Likichi looked around. Already it looked like People had been living in the place for some time. The walls were edged with sleeping mats and skins; the hearth was alight with a fire cooking the evening meal; the weapons were placed neatly by the entryway; winter clothing was folded and stored in the next room waiting for cold weather; gourds were filled with water for drinking or cooking; Domur had children singing, which caused Likichi to smile; life was good. It would be even better, she thought, if her son and grandson returned soon.
Nanichak-na listened to Ekuktu-na tell about the building of stone blocks above them that made an observation place. He was fascinated with the building by Mol giants of long ago. He asked if there were other evergreen marked places around. No one had stood out in the valley to observe. Ekuktu-na was curious, so he went down the path to the valley and looked up. Sure enough there was another, or maybe two more sets of evergreens. He rejoined the men and they climbed to the place Ekuktu-na pointed out. Again, in this place there was a flat surface on which had been placed objects—some were familiar to the People, and some were not. Ki’ti had suggested these were offerings to Wisdom, but the men wondered about whether Mol giants had any knowledge of Wisdom. They doubted it. Of course, they recognized, People could have occupied these caves after the giants. They had not, however, encountered any People north of where they lived. Maybe the Mol giants left them to honor a god they worshipped. They still felt, no matter what, it would be best if the People left the things untroubled. They would discuss it at the men’s council.
Ekuktu-na remembered the other place that might be a cave. He pointed that out to the men and they followed him to the place where he thought he might find another. The entrance was very small and it was covered by tenacious growth of some old evergreen rhododendron shrubs grown tight together, shrubs that did not want to be removed. It was hard work just getting to the entrance. They had to cut down most of the blocking limbs. Finally, they broke through. Once inside, it was so dark that they just could not see. They decided to make a quick torch. Sum-na put one together. He took the torch to the home cave and lit it from the hearth fire. He returned to the cave and stepped inside. All three men gasped. The walls were painted in much the same manner they had seen in the land where they lived so long after the ashfall.
The paintings were breathtaking. There was what appeared to be one of the People. Men who looked like Mol surrounded him. It appeared that they were giving him gifts. He looked very, very old. There was the old man again. One of his outstretched arms was a perch for a raven; the other held a walking stick. In another place there was the old man again, and this time he stood with his foot on the neck of a man who appeared to be Mol with darker colored skin. In another there was a woman with the old man, and they appeared to love each other. Painted much smaller were many other figures that looked like People. The old man had white hair and wore a tunic that was down to his ankles. Atop the tunic was a long rectangular shape that had a slit for the man’s head to stick through. It was cut open down the front and tied at the waist. The old man had an exceptionally long beard and long hair. In another place there was a huge slab covered with every kind of food imaginable, and he ate from it. The three men looked at each other dumbfounded.
“I think it’s time to get ready for the evening meal and talk to Ki’ti about coming here to see what she thinks of this,” Ekuktu-na said. He did a loud palm strike, joined by Sum-na and Nanichak-na.
“I couldn’t agree more. I don’t think we can imagine what this represents or communicates,” Nanichak-na admitted, “And for some reason I really want to get out of here.”
The three men went back down the hill to the home cave.
There were times, Nanichak-na thought, when one was far more comfortable not exploring to pursue things that made no sense. Narrow boundaries were safe, less stressful. Sometimes ignorance was wonderful. Nanichak-na wandered over to his sleeping bundle. He unrolled it and set up his place for the night. He sat on the soft cover and rested his legs. He was tired and his muscles were aching. His aged joints had taken a beating on these treks.
The call for the evening meal went out. The -na hunters gathered and Ki’ti joined them at the end of the line, just after Untuk-na. They were talking animatedly. Nanichak-na wandered over and took his place just in front of Untuk-na. He was hungry. When the two stopped talking, Nanichak-na told them about the strange cave with the pictures. He asked Ki’ti to go there the next day to look at them and to tell them what she thought. She agreed.
