“Thank you, Amenia. For being here.” She wearily closed her eyes.
I lifted Shery, gave him to his cousins. They washed and dried him while the servants saw to Abar. After, I swaddled him in a length of linen. Cradling him in my arms, I crossed the bower and stepped through its entrance into the shade of the palms. Hundreds of men and women were waiting expectantly, arranged in a large semicircle facing me.
I strode directly to Aboo, ignoring Rawer. “This is your grandson, Shery,” I told him.
Aboo stared at the babe for a long time, stroked his cheek. Then he turned and faced the crowd. “I have a grandson!” he cried exuberantly. “His name is Shery!”
The crowd erupted in cheers. I held the baby up for all to see. Men and women surged forward to get a closer look, surrounding Aboo and the baby and me. I turned slowly, in a circle, giving everyone a glimpse.
“If you live as long as Ipu, someday you’ll confirm Shery as Nekhen’s ruler,” Aboo said excitedly. He was smiling, overcome with joy. He’d waited a long time for a grandson.
And if everything works out as it should Shery will follow Abar, not Rawer. With that comforting thought I smiled at Rawer. He’d forced his way through the crowd to my side. “He’s a fine, strong boy,” I told him.
“I can see that.” Rawer smirked. “Makes my succession solid, wouldn’t you agree?”
Always thinking about himself. “Don’t you want to know how Abar is?” I asked, ignoring his question.
“I assume you’d be with her if there was a problem,” he replied.
He wouldn’t have minded if Abar had died in childbirth, now that she’d given him a son and heir. He probably wouldn’t have wasted any time joining with a more submissive woman, either. He was a pitiful and pitiless man.
“I’d like to know,” Aboo said, giving Rawer an irritated glance.
“She’s resting. There were no problems at all. The falcon god took good care of her.”
“Thank you, Amenia,” Aboo said sincerely.
Rawer indicated a young girl who’d meekly slipped to his side, her eyes downcast. Sadly, I recognized her. Tentopet. I’d attended her three days earlier as I’d just attended Abar. The birth had been difficult. Her infant had lived only an hour. She was barely sixteen, Dagi’s sister, daughter of the chief flint knapper in Rawer’s workshops.
“This girl will be Shery’s wetnurse,” Rawer announced. “Hand him over.”
Rawer apparently didn’t even know Tentopet’s name, just that she had milk to give. Tentopet was in no shape to care for a baby; she wasn’t close to recovering from her own difficult ordeal. “Go inside the birth bower, Tentopet,” I said. “Abar will be happy for your help. I’ll be in shortly.”
Tentopet looked at Rawer uncertainly.
His face was turning red. He was angry I’d contradicted his order.
“It’s just for a week, until the afterbirth rituals are concluded,” I said innocently. “I’m sure you understand.”
Rawer stared at me for a moment, started to say something. Then he thought better of it. He dared not oppose or refuse me, for obvious reasons. He looked at Tentopet and scowled and tilted his head towards the bower.
She quickly pushed through the crowd and disappeared inside.
Someone brought two leather stools and Aboo and I seated ourselves in the shade, Rawer standing at my side. Then everyone formed a rather disjointed ragged line and passed by to get a closer look at Shery and offer congratulations to Aboo and Rawer. Aboo responded proudly; Rawer remained silent, fuming. The viewing took nearly an hour. Shery slept through it.
When the last person passed by I stood.
“Take care of him, Amenia,” Aboo said. He stooped and kissed his grandson.
Without a glance at Rawer I turned and carried Shery back into the birth bower.
***
Abar finally awakened in the middle of the night. The wind was sighing through the palm fronds overhead, fragrant with the scents of the river. Her half–sisters and servants had long since stretched out on pallets around a campfire that had died to coals just outside the bower. Tentopet was asleep on a pallet inside a few paces from Abar. She’d require more of my time as a healer the next few days than Abar would.
“You’re still here.” Abar’s face was a vague shape in the dim light.
I was sitting beside her, holding Shery, rocking him gently. “Of course. Do you want him?”
“Yes.”
I placed Shery in her arms. “How are you feeling?”
“Better than I expected,” she replied, nestling him against her.
I tilted her head, put a cup of water to her lips. She drank it gratefully.
