Ahna looked at Ki’ti in wonder.
“I want you to understand that the spirit world exists. There are good spirits and evil spirits. They are not made of flesh, bones, and blood as we are. Many years ago I listened to an evil spirit that told me to take the green bag from our home to deliver it to the family of the man who was murdered on his way to take it to his sick wife and children. I did not understand that there was a spirit world and a tangible world. The Wise One made it totally clear that there is NEVER a reason to listen to spirits. But that is different when you listen to Wisdom. Wisdom will never have you do something that is against Wisdom’s teaching. When I took the green bag to the man’s family, I overlooked the fact that Wisdom would never permit one to be disobedient to a parent—to go roaming alone in the wild land at night to take a bag to dead people. Wise One had told me that we would not return the bag. I listened to the spirit or spirits instead of him. That was dangerous to me and to the hunters who came after me. I’m telling you this, so what happened to me won’t happen to you. I didn’t know about spirits then. I was so new to learning to become Wise One. I know about them now. I know that I must teach you so that you do not become oppressed or possessed by one, as I did. Because you are open to Wisdom, you are also open to evil spirits. You must learn.”
“What must I do, Mother?”
“First, when you encounter a spirit, do not just listen without protecting yourself. Call on Wisdom to protect you immediately. If the spirit is of Wisdom, it will not flee when you call on Wisdom. Some spirits will tell you that you don’t need to call on Wisdom. That’s when you definitely need to call on Wisdom. Ask Wisdom to remove the spirit, if it’s not from Wisdom. Wisdom cannot remove Wisdom. Do you understand?”
“I think so. You’re thinking that evil spirits tend to come after people who can communicate with Wisdom?”
“I am certain of it.”
“Then, it’s like trying to run off with someone who belongs elsewhere, like the man who was taken and became Wise One before you; only it’s a spiritual running off, not a physical taking?”
“You understand well, my Ahna.”
“So I must be wary lest an evil spirit cause me to listen to wrong things.”
“Yes, Ahna, or do wrong things. That’s what I did. I believed wrong things that I heard from a spirit, and I acted on them through disobedience to my Wise One. I thought the spirit who had me take the green bag to the man’s family was the man himself. The Wise One told me that it was probably an evil spirit pretending to be that dead man. When I talked to the evil spirit in the cave here, I don’t know whether it was the unburied man or an evil spirit. It didn’t matter. I learned that the man was evil and needed to be buried to enable his spirit to go to Wisdom. So we buried him on the other side of the valley below.”
“I understand. And if I hear an evil spirit, what do I do?”
“You tell it to go away, and immediately call on Wisdom. You are not as strong as evil spirits, but with Wisdom you can be stronger. You’re safe. Never idly listen to one. Only listen to Wisdom or Wisdom’s messenger, Kimseaka.”
“I was so surprised when I realized that not everyone wants to pursue Wisdom. Wisdom is amazing, but even that word is not good enough to describe Wisdom,” Ahna said.
“I find for whatever reason that only one to three of the People at any one time know Wisdom as we are talking about knowing Wisdom. They know what Wisdom expects, but they do not talk to Wisdom except in prayer, when they’re in great need and remember to call on Wisdom. I do not know why this is true. When Wamumur and Emaea and I were together, the three of us were close to Wisdom. Nobody else was. Each of us in our own way communicated with Wisdom. Untuk-na has pursued the knowledge of Wisdom but not the spirit of Wisdom. His knowledge is vast. I love him for it. I think each of us has a means of talking with Wisdom. Maybe it only becomes active when there is a need for communication. I don’t know. Maybe in you and me it becomes more active because of the stories, because we are used by Wisdom to communicate to the People.” Ki’ti began to cough. She took the little container she used to cough into and cleared her air passage.
Ahna was concerned. She didn’t like Ki’ti’s cough at all. “Do you want some water?” she asked.
“That would be good,” Ki’ti replied winded.
Ahna went to the place where filled gourds were placed for drinking. She brought one to Ki’ti who used it and coughed some more. She seemed to have coughed clear the mucous after drinking the water.
“Now, let’s go over that last story again,” Ki’ti told the young girl.
Wisdom had removed all the color from the land by the time the men had returned. Those who hadn’t hunted had already enjoyed the evening meal. The world of the hunters that evening was black and white as they threaded their way exhausted to the meat preparation cave. Their way was lit by moonlight from a bright full moon. Men, who hadn’t hunted, heard them arrive and went to the meat preparation cave to help get the meat ready. They were astounded when they saw what the hunters had taken. They suggested the hunters go to the home cave and have their evening meal and then return to the meat preparation cave to help with the abundant meat harvest. The men who hadn’t hunted would get started on the preparation. The hunters were grateful for the chance to eat and rest a little before continuing. Gladly they left for the home cave.
Humko-na heard about Song and forgot he was tired or hungry. Likichi brought him a bowl of food to eat while he visited with Song. He would not be going to the meat preparation cave that night.
Manak-na got his food bowl and went to sit beside Domur. “Did you have a good day, my Dear?” he asked.
