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noirandchocolate · 4 months ago

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Since it literally is (my) Master Kohga's Ascension Day today, thought I'd do up a headcanon post about this very important Yiga Clan celebration!

Ascension Day marks the day when the current Master officially took the position. It can be any day of the year, since of course a Master can die (or be ousted, rarely) any time and their Heir (or other successor) could complete their trials any time after that. Current Kohga's day being the first day of Spring in Hyrule is a pure coincidence. (I SWEAR I will tell my Hyrule calendar headcanons someday!)

It's called "Ascension" Day, and a new person taking up the mantle of Master is referred to as "ascending,” for the same reason the Master position is associated with firebirds as I've previously stated. The Clan practices cremation as a funerary rite and there is always a successor one way or another. From the ashes of one comes the next. (Kohga declaring "From my handsome ashes we will rise again!" when you defeat him in AoC and calling himself "The strong! The Depths-defying! From the ashes rising!" in TotK are allusions to this/the basis for this headcanon. He's so dramatic.)

This is THE event for the Clan every year. They have plenty of other festivals, to mark the seasons and for remembering ancestors for example, but Ascension Day is THE THING. Which means everybody's involved, everybody attends unless it's absolutely impossible (such as being on a mission where you literally cannot safely leave in time to get back to the Valley or be gone long enough to make the trip). It's not that you'll get in trouble for missing it or anything. It's just...it's very important to them.

The occasion begins in the late morning with a ceremony wherein the Master restates their oath to lead and protect their people, and everyone in their sixteenth year or older makes or remakes their own pledge to serve the Clan under the Master and work for the good and goals of the Yiga. There are also prayers to the ancestors for the health and well-being of the Master and the safety of the whole group. This is the serious part of the day.

Particularly on a brand-new Master's very first Ascension Day, where they actually become Master Kohga, this is a solemn rite. This is when the Heir/successor first dons their new uniform and trades their old mask for the Master's style. After this moment, their name is Master Kohga. They make their first oath, and take on all the responsibility and duty that being Master entails. And it marks the transfer of the other Yiga's loyalty onto this new individual. Plus, after all... As much as becoming Master is something to be proud of, this first day especially is a reminder of what is very very often the loss of a parent or other family member.

But then, once that serious part is over... It's time for a big celebration! THE BIGGEST part of which is...THE GLORIOUS PRESENTATION OF THE MASTER'S MIGHTY DEEDS!! This is a play! Commemorating--you guessed it--the current Master's great actions since their ascension! And also historic deeds of previous Masters Kohga! The particularly amazing stories get repeated a lot--at least one prior Master's scene is chosen to be performed each year, depending on how many very memorable things the current Master has done that need to be included. Always, all Masters being depicted are portrayed by the current one. (They play themself and any other Master, in other words, depending on the scene.)

A Master's first Ascension Day marks the final time an entire Presentation is done to specifically honor and feature their immediate predecessor. As in, when Best Guy Kohga ascended, he performed as his father, showcasing all Daddy Kohga's most important moments as Master, before switching to act as himself for the final scenes, depicting a montage of his own trials to take the reins of the Clan. Some of his dad's scenes might be chosen to be performed in the future, but that's the last time it was all about him. The same went for Dad portraying his mother at his own first Ascension Day, and Nana portraying her father. And on and on down the ages since this tradition of a Presentation began, several thousand years ago. This is, of course, a bittersweet and deeply meaningful thing for most new Masters, to have the honor of embodying their beloved family member (or friend or mentor, etc.) on stage.

The play features very dramatic and stylized acting, and big ornate over the top costumes. Some actors will magically disguise themselves as the characters they play, and are able to perform multiple roles in the same year very seamlessly using this technique. Others will use practical costuming and masks to become monsters and vivid makeup to enhance their Looks as various characters (to be seen well by the whole audience!).

(The Presentation is not quite in the exact same acting style as real-world kabuki theater, but the Clan having associations in their designs from this art form is the basis for this headcanon. The use of popular and famous scenes featuring favorite characters/dramatized people from history, and big roles being handed down through families, are also traditions in kabuki. However unlike in kabuki, participation isn't restricted to men and the acting is a bit more natural even if it is still pretty bombastic at times. Among other differences.)

