Story

Journey of a Shaman-My Magnum Opus

Prologue Darrell sighed and gazed out at the flat horizon. The water had been calm so far today, but it was cloudy, and looked like they would see a spectacular sunset. Even the brilliant crimson reflecting off the low clouds from the fading sunlight couldn't brighten his spirits, the past months were catching up with him. He'd been on this boat on and off for almost a year, searching and searching for something. Anything, to substantiate a theory. And with only a month or so left before the grant money ran out, he felt incredibly disheartened. Sighing, he turned his back on the splendor of the sky and walked heavily down the small hatchway to his cramped bedroom of the past months. Maybe tomorrow… * * * While working on his thesis at the University of Calgary in Calgary, Alberta, Darrell Manz teamed up with a geologist named Harold Jonassen to research a new and budding theory on the way in which Homo Sapiens first came to the North American continent. Its informal name was the Coastal Migration Theory, and as of yet it had few supporters. This was what the pair was determined to change. Despite the incredible controversy over the issue of human colonization, we do know that they had firmly established themselves all across the central continent by 11 500 years ago (the Clovis people), but the evidence of humans in the area much before then is rather shaky; and what evidence there is, while being persuasive in some respects, gives clues that this people was dramatically less advanced than the Clovis people, much more so than the regular process of human evolution and the skill of their European contemporaries would account for. There have been finds all across North America suggesting the existence of pre-Clovis people, but all are flawed in some way; radiocarbon dating can be inaccurate, rocks formed naturally may be mistaken for human artifacts, and genuine artifacts can be misdated due to their proximity with something organic actually deriving from a completely different time period. The area of the Bering straight and just around it has been dubbed Beringia, which was a spit of land coming off of Asia until at least 15 500 years ago. It is here that a majority of scientists have agreed on humans arriving and establishing their first "civilization" on the North American continent. The currently accepted theory was that as early as 50 000 years ago, during the "Wisconsin glaciation", humans crossed where the Bering straight is now from Asia and settled on Beringia's arid, windy tundra-like plains(debates continue on whether it was a warmer or colder climate), and gradually descended to lower latitudes through the "ice-free corridor" between the Cordilleran and Laurentide ice sheets (open for perhaps with only a small cessation throughout the last 40 000 years). They continued down into the center of the continent, and spread from there. The coastal migration theory postulates that there might only have been one wave, with the people heading not only inland through the corridor off of Beringia, but down the coastline of Alaska and British Columbia over 15 000 years ago, where there was much more land to the west of the Cordillera than the current coastline suggests. For ten months now Manz and his team had been dredging Juan Perez sound, in the Queen Charlotte Islands, looking for some solid evidence to support this theory. Anything that would prove that humans had been here. After that there would be the task of affirming that not only had they been there once, but that they had lived there, as a people. Any pieces found would be radiocarbon dated, which consisted of reading the If the piece was dated at older than 10 000 years it would be the first step in a long and arduous climb, one hopefully to be followed soon. There were many people in the scientific community, some who pulled quite a lot of weight, who were not at all ready to even consider the Coastal Migration Theory, and were going to take a lot of convincing. But didn't Charles Darwin overthrow thousands of years of science, of thinking, with his Origin of Species? While people like Thomas Huxley received his works extremely well, known to have said upon publication of the paper "How stupid not to have thought of that!", there were many who condemned it, even burned and outlawed it as heresy. The Coastal Migration Theory is not nearly as devastating to the status quo as Darwin's almost completely correct theory, and while remaining for a long time as a topic for discussion and/or dissension perhaps one day it will become a common principal. * * * Darrell woke and stretched, yawning. The sun had barely risen, but already the low rays were glinting off the still water to the east. He woke with a determination that he had almost lost the night before, newly set on course. He emerged on deck and gulped the fresh air into his lungs, observing with pleasure that the clouds of yesterday had been blown out to see during the night, leaving behind a bright blue sky. He put on his sunglasses and set to work, as the rest of the crew came out of their berths, some tired and stumbling, some striding with a purpose similar to his own; all catching his enthusiasm. The all set to with a will, and by evening there was only a slight wane in the eagerness that surrounded each member of the crew. All of a sudden a shout from the stern made everyone drop what they were doing and rush over, to crowd around to see what the excitement was about. The throng slowly husjed, Darrell stared in silence along with everyone else for a few minutes, and then let out a wild yell. He couldn't believe it. After over a year of dredging the sea floor off the coast of the Queen Charlotte Islands with nothing to show for it but wood, refuse and rocks, success at last. The murky waters of Juan Perez Sound had released one of their secrets, a thin wedge of basalt cunningly shaped into a thin 10-cm blade by an ancient craftsman. He hesitantly reached out for the blade and took it from the hand of the