Humma Sexuality and Reproduction

Humma don't understand gender like the humans, vrusk, and yazirians.  To them a normal being goes through stages and that's that.  To be stuck in one stage (male or female) is just ludacris and stupid to a humma and he will tell you so in no uncertain terms.  Humma don't even have words that properly translate to male or female because "you are just you" and the stage you are in does not change who you are.  Humma think of it more like, "I've reached fertility" (female stage), and "I've become virile" (male stage), and "I am old" (neuter stage).

Sex because of love is not on the menu for a humma.  Procreation is what you do to be better than the next humma.  If you win the privilege to mate with a fertile humma then that is points for you and not the next grunt.

Having a litter is a right of passage for the fertile humma.  Everyone does it and it revolves around status.  Fertile humma have spent years positioning themselves to attract the "right" virile humma.  There is great status to be gained by getting the most prestigious, the most popular, and the most honored to compete for the mating privilege. The same is true for the virile humma seeking to mate.  They are seeking to gain mating privilege with the best placed fertile humma in society.  This is not about love, it is about status.  Competitions must be won and prices paid.

When the a fertile humma finally goes into heat the time for competition is up.  Those who have gained enough status and see this particular humma as a good choice to gain more status fight it out in a public event.  The fertile humma is the prize.  This is where houses and families come in.  Houses have great sway in the whole status evaluation of mating candidates.  Back room deals, honor bound allegiances and other feudal responsibilities and obligations come into play and must be observed.  After the deciding fight, the winner ritually fights the fertile humma.  The fight ends with a brief mating.  Then the two part ways and may never see each other again.  In rare cases the fertile humma may actually fight back to defeat the winner and possibly runners-up until the desired candidate is reached and then a ritual fight is performed ending with a mating.  That is the closest that the humma comes to love in a mating relationship. However, the female fighting back can also be due to honor, status, and other obligations too.

A pregnant humma traditionally spends the months of pregnancy shoring up and finalizing negotiations about the care of the offspring.  At birth the kittens are placed with the families or houses of the mating pair to meet obligations and win favors.  The fertile humma then transitions to the virile stage soon after the birth and may never see the kitterns again.  There is little emotional attachment.  Humma value their offspring for their accomplishments and status that they bring.  An accomplished or famous offspring may bring status and help win future mating contest rights.

Historically, humma kittens had poor chances of survival before the modern feudal system of houses and obligations. The kittens were expected to fend for themselves and follow the family as best they could.  Think of the historic family as more of a pack or herd.  The modern system a family is less tied by genealogy than the historic family and more of a cooperative unit that grew up together. Kinda like orphan gangs that society has placed controls on for the betterment of society.  All kittens taken into a house born about the same time become a family and are overseen by elders who see to their "proper" education. 

Houses grew out of the ancient herd or packs. Some houses are more concerned with proper blood than others. Proper blood houses tend to be the older houses and tend to take whole litters together as families rather than mixing the kittens. Typically proper blood houses are proper blood because they have the status and position that allows them to afford the luxury of siblings in families. This is a luxury because the siblings are expected to fight it out and deaths do occur.  In more contemporary houses the families are picked and assembled so as to best grow the house with successful members. It is much like trying to pick a better sports team.