Ki'ti's Story, 75,000 BC

by Bonnye Matthews

  “I wish I had greater understanding how to be a parent, but I will ask Wisdom to guide me and I will check things with Emaea before I confront you, Little Girl. I don’t want to hurt you, but your sensitivity leaves you open to abuse from the spiritual world. That is something I do understand. That would be worse than abuse from anyone.”

  “I will try to be more careful, Wise One. Please, Wise One, can we protect the man-like apes?”

  “I have already decided we will protect them by keeping silent about them. If we speak of them, the curiosity that lives within will cause People to go there and if they go, I can assure you that because of fear the manlike apes will die. So we will look at the path as leading to a dead end, a broken bridge.”

  “I see,” she replied and she did.

  Emaea was feeling a sense of relief that she had not felt before. She also felt complimented in a strange way in that she would now be considered as co-parent to Ki’ti. Wamumur had been overbearing in his approach, shoving her aside, and she had sat back. She would do so no longer.

  Ki’ti got a hand up from Wamumur and took it. She stood and threw her arms open wide. She hugged the man. Wamumur was warmed. He had been harder on himself than at any other time in his life. He picked up the child and hugged her. She wrapped her arms around his neck.

  “I love you to the bottom of my belly, my father and Wise One,” Ki’ti said, and meant it. With her arms around his neck she could not do a palm strike. She knew he knew how sincere she was. Emaea felt that the world had come into balance. Things were good, very good.

  In the cave, Kai continued on with his toolmaking. He was becoming better as time passed. Ermol-na spent time with him teaching him some of the finer points and showing him how the man with the green bag achieved a certain edge. Kai listened carefully and was a good learner. He was determined not to let his time of inactivity go for nothing. He would contribute in the ways he could.

  During the cold season confinement, Meeka became woman and joined with Lamul. Alu and Guy-na had a baby boy named Minal and Inst had a baby girl named Walu. Alu and Guy-na had lost their first baby on the trek to Cave Sumbrel, so this child was cherished as a great gift. The cave was alive with children. Totamu was so pleased. She had been very concerned for a while that the People were shrinking. They started at seventeen at the time of Baambas and had grown to fifty-one through mergers and births. That was a great size for the People. It was big enough for defense and large enough to have numbers of hunters to provide for the needs of the large group. It also was large enough that the amount of meat hunted had to be significant. Either a large number of small animals was needed or a large one. Procurement of meat was excellent at the present. For the future, during the season of cold days some of the women worked diligently on making thin rope from which fish nets would be constructed. Fish would be a welcome addition to their diet.

  The season of new leaves arrived and the women began to find excitement in watching vines grow that had real strength to them. They were excited about the raft building and adding to their stores by fishing. By early in the season of warm nights, they thought, they would be able to begin working on the rafts. They dreamed of the season of warm nights.

  During the season of cold days, there was a time when short days began to grow longer. People guessed at the day of the change, having no tools to guide them but having a general sense of the position of the sun and length of days. When the longer days were established, the People set age. If a child had been born before the last short day of the year, then the child was a year old. If the child were born after the days began to lengthen, the child’s age was nothing until the next season of cold days was completed. They judged age at the completion of a year, not the beginning.

  Totamu turned sixty-five. That age was unheard of but she was amazingly well for her age. Her cough was still present and she became short of breath when walking uphill, but she managed with the new leaves. Wamumur was pressing right behind her at sixty-two and Emaea at sixty. Wamumur had some pain in his legs but when the weather warmed usually that improved significantly. He did better when he could move about. Emaea was surprisingly free of aches and pains or debilitating conditions. Ermol-na at thirtynine still had black hair without a single strand of white. The only other person over thirty who had color in his hair was Wamumur who still had his brown streak at the left temple, a short streak, but a streak nevertheless. Even Grypchon-na and Hahami-na were white headed.