Domur smiled. “Yes,” she replied. “I had the children today and taught them a song I made to help them learn their numbers. Ermol-na brought the drum and we made a song and dance of it. They are doing well. I think some adults are learning it that way too,” she said with a slight smile.
“I think that’s great. I am so proud of what you do with the children. Your spirit of motherhood is wonderful.”
“I hear you had quite a hunt today.”
“We took twenty-nine caribou. I think they have never seen People.”
“That’s a lot of meat. No wonder all the men who weren’t on the hunt left to help out. And aren’t you tired?”
“I am tired, but after I eat and get a little rested, I have to return. We may be at the meat preparation all night.”
“Oh, Manak-na, that’s a very long time.”
“It is, but we have to make good the hunt so the People get the full benefit, and the caribou will not have died needlessly. We must make the best of every life we’ve taken.”
“I know. I just look at you and you look so tired.”
“I’ll recover in a few days.” He touched the side of her face with the back of his hand. His fingers toyed with a strand of hair that had fallen to the side of her face. He was greatly aroused. “Will you go with me to the cave quickly?” he asked huskily not specifying which cave.
“Of course,” she replied on her feet and heading for the pegs where their outside garments were hung.
They went to the nicer, newer cave and spent a short and very powerful time there enjoying each other in frenzy. Then Domur returned to the home cave and Manak-na headed to the meat preparation cave.
Song let out a stifled cry, and her baby was born.
“He’s a boy!” Likichi announced. She thought how much better it was in childbirth, when People join with Minguat or Mol.
Song and Humko-na called the baby boy Mikanu.
Days merged into other days as white rain melted. Often men would go out without securing the fronts of their jackets or putting on head or hand coverings. The season was changing. There was a slight smell of mold on the dirt as ice rotted to melt water, making their land a bit swampy until the earth absorbed all the melt.
Yomuk-na came running into the home cave, breathless, yet shouting, “Come, hunters, you must see!”
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He had their attention so he turned and began to go back outside. “It’s the caribou. They are leaving.”
Yomuk-na definitely had their attention.
“Come to the observation place,” he said breathlessly and left at a run.
When the hunters arrived at the observation place, they saw Yomuk-na standing on the observation platform so he could see from the window. They joined him and far in the distance they could see what had astounded the young man. A whole hillside moved with the bodies of caribou as if the hill were heaving with maggots. The animals moved with purpose, not fear. Hunters could tell that much from their observation place.
“They are migrating,” Mootmu-na said. “I wonder how far they go.”
“What’s migrating?” Yomuk-na asked.
“They live in these hills in the winter and go north to some other place in the spring and summer, probably to places where they have their young and food is plentiful. It’s too soon for them to have their young yet.” Mootmu-na said.
“How’d you know about migrations?” Yomuk-na asked, fascinated.
“I have lived a long time, Yomuk-na,” Mootmu-na said. “You’ve seen the huge bison. In some places they migrate like this. Some of the elephants migrate.”
“How marvelous this is! They will return?” Yomuk-na asked.
Mootmu-na turned to face the young man. “Yes, I trust in it. They should return in the season of colorful leaves. It’s the way of such animals. Someday someone will look out this same window to see them running this way. It’s good we live near them in winter.”
“Why is that?” Yomuk-na asked.
“Because we get their better winter coats,” the old man said with a smile. “In summer their coats will be losing fur and the wonderful softness will decrease to shorter fur that is not as soft.”
The hunters found that what Mootmu-na predicted happened just as he said it would. Mootmu-na was, unfortunately, not there to see it. He and Amey had taken a season-of-warm-nights walk through the forest and encountered a sow bear with cubs. She killed both of them quickly on the hillside. Tongip-na and his sons Cam-na and Elet-na had been hunting nearby and heard them shouting. By the time they reached the site, both Mootmu-na and Amey were dead, but the men managed to get the bodies away from the bear while she tended her cubs. They took the bodies back for burial. Everyone in the cave was horrified. It had been a long time since bears had killed people. Mootmu-na and Amey were older, but it seemed premature to all that they died. Seenaha was weeping over the bodies, and Likichi had to move her out of the way in order for the other women to clean the bodies in preparation for burial. There was no shame in weeping and there was a cave full of People with tearful faces. Mootmu-na and Amey’s sons took care of the burial site near Nanichak-na’s grave. They gathered rocks from the storage cave and the Wise One told the story.
A few years later in the season of new leaves, Seenaha lost her left foot. She had been bitten by a snake and had recovered, but her foot, where the bite occurred, festered and went to black rot. The foot was removed, skin sewed together, and the stump was seared to prevent infection. She wore a cylindrical covering for her foot that was padded with thick, soft fur from a caribou. That made it possible for her to walk on the end of her leg. It was carefully constructed to add the height back so that her hips were balanced to keep her spine straight. She used a stick to help for balance. She was very glad they were finished trekking but she felt deformed and ugly following the event. Trokug-na, her husband, saw her as strong and a real fighter, not seeing anything ugly at all. Eventually, she would listen to him, but at first, she withdrew and experienced some significant depression.
