Da'an Ukli Zhoni

It's been a heck of a life lately, and I haven't had a lot of time to draw; but here's another from the Dayah Forest series.  One of the members of the tribe - Da'an Ukli Zhoni - stalks a giant dragonfly (called a bowm), while being stalked in turn by a tree cat (called a mangtXik).  In the jungle, everyone must be alert!
I still haven't gotten around to posting an image of a man from the tribe; but this is getting closer…  Read below for details.

Edit:  Thanks to for providing some excellent critique.  I was rather eager to see this piece completed, and skimped on a few details - and actually left a layer invisible when I converted to .jpg.  Monkey spotted the error and offered a few additional tips, for which I was thankful.  I don't think I've ever been so happy to have a piece declined from a group.    It inspired me to go back and put in the additional effort that the piece deserved.

Da'an Ukli Zhoni
The elders called him Da'an (Fire) after the shock of strange red hair that crowned his head.  While the other boys made swings out of vines, and flung themselves into wild adventures involving small game and blowguns, Da'an preferred to remain in the village, watching the old women weaving braids, and helping them make the body paint that would frighten the biting insects.  He found more beauty in a neatly-wrought beetle-wing necklace than he ever would in a well-executed spear-throw.  On the odd occasion he did hunt (as all Dayah must), he had little skill - and as the other boys went away to become men, they wondered how their brother would fare.
When it is time, all Dayah children are driven from the tribe, to become one with the jungle.  From that time on, the child is gone forever.  When the children-that-were return, they do so as a new person - one who must show that he or she can contribute to the tribe if they wish to live as one of the People.  It is a difficult transition - as it is meant to be - and once or twice in a generation, someone does not return.
Da'an knew this; but the moment came when the elders told him he was part of the tribe no more.  As was custom, they took up their spears and, which much ritualized shouting, drove him away.  Some of Da'an's brothers and sisters had fled laughing from this onslaught, eager to take their place; but Da'an was terrified.  He was no hunter, no line-singer, no maker of medicines.  Even the first shelters he sought in trees seemed always inhabited by snakes or biting ants.
Many days passed, and nothing was heard of The-One-Who-Was-Da'an.  The tribal fathers pursed their lips and the elders sadly shook their heads.  The mothers wept - for he was best beloved by those whose company he cherished.
Then, when the thoughts of the tribe turned away to other things, a new person came to the tribe.  The elders looked strangely at this person, for they did not know whether to call the visitor "man" or "woman;"  the person's chest and loins were covered, so that none could see the form of the body beneath.  Around the newcomer's neck and arms and body, there were many bright things - necklaces of strangely shimmering bark-cloth and intricate bracelets of tiny bones.  There was a long mane of vibrant red hair, and in it were strands of beautifully-preserved flowers.  The newcomer smelled of sweet bromeliads, but the insects did not seem to bite.  
"What is your name?" asked Yula UkBala, for she was always the friendliest of the elders.
The stranger responded, and the voice was silky and gentle.  "I am Da'an Ukli Zhoni (the Fire That Makes Beauty).  Long have I been quiet in the forest, like coals banked for slumber.  Now, I come to the People, to take my place among the women, for the boy named Da'an is no more."
The Eldest Hand looked at one another.  As the five oldest members of the village, it was their place to say if a newcomer could stay or must go.  Truly, the hopeful's gifts were lovely, and would brighten the spirits of the People when they were feeling dim; but for one who was a boy to become a woman instead of a man…  Such a thing had never been done.  On the other hand, The-One-Who-Was-Da'an was gone forever.
"You wish to live among us as a woman?" asked Yula Ukbala.  A gaggle of young men began to snicker, but she silenced them with a shrewd gaze.
"I do," The-One-Who-Was-Da'an confirmed.
"To tend the vines and prepare the manioc?  To watch after the smallest children?"
"Yes."