“We have had a discussion. Do you see the reddish looking clouds?”
“Yes,” Manak-na replied. “While Wisdom was returning color to the land and sea, the clouds did have a rosy hue.”
“Those clouds normally mean that we will have a storm later. When I say storm, I mean one that is much more significant than the little one we had shortly after leaving the boatbuilding place. We know of a sheltered cove on one of the islands ahead. We were discussing whether to head for the cove or continue on as we are now, which would make us miss the cove. There is some question as to whether we can make the cove in time.”
“What did you decide?” Manak-na asked.
“We decided to head for the cove. This boat is new design and construction. We think that we should avoid a terrible storm if at all possible. Now, help me get this sail unfurled so we can pick up some more speed.”
The two men unrolled the sail and hooked it to the rope that would carry the top upwards. The wind caught and the speed increased. Manak-na loved to watch the two sails work together in the wind. They were like two wings of a bird seen from the side. The island ahead was the one with the cove. It came closer and closer as the day progressed. From the south and west and east clouds seemed to converge, ready to approach when they entered the cove.
Rokuk called for people to furl the sails and lower the masts and for others to row. Men ran to the huts and untied oars and quickly took their seats on the boat hulls. A man began the count in a voice that carried over the wind. Rokuk had come to the back of the boat near Piman. He and Piman turned the control of the rudder to the far right so that the boat would turn left. The boat entered the cove and turned to the left and then to the left again. Manak-na and Yomuk could see that the walls of the island would provide good shelter for the boat. When they approached land, Rokuk had men set out many anchors. Rokuk began a quick check of the boat. All seemed in order.
For some time nothing happened. Manak-na and Yomuk wondered what all the concern was. Maybe they misjudged the storm? While they waited, some men fished and caught white fish that they cooked for the evening meal. It tasted wonderful. Each man shared a coconut with another. It was a treat to have something other than dried meat for the evening meal. After the meal cleanup, men took empty bladders and water containers and put them where rain water would fall. They would collect them when full of rain water and stow them on the lower level of the boat, well tied so they did not leak or become contaminated by salt water.
As Wisdom sucked color from the land and sea, there were no stars visible. Clouds were circling about and rain had begun to fall. There was some lightning and thunder in the distance but nothing right overhead. When the drum beat, Manak-na and Yomuk went to the hut, got out of the rain, and prepared to sleep. Most of the men who worked at night had been told to go into the huts, so it was very crowded. None had slept long before the storm hit. Even in the cove, the boat was hit by winds and rocked hard. Fortunately, it was not tossed by the waves that would be running wild in the open sea or hit by waves crashing over them. By then Manak-na and Yomuk had learned that waves on the open sea could crash the boat from above. Both found that daunting. Anyone on deck without a tie up could be lost. It occurred to Manak-na that even people who had tied up could be washed off the boat, if the wave were strong enough to break the rope. With what he’d already seen, he believed there were waves strong enough to wash a tied up man off a boat. He would not share that thought with Yomuk.
The storm went on for several days. Yomuk realized what a small storm the first one was. He had learned to live with his fear of storms, because he had no other choice. Time in the cove gave him even more maturity. Certainly the first day he had experienced some panic, for the rocking was far greater than during the first storm. Lightning and thunder seemed to be everywhere at once. The noise of the storm did not stop. It shrieked louder than anything either of the People had ever heard. There was no way to avoid it. Even in the protected area, wind managed to enter through the tiny holes in the hut matting, making it cold inside where normally at night multiple sleeping bodies added warmth to the hut. They donned their season-of-cold-days pants not caring if they got wet. They added needed warmth.
During the day, Manak-na would strip off his clothing to tie up outside on the deck to watch the storm. He would lie on his back on the deck near the back sail looking up into the clouds. Securely tied to the boat, he felt safe. He listened to the loud boat creaking and the wind and men shouting. He imagined he was looking at the belly of a writhing beast in the clouds, a beast that threw noisy spears of fire at another writhing beast. It made him think of dragons in the sky. He was having an adventure! He was enthralled. He was also cold, but the cold seemed negligible compared to what he was seeing.
