Manak-na took it and lowered his head. He looked inside the pouch inquisitively. He thanked Tikarumusa.
“You wear it like this,” the man said and spit in his hand, moistened the red ochre with his first finger, and drew a straight line on a piece of bamboo. “The line goes across your cheek bone.” He drew the line on each side of Manak-na’s face. “Above the line there are dots. There are seven dots.” He drew them on the bamboo and then on Manak-na’s face. “You put this on every morning and take if off in the evening.”
Manak-na wondered what the man was thinking. “Why?” he asked.
“Because it will save your life.” The old man was very serious, but Manak-na could not understand.
“I do not understand,” he admitted.
“The god of the underwater wants you. This sign prevents him from harming you.”
“Then, when I get back home and arrive on land I won’t need it any longer?”
“Young man,” Tikarumusa said to Manak-na, “Do you know nothing of the gods? The god of the underwater is not confined to the sea. You wear this for the rest of your life or beware of the god of the underwater.”
The drum sounded and Manak-na and Yomuk went to their sleeping area. Yomuk was not pleased to be going back across the sea. He did not care for boat travel. Manak-na found his way into the hut after washing his face.
“Uncle, what was that on your face?” Yomuk asked.
“I’ll talk about it later.” He needed to work it through his mind web before discussing it.
When Wisdom placed peach and gold into the clouds of the morning sky with dancing reflections in the water, the drum sounded and the night and day boatmen changed places. Rokuk had decided to send a group of men to the shore to find anchors and to make an attempt to locate a group of the people to let them know what had happened. He chose Ralm as the leader and Skuku, Mokul, Manak-na, and Kipotuilak.
The men left the boat carrying their clothing, backpacks with jerky, and a small water bag over their heads. Each had a spear that was stuck through the edges of the backpack to be held high to transport dry things through the water. On land they dressed and went to the far edge of the little grouping of dwellings, where some had seen paths leading away from the place. Ralm had asked Tikarumusa which would be the best path to choose and he said the best would be the one to the south. He said it would take half a day to reach the next group of people, who lived over the hill. He warned them to beware of poisonous snakes.
The men walked at a quick hunter’s walk. If they could shorten the time, they would do that gladly. Except for Manak-na they all felt more at home on a boat than on strange land.
By high sun they had reached a pass through the hills. The day was beautiful and they had seen no snakes of any kind. Manak-na reached into his backpack for a piece of jerky. The idea became contagious as others decided to do the same thing. No one, however, slowed the trek progress. When they reached the top of the pass, they could see a valley below. The valley land was large and flat. It was filled with a wide variety of animals but mostly camels, horses, and an animal that looked like an elephant but was much bigger. They rested briefly, enjoyed water, and then moved on. The path they followed led them to the lower part of the valley and along the trees that were growing on the hills. Manak-na spotted the group of dwellings quickly and pointed it out to the others.
Ralm took the lead. They walked up to the living place and were greeted by hunters with spears.
“We have come from the home of Tikarumusa. We wish to speak to your chief.”
The hunters said nothing but turned and a few walked in the lead position and others went behind the men and followed them.
Soon they saw little dwellings made in the style of those they’d seen at the shore, tree trunks cut down and buried in the soil with cross pieces to which had been tied long sea grass. The top the roof was cone shaped and long sea grasses in bundles were tied to that to keep rain out. The chief’s dwelling was larger.
The chief came out. He wore a tunic made from bird feathers. The bird feathers were red, blue, green, and yellow. The colors were brilliant. He had hair trimmed like Yomuk and it seemed that he had glued the top with reddish clay similar to the color of the ochre Manak-na used to paint his face. The chief sat on a log in front of his dwelling. The men were told to sit on the little flat rocks that formed an arc before the chief. They were told to lay their spears at his feet. The hunters took positions on either side of the chief and behind the men. Curious people came to look at the strangers.
The chief said, “Speak.”
