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

The Mother was pleased with the pair she created,

She taught them to love and to care when they mated.

She made them desire to join with each other,

The Gift of their Pleasures came from the Mother.

Before She was through, Her children loved too.

Earth’s Children were blessed. The Mother could rest.

That was the part everyone was waiting for. It meant the formalities were over, it was time for feasting and other festivities.

People started milling around waiting for the feast to be set out. Jonayla, who had been sleeping contentedly while Ayla was sitting quietly, started to squirm around when they all joined in on the Mother’s Song. She woke up when her mother got up and started moving. Ayla took her out of her carrying blanket and held her out over the ground, where she let go of her water. She had learned quickly that the sooner she went, the sooner she’d be out of the cold and held close to a warm body again.

“Let me take her,” Jondalar said, reaching for the child. Jonayla smiled at the man, which elicited a smile in return.

“Wrap her in this blanket,” Ayla said, handing him the soft hide of a red deer that she was using to carry her. “It’s getting chilly, and she’s still warm from sleep.”

Ayla and Jondalar walked toward the camp of the Third Cave. They had enlarged their space to include room for their neighboring Cave in the main Summer Meeting area. The Ninth put up a couple of shelters for their own use especially during the day, but they still referred to it as the camp of the Third Cave. They also tended to share meals and join together for feasts, but Matrimonial Feasts were always prepared and shared by the entire group.

They joined the rest of Jondalar’s family and friends who were bringing food to the large meeting area of the Summer Camp near the zelandonia lodge. Proleva, as usual, organized the entire affair, assigning tasks and delegating individuals to be responsible for various jobs. People were coming from all directions bringing the components of the great feast. Each camp had developed their own variations on the standard ways of cooking the substantial quantity and diversity of foods that were available in the region.

The abundant grasslands and gallery forests along rivers provided rich feed for the many varieties of large grazing or browsing animals, including aurochs, bison, horse, mammoth, woolly rhinoceros, megaceros, reindeer, red deer, and several other types of deer. Some animals that in later times retreated to mountains spent certain seasons on the cold plains, like the wild goat known as ibex, the wild sheep called mouflon, and a goat-antelope referred to as chamois. A sheep-antelope named saiga lived on the steppes all year. In the coldest part of winter musk-oxen also appeared. There were also small animals, usually caught in traps, and fowl, often brought down with stones or throwing sticks, including Ayla’s favorite, ptarmigan.

A wide selection of vegetables was available, including roots such as wild carrots, cattail rhizomes, flavorful onions, spicy little pignuts, and several different kinds of starchy biscuit roots and ground nuts that were collected with digging sticks, then eaten raw, cooked, or dried. Thistle stems, held up by the flower head so the sharp thorns could be scraped off before cutting, were delicious when lightly cooked; burdock stems required no special handling but needed to be picked young. The green leaves of lamb’s quarter made a wonderful wild spinach; stinging nettles were even better, but had to be picked with a large leaf from another plant to protect the hand from the stinging, which disappeared when they were cooked.

Nuts and fruits, especially berries, were also in abundance, and an assortment of teas was provided. The steeping of leaves, stems, and flowers in hot water, or just letting them sit out in the sun for a while, was usually enough to make an infusion with the desired flavors and characteristics. But steeping was not a sufficiently rigorous process to extract the flavors and natural constituents from hard organic substances; barks, seeds, and roots usually required boiling to make the proper decoctions.

Other beverages were available, like fruit juices, including fermented varieties. Tree saps, particularly birch, could be boiled down to bring out the sugar and then fermented. Grains and, of course, honey could also be made into an alcoholic drink. Marthona provided a limited quantity of her fruit wine, Laramar some of his barma, and several others had brought their own varieties of drinks with variable alcoholic content. Most people brought their own eating utensils and bowls, although a supply of wood or bone platters, and carved or tightly woven bowls and cups, were offered for those who wanted to use them.

Ayla and Jondalar walked around greeting friends and sampling the foods and drinks offered by different Caves. Jonayla was often the center of attention. Some people were curious to see if the foreigner who had grown up with Flatheads, whom some still considered animals, had given birth to a normal child. Friends and relatives were just pleased to see that she was a happy, healthy, and very pretty little girl, with fine, almost white, soft curly hair. Everyone also knew immediately that it was Jondalar’s spirit that the Great Mother had selected to mix with Ayla’s to create her daughter; Jonayla had the same extraordinarily vivid blue eyes.

They passed by a group of people who had set up camp on the edge of the large communal area, and Ayla thought she recognized some of them. “Jondalar, aren’t those people Traveling Storytellers?” she asked. “I didn’t know they were coming to our Summer Meeting.”

“I didn’t know either. Let’s go and greet them.” They hurried to the camp. “Galliadal, how nice to see you,” Jondalar called out as they neared.

A man turned around and smiled. “Jondalar! Ayla!” he said, approaching them with both hands stretched out to them.

He clasped Jondalar’s hands. “In the name of the Great Earth Mother, I greet you,” Galliadal said.

The man was nearly as tall as Jondalar, somewhat older, and nearly as dark as the Zelandoni man was light. Jondalar’s hair was light yellow, Galliadal’s was dark brown but with lighter streaks, and thinning on top. His blue eyes were not as striking as Jondalar’s, but the contrast to his darker skin coloring made them intriguingly noticeable. His skin is not brown like Ranec’s, Ayla thought. It’s more like he has been out in the sun a lot, but I don’t think it fades much in winter.

“In the name of Doni, you are welcome to our Summer Meeting, Galliadal, and welcome to the rest of your Traveling Cave,” Jondalar replied. “I didn’t know you had come. How long have you been here?”

“We arrived before noon, but we shared a meal with the Second Cave before we set up camp. The leader’s mate is a far-cousin of mine. I didn’t even know she had two-born-together.”

“You’re related to Beladora? Kimeran and I are age-mates; we went through our manhood rites together,” Jondalar explained. “I was the tallest one there and felt out of place, until Kimeran came. I was so glad to see him.”

“I understand how you felt, and you are even taller than me.” Galliadal turned his attention to Ayla. “Greetings to you,” he said, grasping her outstretched hands.

“In the name of the Great Mother of All, welcome,” Ayla replied.

“And who is this pretty little thing?” the visitor said, smiling at the baby.

“This is Jonayla,” Ayla said.

“Jon-Ayla! Your daughter, with his eyes, that’s a good name,” Galliadal said. “I hope you are coming tonight. I have a special story for you.”