The Journey
VOLUME 2
THE VILLAGE
A Tale of Adventure from Prehistoric Europe
by
Charles Elford
The Village
Copyright © 2011 by Charles Elford
All Rights Reserved
Cover Design by: Laura Shinn
Smashwords Edition 1 21 December 2011
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FORWARD
This volume gives more detailed information on the daily lives, the rituals, the religious aspects and the social structure of the time period involved, which is the Neolithic period approximately 3000 BC. The location was current northern Germany, in the area of Saxony. It was not on the coast; rather it was inland from the coast, far enough away that the people of this village did not ever go up to the ocean even though the village was actually a short distance south of the coast.
Their main activity had to do with the Journey, which was a yearly trade route which went to the South. The route that they covered went down through the Erz forest of eastern Germany, through current Bohemia and Czechoslovakia. They skirted the eastern side of the Austrian Alps and the German Alps. They crossed the Danube at the approximate location of Vienna and continued traveling south, ending up in the current location of Albania close to the coast of the Adriatic Sea. That was their final destination.
This volume finds Kirlo at home, where he rises to prominence in his village due to his inquisitive and adventurous nature, and brings his village to a level of comfort not before known in his Homeland.
CHAPTER 1
Living with the gods
Kirlo had worked quickly all day, racing the sun as it traveled across the beautiful blue cover. He wanted to finish all of his duties with his herd, and to have all of the animals safely back inside their pens and be back in the village before the sun disappeared behind the gentle slopes to the west.
This was because tonight was the night when all of the children gathered around the village fire to listen to the Holy Man teach them about the ways of the gods.
This was a very special event which was held only once in the entire cycle of the seasons, and it was always held on a warm night during the growing season when the moon was bright and the winds were warm and gentle throughout the village.
Kirlo remembered the very first time he attended this event when he was a little boy, and how eager he was to learn about those beings which one could not see, but which lived among them and assisted them to survive in their village and in their lives.
And although each child in the village anticipated this event with eagerness, they knew that they never had to fear what the Holy Man might tell them about the gods, because they knew that the gods were their friends.
On this day, Kirlo was bringing his youngest daughter to her first listening from the Holy Man about the gods that lived among them. His little girl had now lived for five springs, and would be old enough to understand, and had begun to learn about that portion of living which was not immediately visible to the eyes.
So after a quick meal in his simple house with his wife Onkeen and his two daughters, they all left together and sat down at their place around the fire in the center of the village. Most of the members of all families who had children, came with them as a full family, partly to give support to the youngest child who was listening to this for the first time, and partly because it was always so refreshing to hear the Holy Man tell once more about the joys of living with the gods.
So they waited for a short time, and then all began to murmur together in satisfaction as the Holy Man began walking across the open center of the village and took his place in front of the fire to speak to the young children.
The Holy Man himself was a very highly respected member of the tribe. The Holy Man was always one who was carefully selected by the Fathers of the tribe to be a representative of the world of the spirits and the gods, which were part of their lives although they could not be seen with the eyes. The Holy Man was often seen walking quietly through the trees, and though he did not speak with words, it was commonly understood by the people of the village that he communicated with all living things silently, and that he was able to receive messages from living things and from the gods around them.
When the children all settled down comfortably, most of them in the laps of their parents, the Holy Man looked at them kindly and began to speak.
"There is a world which you all know because you can see it and you can feel it and you can taste it and you can smell it. The world of the village, of your home, of your families, of your friends, of the animals of the village and the gardens of the village, are part of the world that you see. The sun which travels across the blue cover every day, the white blankets that float across the sky, the moon which travels across during the night, the winds which blow through the village, the rains which fall, the snow which falls in the season of the long nights, the water in the river which flows endlessly on its way, all of these things are part of the world which you can see. But the part of the world that you don't see, is a place where you have many friends. These are the gods, and they live in the world of the spirits. This is a world which exists along with the world that you see, but it is a peaceful world where there are no struggles or pain or hunger. There can be many gods, and the gods feel that they are like you, and therefore they understand you and therefore they are your friends. Sometimes, when you stand quietly in the middle of the forest or look at the sky at night, the words of the gods can reach you and you can hear them. Since they are very free and do not have the burdens of you who live in the world you can see, they often choose portions of the world to look after. Sometimes they choose to look after all of us, and the way that they help us is by bringing joy or peacefulness or love or good ideas so that we can live better lives. Sometimes they choose to assist another type of animal, and they will help that animal to know where to find food or know where to find shelter from the snow or know how to grow better so he will have an easier life.