Ralm said, “We have come on the boat to the people at the edge of the water at Aikot. When we arrived, there appeared to be no one there. Finally, we found Tikarumusa. He told of how the sea withdrew very far and all the people went to gather fish that were flopping on the sand. He could not join them. Then he saw a huge wave rising up at sea. He yelled to the people, but they could not hear him. The wave crashed over all the people and took them off into sea. He is the only one left. Right now he is on the boat, so he could be cared for.”
The chief was visibly disturbed by the news. “Tikarumusa is my father. We must follow you to bring him here. We will care for him.”
Ralm said, “In some storms we lost some anchors. We need to find replacements. We need stones that are flat on opposing sides so we can make holes in the center to tie rope through. Can you tell us where to find stones like that?”
The chief talked to a few of the hunters. Manak-na had difficulty following since they spoke language similar to the Mol but with different ways of saying the words. They spoke much slower than the boatmen or the inland Mol. The chief told Ralm that near the pass that went through the hills there were stones like they sought. He’d have the hunters go with them to get Tikarumusa. They would carry the stones to the boat. He made eye contact with a hunter who left to gather five more hunters along with himself. Then the chief looked down at the ground.
Eventually he raised his head and looked right into the eyes of Manak-na. “We have a prophecy. Do you understand?”
Manak-na looked bewildered. Ralm translated, “He said they have a prophecy, and he asked if you understood.”
“I don’t understand. Why are they telling me?”
Ralm asked the chief, who responded, “Our bird man was told by the spirits that a man would come who is of the people of old—people whose heads are like his.” He pointed to Manak-na. “My daughter was told not to join with any man, but when this man came, she was to go with him to his people, because there is something she must do there. She might as well go with you, for she is worthless here. She simply waits and waits. I think her waiting is over. Look at her head. It is somewhat like his.”
Ralm explained to Manak-na what he’d been told. Manak-na was shocked. Not only did he have to care for Yomuk, but now there was a girl to join them? He was wise enough not to respond negatively or in shock. He looked at Ralm and said quietly, “Tell him that, if that’s what he wants, I will take her to my People.”
Ralm told the chief. The chief thanked Manak-na. Manak-na lowered his head to the chief. The chief said something to one of the hunters who left and returned with a girl who seemed to be about eight years old. She was very beautiful. Her hair was golden red, spiraled it appeared, though it was not properly combed out, and her eyes looked as green as jade. Her skin was extremely pale. She wore a skirt made of long grass. She looked like People, but she was extraordinarily thin. She gave one look at Manak-na and walked toward him and kneeled placing her head on her hands on the sand beside him. Manak-na had no idea what to do.
Ralm quietly told her to rise and to be seated. She did, just behind Manak-na. She bent her legs and sat on her heels. Her hands were placed on her upper leg. She looked down. Not only was it clear that she knew her wait was over, but also she realized that Manak-na was the one who would take her. Ralm knew Manak-na would take responsibility for her seriously, but on the boat, Rokuk and Ralm would have a re
sponsibility keeping the boatmen focused on what they were supposed to do. A girl on a boat was not a good thing. Frankly, he thought, it would be far better to take the old man, but he did not have a choice.
Hunters arrived and appeared ready to make the return trip with the men. They carried no food or water, but they did have a stretcher. The boatmen filled their water bladders. The chief thanked them for coming with the news. He thanked Manak-na, specifically, for taking the girl, Ahna. They left, trekking faster than they had on their way earlier. The girl carried nothing with her, not even food or water. She trekked dutifully right on the heels of Manak-na. She said nothing. Manak-na wondered whether she felt pain to leave her home for someplace across the water that she had never seen. Maybe she liked adventure? Maybe there was something at home she didn’t like? There was no hug between the chief and her. He felt it was very unusual—somehow all wrong.
At the place where they found rocks, Kipotuilak pointed out snake after snake.
“How can you find them so easily, Kipotuilak?” Manak-na asked.
“Smell,” he replied.
