Cave Bear Mountain
Page 21
‘You think to cast me down and be Spirit Keeper above me? I could have killed you many times in your short life.’ Spittle ran from the old man’s mouth and his hands trembled.
‘No.’ Tarin shook his head sadly. ‘I will be no Spirit Keeper. I have made my decision, and I have made my peace with the Great Mother. You will remain Spirit Keeper of Mammoth Clan.’ He looked fiercely at the old man. ‘But you will care for your clan and do them no harm.’
Valo laughed, choking on his breath. ‘Or what? What will you do, scared, pathetic little rabbit? You would threaten me? Your Old Father?’
Tarin didn’t answer. Instead, he raised his face to breathe in the wind and the sun. He closed his eyes, sent his heart out to the Great Mother of them all, and asked for her love and protection for his clan. He felt Utu’s claws dig into his shoulder as the bird took to the sky with a great cry. Tarin opened his eyes, and watched Owl circle high, before plummeting towards them . . . towards Valo.
The old man cried out and cowered on the ground, and Owl came so close he brushed the old man’s hair with his wing before circling once more and landing on Tarin’s shoulders. Tarin dug his fingers into Utu’s feathers, feeling the warmth and strength of the bird.
Valo stayed shivering on the ground.
‘Tarin!’ Niko called and waved his hand. He started up the hill towards them. ‘A runner has come from Saiga Clan. They say a large herd of reindeer are heading our way, and they propose a hunt. Do you come?’
Tarin hesitated only a moment. His heart was calm. Utu would do his flying for him. Rohk and Nilkka would do his running for him. One day, maybe, he would be needed as Spirit Keeper, but not today. Today, a hunter was needed.
He raised his hand to show he had heard Niko. His hands curled, as though to hold the spear thrower. He could almost feel the ground tremble with the thundering hooves. He took a step, then turned to the old man still lying on the ground. He reached a hand out to him and helped him up.
‘Do you come down now, Old Father?’
Valo shook his head. ‘No, Tarin Wolf Friend. I stay here. In the shadows and the darkness, to think my thoughts.’ He crossed his legs and pulled his beaska tighter. He raised an eyebrow at Tarin. ‘So. We finally understand each other. Do not think too harshly of me, boy. I have lived many years, and I have no plan to leave this world just yet. I think your return from the dead could prove very interesting.’ And he laughed.
Tarin nodded. ‘Then I will see you on my return, Old Father.’
And he turned and ran down the hill towards the waiting hunters.
Bears have been worshipped as far back as prehistoric times. How do we know this? One clue is the cave bear bones found in archaeological digs. The bones have been found in positions they wouldn’t normally be in if the bears had died naturally. This suggests early man placed the bones in special patterns during ritual ceremonies, perhaps to ask for protection or a successful hunt.
Many ancient cultures have stories about Bear. They’ve named constellations after him and consider him essential to their survival. He was their protector and their link to their ancestors and the forest. They respected his great strength. I have created the Karvkh Clan from a combination of old Finnish pagan beliefs (Karhu is Finnish for bear) and the spiritual beliefs of the Nivkh people of Eastern Russia, who celebrated their Bear Festival as recently as the early 1900s.
In ancient Finland, the bear was considered so sacred that whenever one was killed, a special ceremony known as Karhunpeijaiset was held to help the soul of the bear reincarnate back into the forest. It was bad luck to ever say his name out loud, and he was called names such as ‘rough fur’ or ‘honey paw’. In the Finnish language, there are over a thousand nicknames for Bear.
To the Nivkh, the bear was the symbol of their gods and ancestors. The Bear Festival that Tarin witnesses is a replica of the Nivkh celebration. Bears were captured and raised by the community, then dressed in a specially made ceremonial costume and offered a feast to take back to the realm of the gods. After the feast, the bear was killed and eaten in a special ceremony, presided over by a Shaman, or Ch’lam. The bear’s spirit returned to the gods ‘happy’, and the people were rewarded with bountiful forests.
About 30,000 years ago, and approximately 200 kilometres from Moscow, a man, a woman, and two children were buried at a site known as Sungir. Their burial is remarkable as they were all wearing heavily beaded clothes.
The man was buried with 2396 beads and armlets of ivory. Little is known about the woman, but it is the burial of the children that is the most fascinating. They were buried in one grave, head to head, and it is thought they were siblings. The girl was about eight and had 5274 beads adorning her body. The boy was about thirteen and had 4903 beads. Each bead would have taken about an hour to fashion. That’s over 10,000 hours of work in the one grave!
No one knows who they were, or why they were buried with such immense wealth. We can only guess . . .
Find out more at www.josandhu.com
Growing up, Jo Sandhu was sure she was going to be a Shakespearean actress or a pianist, and gained her Associate Diploma in Speech and Drama. However, a year in Finland as a Rotary Exchange Student cemented her passion in Ancient History and was the inspiration for Tarin’s story.
These days Jo is a writer, a personal carer, and volunteers at her sons’ sporting clubs. Her short stories have been highly commended in numerous competitions, including the FAW Mary Grant Bruce Award for Children’s Literature, and the CYA Competition (Brisbane) in both the Children’s and YA sections. She is a member of Queensland Writers Centre and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.
Jo currently lives in the Tweed Valley in Northern NSW with her family, and enjoys cooking, travelling and reading.
Tarin longs to be a hunter, but his twisted leg means he is feared and bullied. After a disastrous mishap, Tarin is forced to leave his family and travel alone across wild, unknown land to save the Mammoth Clan.
Battling the hostile and savage Boar Clan, a deadly illness, and treacherous terrain with twins Kaija and Luuka and their wolf cubs, Tarin realises that if they are to survive he must conquer his greatest fear – his true self – and embrace the magic that is hiding within him.
Tarin’s quest to save Mammoth Clan seems increasingly out of reach. Badly injured while fleeing the savage Boar Clan, Tarin and the twins face certain death as the harsh Winter descends. But an unexpected refuge not only saves their lives but offers new friends, and Tarin finally realises his greatest wish.
When Spring comes, will Tarin have the strength to leave and continue his dangerous journey?
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First published by Penguin Random House Australia Pty Ltd, 2018
Text copyright © Jo Sandhu, 2018
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All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
Cover and text design by Bruno Herfst © Penguin Random House Australia Pty Ltd
Cover illustration © Kim Van Deun, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-760-14316-9
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