Domur had been chastised. It hurt, but she had to admit she deserved it. She had let herself think on selfish things, not what was good for the People. She had been distant. She had been bitter, feeding the flames of anger at having been hurt, and that was a trait she disliked in others. Now, she understood it better, but it didn’t make it easier to get rid of it in herself or to tolerate it better in others. She thought about Manak-na dead. What good was her irritation to him, if he didn’t even breathe? What good was it at all? She began to understand. Yes, she had been acting as a spoiled child. One who had been given so much that she expected more. She resolved to get rid of her bitterness. Likichi had told her the way—eliminate the bitterness, forgive totally. She had to hope and pray that Manak-na was alive and that he would return. That would be her way. Yes, she had to change. She would change herself. Alone, she did a palm strike. From a far part of the cave, Likichi saw it and smiled.
The People planned to remain at the hammered out cave for eight days. They rested up and enjoyed the company of each other. On the trek there was little time for talking unless you confined your words to the person next to you. Each of the People had time for bathing and cleaning their hair. The women and girls played with their hair or with the hair of another to make it attractive or stay out of the eyes. Ki’ti finally asked Likichi to use a tool to cut her hair so that when the wind blew it would not blow hair into her eyes. She knew her hair would be short and would require frequent cutting to keep it from her eyes. She had become very tired of having it in her face. Likichi had her lower her head so her face was parallel to the ground. Then Likichi cut her hair just so it could not reach her eyes. When Ki’ti raised her head, Likichi cut the rest to go with what she’d done to the front. Ki’ti was delighted. No longer did she have to braid her hair. She could simply run a comb through it and it was ready for the day. On the trek it would no longer get into her eyes. She wondered why it had taken her so long to have it cut.
While Ki’ti sat beside the creek with her feet in the water, Elemaea came to sit beside her.
“I like the way you have your hair cut,” the young one said.
“Do you want yours cut, too?” Ki’ti asked knowing the answer already.
“No, thank you. What looks good on you might not look good on me.”
“Oh, you’re worried already about your appearance?” Ki’ti teased.
“Not really. Not yet.” Elemaea stretched out with her head resting on Ki’ti’s leg. She asked, “Where’s Tiriku?”
“I think Raven flew by just a little while ago. I expect they are visiting somewhere.”
“I love it that Tiriku has a raven friend.”
“I’ve never seen anything quite like it. I think Raven realizes that Tiriku saved his life.” Ki’ti fingered Elemaea’s curly hair.
“I really am fitting in now, aren’t I, Mother?”
“Do you really love working spear heads?”
“Yes. I can make things that are beautiful and have good usefulness. I do love it.”
“Then, yes, I think you have fit in well, Elemaea. I approve you, my dear.”
Elemaea’s heart jumped at the word, approve. How long had she wanted to hear that word? She was relieved and joyful at the same time. Approved. It felt good! She lay with the sun on her face, looking into the clouds. Ki’ti stroked her curly hair. Tiriku bounded over and Raven landed right beside Ki’ti. Raven turned his head to one side and then the other looking at Elemaea. Then he let off a string of sounds that sounded for all in the world like a man laughing. Ki’ti and Elemaea laughed, too. Raven did a little dance and then took to the sky.
“What did he do that for?” Elemaea asked.
“I have no idea. It makes sense to a raven but to People, that’s something else. I think it makes sense to Tiriku. Now, I must get up, Little Girl, to see what I can do before the evening meal this day.”
“I need to do the same, but I know what I have to do. I’m trying to learn to make cores, but it’s hard for me with the size hands I have.”
“Well, do your best Little Girl.”
“I will, Mother.” Elemaea smiled and skipped back to the tool making place where she had been working with Ekuktu-na.
Mootmu-na and Arkan-na arrived at the camp with a deer hanging from their spears. They took the animal, which had been bled and gutted, to a nearby pond. They had to reach the center of the pond to submerge it fully. To hold it down they placed rocks on top of the animal. Tomorrow they would cut it up.
“I told you not to do that,” Amey shouted to Mootmu-na after observing the men with their kill. “We are leaving tomorrow.”
“Then at the men’s council, I’ll ask to let us stay longer,” he replied.
Amey snorted and turned her back and went into the cave. She saw Likichi and said, “My man has gone hunting again and has brought back a deer.”
“Well, what’s another day here?” she asked.
“I should think that before the time for cold days, we’d need to find our next place, and delays keep us from getting there in time for much hunting.
“Oh?” Likichi said.
Amey had no reply to that, so she got busy getting the water gourds filled. It was harder to do that when the water was not in the cave.
After the men’s council that night, the People agreed that there would be no more hunting and that they would remain two more days at this camp. Ermol-na brought out his drum and for those who chose, there was dancing—for no reason at all.
For days the boat had passed land where an occasional small river entered the sea. They had just reached the mouth of a very large river. The waves were choppy and there were occasional whirlpools seen sometimes as the river entered the sea. Some of the men thought the sea was angered by the river, since it always seemed there were very choppy seas when they sailed by, and it was not pleasant. The men on the boat had long ago named the water Unpleasant River because of the nature of their passing every time. It was a landmark that made them realize that within two moons they should be at their destination. Since Wisdom had not returned color to the land or sea, Manak-na and Yomuk did not see the river, but they both heard the man call, “Unpleasant River ... Unpleasant River ... Unpleasant River.” Rokuk got up and left the hut. He looked around and saw the Unpleasant River. They were traveling well, he thought.