  The People had resumed the grooming habits they had before leaving for Cave Kwa. The Others who had joined them had picked up the habits of the People and they kept their hair combed, nails cleaned, and teeth picked. Clothing was washed off when it became too soiled for good hygiene. They were careful to keep the cave swept and the bedding shaken out and rolled during the day. Food was given to the dogs or removed to the refuse pile after meals, unless there was further use for it. After eating the marrow, no bones were permitted to be tossed carelessly on the cave floor. Small ones were tossed into the fire, larger ones were given to the dogs for food or stored outside by the refuse pile for burning as fuel or for conversion to tools or other necessities when needed. The People were altogether healthy except for the residuals from the ashfall.

  The season of new leaves turned to the season of warm nights and the women continued looking for vines. They would bring samples and Totamu would determine the vines weren’t ready yet. Likichi was beginning to wonder whether they could catch fish in the season of colorful leaves. She thought it would take that long before Totamu would be finally satisfied with the proffered vines.

  But the day came when Meeka brought in a vine from near the field where the men would run the beasts over the ledge. Totamu held up the vine and showed the women. “This is what we are looking for! Find many of these and we will be ready to build rafts,” she said encouragingly. The women examined the vine. The next day they planned to hunt for comparable vines.

  The following day was stormy. The rain left the air clean and fragrant but put a damper on their vine hunting. The day after that was lovely and the women who were not minding the children left early in various directions in pairs to vine hunt. By high sun, they had baskets brimming full of vines. Some women repeatedly wrapped vines over their heads to keep them from tangling and wore them back to the cave.

  The men agreed to build temporary tents in the lowland by the lake so that the raft builders could be closer to their work. A few people would remain at the caves and the majority would go to the lake to tend to the raft building and net making. Domur and Manak, Alu and Guy-na, and Lai, Olintak and Slamika would remain at the cave since they had infants. Fish baskets were already made with lids so fish couldn’t jump out, and leather strap handles made it easier to carry fish filled baskets.

  Kai’s leg had mended but Totamu insisted he take it easy for a while. He and Mitrak and Ketra would go to the lake but he would not be running back and forth. His leg had mended amazingly well. He was weak from disuse of the leg, but there was no significant limp. He had been lucky, the People thought. He had become proficient in tool making so he planned to carry a number of broken pieces to repair while at the lake.

  Men began to carry the bamboo logs to the lake and set up tents. It was an exciting time. Most of the People had little if any memory of the bamboo rafts. It would be a time to learn. Finally, those who were going to the lake began to walk through the forest and down the hill to the water. Mothers planned to teach the children to swim so they’d be safe. A few adults didn’t know how to swim so they were urged not to go out on the rafts or into the water until they learned.

  The men laid the poles at the water’s edge while Totamu officiously oversaw the laying of every pole. The poles had a diameter a little longer than the hand of the men from heel of the hand to the longest finger. They laid them out so that the widest part was nearest the water and the top of the pole was higher on land. That would make getting the rafts into water easier. The women took the vines an
d wrapped the large end of one pole to the next pole until seven poles had been tied together about two arms length from the base of the raft following Totamu’s directions. Then they took a short pole and wrapped it horizontally, making a crosspiece to the long poles about a half a body length from the end of the wrapped poles. Totamu demonstrated how to do it and watched to be sure the wrapping was done right. They made an additional wrapping of the long poles about midway on the raft and placed a crosspiece near that wrapping. Finally, the narrowest part of the long poles was wrapped with the vines about an arm’s length from the end and another crosspiece was added.

  Before they completed another raft, the People tested the first one. Kai had been busy making the long poles they would use to propel the rafts. Grypchon-na and Likichi had been feverishly finishing nets.

  The raft was dragged into the water. It took eight men to get it launched. Pechki waded out into the water once the raft was afloat and stepped onto it. Totamu wanted to go but didn’t want to get wet. She saw that the raft was very good. Water did come over the woman’s feet but that was normal for bamboo rafts. It wouldn’t sink, just bow somewhat where the weight was. Pechki gave Ghanya a hand and he stepped aboard with a grin from ear to ear. He’d never seen a bamboo raft and he was fascinated. To him, it was the best creation of all time. He was about to give Minagle a hand up when he was offered a hand to get off so the raft could be brought to shore. They didn’t want to do anything at that moment but be certain the raft was working properly. The children had been watching wide eyed.

