The Land of Painted Caves (Earth's Children 6)

The invitation caught her by surprise, but she smiled, then said, “Yes, I would like to see it.”

7

The Zelandoni Who Was First had mixed feelings upon hearing about the new cave. New discoveries of hollows that were likely to be entries to the Mother’s Sacred Underworld were always exciting, but the thought that she might be excluded for purely physical reasons was disappointing, though the idea of crawling on her belly into a small space was not exactly appealing anymore. It did, however, please her that Ayla was accepted enough to be offered the opportunity in her place. She hoped it meant that her choice of a newcomer as an acolyte was already taken for granted. Of course, having a woman with such obviously unusual powers safely under the authority of the zelandonia was probably a relief to many. That she was also an inherently normal and attractive young mother made her acceptance easier.

“That is

an excellent idea, Zelandoni of the Twenty-sixth Cave. I had planned to begin her Donier Tour later this summer, after the First Matrimonial and Rites of First Pleasures ceremonies. A visit to a new sacred hollow could be an early introduction, and give her a chance to understand from the beginning how sacred sites are known to the zelandonia,” the First Donier said. “And while we are talking about introductions and training, I notice several of the newer acolytes here. This seems a good time to reveal some knowledge they will need to know. Who can tell me how many seasons there are?”

“I can,” said a young man. “There are three.”

“No,” said a young woman. “There are five.”

The First smiled. “One of you says three, another says five. Can anyone tell me which is correct?”

No one spoke for a while; then the acolyte next to Ayla on the left said, “I think both are.”

The First smiled again. “You are correct. There are both three and five seasons, depending upon how you count them. Can anyone tell me why?”

No one spoke up. Ayla remembered some of Mamut’s teachings, but she felt somewhat shy and hesitant to speak. Finally, when the silence grew awkward, she said, “The Mamutoi also have both three and five seasons. I don’t know about the Zelandonii, but I can tell you what Mamut told me.”

“I think that would be quite interesting,” the First said, looking around and seeing nods of agreement from others of the zelandonia.

“The downward-pointing triangle is a very important symbol to the Mamutoi,” Ayla began. “It is the symbol of woman, and it is made with three lines, so three is the number of the power of … I don’t quite know the word … motherhood, giving birth, creating new life, and is very sacred to Mut, to the Mother. Mamut also said the three sides of a triangle represent the three major seasons, spring, summer, and winter. But the Mamutoi recognize two additional seasons, the ones that signal change, fall and midwinter, making five seasons. Mamut said five is the Mother’s hidden power number.”

Not only were the young acolytes surprised and interested, the older Zelandoni were fascinated by what she said. Even those who had met her the year before and had heard her talk noticed the way she spoke, her accent. To those who were seeing her for the first time, especially if they were young and had not traveled much, her voice seemed absolutely exotic. For most of the zelandonia she had spoken of information unknown to them but that essentially agreed with their way of thinking, which tended to confirm their own beliefs. That gave her added credence and an element of prestige. She was traveled, knowledgeable, but not really threatening.

“I didn’t realize the ways of the Mother were so similar even from such a great distance,” said Zelandoni of the Third. “We also speak of three main seasons—spring, summer, and winter—but most people recognize five: spring, summer, autumn, early winter, and late winter. We also understand that the inverted triangle represents woman and that three is the number of generative power, but five is a more powerful symbol.”

“That is true. The ways of the Great Earth Mother are remarkable,” the First said, then continued with the instruction. “We talked about the counting-word five before, the five parts of an apple, five fingers on each hand, five toes on each foot, and how to use the hands and counting words in a more powerful way. There are also five Primary, or Sacred, colors. All other colors are aspects of the main colors. The first color is Red. It is the color of blood, the color of life, but just as life does not last, the color red seldom stays true for long. As blood dries it darkens, becomes brown, sometimes very dark.

“Brown is an aspect of red, sometimes called old red. It is the color of the trunks and branches of many trees. The red ochers of the earth are the dried blood of the Mother, and though some can be very bright, almost new looking, they are all considered old Red. Some flowers and fruits show the true color of Red, but flowers are ephemeral, as is the red color of fruits. When red fruits, such as strawberries, are dried, they turn to old Red. Can you think of anything else that is Red, or an aspect of it?”

“Some people have brown hair,” said an acolyte sitting behind Ayla.

“And some people have brown eyes,” Ayla said.

“I’ve never seen anyone with brown eyes. The eyes of everyone I know are blue or gray, sometimes with a little green,” said the young male acolyte who had spoken earlier.

“The people of the Clan who raised me all had brown eyes,” Ayla said. “They thought my eyes were strange, perhaps even weak, because they were so light.”

“You are talking about Flatheads, aren’t you? They’re not really people. Other animals have brown eyes, and a lot of them have brown fur,” he said.

Ayla felt her anger flare. “How can you say that? The Clan are not animals. They are people!” she said through gritted teeth. “Have you ever even seen one?”

The First jumped in to quell the incipient disruption. “Acolyte of the Zelandoni of the Twenty-ninth Cave, it is true that some people have brown eyes. You are young and obviously inexperienced. That is one reason that before you become a full Zelandoni, you need to make a Donier Tour. When you travel south, you will meet some people with brown eyes. But perhaps you should answer her question. Have you ever seen the ‘animal’ you call a Flathead?” she said.

“Well … no, but everyone says they look like bears,” the young man said.

“When she was a child, Ayla lived among the ones that the Zelandonii know as Flatheads, but that she calls the Clan. They saved her life after she lost her parents; they took care of her, raised her. I think she has more experience with them than you. You also might ask Willamar, the Trade Master, who has had more contact with them than most. He says they may look a little different, but they behave like people and he believes they are. Until you have had some direct contact yourself, I think you should defer to those who have had personal experience with them,” the First said, in a stern, lecturing tone.

The young man felt a flare of anger. He didn’t like being lectured, and he didn’t like that the ideas of a foreigner should be given more credence than those he had heard all his life. But after his Zelandoni signaled with a shake of his head, he decided not to dispute the One Who Was First Among Those Who Served The Great Earth Mother.

“Now, we were speaking of the Five Sacred Colors. Zelandoni of the Fourteenth Cave, why don’t you tell us about the next one,” the First said.

“The second primary color is Green,” the Zelandoni of the Fourteenth began. “Green is the color of leaves and grass. It is also a color of life, of course, plant life. In winter you will see that many trees and plants are brown, showing that their true color is old red, the color of life. In winter the plants are only resting, gathering strength for their new green growth in spring. With their flowers and fruits, plants also show most of the other colors,”

Ayla thought her delivery was flat, and if the information itself had not been so interesting, she could make it seem dull. No wonder the rest of the zelandonia didn’t select her to be First. Then Ayla wondered if she just thought that because she knew how much the woman annoyed her Zelandoni.