The Day of the Gang

The Day of the Gang is our most important annual festival: celebrating the official establishment of the First Gang, when the Chaan transmuted his original followers into mighty Gangs (spiritual warriors) as he has transmuted all of us through our following of him.

The main celebration of the Day of the Gang is in the morning, the Gangdu Taginz (‘Waking of the Gang’) Gs traditionally getting up before dawn to begin preparations. Characterized by fanciful dress, the typical clothing includes a red cloak, a golden pennant pinned in the hair and multi-colored fans attached to the ears.

The main event of the ceremony is the G-ification, where the Otek (‘Commander’) of the center brings the new initiates and other Gs to a designated area, often a hill, where drums are played, and the Otek imitates the Chaan, blessing the Gs and taking quotes from the Chaan’s original assembly of the First Gang.

The initiates then have two horizontal lines of ashes drawn onto their foreheads, to symbolize the transition from the former soul as a human and the later soul as a G. The ashes are typically taken from ram bones, but they can be from any animal bones. One who has already been initiated should not undergo this process ever again in their life, as their spirit has already been transmuted by it into that of a mighty G.

The ceremony afterwords involves much singing and, later in the day, feasting.