by Joe Zeigler
Ohad felt battered; that was a long speech for him to absorb all at once. Rarely did someone on this world speak at such length. He wasn’t used to it. After a moment, he gathered himself. “Do you offer tool sharpening?”
“No, indeed, we do not. We do grind grain very finely, though, and at a very fair price.”
“I am the proud owner of an excellent sharpening stone, and I, too, have fair prices.” Ohad was more than willing to forgo the grinding of corn and grain to gain many more customers from among the Traders for his sharpening business.
“Perhaps we might employ your services to put the finish on the knives, arrowheads, and spear tips we produce.”
Yes! Ohad thought and nodded. “How are things to the east?” he asked. And with that, they completed the deal. Ohad would support the Traders in harping their wares, leave the grain grinding business, and in turn, retain his monopoly on sharpening, along with adding new customers. The rest was just polite talk.
“The rains have not yet come,” Gedeon answered. “And the journey here was eventful. A group of Raiders has been dogging us for the last two weeks.”
“Raiders!” Ohad exclaimed, alarmed. “Have they caused trouble?”
“Not yet…other than some petty thievery when no one was looking, and one young woman, Tsetseg, who had fallen behind, was taken. We have been traveling hard, with the men staying close to the women. We’ve not organized any large hunting parties, so the Raiders stay away.” The Raiders typically attacked the camps while the men were away or assaulted stragglers when they lagged too far behind. “They will surely not attack such a large group as we now are.”
Although not completely reassured about the Raiders, Ohad was satisfied and happy with the business arrangement that supported his continued monopoly.
Quickly his mind dismissed these subjects in anticipation of the coming event. This night would be the Breeding of Micaela, his primary caretaker, whom he took advantage of without guilt. He had convinced young Micaela that he was the designated leader, selected by God, in whom her parents had instilled a desperate faith. Micaela set up camp for Ohad, cleaned, washed his clothes, cooked, and carried most of his belongings when the group traveled. She had few belongings of her own and didn’t mind. She was dedicated to Ohad, believing him to be a prophet of God. The only advantage Ohad had not taken was of a sexual nature. He had never touched her, and he discouraged the young men who came courting. Instead, he had always planned to offer her to the influential elders for the Breeding of the Virgins, and he intended to present them with a virgin. Tonight was the night, and Ohad planned to take his turn anonymously.
Micaela, gathering basket in hand, moved slowly down an animal trail that led to the river below, and marveled at a bed of bright yellow flowers that almost hid a fallen tree. She smiled at the thought of the beauty surrounding the ancient and worn-out wreck. Then she frowned at the sign of the dead tree’s partner, snarled and twisted from the harsh elements of this altitude. The trunk of the still-living tree with strips of bark hanging from it, spiraled upward as if once flayed with a whip.
Even now, early in the season, the chilly air promised a severe winter. She knew that soon the group must resume their journey down the slope.
Before long, a squawbush caught Micaela’s attention. She smiled and started gathering its stems for a new basket she was planning.
At the same time, Ohad had gathered a group and was haranguing them about unfair advantage that the Trader Clan took of them; “Cheating Traders,” he called the group of migrant tradesmen. “Only I can protect you,” he said. ”There needs to be an intermediary between our people and the Traders.” It was obvious who Ohad had in mind to accomplish the task. And, it was only fair a percentage be paid.
The Breeding
The Breeding of the Virgins took place every year during the fall migration in order to time the resulting births with the People’s return. They wanted the children to be born in the Highland. In five months, the People would begin traveling back up to their summer home so the virgins could give birth in the canyon.
Reproduction was imperative to the People. Mothers often died during childbirth, young children succumbed to a high mortality rate, and the adults had a short life span. So it took diligence to maintain their population. Girls who had not selected a mate shortly after sexual maturity were considered virgins—though that might not technically have been so. The girls’ fathers bred their daughters with elders chosen for the best characteristics, and the village raised the resulting children. At least, that was the idea. The reality was the girls were almost always orphans and were chosen by the male who was feeding them. Those with family were protected by claims of an arranged marriage to one unnamed.
After dinner, when the elders had gorged themselves, the People gathered around an enormous fire that provided a flickering, high-contrast light heavy with dark shadows and radiant heat. There was no doubt that the cold was in pursuit, and soon they must move on.
Everyone in the clan was there. Attendance was limited to those of the clan unless another clan came and brought a girl to participate. In that case, they were welcome too.
It was the right time of the month. The three unattached virgins of age were led out, comforted by the female elders. On their hands and knees, they received the older men—one by one. Ederra, a beautiful, young girl of fourteen, with long black hair, large eyes, and a tight, compact body, was the first and well appreciated, as the old men were fresh. All the while, the midwives chanted a fertility prayer, which the People joined in reciting. Ederra participated in the prayer as best she could under the circumstances.
Finally, the midwives, those women trained in childbirth and in this case, child creation, escorted Micaela to the soft pad prepared in the center of the group. Everyone knew this one was special. It was rare that a girl as comely as Micaela was not claimed by a man before she came of age. Her body was slim and muscled, with not an ounce of fat. Her hips were broad but not too wide, and her breasts small and firm.