Domur and Minagle were discussing the greens. They tasted fresh and good. They expected that someone had put some meat in the cooking water to flavor them. They discussed the new cave and how wonderful it appeared to be. Sum-na told them about the strange cave they had found. The two women were surprised. Paintings again. They wanted to see them. Sum-na expected that everyone would want to see them.
Wisdom brought up a covering of clouds at the same time that the color left the land. No stars or bright moon illuminated the darkness. The People had gone to their sleeping places. Calm fell over them and the fires were allowed to remain low for the night. Guy-na and Arkan-na were taking the night watch, since this was a new occupancy. The dogs were just inside the entryway. They had circled and found places on the ground that seemed to appeal to them. The men chuckled as the dogs rearranged themselves. It seemed to them that the dogs got up, moved in circles, and then lay down, always returning to the exact place they’d vacated, as if it might be different after making the circle.
Grypchon-na was experiencing some significant pain. Likichi had used every herb she could think to try to relieve his pain. He was just stiff. She massaged him, and that made him feel better on a very temporary basis. She had given him some herbs for pain this evening and he seemed to feel some relief. They both knew his condition might be permanent. Some old people got this stiffness. She wished he hadn’t, but he had. All that was possible was to try to relieve it. She knew of no cure.
Ki’ti watched the flames from the nearby hearth make shadows dance on the ceiling. She thought that Elemaea had made significant change. No longer was she the impulsive child she had been, instead she was contributing to the People some excellent work in her spear point making. Ki’ti was grateful that she had settled down and was not only fitting into the group but also fitting in well. It was great joy to her to see her daughter thriving. It was a different feeling she had for her son. She missed him sorely, but she still had the conviction that it was necessary for him to learn from the adventure. What he needed to learn, specifically, she didn’t know. She only knew that he had an idea that hunters were somehow superior People, and he needed to reassess that idea. All were equally People. -Na indicated a superior hunter, not person. It didn’t mean the -na hunter was superior to other hunters personally, just more seasoned and mature. The People would no longer be the People, if some thought better of themselves than others, or if even one thought he was better than others. It was a concept totally foreign to Wisdom.
When Wisdom restored color to the land the cloud covering had moved away. People waked up and began their morning meal. Some gathered around Sum-na, Ekuktu-na, and Nanichak-na. Ki’ti was there and Lamul-na. Hahami-na and Untuk-na had joined, along with Tongip-na. They left for the strange painted cave. Tiriku was at Ki’ti’s heels. They didn’t have far to go up the hill. Those who hadn’t seen it before noticed the structure made from stones. It seemed something out of place or time to them.
Ki’ti could see the place where the rhododendron bushes had been cut down at the entrance. She noticed there were still some tiny leaves at the base of the bushes. She hoped they had strength to grow back. She entered the cave after the men had gone inside with torches. She was overwhelmed at first, not by the pictures which were beautifully done but left one to wonder why they were there, but rather by the intense feeling that the People should not be there. In logic she had no reason to think they should not be there, but the feeling was with her.
>
Ki’ti pushed past the pictures. Untuk-na had a torch and he followed Ki’ti. She found a break in the wall and went through it. Untuk-na had to squeeze through. It was awkward. There was a musty smell. Once inside, he saw what Ki’ti had found. Facing him, sitting on a seat with a back carved from the wall of the cave was a mummy. There was no question that this mummy was the one depicted in the pictures on the wall. He even had traces of long white hair and a beard. He was a good bit taller than People, but he was clearly People. He exhibited no trace of mixing. There were things laid out on the floor all around him. She wondered at the sight. The oppression was increased. She knew that there was some spiritual attempt to reach her, but she was not at all certain that she wanted to allow herself to be reached. She called silently to Wisdom to protect her from contact. She kept hearing from memory what Wamumur had said so long ago, “You NEVER need to know what happened in another time or place.” What appeared to her was that one of the People had allowed himself to think more of himself than of others, and others had agreed to it. Then the man gained power and when he died, he was given this mummy burial as someone special. It appeared to be the opposite of what she wanted her son to learn. Somehow she was convinced it had to do with the structure that had been built from rocks. Did the man who was now a mummy have information gained from the structure that he used to make him powerful? She wondered how such an awful social stratification could have happened. She did not want this to be something that the People would see as good.
