Friday, November 3, 2017

Tother Hand, Chapter 5, part 2

The man continued, we will celebrate Nawruz in a few weeks, perhaps you will be close by to join us?
2711 demurred, saying that the life of Healers is hectic and dedicated to practice and discipline, not to celebrations of the calendar.
The man bowed low to 2711 and 9001 and begged forgiveness for the slight, proclaiming loudly that he was just being generous and offering his bounty to strangers, as Ahura says is good.
2711 called for more butter tea to raise a toast to Ahura, and to wish for a _spenta_ harvest. Their hosts graciously agreed and poured out butter tea and raised their cups to the harvest. 9001 observed how her father had been able to navigate and avoid an embarrassing confrontation without giving in to aggression and arrogance.
The father of the household asked, so you are Healers. My father lives with my mother in the valley where you came from. They are both old but my father fell ill last fall and has not moved from his bed since the summer. My mother is worried that… She is worried, we are all worried… You see…
2711 raised his left hand to stop his stammering host. He said, your father is with Ahura and he will meet his _fravashi_ in two days’ time. Your mother feasted with us and we celebrated his healing. My daughter herself performed the ritual for her first time and she sent your father to continue his battle against Them in the afterlife.
The members of the yurt all exclaimed and praised 9001, who blushed furiously at the attention, just as she did when she played the _ney_. The father of the household moved closer to 9001, scrabbling on his knees. He grasped her hand and bowed four times, raising her hand above his head each time.
He said, praise to Ahura Mazda, Spenta Mainyu! Healer child, I thank you for your service and offer our hospitality as a token of gratitude. Stay with us tonight, with your father, and we will celebrate. My eldest son is almost ready to marry. Come here son. Sit next to her. No, she will not hurt you. They are Healers. Son, sit down. See, he is very strong and has good teeth. Look at his arms. He will be a good addition to your party. He is not very bright, but he is strong and follows directions well. Please consider it. Son, sit next to her. Smile.
2711 laughed and motioned for the man’s son to go back to his mat on the other side of the yurt.
2711 said, thank you, kind host. You are as generous as our great and supremely wise Spirit. But we Healers do not seek the ties of marriage and domestication. Healers are taught the craft from birth by the Elders and we are very tight-knit. We cannot share our skills with someone who is not a Healer.
Anway, he continued, if I tell my daughter: go fetch water. She will not. If I say to her: daughter, I command you to bring me butter tea. She will bring me cold oil to drink. If her husband would tell her: wife, make me some good food for dinner. She will disobey and do something different. Or worse, she will say: husband, get your own food.
Besides, he continued on a roll, she is almost too old to be a good wife. She is nearly to her seventeenth year, and you know what they say about the number seventeen: two away from nineteen. She will probably be barren by then! Seeds do not plant well in rocky soil. I’m afraid that your son would become bitter and full of _druj_. He would wither and wish for Ahura to take him.
2711 laughed, but 9001 could tell it was not a genuine laugh. She still resented his stories even though they rang with truth. She did not like the fake laugh, the smooth manipulation of social situations, and the frivolity of the conversation. She’d had to listen to these offhanded stories since she was marrying age.  She’d had to endure her father’s taunts silently.
Their hosts laughed at the funny anecdotes and agreed that the eldest son was not a good match for such a wilful Healer. They celebrated with modest food: sweet bread, butter tea, and hunks of fermented vegetables. The host was not expecting a celebration for his father’s passing and had not prepared an animal for eating.
2711 and 9001 continued on the next day for two more days. The plain levelled out and turned into grasslands, farmsteads, and small lakes. Signs of civilisation became more prevalent: a low rock wall lined the road they followed; yurts became more numerous and began to turn into permanent huts; animals like yaks, goats, camels, dogs, and cats began to appear; the smell of smoke and dung grew more frequent and close.

Wednesday, November 1, 2017

Tother Hand, Chapter 5 part 1


 cold ground in the distance.

Chapter Five


They continued south for several more days until the valley suddenly became quite hilly and close. The camels picked their way unerringly through the hills until the mountains on either side fell away suddenly and revealed a huge vast plain before them. The river widened considerably and formed long finer lakes that joined into a larger basin to the south. They stopped at a yurt again near sunset, and stayed with a younger family unit. On the plain, water and fertile soil were more abundant. The family offered a meal of hearty vegetables and soups.

2711 inquired about news from the city. The father of the household told stories of the unrest in the city that was spreading out to the rest of the plain. The Masked Ones had instituted new taxes, and they had announced new curfews for businesses and civilians. The unease in the general population was growing, the man had said. The last two years had not been very generous with the crops and animals. When times were good, the Masked Ones could implement their rules without much resistance. When times became tough, their guidance was onerous.

2711 asked about the recent problems with crops and animals. The father of the household referred him to the cycle of the moon. There are five weeks in every moon cycle, from full moon to full moon. This is _panca_, the number of fingers, toes, and the five points of the head, arms, and legs. There are six days in every week. This is _asarbyo_. But every ten moons there is one less day before the full moon. This is when we celebrate the Ayathrem Gahanbar in autumn, bringing in the herds. It is easy to understand that there are sixty-one weeks from Nawruz, the New Year, to Nawruz. Every eight years, there is one less week, or else eventually Maidyozarem Gahanbar, the midgreening, would be celebrated at the Maidyoshahem Gahanbar, the summer solstice.

The man had laughed at the joke, and 2711 smiled politely.