“Smell? Can you smell them?” Ralm asked incredulously.
“Yes. They smell musty,” Kipotuilak said.
“You’ve got a better nose than I have!” Ralm responded.
While the men had trekked to find other people and anchors, Rokuk had been joined by Piman to swim under the boat to evaluate the hull lashings and the rudder to be sure that all was ready for the voyage home. They knew that land would not be so accessible on the return trip, so all needed to be in good shape. They tied a few straps around the bamboo hulls, not because they saw problems but because they wanted to forestall any that might originate at sea. Piman tried very hard to find any problem with the rudders, but could see nothing at all. They appeared to be working well and the weaving was holding up well, looking like it had their day of departure from home. They pulled off a few trailers of kelp that had been snagged on the bottom of the boat and looked like long ribbons of leather.
The other men arrived back at the boat and exchanged Tikarumusa for Ahna, much to Rokuk’s displeasure, although he tried not to show it. All were surprised when Ahna and Tikarumusa hugged. He was her grandfather and it was clear there was love between them, something far different from what appeared at her home with her father. Tikarumusa had told the men which way to go to find his people, knowing they’d find Ahna. To have turned north they’d have found some of his people even quicker, but they’d have missed Ahna. Somehow Tikarumusa knew Manak-na was the person who was supposed to take Ahna to her new home.
On the boat the men thought nothing of their nakedness even with the girl on board. Rokuk told Manak-na to keep the girl with him unless it was stormy. During storms, regardless of the time of day, she was to be tied up next to their sleeping places to keep her out of the way. The men prepared to make the boat ready to depart for home. Ahna was told to sit behind the back sail to wait for Manak-na to join her. She did. Ralm made it totally clear to Rokuk that the idea of the girl had not been Manak-na’s, and that to the contrary, he wasn’t interested at all, but had no choice. Rokuk snorted though he knew Ralm told the truth. He just didn’t want a girl aboard.
The sailing was uneventful. When the drum sounded, Manak-na took Ahna to the lower level and showed her where to relieve herself. Then they went to the upper level and the hut where they were to sleep. Manak-na stopped by the water container long enough to wash off the design from his face. He didn’t know what to think of Tikarumusa’s warning about the god of the underwater. He could think of no other reason the old man would have painted his face. Yomuk had been trying to get a look at the girl ever since she boarded, but Piman had kept him very busy at the back of the boat before and after the departure. He’d given him tools to use to start chipping the anchor stone to make a hole in the center. He’d had no time to look around. That’s what Piman wanted, but he could not control Yomuk’s being so close to her during sleep.
Chapter 5
Stars twinkled crystal clear in a dark sky over gentle waves on the sea where single celled organisms below lit the water around the boat with their light making ability. It was a wondrous sight for the night boatmen. Manak-na, Yomuk, and Ahna were set for sleep. From somewhere Rokuk had brought Manak-na a sleeping skin and a soft fur cover for Ahna. Manak-na thanked him greatly. Otherwise he and Yomuk would have had to share, and their covers barely kept them warm when the weather became cold. Yomuk wanted to talk to Ahna, but Manak-na made it clear it was time for sleep. He positioned himself between Yomuk and Ahna. The girl had never had such soft sleeping covers. The soft furry skin was made from many gray pelts sewed together. She wrapped herself in them and wondered what this new life would be. Manak-na wondered what he’d gotten himself into. Yomuk was fascinated with the girl who was so close and so far away.
When Wisdom returned blues, gold, and very rosy peach to the sky, the drum sounded. Manak-na, Yomuk, and Ahna got up, went to the lower level, and came back up. They washed their hands and faces at the water container on the huts, careful to check to be sure there were no people below who might be soaked. The boat floated well, but the design was one in which the water upon which they floated ran right through the boat. Water hitting the top of the boat never collected, but instead ran straight through to the sea. For that reason, they had to check the lower level before pouring water atop the boat for fear of soaking someone on the lower level. The advantage was that when waves crashed above them in great storms, the water never collected inside the boat but rather ran through, returning to sea quickly. They went to their assigned places where Manak-na painted his face. Ahna appeared happy but very quiet. Manak-na had a piece of thin rope. He showed her how to tie the special knot that would not come apart. He noticed she learned very quickly. He explained to her about the tie up, but thought she might not understand him well enough, so he asked Ralm to tell her when to tie up. Ahna understood.
