Chapter Five About Time

In the rotation of activities devised for young people, my first task was to learn about 'gathering'.  Every tree, bush, shrub, grass and root for about a day’s walk from our encampment was intimately known.  We were also cognisant of our competitor's whereabouts, particularly the wild boar, who over one night could remove a whole item from our menu.  The price they often paid for this was to replace it, but they were the hardest animal to hunt; quick moving, night travellers, and ferocious when cornered.  We often caught them by herding them towards the escarpment's edge, where they often threw themselves off the cliff in a vain attempt to get away, occasionally even surviving the fall.

From time to time, different teams would join up for shared missions. One such task was when us 'gathers' joined with the expeditionary troupe, whose task was to learn the skill necessary to travel into unknown territory, and survive on 'native wit and intelligence'.  Their role was to support our mission to find more food for the community by moving further afield, and extending our repertoire.  This sometime brought us into contact with other human groups, and put 'social skills' being learnt, perhaps the most needed to our fragile community, into action.  We were under no illusions that others perceived us as anachronistic, and the power we wielded lay not in primitively force, but our ability to survive in places other tribes feared.  

'Fear' was a topic focused on by Mosako.  He did not see it as a thing in itself to 'fear', likening it to pain, or anxiety.  It has its place, but just should not be 'boss'.  He would recite with mirth the occasion when three young people, me being one of them, scaled the high escarpment behind our village.  The climbing was nothing to us, as we lived in the trees, and had strung walkways and lookouts over long distances.  At the top, after taking our bearings, we headed off to explore.  As we descended into a hollow, a small bear cub bounded over to us, licking our knees, and was evidently filled with joy to see us.  We were lost in wondered and pleasure at the experience until brought to our senses by the ear splitting growls of a mother bear, not of the same carefree persuasion.  Our instinct was to climb, but we knew well that bears also climb.  We shot off back the way we came, and soon came to the edge of the escarpment. Deftly we slide down the steep cliff to a rocky ledge below were we all clung to each other, and let out tears of relief.  We knew that the mother bear was not hungry, just protective, and although could easily reach us, would not take the risk.  Our condition of course soon became a spectacle, with the ledge acting as a perfect stage for the whole community to enjoy.  This is the fear we respect.  Fear of death has its place However it should not be the controlling factor in decision making.  There are far more important factors, including loyalty, love and excitement.  I cling to these words.

Mosako's wisdom was not the only sustenance and binding force provided to our community.  He had a younger sister called Ediopha, elected as 'judge' for the community.  She acted as final arbiter and guide for many issues our community faced.  There were the mundane, such as whether a crime had been committed when Gotia's Guinea fowl all mysteriously died.   She also decided whether couples could be married, or whether a marriage should be annulled. She also interviewed fugitives arriving at our community requesting sanctuary.  She was very aware of our dependence on her, and her decisions and I knew this weighed heavily on her mind.  She and other elders were often found pondering how our community might best be organised.  We were all aware of the time in the past when a 'judge' in her role had made bad decisions. He had almost ruined our way of life and this had ended in murder, and a deep knife blow to all people, resulting in schism and enduring pain. Ediopha felt we needed checks and balances, including a time limited period of 'rule'. We all trusted and adored her and could not agree.

The expedition was planned weeks in advance. It was to be my first major separation from family and familiar routine.  We were to travel south for 7 days to the sea. Then the plan was to catch and smoke fish, and collect sea gull eggs for boiling. The egg collecting was a community tradition involving precarious abseil down cliffs, in other words, our speciality, and “a piece of bread". We also intended to meet other communities and try out our local language skills, to get a sense of how communities were fairing. We knew three local communities a day’s walk to the north west with people who shared our language. But these communities were not felt to be close. Their approach to living was to us alien. However the coastal people seemed to be fun loving and humours. A number of our group spoke their language tolerably well, adding to the laughter that could be heard in their streets. The key fact that mattered to me was that I was going with Tilda. She was leading the expedition.