  The People quickly completed the remaining four rafts with Totamu looking over their shoulders, and each raft was tested. All the rafts were good. They decided to have a trial of the rafts. Pechki took a long pole and stood toward the large end of a raft. Ghanya got on with Minagle. They sat on a crosspiece in the middle of the raft.

  Likichi, Amey, Flayk, and Chamul-na each took a long pole. They boarded and were joined by others who were eager to know what floating on a raft was like. Hahami-na and Blanagah got on Flayk’s raft; Kai and Mitrak boarded Amey’s raft; Liho and Lamk climbed aboard Chamul-na’s raft and he told them to sit carefully on the middle crosspiece, wondering whether they really knew how to swim. Likichi took Emaea and Ki’ti. Slowly, the rafts headed into the lake in different directions. Chamul-na kept near the shore because he was concerned about his passengers’ swimming ability. The day was bright, sunny, and calm. Only the lightest breeze blew from the west.

  Liho said in a loud voice, “Look down there!” She could see several large fish with yellow tails, a yellowish cast to their bodies, and gray on top. “They look like the sun!” Chamul-na had spotted the golden line fish but had no idea what kind of fish they were. He’d never seen one. He’d been observing them from his vantage point of standing on the raft. He was definitely encouraged by the presence of fish that were the right size for eating.

  Ki’ti was so tense as she sat with Emaea that Emaea asked her, “You do know how to swim, Little Girl?”

  “Oh, yes,” Ki’ti replied.

  Likichi spoke out, “She is a very good swimmer, Emaea. Why do you ask?”

  “Just because of her tension. She’s as tight as a runner’s leg.”

  Ki’ti said in her own defense, “I am just so excited. This is wonderful! We can’t walk on water, but look at Likichi. She can stand on it!”

  Likichi leaned her head back and laughed and laughed. Emaea joined her. It was a good day, a very good day.

  The rafts returned to the shore and baskets made for fishing were placed on the rafts. Kai had made fish nets attached to a pole to which a green branch had been looped. The fish net was made from plant fibers to form rope, which had been tied into small squares by knotting. The nets were secured to the looped branch by rope fibers beginning at the pole and threaded through the holes in the net and over the loop and back through the net in a continuous sequence until they were tied back at the pole. Minnows could get through but large fish would be trapped. This time, Pechki took a basket and placed it where the passengers had sat and she pushed off. She headed for the area where their creek emptied into the lake. She held the net to see if she could catch a fish in it if she saw one. She spotted two fish that were slender and silver, but she thought them too small. She waited patiently.

  Chamul-na put his pole and fish net on the raft, climbed aboard, and started to push off with the pole for the area where they’d seen the yellow fish. Ghanya came running splashing into the deeper water. Chamul-na had forgotten the fish basket! The two men exchanged a smile and Chamul-na left, pushing off with hardly a droplet of water falling from his pole.

  The other rafts headed out.

  Men began to construct a fire pit surrounded by cooking sticks. They had always put the fish on sticks with the meat facing the fire to cook them. The fish looked like sentinels surrounding the fire pit once they were stuck on the sticks and the sticks were set in the ground. Most of the people on shore were scurrying about hunting for rocks to surround the fire pit, or gathering wood, or selecting sticks that would hold the fish. A few ravens in the trees were making their raven-talk noises as they watched the people below.