"A long time ago, as the legends of our people tell us, there were lots of gods and spirits and they all lived together happily and enjoyed each other's company. Some of the spirits decided to grow trees, some of them decided to grow flowers, some of them decided to grow the animals in the water, some of them decided to grow the animals that crawl along the ground, and others decided to grow other types of animals. As the ages passed on and on, some of the spirits became so interested in the things which they were growing that they have decided never to leave those things. And some of the gods chose to remain in the world of the spirits where they could go wherever they wanted and communicate with anything they wanted. The gods sometimes choose to be one of us, and so they will become born as you became born and they will grow up as you grow up and they will help their parents and help the people in the village where they live, to learn to live better lives, and then when they have completed their job for that life and have done a good job, they will then go back to the spirit world and continue to enjoy their wise and peaceful existence.
"So when you see, young children, that an older member of your family has left and his body has turned into fire, you can imagine that he was a god and he is returning home to the world of the spirits to be with his friends again, and you do not need to be sad simply because you cannot see him anymore. That is because you should remember that the world of the spirits exists right beside the world which you can see, and you can always take some comfort in knowing that you do not really lose your friends or family, and that you are not really alone."
“And it is possible for a person who has lived a good life and respected living things and listened to the living things and helped his village, that when he has left this life and joined the spirit world, would be able to become a god, and that every person himself is like a god, and the gods are like them.”
One of the little children who was quite grown up for his age respectfully stood and bowed to the Holy Man, and the Holy Man addressed him and he asked his question which was whether the gods tell them what to do. The Holy Man smiled gently, laughed and then said,
"My young friend, the gods want you to be happy and live a satisfying life because they are like you. They want you to become the best that you can be, but they know that the only way for that to occur is for you to do it by yourself, and if you do very well in your life they will want to welcome you to the spirit world when you are ready. So of course they will do nothing except to help make you strong."
The young boy smiled, bowed to show his thankfulness for the answer, and sat back down with his parents.
Then several other children stood up and asked their questions about the gods, and the Holy Man kindly answered all of them.
Then a gentle wave of peace flowed across the village, and all of the children were happy because they knew that their life was going to be successful and that they were going to grow strong and happy and help their village, and because they now knew that they had another world of which they could be aware, even if their eyes could not see it. This was usually the night when the children ceased to be children and began to be young people of the tribe because they now understood what their role was, and they understood their own value in the life and survival of their village and their people. The young children now with this advanced understanding of their own existence, all happily began smiling and laughing. They all hugged their parents and promised their parents without being asked to do so, that they would all learn to work with the spirit world as they grew up in the world they could see. The parents all then stood with their children and bowed lightly to the Holy Man, thanking him for his help and caring for the people of their village.
The Holy Man bowed back to them in his acknowledgment.
Then they all quietly went to their homes and enjoyed a peaceful sleep.
CHAPTER 2
The Naming Rite
Now that the village was in the middle of the growing season, and the weather was warm and the sun gave bountiful life to all of the living things in the gardens and in the trees, and the plants were growing up strong and healthy and tall, and the fruits and the vegetables were beginning to become visible on all of the plants around the village, life for the villagers was peaceful and happy. This was the time of the seasons when all of the people in the village could walk around and enjoy the warmth of the sun, and could play and swim and bathe in the River that ran by the village, and this was a time that the villagers could sit outside at night until the moon was high up in the sky and they could tell their stories and talk about their plans for the future in the warmth of the evening air.
For Kirlo, all of the goats had had their babies and the babies were growing up big and healthy and did not require as much concern on the part of the herders, so Kirlo had time to devote to his young daughter.
Kirlo and Onkeen had spoken together many times at night in their little home about making sure that they raised their young daughter properly. Kirlo had already begun gaining a reputation in the village as being a leader in everything that he did. And it was important to him and Onkeen that they set a good example in the raising of their child, because Kirlo always wanted to improve the situation of his village and improve the guarantees of the survival of his peoples. So they had decided that their young daughter should learn more than one activity, and that she should have multiple talents and abilities so that she would be a great honor and a great asset to the village where she eventually would go and grow up.
So Kirlo and Onkeen had agreed that they would take turns teaching the young girl the various duties of the village, and she would go with both parents to learn the ways of their peoples.