A few times Yomuk joined him to watch. He grew cold faster than Manak-na and had fear lurking in his belly. He’d soon return to the hut to dry off and dress in warmer clothing. Instead of finding a fascination in the clouds above, Yomuk was very grateful that the leaders of the boat had decided to go to the cove. He felt that what he was experiencing was about all he could take at this point. He recognized that there were storms worse than what he was experiencing and that edged his belly with panic. The panic subsided as he thought about the fact that no one else was concerned about the safety of the boat. Those who had been to sea would know. He hoped that if a storm came during the remainder of the travel that there would be a cove nearby to which they could flee.
One morning the drum sounded and as Manak-na and Yomuk awakened, they realized it was quiet. The wind was no longer blowing. They left the hut and went to the lower level where they used the sea off the back of the boat as their privy. The sky was blue and there were only a few white clouds passing by. Soon they’d leave the cove, they realized. It seemed to be a great day.
The mood on the boat was much improved. People occasionally smiled and there was an enthusiasm for moving the boat. After some of the men ate and drank water, they began to haul up the ropes with the anchors. The anchors were then returned to the tiller handle stake spots, and Rokuk called for rowers.
Manak-na asked whether he wanted them to row. Rokuk explained that he would tell them specifically when he wanted them to row. The others were experienced and the cove was a tight place. He didn’t want any oars broken or confusion in the cove. He did actually thank Manak-na for offering.
They left the cove and traveled again on the open sea with a breezy and clear day. All of a sudden they began to see furry animals swimming in the sea. Not many, just a few at a time. Piman explained to Yomuk that they were seals. There were many varieties of seals and they had soft fur. It was warmer than fur of some other animals, such as deer. Some varieties were extremely soft. Men on the boat took some oddly shaped spears with ropes tied to them and threw spears at the seals. Sometimes they were successful. Ralm explained that the seals were a food source his people needed for good health. They would feast on seal that night.
Day after day after day they traveled along a series of mountains rising from the water. The mountains had no trees, but they were grassy. They saw some seals on the shore. It appeared that they might gather at some places to have their young. Yomuk was fascinated. They did spear a few more seals from the boat. Manak-na and Yomuk did not care for the seal, claiming it was too fishy, but the boatmen ate it. Those men with the darker skins divided up the livers. Manak-na and Yomuk enjoyed their meat sticks.
One day they sailed past an island where smoke was coming from the cone at the top of the hill. Manak-na knew immediately what that signified. Yomuk was not sure, so Manak-na explained that was a volcano and that the smoke from the top was not a good sign. It meant the volcano could explode and spew out rocks, liquid rocks, or ash—maybe all three.
They continued on, each day passing more and more islands. Sometimes a small storm would arise, but there was nothing like the big storm they weathered in the cove. As time passed, the islands became larger. One day they passed a
large rock where there were brown animals bigger than seals. They proudly held their heads high on very thick necks and their whiskered faces looked like dogs, but they had tiny ears. Other rocks had seals perched upon them where they were resting from the sea. They spotted more of the big sea monsters with the spouts. The land and sea seemed more alive. The boat continued on, seemingly forever.
Rokuk stood near Manak-na one clear day and said, “Look at the mountains there, how they curve to the right. When we left the boatbuilding place, the sun rose on our right. As we passed the many islands, the sun rose straight ahead, and when we get to those mountains, the sun will rise on our left. What do you make of that?”
“I don’t know what to think,” Manak-na replied.
“It is how the earth lies. We traveled north until we turned right to follow the islands. Now we turn right again to travel south. We are about half way.”
“If we’re only half way, this land we live on is huge!”
“It is huge, Manak-na. I have traveled most of my life. I know that we could travel a lot further south. I have no idea how large the earth is.”
“You say earth. Do you mean dirt when you say earth?”