She had arrived at the ceremony bedecked in her finery, standing tall and proud. This posture had not lasted long, as the midwives gently but insistently stripped her naked.
She held herself straight, her muscles tight, eyes fixed straight ahead, focused on nothing. What did I expect? she thought, fighting back tears. I was a fool. Of course, this is what it is; I’m naked in front of everyone. What did I expect? I think I expected an intimate room where I’d meet a kind man. OK, men, damn. But kind. The man would feed me, gently undress me as he respected my fine attire, and then impregnate me for the sake of my people. Then, maybe the other men, hovering in the shadows, would do so, too. That’s what I expected. I expected them to be impressed by my ostentatious display, to respect me, and to be gentle and kind.
The midwives pushed her to her knees and fitted the ritual hood, which covered her eyes but left her mouth and nose exposed, preventing her from seeing those who would impregnate her. She would never know which of the men had fathered her child—nor would they. The resulting child would truly be of the village. That was the theory if not the reality.
As Micaela’s parents were long dead, Ohad had offered her up to the ceremony and selected the elders who would participate. He had selected not the most becoming but the richest and most influential, such as Akule, the leader of the elders. And Ohad would be first.
He knelt by the side of her head and leaned over. Their lips touched, and she opened her mouth, as she had been taught. A tear leaked from behind the hood. Ohad pressed his mouth to hers, and she slipped her tongue down his throat to instigate the ritual feeding of the virgin.
There was an almost silent simultaneous intake of breath from those watching in anticipation.
He never spoke, nor would the others who would follow him. It was important that the virgin not know who had impregnated her, as the child would be a ward of the village, not of any one man. The chant began, and Micaela clenched her teeth rather than join. It was
the beginning of what would be her escalating resistance.
When Ohad finished, the women tending Micaela gently wiped her body with a warm, damp cloth. Then one nodded to Akule, who had already taken his place beside her head. He was an old man, over forty, and fat. He feared that his organ would not rise to amorous desires. It had happened before, and he didn’t want to fail in front of everyone. He had expressed his fears to Tinga, the medicine woman. She was known to be discrete.
“These are chili peppers,” she had said as she handed him a small skin. “Eat two just before engaging, and you will be fine.”
Just before the ceremony, Akule had eaten six of the peppers. As Micaela slipped her tongue deep down his throat, his heart raced, his entire body broke out in a heavy sweat, and the pressure between his legs became intense.
It would be a long night for Micaela, as Ohad wanted as many influential elders in his debt as possible and Tinga had ministered to many of them.
The Morning After
The next morning, everyone was late and lazy, as all felt the effects of the previous night’s festivities. Two women fetching water found Ederra bound, bloody, and naked by the river. A group of boys had intercepted her as she left the Breeding.
“Hey,” she remembered one saying, “this one is already warmed up.” One threw a noose around her neck, and they forcefully led her out of camp and down by the river. She didn’t know how many had used her, but they had gone on all night. The Sun was coming up when the last one finished and left her.
As news of the transgression spread through the camp, one of the elders commented, “Well, no harm was done. She’s pregnant now for sure, and that’s the point, isn’t it?”
“If there is one,” Liùsaidh said as Glooscap gently lifted the quietly sobbing girl and carried her to her bed.
***
Gedeon’s Traders appeared early on the other side of the river and started to set up their camp and shops. In a very short time, a bazaar of shops and vendors appeared, lining a wide, central walkway that they cleared, creating a supply of firewood as they went. One team was even busy placing stepping stones in the ford to enhance access to their shops from the west side of the river. Already the hemp booth was busy with customers who had arrived before the Sun. Hemp was very popular among the People for its use in making bowstrings and woven ropes. The Traders obtained it in large quantities from farmers in the far south. As far as Gedeon knew, hemp was the only commercial crop other than corn, grown anywhere. Hemp had many, many uses beyond rope. Some used it for medicinal purposes, though its effectiveness as a cure may have been less important than its ability to create a euphoric feeling in patients so that they just did not care what came next—a prized property in this world of ineffectual medicines. Others used it at the end of the day to achieve the relaxed feeling, regardless of any real or imagined illness.
Gedeon had seen the hemp farms. He had watched as the long shoots were pulled from the ground, roots and all, and soaked in water before being placed out in fields to dry. This process toughened the fiber so it could easily be broken down into strands for weaving. An experienced farmer, Gedeon knew, could break down two hundred pounds of hemp fiber a day. The vendor was offering these strands, which could be easily twisted into rope or bowstrings or woven into the fabric. It could also be burned as pleasant-smelling incense. The vendor also offered the seeds of the hemp—not for planting, as the hemp plant would not grow so far north—but for food, as it was rich in amino acids.
***
Micaela, too, was awake early, but she was slow to get out of bed. She was sore in body and confused and saddened in her mind. Was this that beautiful, loving touch she had heard constituted the sex act? She was still frightened; she didn’t understand what had happened to her or why. Sad of heart, she lay on her mat outside Ohad’s chamber and consoled herself that it was God’s will, the Sun’s plan for her. The enormity of it all—of God’s plan for her—overcame her thoughts and filled her with reverence. Micaela swooned in joyous exultation.
