A Cross Cultural Approachment

 

            The men had gone hunting on foot, leaving the four horses there at camp. They didn’t go on horseback because they were after deer.  So, only women and children were present that day at the Nomad camp. There was a black and white dog too.  I had never seen a dog before, though it was similar to the wolves in a general way.
            The dog came around the first tipi with his head low to the ground and when he saw Jula, he began barking. I think he was just surprised to see us there with Wachiwi and her daughter. Perhaps he thought they were in danger. She gave him a sharp command and he lay down on the grass between us and them, keeping an eye on us, but quietly.
            The barking must have alerted everyone else because three more women, including one very old one, and three more children gathered in a small crowd behind Wachiwi where she sat. None of them seemed frightened by Jula, but their eyes were wide open.  We were definitely the day’s entertainment.
            Jula began to speak in what I learned later was a trade language that all people, Human, Nomad, or our Forest band, in the area knew. Here is what she said.
            “I greet you, in the peace of the Creator, Maker of all.”
            The group facing us smiled and nodded, some a little, some a lot. Many broad faces, with black eyes and darker skin than mine listened carefully.
            “There is a reason for our visit today. As you can see, I have a Human child with me.  For a year my band and I have cared for her, after she was found with the wolves, who in fact, saved her life when she was an infant. You see, her family died in the plague that came through our mountains a few years ago, leaving her alone, but still alive. Mother Wolf must have carried her to her own den.
            “Hofel, who is mine, found her and brought her to me. When she came she did not know any speech except the name she had given the Mother Wolf, Fila. She was dirty and thin, but I know that Fila tried very hard to keep her alive.  We are thankful to her for that. It is a testament to her love and good character.
            “As you can see, she is a good little person, and she is pretty too. See how well she sits and attends to things.  No crazy running and shouting from this one! She speaks our language and has learned many things that a Human must know. She knows a bit about cooking and is clean about herself.
            “It is my belief that she has need of a Human family, in addition to my band up in the mountain there above us. We will never forsake her, but she needs to be with Humans, for she is Human. She has lost so very much in her short life. Perhaps if we spent some time together today, you might come to love her, almost as one of your own eventually. Perhaps we can come to know you too, and maybe something good can come of it.
            “Her name is Soosha,” said Jula. “I am Jula.”
            Then she waited for a reaction from the people gathered before us, as the sun moved up overhead, the river ran sibilantly by, the horses breathed heavily, birds made long calls between themselves, and the black and white dog watched all.
            I waited also. Though at the time I couldn’t follow what she said. Jula repeated the conversation to me that night.
            Wachiwi rose to her feet in one smooth motion, having set her daughter off her lap. She knelt before me on the blanket and looked into my blue eyes, and at my hands, so much whiter than her own. She examined my dress, which was rather plain to tell the truth. She felt my hair. I looked into her dark eyes and saw a laugh there that had not emerged yet.
            To Jula, she said, “I can see that she is a pretty little girl, that she is clean and not wild.” She laughed a little then. “Perhaps she could learn a little bit of wildness from our children.  She seems a little too quiet.”
            “The Mother Wolf taught her to make no noise, and she learned that lesson very well.  She will speak if spoken to. She would have to learn another language of course. But that can be done,” Jula told Wachiwi.
            That lady said, “why don’t we walk around our camp. You can see how we live. She can see if it looks good to her.”
            That’s what we did.  I looked into the tipis. Jula held back a little to watch how it went. I met the children. There were two boys, both older than I. The two girls were closer in age to me. We smiled, and laughed, but we didn’t have any words in common yet.
            The day wore on.  Jula and the four women talked in their pidgin talk about all things that pertained to a possible new home for me. I was utterly charmed to see people so much like myself. This was extremely attractive to me.  And the children! I had never met another small child.  Put, was nearly grown. Not like another small child.
            The men, three of them and a teenaged boy came home. They didn’t have a deer, but they had rabbits and pheasants. So, they would go out again tomorrow, but in the meantime, they met Jula and me.  They laughed. One father said that he knew the Forest People were there but had never seen them.
            My story was told again.  The three fathers seemed happy to meet me, but the one who seemed to be in charge and was Wachiwi’s man said that the decision was hers and mine!  He would live with her decision, and mine.
            The work of the evening began. Fires were lit.  Cooking was started. The Nomad camp became rather busy preparing for dinner and night.
            Jula said that it was time for us to go back to our camp. She told Wachiwi that we would go home and talk and then visit them again soon. So we started back across the meadow, into the trees and up the path into the deep woods.  She picked me up and carried me then, just to get home faster. 
            When we arrived home, we found that Hofel had caught a wild pig and that Osa was roasting it, which takes a lot longer than roasting trout, but she had put it over the fire some time ago. Put had gone looking for berries at the tree line and found enough blackberries to fill a small basket.
            Jula and Hofel and I sat together waiting for dinner. It had been a good day. A day of surprises.  I was sleepy, but hungry for dinner, and very excited to see the Humans again.  I wanted very much to learn to speak with them, to know their names and all about them.
            Jula looked at me, with a slightly different expression than I had seen before. Maybe there was a trace of sadness in her eyes.

All of it so far.