“Not at all, Manak-na.” Rokuk picked up a coconut. “See this coconut? It is round. The earth is like this coconut—not flat. When you look at the stars at night they look like flat round things, but instead they are like this coconut.” Rokuk picked up a small stick of charcoal from the hearth. He marked an arc on the coconut showing roughly where they’d left heading north. He showed dots for the islands that went from the west to the east. Then he made land turn right to go to the south a far distance. “We will not go as far to the south as the middle of the coconut.”
“How do you know that, Rokuk?”
“A sailing man knows it two ways: one is the sun. You get about equal sun and dark in the middle. You also get virtually no tide change at the middle.”
“Rokuk, how do you know that?”
“The giant Mol left us that information. They traveled all over the earth. They studied the night sky for generations and generations and generations. They knew. We also have spent much of our lives on the sea. Didn’t you stay at the cave where the paths cross?”
“Yes,” Manak-na admitted.
“There is a place there where the giants studied the stars. They have circles around circles on the wall. That is the way we circle around the sun. The moon circles us and we circle the sun. There is at least one other earth that circles the sun. It is closer to the sun than we are. There are stars in the night sky that twinkle and dots of light in the night sky that don’t twinkle. We live on one of the dots without a twinkle. The sun is fire. That’s why it twinkles.”
Manak-na was awed. He certainly knew that there were some objects in the sky that twinkled and some that didn’t. He had never had anyone explain what the difference was. It struck him that, if the sun was fire—and it was hot enough to be fire—it would twinkle like fire at a distance, and that earth, this coconut-like thing they lived on, wouldn’t twinkle, because it wasn’t fire. He was overwhelmed with information. These people made boats and knew about the sky in ways he never dreamed of. What an opportunity he’d been given!
“Thank you, Rokuk. That is information I never heard, and it makes my mind web expand almost to bursting.”
“We use the stars in the night sky to tell us where we are, and we use the sun in the day for the same purpose. You know the star that never moves?”
“Yes,” Manak-na said.
“That star disappears if you live down here.” Rokuk showed him the lower part of the earth on the coconut.
“Have you ever been that far?”
“No, but some of the people, who live where we’re going, have been that far on land and on the sea.”
Rokuk tossed Manak-na the coconut. “I’ve got to check the ties,” he said and left.
Manak-na studied the coconut. He followed the way they’d traveled on the coconut. He could see the shoreline where they left and how they traveled between land areas. He could see the big land to the north where they turned off to follow the islands. He could see where the islands turned to land. He could see where they were! On a coconut called earth! A coconut that made circular paths around the sun! He yearned to share with Ki’ti. He would keep the coconut as a treasure. He put it in his gut wrapper in the hut.
More and more sea creatures floated by. Funny little furry faces with whiskers appeared on furry bodies floating on their backs. Some carried sea shells which they pounded with rocks. They could tell that the shells contained animals of some kind, and when the furry animals broke the shell with the rock, they had food. Yomuk couldn’t take his eyes from the funny little floaters. They seemed to smile while they floated with their feet together sticking up. Some floaters had babies on their bellies. They floated in large groups.
Day after day they continued to travel. Occasionally when the winds became very calm, Manak-na and Yomuk would be assigned to row. They found at first that the work was tiring, but once they worked the muscles in their bodies, they enjoyed the effort. They were comparatively strong and each was put on a different side and they were placed at the end of the line of rowers so they didn’t interfere with other rowers.
At the end of the session of rowing, Manak-na noticed a man shove against Kipotuilak, causing him to fall overboard. Kipotuilak swam rapidly to the boat. Rokuk saw it and called to the man who had pushed Kipotuilak. Manak-na and Ralm helped Kipotuilak climb aboard. As he got on board, Manak-na was surprised at how cold Kipotuilak was. The water, he reasoned, must pull out the warmth from a body quickly. Kipotuilak went quickly to his sleeping area and changed his clothing.
Manak-na could hear Rokuk tell the man who had caused Kipotuilak to fall overboard that if there were any other problems with him, he would send him overboard and refuse to let him return to the boat. He would not tolerate carelessness or intentional injury to another. All members of the boatmen were critically needed. He warned him that if anything happened to Kipotuilak he would be suspected and probably thrown overboard.
“But I was only trying to be playful,” the man replied trying to excuse himself.