“You came through childbirth well, thank the gods,” I said. “Both of you. Shery’s going to be a fine strong boy.”
She caressed him with her fingertips. “Someday he’ll run Father’s herds. If there’s anything left to run.”
“You’re not involved anymore?” I asked, surprised.
“Father turned management of his donkeys over to Rawer right after we were joined. I have no idea what he and Senebi have done with them. Rawer’s locked me away in Father’s house. He doesn’t trust me to go outside without him. He’s cut me off from news of what’s happening in Nekhen, too. His new serving girls watch me constantly to make sure.” She indicated the sleeping forms by the fire. “But I’m fairly sure spying on me isn’t their primary role.” She took a deep breath. What she’d kept bottled up inside began spilling out. “Father doesn’t even try to restrain Rawer. After what happened the day Grandfather died, Rawer has him cowed. Father’s deathly afraid Rawer will spread some vicious lie and remove him from power. So he goes along with Rawer, tries to ignore what’s happening. They hunt together all the time now. That binds them together. Father doesn’t stand up for me at all. Rawer’s even banned me from the audience hall – unless there’s some reason he needs me to be his personal ornament. I’m completely wasting my talents and skills.” She ran her finger down Shery’s leg. “At least I have him now to make my life worthwhile.”
“Rawer got extremely angry when I insisted Shery stay with you in the birth bower,” I told her. “But he didn’t dare try to stop me.”
“Good!”
I pointed to the sleeping form next to her. “That’s Tentopet. She’s going to be Shery’s wetnurse. She’s Dagi’s sister.”
“I remember her, vaguely. We met when Nykara and I were picking out traders for our posts.”
“She lost her baby a few days ago. She’s still very weak. It’ll be awhile before she can help you.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” Abar lay her hand on Shery’s back. “I prefer to nurse him myself for now, anyway.”
“I envy you, Abar. I can’t wait to give Nykara a child.”
“You will,” she said comfortingly.
“I know.” I paused. “Remember when I told you the falcon god sent me a dream but it wasn’t about Aboo’s successor?”
“Yes.”
“I saw myself sitting beside Nykara with our newborn child in his arms, watching the sun set.”
“Ipu said the falcon god’s dreams always come true. Everything’s going to work out for you, Amenia. I’m so glad,” Abar said.
“It’s so hard being patient.”
“With luck, you won’t have to wait much longer.” Abar shifted Shery to the middle of her chest. He promptly fell asleep. “Tell me what’s been happening in Nekhen, Amenia, all of it. Rawer struts around Father’s house like he’s already our ruler. I’m afraid of what he might have already done.”
“The news isn’t good,” I said solemnly. “You’re right to be worried about the herd – deliveries are usually late. Nykara’s former boatmen tell him Rawer and Senebi have no clue about how to create or follow a schedule. The overseer Rawer put in charge of your father’s donkeys is no better. Fishermen’s punts aren’t being repaired timely. No new boats have been constructed in months. But no one dares complain about Rawer
to Aboo. Rawer has a group of thugs at his disposal now, assembled and overseen by Senebi. They silence anyone who objects to anything Rawer does.” I glanced at the sleeping form a few paces away. “Tentopet’s joined to one of the worst of Senebi’s men, Hatiay.”
“So, another spy for Rawer,” Abar said resignedly, gazing in Tentopet’s direction.
“I don’t think so. I think she was simply convenient, a girl with milk to give. I know for a fact she was forced to join with Hatiay against her wishes. He didn’t even look in on her when he learned her child had died. A girl.”
“That’s awful.”
“Hopefully Shery will fill the void in her heart.”
Abar nodded. “What’s happening outside Nekhen?”
“Rawer replaced Dagi and Pabasa and their men in the trading posts with some of the younger elite sons he’s been running around with these last years. They’re all incompetent. Supply boats return from Tjeni and Nubt less than half–full now. Rawer keeps getting rid of Dedi’s craftsmen because he doesn’t have enough raw materials to keep them busy. Those who remain create luxury items for Rawer and the elites and nothing for anyone else.”
“Chaos,” Abar said, distressed. “What’s happened to the craftsmen and traders and boatmen Rawer cut loose? How are they feeding their families?”
