The Scouting programme has used themes from ''

The Jungle Book ''The Jungle Book'' is an 1894 collection of stories by the English author Rudyard Kipling. Most of the characters are animals such as Shere Khan the tiger and Baloo the bear, though a principal character is the boy or "man-cub" Mowgli, who ...

'' by

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English journalist, novelist, poet, and short-story writer. He was born in British Raj, British India, which inspired much ...

since 1916. In 1914, Robert Baden-Powell announced a Junior Section for Scouting. In 1916, he published his outlines for such a scheme, to be called Wolf Cubbing. Baden-Powell may have had several reasons to call this section Wolf Cubs: Wolf was the name of the

cannon A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during th ...

made in the

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

workshops at Mafeking. By analogy, a young boy not old enough to be a wolf or a true Scout could be a baby wolf or a Wolf Cub. Baden-Powell asked his friend

for the use of his ''

Jungle Book ''The Jungle Book'' is an 1894 collection of stories by the English author Rudyard Kipling. Most of the characters are animals such as Shere Khan the tiger and Baloo the bear, though a principal character is the boy or "man-cub" Mowgli, who ...

'' history and universe as a motivational frame in cub scouting. Baden-Powell wrote a new book, ''

The Wolf Cub's Handbook ''The Wolf Cub's Handbook'' is an instructional handbook on Wolf Cubs training, published in various editions since December 1916. Early editions were written and illustrated by Robert Baden-Powell with later editions being extensively rewritte ...

'', for junior members. In 1917, junior members became known as Wolf Cubs. In the 1960s and later, the ''Wolf Cub'' section departed in many organisations from the jungle theme. Some changed their name to Cub Scout or something similar but retained the Jungle Stories and Cub ceremony as tradition—such as the use of Jungle Books names (as described below); and the Grand Howl which signals the start and end of the Cub Scout Meetings. Other organisations kept the name but changed the theme.

Akela

In Cub Scout packs, Akela is a symbol of wisdom, authority, and leadership. Akela is anyone who acts as a leader to the Scout. Akela can be a Cubmaster, Den Leader,

parent A parent is either the progenitor of a child or, in humans, it can refer to a caregiver or legal guardian, generally called an adoptive parent or step-parent. Parents who are progenitors are First-degree relative, first-degree relatives and have ...

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

depending on where the guidance takes place. In den meetings, it is the Den Leader who is Akela. During pack meetings, it is the Cubmaster. At home, the parents fill this role.The Law of the Pack
/ref> Sir Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of the Scouting movement, chose

's ''

'' as a source of

symbol A symbol is a mark, Sign (semiotics), sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, physical object, object, or wikt:relationship, relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by cr ...

ism and allegorical framework for the youngest members of the

Scouting Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth social movement, movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the twentieth century. It follows the Scout method of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activi ...

movement. Many references are made to this story in the Cub Scout section, including the "Council Rock" for discussions and planning, and the "Grand Howl" to express a sense of belonging and team spirit. Many Cub Scout packs use an oath called the "Law of the Pack" to show allegiance and demonstrate their relationship to Akela and the pack: :''The Cub Scout follows Akela.'' :''The Cub Scout helps the pack go.'' :''The pack helps the Cub Scout grow.'' :''The Cub Scout gives goodwill.'' In the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, where nearly all of the links with ''

'' have been taken out of the Cub Scout programme, the names of ''Jungle Book'' characters are still used for Cub Scout Leaders. Akela is still reserved for the Leader of a Cub Pack but is not universally in use (i.e., other character names can be held by the leader, usually to avoid confusion when there is a change of leadership). Rudyard Kipling obtained the name " Akela" from

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

, meaning "alone".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jungle Book and Scouting Scouting The Jungle Book