In The Beginning

by Richard Webber

  Chapter Twenty Eight

  Time had passed quickly for me as I taught and led the village. I had been with them seven years, and virtually everything about the tribe’s lifestyle had changed. The entire village now spoke my language, and though some of the older ones still did it reluctantly, the young ones would never think of using the old tongue.

  The village had made a complete and successful transition to a life based on farming. There were wide fields of grain which stretched from the village towards the south, which was also where the fruit trees and olive groves were located. The fruit and vegetable fields were to the north and east, closer to the stream. The flocks of sheep and goats were kept to the north. The animals were numerous and able to provide us with meat, milk and all the wool the tribe needed.

  The villagers had gradually made a relatively smooth transition from a hunting and gathering society, with both men and women learning all tasks and often excelling at specific trades. Some women focused on being weavers and clothing makers, while others worked in the gardens, baked bread and made cheese. Most of the men now worked in the fields, while woodworking and building continued to be a trade that was much in demand. The repair of fences and plows and the building of furniture and house wares never ended, and several men made this their full-time work.

  The tribe had moved to a diet which included fish, bread, fruits and vegetables. Pigs, sheep, goats, fowl and occasionally one of the cattle that were kept for plowing or milk were able to provide the majority of the meat the village required, though one group of men was still responsible for hunting game to supplement what the tribe raised. The weapons the hunters now used made killing game much easier, so the time spent hunting and the number of men it required had decreased significantly.

  Unfortunately Garon had died this year, and I had been quite sad to see him pass. He had been a wise man and had helped me by supporting the many changes I made over the years. Without his aid and acceptance of all my changes I might have been required to resort to force, but that had never happened. I was now the only leader of the tribe, and my word was law. Whatever I wanted was done immediately and without question.

  The village had increased in size rapidly over the past few years. As food became more abundant the population grew, with the children also becoming larger in size. I believed the use of soap and cleaner living habits helped the people become sick less frequently, and it may even have increased their longevity.

  We now stretched the limits of the village to bursting, and I knew it was time to move the tribe to the location on the northern river. The village had increased to well over one hundred people, many of them babies and young children. Though it would be difficult to move, there the tribe would have all the water it needed to grow and prosper. But something held me back; I was waiting for something to spur me on, though I knew not what.

  I had made a plan years ago for moving the tribe to the river site and building a much larger village that could hold many more people than our current one. But my plan involved the other tribes that lived in the valley.

  As I travelled through the land I had become familiar with the tribes that lived to the north, south and east of our village. I always saw signs of the northern people at the salt flat, but they did not seem to venture south onto the grasslands; apparently there was nothing on the plains they needed. I had found their village in the mountains, quite a ways further north from the salt flat. Given the great distance, I was puzzled as to why they had once journeyed to my village to steal women. But since they knew where we lived I had decided these were the first people I would need to conquer.

  I had journeyed across the great river to the eastern side of our valley, and I had needed to cross a wide, arid grassland for many days just to reach the foothills. There I found and for a short time observed the tribe that lived there. As I wanted to continue exploring eastward through the mountains I did not spend too much time in observation, but they appeared to be the same as my tribe had been when I discovered them, small, unorganized and barbaric.

  The southern tribe lived far down the valley, a journey of many days. Once again those people were similar to the northern and eastern tribes and how my tribe had once been, a small group of hunters and gatherers that lived in crude huts and barely managed to subsist. I could not understand how people could remain so uncivilized year after year and never desire to change and improve the way they lived.

  I had realized early on that the people of my tribe were not stupid; some such as Kalou, Garon, Catto and Cadune were actually very intelligent. Once I had taught them how to live properly they became civilized and acted just as human as my family. Though of course they were not my equal, they were much more than what I had first believed them to be.

  I had recently decided it was time for me to marry, and I was going to ask Kalou to join with me as my wife. I respected Kalou, and with her dark, flashing eyes and fine features, she was the most attractive woman in the tribe. But it was her strong will, intelligence, and fiery spirit that really made her stand out as the only woman I could marry. She was the finest woman in the tribe and for some reason she had never taken a mate, though she had been old enough for years.

  I found Kalou alone by the stream mending her nets, which were now made of a thin fibrous material they gathered in the forest.

  “Kalou,” I started, “I have decided to take you as my wife.”

  I was interrupted by her sudden outburst of laughter, “Oh, really? Thanks for telling me.” She was laughing so hard that she was having a difficult time drawing a breath. “And when did I decide to become your wife?”

  I was at a loss for words; this was a completely unexpected turn of events. It had not occurred to me that Kalou would not jump at the chance to be my wife. I just stood there in front of her with my mouth open, which caused her to laugh even harder.

  “Close your mouth Cain, you look like one of the fish I’m going to catch.”

  I snapped my mouth shut, feeling the heat go to my face. I had no idea what to say next and considered turning and leaving, but that was not my way.

  I thought for a moment and then started over, telling her honestly, “Kalou, I would like you to be my wife. We are good together, and there is no one else I want to be with.”

  She stared at me in her appraising way for a long moment, as she had done so many times before. The way she seemed to look right into me always made me uncomfortable. I felt the heat once again rising to my face. Perhaps this was not such a good idea after all. Kalou knew me better than anyone else. She was the only person who ever seemed to realize where my plans were leading, and also the one person who may have recognized that what I said I did for the tribe was often really done for me.