“Nykara’s snatched up every single craftsman so far. He’s built workshops for them near his smithy. They make objects for the other hamlets in our region and for the common people to offer the gods at festivals, and for long–distance trade.”
“He’s trading with Nubt and Tjeni on his own?” Abar asked, surprised.
I nodded. “Maadi, too. He’s built a wood boat. He’s set up his own trading posts in Tjeni and Nubt, in opposition to Rawer’s. Pabasa and Dagi operate them, along with their same assistants, like before. Rawer is either unaware or doesn’t care. My decorated pottery is still coveted at Nubt, and my black–topped at Maadi, so Nykara’s making out quite well. Between my pottery and Heth’s copper items and the objects Nykara receives in exchange from the nearby hamlets, he has plenty of goods to trade. He’s made two trips to Maadi in the past nine months, both very successful. He’ll make his third next month, a few days after the inundation festival, so he can get downriver before the water’s too high and swift.”
“So if Dagi and Pabasa are still in place…”
“Your plan to expand Nekhen’s influence still lives,” I assured her. “Pabasa and Rennefer just had their third child, Dagi and Tamerit their second. Those children are being raised to worship our gods and live as we in Nekhen do.”
Abar smiled. “That’s a tremendous relief.”
Shery began to squawk and Abar helped him find her breast. “Nykara’s copper works?”
“Thriving. Between copper and his trading Nykara should already be wealthy enough to be an elite. But he has to give so much of what he brings back to Uncle Hemaka to keep him from joining me to an elite son that Nykara’s wealth is growing much too slowly. They’re partners now – that was the price for Uncle not joining me to someone else.”
“It sounds like Nykara is doing everything right,” Abar said. “But I’m afraid even if he becomes the wealthiest man in Nekhen Rawer will never let Father raise him from the ranks of commoners. And we both know Rawer himself never will.”
A sobering thought, one I’d had myself far too many times. No doubt why, in my dream, I’d seen Nykara and me together in the delta. We’d never prosper in Nekhen.
“Don’t worry, Amenia,” Abar said. “It’s the first thing I’ll do once you confirm me as ruler.”
“Speaking of that…” I said in a low voice so the serving girls wouldn’t overhear. “Some of the elites are definitely conspiring against Rawer. Most looked pretty sullen this afternoon when they found out you’d given birth to a boy. Particularly Pipi and Teti.”
“Can they really offer a challenge to Rawer anymore?” Abar asked. “Father officially proclaimed descent through me the day Ibetina died. Now Rawer has the fleet to go along with me. Shery certainly strengthens his hand, being Father’s grandson. He ties the two sides of our family together, since he’s Grandfather’s great–grandson.”
“Soon after you were joined to Rawer the elites began disputing your Father’s proclamation about descent. Pipi’s been the most vocal. He’s extremely angry at your father for leading him on the way he did. Nykara told him about Aboo’s agreement with Teti, just to stir him up. Pipi’s constantly approaching me, trying to bribe me so I’ll support Wehemka as your father’s successor. Pipi’s argument is descent through Aboo should be the most important factor in determining the next ruler, not through Dedi. Pipi and his supporters – he has at least some – say Wehemka has a better blood claim than Rawer because his mother is your father’s cousin. They disregard you, of course, because you’re a woman. You don’t count as a descendant in their eyes. So the elites are coalescing – most are behind Rawer, some are behind Pipi. And some are still out for themselves. Teti, in particular. He’s extremely bitter Rawer got you after Aboo promised you to Weni. Ultimately, though, the failure to unite behind a single elite will be the downfall of Rawer’s opponents – Rawer has gained the support of the minor elite families whose younger sons he’s been associating with. The rest of the elites are splintered and thus outnumbered.”
“None of which matters, in the long run, because you’ll decide who rules.”
“I fear there’s a really strong chance they’ll try to overturn my selection of you. So Nykara’s still trying to quietly build support for you in the surrounding valley.”
Abar glanced in the direction of her sleeping sisters. “I feel awful for them. Rawer’s pressing Father to promise them to the elite families who back him to strengthen his hand – symbolically, until they’re old enough to be actually joined. Even though Father already promised them to different families when he made his deal with Teti.”
“Can you believe it, Abar?” I asked. “Even Uncle Hemaka thinks he has a chance to become ruler.”