It was important in the ways of their peoples that a child attain a certain level of ability, and be recognized by the Fathers of the village, because it was necessary for the Fathers and the parents to come to an agreement regarding the name to be given to each child. This was the most important part of growing up as a child in the village, and the name was not assigned to the child until he had gotten old enough and skilled enough in something, and mature enough so that he could be given a name corresponding to his abilities or his personality or other major characteristic, by which he could be known for the rest of his life.
Many people in the village were satisfied to simply live a peaceful and happy life, and to take care of themselves and their families and to assist in their roles in the village, and this was indeed a completely satisfactory and worthy existence. But Kirlo and Onkeen had never been that way. They had always want to excel in everything they did, and they always wanted new challenges and new adventures, and they always pushed themselves to learn more and to become better at what they did. And so when they were speaking together about raising their young daughter, they both agreed that they wanted their daughter to be a shining example of an improved viewpoint on life, one that would help the village to do better and live better and survive better.
In order to teach their young daughter both the domestic womanly skills and the outdoor skills, Kirlo and Onkeen had decided that they would take turns working with the young girl, and that each parent would take her for two days, including her in all of their own daily activities to teach her everything that they had learned about their life and duties in the village.
The girl had been very happy to accompany both of them and had always tried to help in all of the activities that her parents did, even though she was little and could not always lift things and did not always know what to do. Onkeen had shown her how to wash the animal hide clothes in the river, how to hang them on the tree branches so that they would dry in the wind and become fresh with the scents of the flowers. She had taught her how to walk through the fields and find the flowers which had the best smells to use to spread over the clothes and over the beds in their house to make things smell fresh all the time. She had taught her how to take the flowers and cook them in hot water by the fire until they turned into a thick paste of color, which was then used to paint designs on the clothes made for the people of the village. Onkeen had helped the little girl find the right shaped stone from the river and shown her how to grind it away patiently until it became the shape of a knife that she could use to cut the animal skins. She showed her how to cut thin slices of the animal skin to turn into ties to hold the clothes together and to keep them tight on the body. She had taught the little girl how to search through the fields in the forest near their village, for roots and plants that could be eaten, and how to gently bring them back to the village and store them safely so that they would last and could be used for food. And she had taught the young daughter how to cut and mix the foods brought in from the fields and from the hunters to make a healthy and delicious stew on the village fire, and the Fathers of the village had even commented upon how good this food was, that this young girl was already able to make.
When it was his turn to take the girl, Kirlo had taken her with him out to the herds. She had learned how to watch over the babies and the mothers and to keenly keep her eye aware of the movements in the trees around the meadows, and she had more than once been the first one to spot a wolf sneaking in to try to grab one of the baby goats. She had even been able to help the mother goats have their babies because she could tell when the mothers were about to give birth and would help lead them under a tree so they had protection, and would talk to them and sooth them as they lay down to have their babies. And she had learned how to help the babies to get up and the find their mother's milk and start drinking so that they could grow up strong. And as she had gotten a little older, and was able to run faster, she played with the baby goats and chased them around the meadow, and the baby goats played with her and knew she was their friend.
She had learned how to follow an animal through the woods by watching the marks it made on the ground. She could tell the difference between a rabbit or a fox or a wolf, or a deer or a bear, and she could follow their footprints to their homes in the trees or in the holes in the ground. She had learned how to find the holes where the rabbits lived, and she had learned how to follow the older rabbits who had already lived their lives, and to track them until she had found and identified the ones which would be all right to take for food and fur which was used to make parts for the clothing for all the people in her village, comfortable parts for the babies and the older people so they could be comfortable.
She had learned how to catch fish in the river near their village. She was able to bring in more fish in one trip of the sun than any other child in the village, and she had been acknowledged at the meeting of the Fathers around the fire in the center of the village for this ability, because the abundance of river food had increased noticeably because of her skill in trapping those careful and wary underwater animals.
And she had also learned, from traveling around with her father Kirlo through the fields and meadows, how to choose the best fruits from the trees and from the bushes. Some children would pick anything they found, and if the fruits were not ripe enough, when they were made into the food by the village woman, could sometimes make people sick so that they would have to stay in their homes for many trips of the sun, requiring other people to care for them and also requiring other people to do their duties for them. So it was very important to able to know how to find when the fruit was ready to eat. Kirlo's young daughter had learned quickly and could gather with accuracy exactly which fruits were ready on that day and know which ones were going to be ready on the following day, or the following day, and the success of the gathering parties was noticed by the Fathers of the village, again because of the noticeably increased amount of good quality fruit which she could bring home.
