Patch Tribe

The Patch Tribe (パッチ族) are a group of Native American shamans who serve the will of the Great Spirit and are responsible for overseeing the Shaman Fights and the selections of new Shaman Kings.

Years after the Shaman Fight in AD 2000, the Tribe was massacred by Kamogawa Yohsuke, YVS, and the Rapt. The sole survivor was Alumi Niumbirch.

About
The Patch Tribe resides within the Patch Village for the majority of their lives, performing regular day-to-day tasks to provide for the general well being of the tribe. Every 500 years, they host the Shaman Fight, being in charge of monitoring and testing various shamans, as well as the preparation and coordination of the event itself.

The Ten Officiants (十祭司) are members of the Patch Tribe who serve as representatives of the tribe and as monitors for the competing shamans. When not conducting their responsibilities concerning the fight, their day job is to sell Patch memorabilia and food items, to cover the expenses of the tribe. Some Officiants have individual roles within the Shaman Fight, such as Radim who acts as the general host and referee of the tournament. Although the Officiants are supposed to remain neutral and impartial, some form biased opinions and throw their support behind factions within the competitors: In AD 2000, Magna, Nichrom, and Namari support Asakura Hao, while Silva supports Yoh.

Once the Shaman King has been determined, the Officiants act as their protectors, guarding both the new King and Great Spirit as they merge into one. In order to do so, the Officiants take their places within their respective Plants on the underwater continent of Mū; these Plants simulate various environments on Earth and form the path that the Shaman King must first take to reach the Great Spirit. Afterwards, as is the law of the tribe, the generation of Officiants overseeing the Shaman Fight must convert to the religion of the current Shaman King. As such, the tribe in AD 1500 became the Knights Templar.

Abilities and Powers
Long before the first Shaman Fight, the Patch were shamans and learned advanced technology from an extraterrestrial, such as the Oracle Bell.

The Patch are also capable of creating powerful and complex Over Souls, including vehicles and barriers. They can further increase their strength through the use of the Patch Song, a hypnotic technique that augments their Furyoku and alters their mental states and personalities.

Spirits
Since a long time ago, animals that are related to the Patch tribe turn into nature spirits when they die. When the young Patches exceed a set age limit, a ritual is held for them in order for them to find the nature spirit that will protect them in the future. Under the guidance of the Medicine Man, they are carried into a process of deep meditation, that sets them into a pseudo-death state. Then the nature spirits start gathering, and as soon as the young Patches receive one they're brought back from death's depths. In the end, each youth is bound together, by a mutual agreement, with the spirit that was brought back with them. It is not impossible for a Patch to bond with more than one spirit during this process.


 * Five Grand Elemental Spirits
 * See More: Five Grand Elemental Spirits

The Spirits of Earth, Wind, Rain, Thunder, and Fire—the five greatest spirits to exist and owned by the Patch Tribe—were once part of the Great Spirit itself, and just like it they formed from a collection of spirits rather than a single individual. Due to this, each retains the ability to grow stronger and evolve by consuming more spirits, adding these spirits power onto their already significant power.

500 years ago, Hao was reincarnated as one of the tribe members of the Patch tribe and managed to steal the Spirit of Fire from them. He reincarnated in the present together with the spirit, to become the teenage twin brother of Asakura Yoh. The other four Spirits are currently kept hidden by the Patch Tribe, in the deepest parts of the Great Spirit and guarded by the four kings of hell, to prevent others from stealing them away.

Lady Sati of the Gandhara had plans to obtain the four Spirits and pass them on to Tao Ren, Asakura Yoh, Chocolove McDonell and Horohoro. It was theorized that once Hao had combined with the Great Spirit, the Spirit of Fire would be detached from him and from that point onwards could be claimed by Lyserg Diethel. She believes that with the help of the Five Great Spirits, the five children could defeat Hao even if he has become one with the Great Spirit and obtained the power of the Shaman King.

Anime/Manga Difference
In the 2001 anime series, half of the Patch Officiants are never officially introduced and many of them are only seen in cameo appearances with no real resemblance to the ones seen in the manga series. however The main focus lies primarily on Silva and Kalim, while Magna is replaced with Zinc as Nichrom's main partner.

Zinc


 * See More: Zinc

Zinc is a shaman of the Patch tribe who fights along with Nichrom, Kalim, and Silva when they attempt to help Asakura Yoh out. Due to the fact he is in the 2001 anime series, although he does not have a plant. much Like Nichrom, he is given a power boost by Hao. Also, he is given nine other guardian ghosts to make himself a suit of spiritual armor much like Silva that can also be combined into Totem Pole Cannon like the Silver Arms.

His guardian ghost (most likely the first one he Over Souled) is a vulture or buzzard with his medium being the feather plates he wore.

Trivia

 * All the Patch Tribe are named after elements of the periodic table of elements.
 * Goldva = Gold
 * Silva = Silver
 * Kalim = Potassium (Japanese)
 * Chrom = Chromium
 * Nichrom = Nichrome (a nickel/chromium alloy)
 * Magna = Magnesium
 * Renim = Rhenium
 * Bron = Boron
 * Radim = Radium
 * Namari = Lead (Japanese)
 * Thalim = Thallium
 * Rutherfor = Rutherfordium
 * Zinc = Zinc (a metallic chemical element)
 * Alumi = Aluminum
 * Hydro = Hydrogen