  Ermi and Kai were teaching the children who could walk how to swim. When they would get cold in the water, he’d send them to shore and those who had warmed up would come to the water. Smig was the first to learn how to float. He thought watching the sky was great and having water in his ears did not bother him. Tita was a natural for swimming. She automatically placed her face fully in the water and opened her eyes. She propelled herself instantly because of something she wanted to see. In fact, Kai lifted her out of the water because she failed to lift her head to breathe. After that, she took time to make herself poke her head up to breathe and down she’d go again, as if the world of water was her own personal place. Kai had to pull her out when her lips began to turn blue from the chill. She did not want to have to sit wrapped in skins while her shivers stopped. She loved the new water world. Arkan-na spoke sharply to her about going near the water unless an adult supervised. She did not like it, but she promised to stay on shore unless someone watched her. She had seen fish down there and really wanted to know where their homes were.

  While Smig loved the water, his twin, Ekoy, did not share his opinion. It was hard to get him to enter the water and even harder to get him to get his face wet. Ekuktu and Wamumal had to take him aside and let him know there was no choice in the matter—he needed to straighten up and act like a strong boy so all could approve of him. When he realized approval entered in, he decided that he would have to do it, so his refusal and irritable behavior stopped, although his fear didn’t. Kai and Ermi were firm with him and he learned.

  Chamul-na had reservations about Liho and Lamk’s swimming ability. Kai and Ermi took a break from the little ones and called Lamk, Liho, and Ki’ti. They came quickly. Ermi told all three of them to swim out to where Kai stood in the water, to touch him, and then to return to shore. Kai was out in the water at a good distance. First, Ki’ti entered the water. She swam strongly to Kai, touched him, turned and swam back to shore. Then Lamk entered the water. He was not a strong swimmer but managed to make it to Kai, although he was tired. Kai held him briefly and talked to him about swimming. Then Kai tossed him back into the water giving him a headstart. Lamk made it back. Then Liho entered the water. She made it halfway to Kai when she began to lose strength. Kai dived into the water and rescued her. She had technically been able to swim, but not competently enough for her to be considered water safe. For that matter, neither was Lamk. A new swim class was set up for Lamk and Liho. By the end of the season of warm nights all of the children would be proficient at swimming. It was a requirement for survival. Cold water or not, each member of the People had to be able to swim.

  Chamul-na headed back to shore first. His basket was filled with snout trout (dark on top with white underbellies), gold line barbels (dark on top with yellow sides, darker yellow tail, and fins), ray finned fish (d
ark on top with light underbellies), and bullhead (catfish with mottled coloration). He had gathered about thirty fish. Likichi had thirty-five fish, mostly bullhead and snout trout. Pechki had twenty-five fish but her net had come apart. She had mostly gold line barbels. Amey had twenty snout trout. Flayk had thirty-seven bullheads and two gold line barbels. They not only had enough fish for the group at the lake but they could send some up to the cave. Ghanya volunteered and took a basket of fish to the people at the cave. They were just getting ready to cook and were delighted with the fish that had been brought cleaned and ready for cooking.

  At the lake, the fire was crackling and the fish were cleaned fairly quickly, speared, and set to cook. The initial remains were taken into the lake and dropped off. Before the remains had been taken to the lake, the ravens each had stolen a piece and headed down shore a good distance away.

  Parents were given the fish for their children first, because they needed to be deboned. The young children had no idea where the bones were, and parents didn’t want them to swallow bones. Deboned fish remains were tossed aside while bold ravens would come swooping down to raid the refuse before it was taken out to the lake and dumped.

  Children played while the parents ate. Frakja came running with something pinched between his fingers. At the water’s edge, he’d found a little freshwater shrimp. He had pinched it too tightly. Grypchon-na explained that they didn’t eat those and the child needed to leave them alone. Frakja was taught that he needed to pick up living things carefully so that they didn’t die in the process. Grypchon-na showed him where he’d pinched too tightly. For the future Frankja was permitted to play with shrimp in his open hand and then admonished to let them go back to the water. Grypchon-na explained that the shrimp were a little like dogs. They ate the foods that drifted down from the dead fish and from what People ate that night. It kept the bottom of lakes from being garbage heaps, like the dogs ate the meat off bones on land so they kept the living areas from becoming a rotten meat heap. Frakja was fascinated and listened carefully. He would be gentle with his hands in the future.