So Kirlo and Onkeen both agreed that their young daughter who had been born to them, was now ready to go before the Council of the Fathers and the Holy Man and the Leader of the village to receive her name.
After Kirlo had notified the Council of the Fathers, and they had notified the Leader of the village, and the Leader of the village had consulted with the Holy Man for his advice, a date had been set for the Council to meet around the big fire in the center the village to review the training and accomplishments of the young girl.
On the day of the meeting, Onkeen had washed the young girl thoroughly, covered her face with the mixture of the flowers which made her smell sweet, dressed her in a new deerskin suit with pictures of brightly colored flowers painted onto it, and Kirlo and Onkeen had then led their young daughter to the center of the village where the Fathers were meeting. They all sat down within the circle of the Fathers, and Kirlo put his arm around his young daughter, made her comfortable and told her that she did not have anything to worry about.
Then Onkeen explained the number of things the young girl had learned and showed the Fathers some samples of the sewing she had done, and of the flower mixtures she had made. Then Kirlo explained all the things she had learned with him out in the fields and the forests, and explained to the Fathers that many of them were sleeping on soft cushions at night made from rabbit skins that his young daughter had caught. And they all remembered the improvement in quality of food that had taken place just from the young girl's careful harvesting of the fruits and from her ability to catch the creatures of the river.
Seeing the obvious approval from the faces of the Fathers of the Council, the village Leader stated,
"My friends Kirlo and Onkeen, it is clear that your young daughter possesses an unusual amount of abilities for a young girl. It is not often that we see one who is accomplished in the skills of the home and in the skills of the outdoors. We believe that she is an exceptional child raised in an exceptional family, and that she has earned the right to hold a name amongst our people.”
He then sat down, and the Holy Man stood up and looked affectionately at the young girl and asked her to stand. Kirlo assisted her to stand up, and she bowed lightly to the Holy Man as she had learned to do. She smiled at him and felt comfortable and at ease with him, because he was a kind man and everybody knew that he loved the children of the village.
"My child", he said, "Today is the day when you pass from being a child to being a young member of the village of our peoples. Be assured that your peoples are proud to have you join them on this special day of your life. We have chosen for you a name which is reserved only for the most special of young people, one that signals the many abilities which you have demonstrated. Of all the names which show the activities and the abilities of our lives and of the qualities of the gods who live around us in the spirit world, there are many individual awards, but there are very few which cover the multiplicity of your talents already established at this young age. Therefore your people have chosen to give you the name Pela, which means "the able one". And we all thank the gods that you have come to join us."
He then brought to her a wreath made of flowers and soft white tails of rabbits, and draped it gently around her neck. He then bowed towards her, and she immediately bowed back towards him. The Holy Man strode back to his place by the fire and received the gaze of all of the members of the Council of the Fathers and of the Leader the village, and he softly said,
"We are finished."
Onkeen immediately jumped to her feet and grabbed her young daughter and hugged her tight because she was so proud, and when she was finished, Kirlo was also standing beside her for his turn, and gave her an nice long hug and told her how proud he was of her. Pela was so happy that her face looked like a little sun all by itself, beaming its rays out into the dim circle around the fire. Kirlo and Onkeen both then bowed lightly to the Council of the Fathers, took their daughter by the hands and walked peacefully back towards their home.
When the young girls had gone to sleep in their soft mats of deerskin, and Kirlo and Onkeen set close together in a gentle embrace, Kirlo again felt the peaceful and floating feeling of success and accomplishment and pride, for he knew they had done their best, and he know that their daughter would grow to accomplish great things for her people.
CHAPTER 3
The Storm
It was now the 4th season of the long nights, after Kirlo's first journey to the South and his adoption of Leeka as his daughter in the tribe. The harvest season had been ungracious to the village. The crops from the trees and the gardens of the farmers had only yielded half of the normal amount of vegetables and fruit. The wise Leader of the village, knowing that this was happening during the growing season, had worked out a system of rationing food so that they would have enough to make it through the season of the long nights. But the storms had come early, and the villagers, despite their intensive efforts to gather all the food from the trees and from the forest that they could find, had not been able to gather enough to last the entire season of the long nights and of the cold. It was clear to everyone, including to Kirlo who raised goats for the village, that they needed to find more food so that their peoples could stay alive during the period of the long nights.