woman who had discovered it, he noticed as he did so that his entire arm was trembling. The feelings that welled up inside him as he turned the tool over in his hands were indescribable. He watched the rays of the sinking sun glint off the remarkably little water-dulled edges of the blade, and thought about how he might be the first human being to have touched this chunk of stone in ...well perhaps well over ten thousand years. He tried to control his emotion; as of yet he couldn't know if it had anything at all to do with his search, but he couldn't help but hope. The radiocarbon dating was done swiftly; or at least swifter than it could have been. Had the team had a lab at their disposal it would have been done much faster. But as it was, three months after sending the blade in to the University of Victoria the crew had their answer. The basalt knife was 12 000 years old. This meant that during the last ice age, a human being had walked where there was now 50 feet of water. Chapter 1 Haee stopped just short of the village. Despite the time of year there was a slight chill in the air, as the first rays of the early spring sun had only just come peeping through the branches of the green leafed trees, and people were already commencing the days work. She hugged her deer-skin cape tightly around her slender shoulders, thankful for the tanned shift she wore underneath it, that reached from her neck to her ankles. She also wore a small apron tied about the waist into which she had sown a small pouch, which she found useful, especially for storing things she was not exactly meant to have. She blew a strand of her long raven hair out of her face and squinted towards the nearest house. She could make out her sani, Nukt, crouched with his back against the wall nearest her, cleaning his spruce bow, which was nearly eight hands long. The broad shaft caught the light and gleamed whitely against the deep brown backdrop of his darkened skin, especially over the edge of the ridge, as he rubbed it back and forth with an old scrap of well-worn deerskin. Evident in his care of them was the fact that Nukt showed great pride and respect for his weapons, as well he should for they were well-crafted and had helped him to become an exceptionally good hunter. Despite his young age, he could hunt with some of the best in the clan; he had seen only 15 summers. He had reached almost reached maturity, and Haee secretly hoped that he would soon return to his father and be married. True, he had high skill…but the pleasure he took in the hunt was something else entirely. Haee felt that it was unnatural, he did not have respect for the animals he hunted, only wished to kill, and kill again. He always acted too prideful...then she chided herself, it was not for her to think this way about her cousin. He should have pride, it was the way of a man, especially one possessing such finesse with the bow. He looked up sharply and she felt like a startled deer feeling the stare of a hunter. She dropped her head quickly, and shifted her gaze to a more pleasant sight. Her eyes fell on her ik, or younger brother, Shaok where he was sitting pensively on a log just inside the clearing, as far away from anyone else as possible, his eyes unfocused in a way that often caused the other children to either mock him or fear him, quite often both. Haee knew better; he was seeing, watching, although with a vision she could not quite catch. Though it was not condoned for a girl to actively fraternize with her brother, Haee still felt it her duty to protect him, and the feeling was reciprocated, although she wasn't wholly aware of it. The two shared a bond that went deeper than either of them knew, and would surface later in their lives when neither of them were expecting it. The shadows of the boughs of a drooping alder swayed gently across his slight frame, reminding Haee of the tides washing in and out, back and forth…swaying, she grasped the trunk of a paper birch and bent her head until her vision cleared. When the spell passed, she pushed her hair back behind her ears with one hand and looked up to a penetrating stare from Shaok, as if he knew exactly what she had just experienced. He hadn't changed position, but a tension radiated from him as of a tautly strung bow, awaiting only to be released to loose a deadly shaft into its prey, he seemed ready to leap to her protection…or attack? Haee shuddered, closing her eyes to that vision, and when she raised her gaze again he had returned to staring vacantly in front of him, his lips moving in silent mutterings every once in a while, taking absolutely no note of her presence. A sharp voice brought her suddenly out of her reverie. It was Khoon, her father. Hastily, she gathered up the pile of brush she had been collecting and almost ran over to the house to place it in a stack outside the curtain that served for a door. Usually she would not be gathering wood, it was men's work, like hunting, but the lack of hands made it necessary for her to deviate once in a while from custom. She was already slightly outcast among others of her age, and she didn't mind the solitude it encouraged. It wasn't a large pile as of yet; but that didn't matter as it was only spring. It was mainly for smoking fish, and cooking meat, as opposed to keeping them warm. In fact, she wouldn't be doing it except that there had not been many days so far as nice as this one, and the stack from the last winter had been almost completely depleted. She would need to gather many more bundles if they were to last them through the next cold winter. Haee paused for a moment to gaze fondly at the carvings on the wooden poles that made the doorway. They were covered in beautiful etchings of Wolf in his den, her house crest, one among many of her clan's. She wished she could stay longer, and minutely study the detailed carvings, but she broke herself away and hurried on, as it wouldn't do for her to be seen shirking her work. She had little enough time to herself as it was, and today especially wanted to get