The selection of scenes and writing of new ones is a job undertaken by the Clan's historians and chroniclers, who are responsible for keeping track of Masters' deeds as they occur, plus their mannerisms, personalities, and similar things that will help future actors to portray them. Of course, the Master themself will usually assist with developing new scenes. Current Kohga, being a rather theatrical and artsy guy, definitely gets involved with writing his own lines a lot. <3

The Presentation is performed outdoors, in the area by the chasm like most of the Clan's big festivals are, with a stage moved out in pieces and put together each year for the purpose. There are appropriate sets that can be quite impressive, from nature scenes to town streets to mountains etc.!

There are also big puppets used to portray larger monsters like Molduga--always a favorite target since slaying one solo is one of the trials to become Master--and creatures like dragons. Multiple people (often Blademasters for the largest of these) will work together to move these about the stage. Some of them are covered in paper and are lit up like lanterns from inside to create a glowing effect. The Yiga are quite good at special effects and illusions to really entertain!

The biggest and most impressive of these half-mechanical, half-lantern constructions is one portraying Calamity Ganon itself, which always makes an appearance amid sparkler fireworks and malice-colored fog. This is usually the very last scene in a year's Presentation, to end on a reaffirmation of the Clan's hopes that the monstrosity will destroy the Royal Family and kingdom, achieving the vengeance the Yiga have striven for. Of course, in my post-Calamity AoC-verse, at the first Ascension Day since the Clan abandoned and helped defeat Ganon...that scene was changed quite a bit to put it mildly.

Indeed, that special Ascension Day also marked the first time the Clan EVER opened its doors to a large group of outsiders, namely the Champions, Princess, their respective retinues, and some prominent Sheikah, and it was done to allow these people to view the Presentation and take part in the party times afterward. This was Sooga's idea, meant both as a gesture to augment trust from the Clan's new allies/trading partners, and as a demonstration that the Clan are a living, breathing culture unto themselves with a rich history and traditions. Kohga readily agreed, and also thought that perhaps bringing these people to the Complex would also help the Yiga, too, to accept the unprecedented alliance he'd forged beyond what was strictly necessary to defeat Ganon (which obviously went against a huge amount of what the Clan had always stood for--Koh was concerned that he'd be seen as a traitor by at least some of the Yiga/his ancestors despite his clear motive to keep everyone safer and avenge their fallen, but...his instincts proved correct and he's been almost universally lauded as a hero to his people for doing what he did).

That said, the Clan ended up having a lot of fun hosting and showing off with their pyrotechnics and spot-on impersonations of their most famous guests. Urbosa reportedly got a real kick out of seeing Kohga perform as an over-the-top version of herself in the scene depicting his Of Course Very Ingenious infiltration into Gerudo Town. The actors playing Link and Zelda were among the first to approach their characters' real-life counterparts after the show, too, and to invite them into a dancing circle...

Because post-Presentation, there's some time for cleanup and outfit changes before a HUGE PARTY commences back outside! Food! Dancing! Music (often led by Kohga on two shamisen if he's feeling feisty)! A bonfire! Poetry competitions! Drinking! Games! (Yeah you might remember this sounding similar to my post about the after-party at marriage ceremonies...the Clan does parties RIGHT.)

These kinds of festivals are all about bonding among the Yiga, and Ascension Day is a prime example of this. Gathering around the fire with friends and family groups to shout more calls to past Masters one particularly admires or remembers fondly is something particular to this occasion. It's all about Master Kohga on Ascension Day...but that means it's all about the whole Clan, since the Master's role is equally to serve as it is to be served. <3

#yiga clan #master kohga #age of calamity #legend of zelda #kidk headcanons #((THIS year--today--is the second ascension day since the calamity and they invited people back again))#((plus the researcher crew from the ancient tech lab bc yiga researchers--and Koh himself--have been working with them))#((in fact some of the year's new scenes focus on their collective huge projects!))#((don't know if this'll be an every year thing but for now kohga's having fun with showing off for everyone haha))#((another big addition this year is a scene for kohga and sooga's wedding <3))#((one more tag digression: operating the calamity ganon puppet is a big deal and sooga was the lead on that for several years))#((before he actually started...having to portray *himself* in the presentation. his first very big role was of course in last's year's))#((he had to get over some stage fright to act but...he's very proud to <3 <3))

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