  What should I do? I have never been able to fully trust Cain. He cares only for himself, but he is not an evil man. He needs to think more of the people he leads and less of himself. But in spite of that I have come to love him, and he is strong, intelligent and handsome. He will lead the tribe for many years, and I need to be there to make sure he does not hurt my people. Yes, I will marry him.

  Finally, very seriously, she answered, “Yes, Cain, I will become your wife. I think that is a good idea.”

  I smiled, strangely relieved. It would have been embarrassing if she had said no, and besides, there was no one else I was willing to marry.

  “Good!” I said a little too quickly, causing her to smile again. “I will start on a home at once and we can be joined in just a few days.”

  Once a couple took each other as mates they moved out of the communal huts of the unmarried and into their own home.

  I paused, thinking. A couple could put their house anywhere they wanted, as long as there was enough space. “Do you have a place where you would like me to build?”

  Kalou looked pleased that I had asked. “Yes, I want to live as close to the stream as possible. I like to hear the water flowing.”

  I enjoyed being by the stream also and thought this was
an excellent idea. Happy, I said, “I will begin today.”

  I walked away from Kalou very pleased with myself, but also just a little apprehensive. Although I enjoyed being with Kalou and considered her one of my only friends besides Cadune and Catto, she had the power to make me uncomfortable with myself, something no one else could do. I hoped I was making the right decision.

  It was simple for a man and woman of the tribe to become husband and wife. Once they decided to be joined they told the leader, which was me, that they wanted to have a ceremony. The ceremony normally took place soon after the man finished building their house.

  The leader would tell the women in charge of preparing the meals which night the ceremony would be held, so they could prepare a grand feast for all the tribe.

  On the evening of the chosen day, just as the sun was getting low in the sky, the couple would come together in front of the tribe. There they would simply pledge their lives to each other. When they finished there was a huge feast and celebration, long into the night.

  I wanted to build a real house for Kalou and I modeled on the home I had grown up in, with walls, doors and separate rooms for sleeping and living. As a king I deserved a grand house, not a one room hut like everyone else. But I did not want to build it until we moved the village to our new location, which could be fairly soon. We would make do for now with a nice, but smaller home.

  As soon as I started building the entire village knew I was going to marry. Though Kalou insisted she did not tell anyone, everybody seemed to know that I would wed Kalou.

  I chose a spot near the stream at the eastern corner of the village. You could see and hear the flowing water from there, and it was private and quiet. It took little time to build a house, as it was just simple post and beam construction using long, straight trees from the forest to the north. After the frame was raised crosspieces were attached which were then covered with bundles of long grass from the plains. But I added a few special features to our house which made it better than any other house in the village. All huts now had a smoke hole in the top to keep them clear, but I wanted to let more natural light into our home. I placed two window openings on the side facing the stream, which was the part of the house we would use for sleeping. I built a wall to separate the sleeping area from the living area, and placed another window near the entry of the house.

  I asked the workers that specialized in furniture building and cloth making to provide us with a bed, new blankets and some tables and shelves for holding clothes and personal items.

  Since the tribe still prepared and ate all their meals at the communal fire in the center of the village, I did not need to build a cooking or dining area at the house.

  I knew the tradition of communal eating would need to be changed when we moved the village, as the larger size of the new tribe I would bring together would not allow for communal cooking. Even now, with the population of the village growing and our diet becoming so varied, it had become much more complicated. Once again I would need to change the way the people lived, and I knew that changing the way they ate would be one of the most difficult things to get them to accept.

  On the second day of building Catto came over to help me put up the roof. I was grateful since this was a job that was much easier with two people. We worked mostly in silence, both of us knowing what needed to be done.

  When I thanked him for his help, Catto said with a smile, “Well, it’s taken you two long enough. I’m happy to help you finish the house.”

  My curiosity getting the better of me, I asked, “What do you mean it’s taken us long enough?”

  With a snort he replied, “Are you serious? Everybody in the village knew you two would be joined. Nobody could understand why you didn’t do it years ago. Kalou is the only woman you talk to as an equal, and anyway, every other woman in the village is scared of you. Besides, Kalou is such a handful that no other man could ever take her as a wife.”

  I thought about what Catto said. I was surprised that the other women were scared of me, but I really didn’t care about that. In hindsight I knew what he meant; Kalou was the only woman I respected as an equal. Though the other women were just fine as wives and mothers, workers, weavers and cooks, and some had become good leaders, Kalou had a fire and intelligence that made her special. I nodded to myself, agreeing with Catto.

  I finally said, “So I guess that’s why everybody knew we were going to join, even though neither of us told anyone.”

  “That’s right, once you started the hut nothing needed to be said. So did you know that everybody is talking about how they can't wait to see the children you two produce?”

  This matter-of-fact statement, which he said while looking at me out of the corner of his eye, stopped me dead in my tracks. Of course I had been curious about the same thing, but it made me uncomfortable to think that everyone in the village had been talking about us having children.

  Catto burst into laughter when he saw me pause, not sure what, if anything, to say about that statement. “I’m just kidding,” he choked out, “but you should have seen your face.”

  The rest of the time we worked in silence, a silence broken only by the occasional sound of Catto chuckling.