit-mothers give their kits names of objects outside of the cave.

The format of the name varies, but generally names include a verb, adjective and noun that describes an element of Tribe life, such as Brook Where Small Fish Swim or Wing Shadow Over Water. The Tribe names are shortened to their first word for daily use, ie. "Brook" or "Wing"

Accent

As described above in Culture, the Tribe cats have different accents than the Clan cats. Hollypaw describes their voices as low and strange, while Victoria Holmes has said she imagines them sounding Welsh.

Vocabulary

Caught-prey: freshly killed prey, known as freshkill to the Clanners.

Cave-Guard: broad-shouldered and powerful cats who guard the cave

Prey-Hunter: lithe and swift cats who hunt prey.

To-be: apprentice; either a Cave-gaurd or Prey-Hunter

Beetle-brain: friendly insult; equivalent of mouse-brain

Time of Freed Water: season of spring

Time of Frozen Water: season of winter

Tribe of Endless Hunting: the Tribe's ancestors, equivalent of StarClan.

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