ABSTRACT
Rival social groups will always grossly exaggerate any minor differences between them, this being the most effective means of establishing and reinforcing social bonds within the groups. Humans also tend to form themselves into social groups which they are then at pains to distinguish from other social groups. Many cultures use the animal world to talk metaphorically about the human world; hence the use of totemic animals to symbolize and differentiate between social groups. Within the Racing Tribe, there is a degree of rivalry between the two major clans, known as 'Flat' and 'jumping', associated with the tribe's Flat and jumping seasons. The Totem Animals representing the clans are similarly classified as either Flat horses or jumpers. Jumping people, in turn, describe the Flat clan as flashy wide boys, nouveaux riches or pinstriped soulless accountants, and criticize their approach to the sport as calculating, money-grubbing and dictated by fashion.