A few minutes later the drum sounded. Rays of sunlight were rising and for a split second the rays seemed to bend to earth before arising and soaring to the sky. Soon Wisdom would return the color to the land and sea. Manak-na and Yomuk had to wait their turn, but they were eager to catch a glimpse of Unpleasant River. They were about half way across the mouth of the river when the men got outside the hut. They were impressed by the size of the river. This one was clearly a huge river mouth, not a cove or inlet. Way beyond the river they could see white topped mountains. They were huge. Despite the white on top, Manak-na realized they were volcanoes.
“Are those volcanoes live?” Manak-na asked Ralm.
“Yes. About thirty some years ago as we sailed through here, one of those peaks was erupting. Fortunately for us, the wind blew the dust from it eastward, missing us altogether. The dust blew at least four times higher than the height of the mountain. It was something to see!”
“I’m glad that nothing is happening there now. We experienced a horrible volcano that uprooted us from our home and chased us north about the same time you described for this one. When it blew, we made it to a cave where we lived through the winter and then moved farther north to get away from the ashfall.” Manak-na’s face reflected the tough time he’d experienced.
Ralm asked, “Is that the one far south of home that happened a long time ago?”
“It was definitely south of the boatbuilding camp. South and to the west.”
“I heard about that volcano from some people sailing north to get away from it. They since moved farther south again. They said it had multiple spouts.”
“It did, and it was aw
ful. For the season of cold days we had to preserve meat from animals that had died in the ashfall. They smothered. But their meat kept us alive and we had a cave where water ran. We were safe from the devastation. Once ash fell, there was no way to survive unless you could get away from it somehow.”
“You lived through it?”
“Well, I’m no dead person standing before you!” Manak-na teased.
“I’m just shocked that anyone lived through it!”
“We knew about some caves and trekked fast to reach the one we knew had water. Two other groups also made it to the cave. All of us knew that we had been spared death. We all lived in the cave with water and used the other cave for meat and skin preparation. As soon as the weather warmed, we trekked north far away to avoid any more eruptions like that. Some went east. We had to find a place where grass grew and animals browsed. Nothing lived in the ashfall. No birds sang, no creeks were visible, the ash subdued even the voices of children. When sound was made, it was dulled.”
Manak-na remembered the silence. He was lost in the remembrance of the monochrome views and the silence. He thought briefly of Enut and Reemast buried there under the ash. He was glad to be alive. It was nice sailing weather and the sea had calmed once they passed Unpleasant River. Manak-na breathed deeply of the salty air. Life was good.
Days turned to days. Manak-na was fascinated to watch the phases of the moon. He knew that the day they passed Unpleasant River was a full moon. They needed two more full moons to reach their location. Manak-na could see on the faces of the boatmen that they were near. The boatmen would look at the land and then look at each other wordlessly but with raised eyebrows as if the land spoke to them.
Finally one day arrived that without explanation made Manak-na know that they were at their destination. He could see the beach, and all eyes were on it. Clearly there was a camp there, but it appeared that no people were to be seen.
Yomuk came to his side and asked, “Is something wrong? All morning people have been happy and now there is tension. I see no people at a place where you’d expect to see them. Do you understand?”
“No, I can see that the people on the boat seem troubled. There is something wrong, but I’m not at all certain what it is. We’ll know soon enough, I think.”
Rokuk seemed confused as to what to do. He didn’t know whether there had been sickness or warfare or what, and he didn’t want to lose any men trying to find an answer. There were no traces of smoke from hearth fires, no voices coming across the water, no sounds of birds. Just silence. He decided to anchor the boat offshore to watch the little place where his people lived. Perhaps they had gone to a hunting or fishing place and would return. He was too far out to permit someone to swim into shore. He just wanted to get an idea what was happening before trying to land anyone. They fished and caught enough for their evening meal. They ate quietly since most of the men were watching the land for signs of life. There was nothing.
The drum sounded and the men who slept at night waited their relief and then went to their places in the huts. Overhead the sky was blazing with light from dots that twinkled and those few that didn’t. Manak-na would have enjoyed looking at the night sky longer, but it was time to sleep, so he did.
When Wisdom returned color to the land and sea, Manak-na and Yomuk went out and took another look at the place where they’d expected to be received by happy people. Rokuk was already calling to raise the anchors. He had decided to send a few men to the land to see what they could see.
He ordered the rowers and the rudder man to head for the beach. When they were in water much deeper than a man was tall, they let down the anchors and Mokul, Manak-na, and Ralm were sent to the camp. Carefully they checked the dwellings. The quiet was bothersome. When they reached the last dwelling, far from the beach and situated on a hill, they found a man who was very old and disabled from pain when he moved. The old man was startled to see them.
“Old Man, are you well?” Mokul asked.
The man spoke feebly, “I am old and have the stiff man sickness. But I live and all my people are dead.”