She looked at Untuk-na with an expression on her face of pain. She told him that she needed to understand more and that she would let the spirits talk to her. She asked him to call Wisdom if she appeared to be in distress. Untuk-na was frightened, but he agreed. He wished Manak-na were there with him.
Ki’ti sat on the ground facing the mummy. She saw the mummy gain flesh but remain immobile. It said to her, “How dare you invade my place!”
“It’s a cave, nothing more,” she replied with more force than Untuk-na knew she had.
“It is my burial cave! You have invaded it! This place is sacred!” the old man screamed.
“You were just a man. You are not Wisdom. You should have been buried in the earth so you could return to Wisdom. Yet you sit here as if you’re still walking this land.”
“I am Wisdom. I am worshipped as Wisdom. The Wisdom you speak of is not real.”
“You have misled yourself, Old Man. You are not wise. You speak nonsense.” She did a palm strike.
The mummy shouted at her, “I am Wisdom!”
“You speak foolishness, Old Man. You have made yourself appear to have flesh again, but the truth is that you are a pile of dust that has the appearance of what used to be and is no more. I am from a time much later than you. You are nothing and will stay nothing until you are buried in the soil. Then you can return to the true Wisdom.”
“You know nothing!”
“I know Wisdom, Old Man, and you are not Wisdom. Wisdom is not puffed up. You are. Wisdom does not need all this. You do—to keep fooling yourself.”
Untuk-na was listening to a one-sided conversation. So far there appeared to be nothing serious occurring. He watched carefully. He was aware that some of the People were listening beyond the crack through which they had entered this part of the cave. The People knew better than to interrupt something like this.
“I am not fooling myself. You are here now. You speak out of turn. You are in the presence of Wisdom, and I am not pleased.”
“You are nothing but a foolish old man,” Ki’ti said firmly. “I do not fear you. You have a mummified body that sits in a cave year after year when you could be with Wisdom. That is nonsense.”
“I should have your head cut off!”
“Old man, you have been dead for a very long time. There are none of your people here. You are totally alone. You can order nothing. You speak arrogant, empty words just like you did when you were alive. What ate your soul?”
“Get out!” the mummy screamed.
“I will leave when I am ready. Not before.” Ki’ti was standing up to this spirit in stronger ways than Untuk-na knew she could. He was unable to see anything change with the mummy, which Ki’ti must be seeing. He was definitely curious about what was happening.
“Get out! Leave! You have no permission to be here.” The mummy was beside itself with rage.
“Not until I have buried you and removed all the pictures from the walls,” Ki’ti said. “Then you will no longer remain here. You will go where you belong.”
The mummy screamed horrible screams. Ki’ti disconnected from the spiritual world of the mummy. She asked the men at the crack to bring tools to bury the mummy. They were a little troubled, but they acted quickly on her request. They returned and squeezed through the opening to dig a pit.
“Wait,” Ki’ti said, “I think we should remove him from this cave for burial outside as we bury our own. This man is People.”
Some of the men went quickly outside and began to dig a pit. The land was filled with tree roots, and it was too difficult. They returned to Ki’ti and told her.
“Can you dig on the flat land down there? His body could be taken from here and moved.”
“It could fall apart,” Tongip-na said.
“It doesn’t matter,” Ki’ti said firmly. “He must be buried outside.”
A few men went quickly to the valley floor and away from any path. On the other side of the valley, they began to dig. Others had brought a skin to transport the mummy. They had a difficult time getting it out of the cave and it did not come in one piece. They wrapped up the remains and tied it tightly to a stretcher. They carried it down the path and to the valley. The men placed it in hole in the ground. Once the dirt covered the mummy and rocks had been placed on top, they returned to the cave. Ki’ti had been specific about destroying the pictures. They were fantastic pictures and the men felt badly about destroying the art of it, but Ki’ti said it must go. They sensed it had something awful connected to it, and they saw the man with his foot on the neck of someone. They carefully destroyed all of the art work.