Yomuk-na continued to yearn intensely for Ahna. He noticed clearly that his feelings were not returned in kind. He discussed what he saw as a problem with Untuk-na and Manak-na. Both told him the same thing. It was not a problem—not something to fix. There was no way to make her change her mind web—he needed to look elsewhere. Yomuk-na’s belly was ripped at the very idea. Both men also had realized that for quite some time Meta had been looking at Yomuk-na with caribou eyes. He should stop to take a look at Meta, both independently suggested. Both Manak-na and Untuk-na were surprised that Yomuk-na hadn’t noticed Meta’s interest.
After he began to recover from the pain of the fact that there was little chance that he’d ever win Ahna, Yomuk-na began to take a look at Meta. Once he did, he quickly saw what the men had told him was true. Meta did flirt with him. She was very attractive and he enjoyed the attention she gave him. When they’d walk the paths in their new home land, she made him feel strong and smart and good looking. She made him feel like a man. He liked that a lot. It was a new feeling. He was learning to care very much for her. They spent much time together to enjoy getting to know one another better. The more they were together the closer they became. In time they became even more special to each other.
Elemaea had continued to work on tools that were like the ones the men made, but smaller, for use by the women. She was very successful. She and Patah-na, Hahami-na and Blanagah’s son, had become attracted. Patah-na was about twice her age, and he was physically fit and exceptionally good looking. He was very strong, a great young hunter, and also tender and gentle. He found Elemaea fascinating with her skill in tool making. She was touched that he’d found her interesting. The two took time to be together like Meta and Yomuk. They were forming a bond that would last a lifetime.
Manak-na found Domur sitting on the tree that grew sideways from the hill. She was gazing over the valley watching Tiriku and Raven visit below. She loved to see Raven slide along the grassy lowland running his head along the side of Tiriku and then snuggling close, back to back, heads thrown back, beak to muzzle. To her it was precious. The two animals almost always did their little dance where Tiriku would leap and lower his forelegs, putting his head on a level with Raven while his butt was in the air. Raven would hop and hop turning his head from side to side and making odd noises. Tiriku was getting old and grizzled about the head, but he and his friend would spend time together often, never seeming to tire of it. Manak-na stood beside Domur and watched the animals below.
“Domur,” he finally said. “I want you to know that I can finally say without equivocation that I will not adventure again. I will do what I should have done and stay with you. I have never loved you less because I left; I just did not at that time understand what I was doing to you. I was thinking only of myself. I love you. I think you know that. I had to know that I could say this truly and mean it forever, before I could commit to these words.”
“You really do mean that?”
“Yes, I do. Until one of us dies, we will no longer have a long separation. I have a responsibility to you and to the People and to Wisdom. I will honor that responsibility and do what’s right. I only regret it took so long for me to be able to commit to do what’s right. I have known what’s right for a long time. Doing it was hard. I found myself doing what Ki’ti did as a child, when she made cracks to hide in to avoid doing what she should. And I gave her such a terrible time for doing that.”
“Yes, you did!”
“Should I go to her with an apology?”
“Do what your belly and your mind web tell you is wise.” Domur’s counsel placed the decision firmly back on him.
“I’ll do it. It’s only right. I’d like to get right for the wrongs I’ve done.”
“When you scolded Ki’ti, you changed her into an obedient girl who would become Wise One. You have to know that. It wasn’t wrong.”
“I never credited my actions with that.”
“Well, that’s how everyone else including the Wise Ones saw it.” Domur put her soft and gentle hand on Manak-na’s shoulder. They smiled at each other. Each was glad that the decision Manak-na had wrestled with for so long had been made.
Time moved quickly and the season of warm nights was upon the land. The People had found a lake bed nearby. It seemed to have been used by the giants lon
g ago. They tried to discover how the giants had made it hold water. Finally, they decided that they must have laid tough skins in the bottom of the lake bed and covered them with sand. They tried the same thing and after years of white rain accumulation, the lake had begun to fill in and hold water. As it was, they could store meat in the water there, because the water level was finally deep enough. Their home place was continuing to improve with the passing of time.
It had been ten years since the People had trekked to the north. Ki’ti was forty one. More People had joined: Elemaea and Patah-na, Yomuk-na and Meta, Ahna and Cam-na, Smosh-na and Tin. More People had gone to Wisdom: Grypchon-na, Flayk, and the youngsters, Luko and Gratu, who were killed by hyenas, when they wandered unaware near a big cat’s kill site.
This new day dawned with great color. It was well into the season of new leaves, white rain had gone, and the ground had dried out. Tiriku walked with a bit of a limp. He was almost white faced from age, but he still shared visits with Raven—both doing their dance and snuggling. Ki’ti was standing at the cave’s entryway. Tiriku sat beside her. Down below there were two ravens flying and squawking the sound that someone or something was entering their area. The ravens still alerted the People to changes in their environment. Manak-na and Untuk-na went to the entryway to learn the cause of the noise. In a short length of time, they could see a man with a great backpack. He was walking the path. To Manak-na there was something about the man, something familiar. Then he realized what seemed familiar and he began to run downhill. Ki’ti glanced at Untuk-na with a question. Untuk-na returned the question.
When Manak-na reached the ground level, he called to the man, “Komus, is that you?”
Manak-na's Story, 75,000 BC Page 34