Ohad interrupted her reverie, calling out to her, loudly demanding his breakfast.
“Micaela, where are you? I’m hungry!”
Quickly Micaela rose and prepared snails and eggs. As she brought it to him, she asked, “Why did that happen?”
“What, dear?”
“Last night…” she replied with a tear in her eye and a sad smile.
“You did your duty. Don’t whimper—be proud that soon you will be a mother to a new member of the family. It is Sun’s will.” Ohad made the sign in the air and continued, “Sun’s will be done. Now, don’t bother me. I want to eat.”
She paused, taken aback but not surprised by Ohad’s indifference.
***
With Ohad satisfied, Micaela strolled slowly through the camp, curious. She felt the eyes on her back and noted how people avoided her eyes, almost appearing to slink away. There was no admiration on their part or pride on hers. A sadness draped over her, and an acceptance of she had already known but denied to herself.
Later, Micaela joined the other girls by the river and learned what had happened to Ederra the previous night, after the Breeding. The news struck her in a way that her own experience had not. It shook her; she felt sick and dazed. Ederra! Twice in one night. Oh, it is just too sad. She wondered what she was thinking. Twice? What was twice?
She shuttered as she realized that her mind was equating the Breeding with Ederra’s rape. She tried to drive that thought away but could not.
“Ederra has been raped twice!” Ahhhhhh! she silently screamed.
“You are thinking about the Breeding, aren’t you?” Ixchel said. “We were all there. I believe this has occurred to us; other things as well.”
“I think it’s not a coincidence that Ederra was attacked by boys right after being attacked by their elders,” Eijá said.
“Yes, the boys are just learning from their elders,” Micaela replied. “I feel like a fog was lifted by Ederra’s horrible experiences last night, and for the first time I see things clearly, and it’s ugly.”
“The Breeding is sanctioned by God, the People, and the Sun,” Ixchel said softly. “We have been taught this our whole lives. The resulting children make the People stronger and are raised and cared for by the clan.”
“And, though we deny it even to ourselves, we know this is not what happens,” Micaela replied. “The mothers are honored and shunned at the same time. They never marry. They work at what they can to feed themselves and the children. In truth, there is little or no help from the People to raise the child. The child too is shunned until he is old enough to join the hunters and to put it all behind him.”
A long silence followed with Ixchel looking down, and Micaela staring at her worried that her words would be taken as sacrilege. The thought frightened her.
Her heart was heavy with the thought that she was questioning her faith. It is different! It is indeed sanctioned by the People; by God, the Sun! It must be different. It has to be different! Though her own situation was unclear and confusing to her, this rape and humiliation of her friend was not. It took a moment for her to associate her experience with Ederra’s. How is this different from the Breeding? Where do these evil thoughts come from? It is entirely different! No, it is rape!
Finally, Ixchel looked up and met Micaela’s eyes. Anger had replaced Micaela’s fear, and she met Ixcel’s gaze squarely with slighted squinted eyes.
“We know all of this, Micaela,” she said softly. “We have always known this, and we were blind to it. The Breeding is a lie that we have grown up hearing. It has been part of us and what we have believed all of our lives regardless of the facts.”
“What have the elders to say about this?” Micaela asked with a heavy heart.
“They say what they’ve always said, that we are females and must submit because we need new children to maintain our population,” Eijá said. “If we don’t submit willingly, we will be forced, as I was, and taught to submit.”
“We could find husbands,” Ixchel said.
“Another form of submission?” Micaela replied rhetorically. Her thoughts trailed off into what seemed a mist. New thoughts and doubts whirled in her head. Then suddenly they coalesced, and she saw, clearly, that in truth what the boys had done to Ederra was no different from what the elders had done to them all last night. It was all rape. Abruptly it was clear to her that God did not demand the Breeding nor did the Sun condone it. It was forced sex—rape! Her face reddened with shame and humiliation. Why am I ashamed? I did nothing. It was done to me. They should be ashamed. God too? The anger was quickly overtaking her confusion.
“But what to do?” she asked, unfamiliar with the rites of revenge. “Am I to kill someone?” The beast inside her was mad enough. “Should we of the Breeding run away and find a new life for ourselves and our babies?”
“No,” Eijá replied, “it would be the same wherever we went—just the same.”
Micaela felt a bewildering array of emotions—emptiness, aloneness, betrayal, sadness, embarrassment, shame, and anxious anticipation of the future. As she labored, her feelings fused into anger. A dark rage slowly overpowered her feelings of helplessness.
Never had feelings like this coursed through her with such force. She was shaking and panting as her anger sought to express itself.
She had known, in previous years, girls from the Breeding. She had not known them well, as they had been, and were, shunned. The People spoke of God’s plan and the honor of being selected for the Breeding. I was so young, she thought. Only now did she realize these were conflicting ideas. A chill passed through her body. I was so young, and such a fool. I am suddenly older—a lot older.