At the men’s council that night, Ki’ti explained to the People, “We went to a cave uphill. In that cave were beautiful paintings of a man who was doing things that were not right. He was a chief who was evil. He was People and he was tall. He wanted others to worship him as if he were Wisdom.”
People all over the cave gasped. The idea was foreign and totally repellant.
“He needed to be buried, so he could go to Wisdom. Wisdom will deal with his sickness. I have decided that we will do a proper burial story by his grave tomorrow at high sun. I have asked the hunters to destroy the paintings. They were amazing but what they showed was evil. It is now gone. For People to go to look on evil paintings could contaminate the mind web with evil thoughts and keep the evil of this mummy going on and on for years. It has ended. I am asking that Wisdom will destroy the ideas from the paintings from the mind webs of those who saw them—including mine. That is all I have to say.”
At high sun the next day, all the People gathered at the grave site of the mummy. Ki’ti stood there solemn, wondering what had happened to the old man. She began the graveside ritual of the People:
“In the beginning, Wisdom made the world. He made it by speaking. His words created. He spoke the water and the land into existence, the night and day, the plants that grow in the dirt, and the animals that live on the dirt, and those that live in the water and in the air. Then he went to the navel of the earth. There he found good red soil and started to form it into a shape with his hands. He made it to look a little like himself. Then he inhaled the good air and breathed it into the mouth of the man he created. The man came to life. Then he took some of the clay left from the man and he made woman. He inhaled and breathed life into her. Wisdom created a feast. He killed an aurochs, skinned it, made clothing for the man and woman from the aurochs, and then roasted the aurochs for the feast. The man and the woman watched carefu
lly and quietly to see how he killed the aurochs, how he skinned it, how he made clothing from its skin, and how he roasted it. They paid good attention and they were able to survive by doing what they had seen done.”
“The People were special and Wisdom pronounced that the man was to treat the land and the water and the animals and the woman the way he wanted to be treated—good. And the same was true of the woman. And it went well for a long time. But Wisdom hadn’t made the People of stone. He had made them of dirt, knowing that they shouldn’t have lives that would go on too long for they might get prideful and forget Wisdom. That is good because People should not be without Wisdom. They would die.”
“That is why the People return to Wisdom when they die. They are placed in the earth and Wisdom knows. When Wisdom hears of a death of the People, Wisdom waits until the grave is filled back. He waits until it is dark. Then he causes the earth to pull on the spirit of the dead to draw that person’s spirit back through the dirt of the earth to the navel from which all People came, the navel of the earth where the red clay for making the first man was. The dead spirits depart for the navel of Wisdom. That is where they reside for all time. All People’s bodies return to the dirt. But their spirit, that essence of the person made by the One Who Made Us, is pulled back to Wisdom in the place where first man was made, and Wisdom keeps all those he chooses with him there, safe and loved. There is a cycle Wisdom made: a cycle from the navel to the navel. He keeps the spirits of those whom he chooses and he destroys those whom he hates. Wisdom hates those who hate him, those who ignore him, those who would be hurtful to him or the land or water or to those living things Wisdom made including People.”
In silence the People returned to their chores. It had been an odd burial. No one had spoken a word about the dead man. What could they say? He lived in a long forgotten past and he seemed to have been very evil.
Ki’ti remained sitting for a long time on a log near the grave with Tiriku right beside her feet. Something bothered her, but she couldn’t pin it down. She felt fear for Manak-na and Yomuk. Little could she guess that while she felt that fear, they were experiencing a storm unlike any they had seen. Finally, Ki’ti said, “Wisdom, protect Manak-na and Yomuk. Thank you.”
Manak-na's Story, 75,000 BC Page 22