Manak-na looked seriously at Ralm. “Is the color of the sky telling us that we will have a great storm? It has a reddish color.”
“I’ve discussed it with Rokuk and Piman. We will be paying attention, but none of us thinks this is a prediction of a great storm. The wind is wrong and there are no clouds or haziness anywhere on the horizon. I think it is just a rosy day,” Ralm said with a smile.
“Thank you for the good news, Ralm. That relieves my belly.”
Ralm laughed and Manak-na joined him.
Ahna had understood the conversation. She realized that Manak-na’s speech revealed that he didn’t normally speak the language. She wondered what he spoke. When it became quiet she asked him about his language, saying, “It will be important for me to learn your language. Will you teach me?”
It had not occurred to Manak-na that he needed to teach Ahna his language. He told her, “I will begin to speak my language to you. Try at first just to listen to what I say. See if the situation helps make sense of the words. I will repeat what I’ve said. Then I will say it once in your language. I am not good at the language of the boatmen, and your language is somewhat different from theirs. When you think you’ve understood some of my language, start to use it. I will correct you if you make errors.”
“Thank you, Manak-na,” Ahna said in her sweet slow voice. Then a few minutes later she said, “Do you have any understanding of why I am supposed to go to your people?”
Manak-na shook his head. He said in the language of the People, “I have no idea.”
Ahna looked at him. “You have no idea,” she said. “What means no idea?”
Manak-na was shocked that she was trying the language so soon. She’d been quiet as a mouse up to this point. He said in the Mol language, “No idea means I don’t have a place in my mind web where I can find that information. I store information or ideas in my mind web. Later when I want the information or idea I think through my mind web to find it. I did not know that your father would ask us to take you, or that I was supposed to take you to my Peo
ple.”
“Our bird man said it not long after I was born.”
“What is your bird man?” Manak-na asked.
“He is the one who talks to the spirits. The one who told what would become of me is walking the spirit paths now.”
“So you had no one to ask?” Manak-na tried to be sympathetic despite the fact that he was already responsible for Yomuk and was irritated to have to be responsible for another youth.
“Yes. By the time I was old enough to know what questions I had, he was walking spirit paths,” Ahna said. “You have no idea,” she added in the language of the People.
“Good!” Manak-na said.
The day progressed and food was served. Yomuk joined Manak-na and Ahna to eat by the back sail. He and Ahna smiled at each other shyly.
“Are you having success hammering holes in the anchors?” Manak-na asked in the language of the People.
Yomuk was surprised that he used their language, and he replied, “Slowly. I have completed,” he showed two fingers, “only.”
Manak-na looked at him with a smile. “It should make the time pass faster than just sitting there.”
Yomuk lowered his head. Then he said, “Why are we speaking in the language of the People?”
“Because, Ahna has to learn it. It will be easier for her, if she arrives already speaking some of it.”
“I see,” Yomuk replied. “Why is she wearing that grass skirt?”
“It must be the clothing of her people. She should have a leather tunic.”
“I don’t sew. You don’t have time to put one together.”
While Manak-na and Yomuk talked, Ahna watched how they talked. She listened to try to make sense of any words, but did not have success. She could hear you and I, but that was about all she could understand. They had her full attention. She noted they spoke quickly. She also noticed that they seemed to care a great deal about each other. They had a lot of information passing between them, she thought, information that was not spoken but was understood because they cared about each other. Bodies spoke when words did not, she knew all too well.
Manak-na's Story, 75,000 BC Page 19