The father of the household continued, when we remove these weeks and days from the calendar, they are offerings to Ahura to preserve _asha_. Last year was the celebration and offering of the _asarbyo_. Nawruz was calculated to be on the spring equinox, but anyone with a stick shadow could see that the equinox had happened the day before. Therefore, we only celebrated five days of the proper seasons, or _gahanbars_. It was a great embarrassment for the Masked Ones and this must have invited Angra Mainyu. A cold spell killed much of the corn that year, and the next year, or this year, the grains were running out in the granaries.

Without grains, the cows, sheep, and goats were thinning out. Wife will tell you that she could not trade for bread or wheat all winter, because nobody would give up their stores. One man in town is said to have given four goats for one loaf of bread! This spring, we are hopeful that the season will be _spenta_ praise to Ahura, wisest of all Mainyu, may He smile upon us.

The man continued, we will celebrate Nawruz in a few weeks, perhaps you will be close by to join us?

2711 demurred, saying that the life of Healers is hectic and dedicated to practice and discipline, not to celebrations of the calendar.

The man bowed low to 2711 and 9001 and begged forgiveness for the slight, proclaiming loudly that he was just being generous and offering his bounty to strangers, as Ahura says is good.

2711 called for more butter tea to raise a toast to Ahura, and to wish for a _spenta_ harvest.

Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Tother Hand, Chapter 4 part 3


Her father clapped three times. 9001 clapped three times, arms akimbo, hands straight up and facing each other in prayer position. The old man convulsed once. 9001 looked over at her father fearfully. He shook his head. The old man was gone. The wind spirits move around inside the dead body, long after the other spirits have left.

2711 said, now we move him to some spot in contact with the earth. We will not be around in four days and mother cannot perform the ritual by herself. Look at the basin filled with blood. Observe how it moves like water spirits but is the colour of fire spirits. This is the life force that moves us all. Take the candle over there with us. Bring the basin and we will find a spot.

She said, it is heavy.

He nodded. It is well known that a jug of water and a jug of blood weight the same. The difference is all in your perception.

She said, but it is full of spirits. You said yourself the spirits are the same as all the matter around us that makes up the world. Everything has a weight and force. So the blood must be the same.

He snapped at her impatiently. It is the _druj_ in your mind that weighs you down. Pick up the basin and let’s perform the ritual before Angra Mainyu wanders in.

At the mention of _Ahriman_, 9001 moved a little quicker and she noticed that the basin did feel lighter. They moved outside and behind the yurt so that mother would not see them. 2711 moved ahead of his daughter, casting his head this way and that. He stooped down to pick up a stick nearby and waved it in the air. He pointed it ahead of him and followed where it lead. 9001 struggled to keep up and stumbled on rocks as she tried to keep up. Splashes of life force spilled in patches on the ground.

She sneezed and she spilled nearly a litre over the front of the basin and down her shift front. 2711 wheeled around. He lifted the stick in a rage, then turned back to follow the divination rod. 9001 tried to wipe her nose with her shoulder but only succeeded in spilling more blood. She followed her father as best as she could.

After a long time, her father stopped and she drew close. He marked out a rectangle two metres by one metre, scratching it in the dirt. It was aligned north and south, and the incline up the side of the valley meant that it would receive great light nearly the whole day. Even now, as the sun was ready to set for the evening, they stood in full light and warmth. There were only a few small rocks to move to make a clear space for the body to rest.

2711 thrust the stick into the corner of his scratched rectangle and looked at his daughter critically.

He said, you have spilled the blood. Including on your own clothing. The fire spirits are too strong with you. And you sneezed.

He spat to the left.

9001 stood meekly, holding the basin.

He said a phrase that was meaningless but meant, very well, or okay, fine. He pointed to the corners and said, pour out the blood in these four corners. One for each element in order. Northeast, northwest, and southwest, southeast.

She said, _vaya_, air, and poured some blood. She said, _apo_, water. She struggled to move over a rock and said, _zam_, earth. Then she moved to the final quarter corner and said, _atar_, fire. She poured the rest of the blood.

Her father said, _apo_ and _atar_ cleanse this spot. He raised his hands in prayer position. Then he turned and hurried back to the yurt. 9001 scrambled after him. Back in the yurt, the old man looked smaller and paler than he had when they left. A puddle of blood had formed beneath his foot where the tube protruded. 2711 pulled the tube from his leg and the small spout from his neck.

He said, forgive me father.

He lifted the old man’s head and slid his arms under the shoulders. A pig snorted and a horse stamped its feet. This meant, help me.

9001 dropped the basin and picked up the old man’s feet. He was very light, or at least, lighter than she had expected. She walked backward, holding the man’s feet out of the yurt. 2711 led the way once outside, taking the heavier part of the body and walking backward the whole way to the resting spot. He made sure to stay out of sight of the old woman in case she looked back towards the yurt.

They had to stop several times and 2711 was sweating profusely by the time they reached the clear spot. When they got there, they placed the body inside the rectangle and arranged his legs and arms crossed at the ankles and wrists. 9001 pulled out two strips of leather for the purpose and they tied the joints together. In this way, any stray _mainyu_ would not be able to enter the body, and even if they did, they would not be able to move with the restraints on.

2711 wiped his brow and said, it is done.

Chapter Five


They continued south for several more days until the valley suddenly became quite hilly and close. The camels picked their way unerringly through the hills until the mountains on either side fell away suddenly and revealed a huge vast plain before them. The river widened considerably and formed long finer lakes that joined into a larger basin to the south.

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