“A commoner who operates a small pottery works?”
“A surprisingly wealthy commoner now, thanks to his partnership with Nykara,” I said. “One who’s greedy for even more, and influence to match. Pipi and Teti and Seni played on Uncle’s vanity when they were trying to drag him into their alliances. I overheard Uncle and Pipi talking once. Pipi actually offered to join me to Wehemka. He said he and Uncle could then force me to choose Wehemka as the next ruler. Uncle said he was tempted. Pipi pointed out I could benefit Uncle greatly if I was a ruler’s woman. But Pipi’s offer has come back to haunt him. His constant attention, as well as Teti’s, has given Uncle an inflated sense of importance. Uncle’s decided he should be the next ruler. I heard him tell Uncle Sanakht so. Uncle’s plan is this – when your father dies he’ll join me to Nykara in return for me confirming Uncle as ruler. If I refuse he’ll join me to Nekauba instead. That’s his leverage over me. Uncle expects the elites will dispute his selection – if that happens he’ll demand Nykara cut off the production of copper tools to get them in line.”
“Your uncle’s as big an opportunist as Rawer,” Abar observed.
“Separately, Pipi’s been trying to convince Nykara to back him like before,” I added. “Pipi also realizes Nykara’s copper makes him both indispensable and powerful. He recognizes Nykara has been wronged by Rawer. He assumes Nykara will leap at the chance to get revenge on Rawer by becoming his ally.”
“But Nykara is still behind me?” Abar asked nervously.
“He’ll never abandon you,” I said. “Nor me. Multiple elites have offered their daughters to Nykara. He’s turned them all down.”
“So, the succession is in flux,” Abar concluded.
“All the elite daughters are still unjoined, because of resistance to Rawer’s succession,” I said.
“So their fathers can bargain.”
I nodded. “How does Shery affect your plan to rule?” I asked.
“He
strengthens it. I have a male heir now. I’ll be more palatable when you pick me. The division among the elites will work in our favor. I think the elites will accept me as a compromise to stop Rawer because they hate him, especially if Nykara backs me. As you’ve said, he operates an enterprise they can’t live without. Plus, because he has his own boat and craftsmen and trading posts now, he negates Rawer to a large extent. Nykara has already duplicated everything Rawer is doing and is doing it better, just on a smaller scale. So, when the time comes, pick me, Amenia, just like we planned.”
I nodded.
“Enough about me. How are you, Amenia? That’s what hurts most about being shut away by Rawer – I never see you anymore.”
“I’m making pottery pretty much full–time, when I’m not calling on the sick and celebrating alongside your father. My cousins are still jealous because Great–grandmother selected me as her heir, but they’re tolerating me. I just wish I could live anywhere except my uncles’ pottery works. Nekauba constantly harasses me; he won’t accept he’ll never have me. Uncle Hemaka and Uncle Sanakht are constantly at each other’s throats; Uncle Hemaka is getting wealthy because of his partnership with Nykara and Uncle Sanakht has only a portion of the pottery works, and Uncle Hemaka isn’t sharing any of his wealth. That’s payback for how Uncle Sanakht treated him his whole life.”
“And Nykara? How are things between the two of you?” Abar asked.
“I want to be with him so badly,” I said fervently. I gazed at Abar. “I’m afraid until your father dies and things play out Uncle will keep us apart. It’s so hard waiting.”
“I promise you, Amenia, the day I’m confirmed Nykara will be yours.” She reached out, grasped my hand. “You’re the best friend I’ve ever had. Nothing will ever change that.”
***
I walked with my family and everyone else from the upper settlement down the wadi path to the lower settlement. A few days ago the river had begun to rise at Nekhen, as I’d predicted weeks earlier by reading the stars as Great–grandmother had taught me, signaling the start of the annual inundation that would cover the valley from desert plateau to desert plateau. When it subsided three months from now the land would be renewed, covered with a rich layer of mud for farmers to cultivate. The inundation brought life to our valley, but it also brought chaos, for during the inundation we were at nature’s mercy. And so we in Nekhen celebrated an inundation festival each year at its beginning, during which Aboo conducted rituals to exert his control over chaos to keep us safe. I, as usual, was to assist.
The Women and the Boatman Page 51