“If you wanted to play, you should have remained a child on shore,” Rokuk said with asperity. “This is a boat where one lapse in proper thinking can result in death. Get rid of any ideas of play until you return to shore. If you find you need to play, don’t return for another boat trip.”
From what he’d seen, Manak-na could not tell whether the man intentionally tried to knock Kipotuilak off the boat or whether it was accidental in play as the man claimed. Whatever the case, he shared the incident with Yomuk and urged him to avoid that man at all costs.
Kipotuilak knew the man had intentionally shoved him overboard. He had a grudge against Kipotuilak ever since he’d lost a fight to him at the boatbuilders’ place one night. Kipotuilak hadn’t caused the fight, but once forced into it, he fought with all he had. He had shown the other to be a coward. Kipotuilak would be much more watchful around the man now.
One morning just after Wisdom had quietly returned color to the land and sea, Rokuk called for the boat to head directly toward a large island they had been passing. They had been sailing through a series of islands that lined the larger land. It gave them adequate breeze and a respite from the sea. The boat stopped at a place designated by Rokuk and there was much activity getting the boat anchored and the masts tied down. Rokuk told Manak-na and Yomuk that it was time to hunt. They were delighted. They gathered their weapons and waited until they were told to head to the land. Yomuk’s knife holder was a little worn, so he tied an extra piece of thin rope to it to hold it together for the hunt. Three groups of two would be going ashore, it seemed. They wore no clothing. Two were not hunters, because they had only one spear and some digging tools. Finally the signal was given and Manak-na and Yomuk watched the others get off the boat. They went to an end and climbed down a bamboo ladder. The water was ju
st over their heads, but it was close to the land. Manak-na and Yomuk quickly decided to leave their clothing on the boat so they stayed dry. They tied their knife sheaths to a rope around their waists.
When they reached land following their short swim, Manak-na asked Yomuk, “Did you feel lighter in this salt water than in the lake?”
“I did!” Yomuk said with a smile. “There is much to learn on this adventure.”
Manak-na and Yomuk went into the forest and began to climb a hill. The fragrance of chlorophyll was a taste of home and Yomuk emotionally choked up, severely missing home for a time. The dirt was another welcome scent. Mosses grew plentifully, soft on their feet. The day was beautiful and they were happy in the land environment. They were alert, looking for any sign of deer or other animals that could feed the boatmen. Yomuk pointed uphill spotting a small deer. In fact there were several of them.
Manak-na experienced his legs feeling as if he were still on the boat and the land was moving like water. It frightened him momentarily while he thought it might be an earthquake, but it didn’t last long, and he continued the hunt with single minded purpose.
The two would try for two deer, each taking one. Silently, from downwind, they stalked their targets. They had chosen healthy young males. On a signal between themselves, they rushed their chosen deer at the same time. Both were successful. They quickly bled and gutted the animals and carried them both on their spears back to the boat. It had been almost too easy.
Suddenly from the brush a large bear huffed and came toward Yomuk, who stood as still as possible. Until it huffed, the men hadn’t known it was there. Instead of charging, the large beast came slowly once it neared them. They guessed that the bear was intent on getting the deer more than them, but they wanted to keep the meat which lay on the ground at their feet. They knew the bear would fight them for it. Each slowly readied a spear and waited. Manak-na knew Yomuk had never fought a bear. He had been told how, but he’d had no practice. The bear continued toward Yomuk. Manak-na almost imperceptibly moved behind the bear. Just as the bear was about to attack Yomuk, Manak-na speared it in the lung from the back side. Yomuk speared the chest while the bear was turned to see what was attacking from behind. The bear swiped Manak-na’s shoulder, and then fell, rolling downhill about two man lengths. Yomuk had continued to stab while the bear stood, so both lungs were gone, but the beast struggled fiercely on the ground until it finally gave up. The men looked at each other, faces filled with a combination of fear and triumph. The bear had been very big. They got their deer and continued to the boat. They’d find out whether Rokuk wanted the bear meat.
Manak-na's Story, 75,000 BC Page 16