“What happened?” Mokul asked gently.
“It was two days ago. I saw the tide sweep out very far. Fish were dancing on the sand. It was as if the god of the underwater was giving us fish. The people all raced to gather the fish, even the little ones. I could see from up here a huge wave rising up at sea. I called to them, but they couldn’t hear. It moved fast and covered all the people out there gathering fish. It pulled them into the sea. None have returned. I cannot walk well. I am hungry. I have cried for my people until my eyes hurt.”
“I am so sorry to hear your story, Old Man. We will try to help you. What is your name?”
“I am Tikarumusa from Aikot. This place is called Aikot.”
“Tikarumusa, we will need to take you to our boat. We will head back home. We come here often. I don’t remember seeing you.”
“You have not seen me because I lived in the central part of this country until I became stiff. Since then my close relatives left me here because I could no longer travel. My relatives here have cared for me. Do you remember a man who wore a red dot on his forehead years ago? I saw some of you from time to time when you came here while I visited.”
“Yes, I remember seeing a man with a red dot on his head,” Ralm replied, wondering how they were going to get this man to the boat.
“That man was me in my younger days. I was the only man who by himself killed a mammoth. I wore the red dot because the people honored me that way. Now, look at what I have come to. And all my people here are gone. I have not been able to honor them.”
Ralm looked at Manak-na. Neither of them knew what a mammoth was, but they didn’t take time to listen. “Would you please go to the boat? Tell Rokuk what we have found and heard. Ask for people to help this man come to the boat and for people to come to pick fruit. I’ll see what we can do to honor his people.”
“I’d be glad to help,” Manak-na said as he turned and left.
He ran to the water and splashed into it, climbed the ladder, and met Rokuk as soon as he boarded. He explained about the old man and the wave that washed out all the people who were gathering fish from the unusual low tide. Immediately, Rokuk sent six men to help the old man to get on the boat, sending the one stretcher they had. They could not abandon him. Then Rokuk sent another group to gather as much fruit as possible. He told them, if they could find baskets to hold the fruit in the dwellings on shore, to use them. He also told them to look for rope. He sent Piman and Yomuk to look for stones for anchors.
The men turned the corner from the hill and Rokuk could see the old man on the stretcher. He was terribly thin. Rokuk guessed that Mokul would know how to help the man eat and feel better. Rokuk could see the man’s hands. They were twisted the way he’d seen some old people’s hands twist. That meant the man lived life painfully, but otherwise he was probably healthy.
“What do you do to honor your people who have died?” Mokul asked.
“We need to burn their houses.”
“Burn their houses?” Mokul wanted to be sure he got it right.
“Yes, the old man said in a voice showing much pain. It keeps the wandering souls from lingering and urges them to go to the place of death.”
“I see,” Mokul replied while others were setting fire to the houses. But he didn’t see. These people were connected to them and they definitely stopped by on a continuous basis to be sure all was well, but the people had not been able to maintain closeness due to the brevity of the visits. Generations had passed since there was closeness. They had a connection, but the boatmen did not know the people for whom the old man grieved.
Mokul had the men turn the stretcher so that Tikarumusa could see the burning houses.
“Is that what you had in mind?” Mokul asked him.
“Yes. Thank you.” The old man sank into himself.
Getting the stretcher out in the water while swimming was a little difficult but the
stretcher almost floated. Men swam with it braced on their shoulders. The man in front swam a little like a frog while he held onto the handles in front of the stretcher. He could swim only with his legs. He’d put his head underwater and kick with his legs and then raise his head for air. When they reached the boat, the front stretcher grips were tied below their first tie and the whole thing, man and all were raised. The man had been tied tight to the stretcher. He moaned, but did not otherwise complain. They took his wet clothing and gave him a dry tunic. Then they helped him to some skins at the front of the hut on the left side of the boat.
The men from the boat found an abundance of fruit and used baskets to contain the fruit that they had found in the dwellings before they burned them. Piman and Yomuk did not have the same success. All they found was sand everywhere—no anchor stones.
By the evening meal, all were back on the boat and were enjoying fruit that Manak-na and Yomuk had never seen. It was delicious. They ignored some of the fish to fill their bellies with more fruit.
“Be careful, Manak-na and Yomuk,” Rokuk said loudly, “if you eat too much fruit, you’ll be hanging off the lower deck all day tomorrow.”
Instantly Manak-na and Yomuk slowed down on the fruit. Neither had known it would make them evacuate their bowels frequently the next day, if they ate too much this evening. Rokuk talked to Ralm at the far end of the boat. He was unsure whether to try to contact another group on the land while looking for anchors or to leave directly for home. He and Ralm talked at length about either choice. In the end, Rokuk decided to send a group of men to try to find another group of people to report what had happened. He wanted someone to know of the tragedy and that Tikarumusa was in their care.
Manak-na was sitting next to Tikarumusa. He felt the old man’s hand on his arm.
“Manak-na,” he said, “This is for you.” He handed Manak-na a pouch on a leather tie that hung around his neck. Inside the pouch was red ochre.
Manak-na's Story, 75,000 BC Page 18