her duties over with. She probably wouldn't have had as much of a load to carry if there were more young men in her village, but in the past two years or so four had gone away. One had died in a fishing accident when a canoe had tipped, two had left to marry, being young and having no house they now lived with and worked for their fathers-in-law, and only Nukt had come the other way, just before the first had left. The theory behind his displacement was that the son of a chief must grow up strong, and staying at home could get spoiled by a father's love, never undergo hardship enough to warrant his passage into manhood. Haee often wondered wryly if Nukt did not receive more spoiling here, as he was plainly Khoon's favorite child. The man did not feel girls had much of a use apart from childbearing, and saw Shaok as a pitiful excuse for a son. Yes, Nukt was all his uncle could hope for in a son, and this did not leave much leeway for Haee. She usually just tried to stay out of her father's way as much as possible, and to shield her brother from his wrath when necessary. Any anger he felt at anything usually ended up getting re-directed at her, or if she could not be found, Shaok, who presented an easy if non-responsive target. Thankfully, although Nukt's arrival had succeeded in generating a lot of comparisons, it had also taken up a lot of Khoon's time, as he had to train the boy. If she did her work and kept out of the way Haee's absence would usually go unnoticed, leaving her free to find her own entertainment. Haee continued working all day, snatching a bite from a heap of fresh salmon being prepared for drying in between trips, and by the end of the day she had a large pile of wood adding its bulk to the shadow cast by the house, enough even to warrant a neutral (as opposed to negative) comment from Khoon. She walked out a short ways from the continuous stream of people moving about and sat in the shadows of the deepening twilight to reflect. She lost herself in thought until with a start she realised that night had snuck up on her while she was musing. She was facing away from the fire that seemed to have suddenly sprung up behind her, and she could see the dancing light at the edges of her vision. Everything straight ahead was dark, and it was hard to distinguish even the closest trees from the tangled backdrop of the forest. She watched her shadow distort and meld into the darkness as the flickering light of the fire behind her cast an orange glow out to the edge of the trampled earth, broken only by her dark silhouette. After a while she pulled herself to her feet, stretched out her calves and crept to the shadows just outside the light of the flames, taking care to make no noise that would bring attention to herself. She sat down cross legged and peered into the light, edging closer to hear the voice of the person talking. She realised it was Nakasi, the shaman, telling one of the stories of the Spirits. She leaned in unconsciously as she was taken in by the hypnotic lilt of his deep voice, almost a chant it seemed… "…not long after Raven made the land, he made the animals, the fish, the birds, the waters, and the trees. When all this was done Raven made man out of lay and sand, and he was very happy with his creation. As man was his favorite, he wanted to make him happy, and tried to make sure there was nothing he lacked, then Raven realised with a start that he had forgotten to provide him with fire to cook over, and keep himself warm. How he got the fire is a tale for another night, tonight I wish to speak of a young man named Noht-sy-cla-nay, who used this gift of Raven's well. Noht-sy-cla-nay was a hunter, and he would go fishing with his three brothers-in-law. One of these times they happened upon a large school of salmon. Noht-sy-cla-nay wanted to give an offering of thanks to the Great Spirit, as is proper when he grants you such a gift, but the elder two, who were of an age with himself, were greedy and complained that they had spent all winter worshipping and offering, they had no need of it now. The youngest, who was not yet a man, wanted to go with Noht-sy-cla-nay, but his brothers would not let him so he went alone. He built a fire, and as it crackled and popped three small sticks lying on the ground nearby suddenly wriggled into the water, turning into eels. Noht-sy-cla-nay was terrified at first, but upon thinking about it realised that this must be some sign from the Great Spirit. The elder two brothers, seeing this miracle, became jealous of Noht-sy-cla-nay's power, and decided they must kill him. As they made their way back to their camp one of them hit Noht-sy-cla-nay on the back of the head with a paddle and they left him on a reef to die when the tide came in. The only reason he was not dead already was the intercession of the youngest brother, who could not bear to see such a good man die at the hands of such wickedness. When he came to, Noht-sy-cla-nay was surrounded by sea lions who told him of what had happened. He did not know what to do, he knew as soon as the tide came in he would surely drown. The sea lions said they would help him, if he promised never to harm one of their number. It seemed a small price for his life, so he agreed. They took him down with them to the bottom of the sea where they lived and brought him air in blown-up seal stomachs. Noht-sy-cla-nay had a good life, but soon he grew homesick. The sea lions said they would return him to the land and his people only if he would consent to make them an animal that would kill their most formidable enemy: the whale. Noht-sy-cla-nay could not think of anything else but returning home, so he agreed. Once on the beach he fetched a spruce log nine paces long and carved it into the shape of a miniature whale, then rubbed charcoal along its back and sides to make it black. He then burned a brush fire from the branches of the spruce log. Nothing happened, but he was not discouraged. He took a log of hemlock and colored it all black with a burnt stick. Once again the log remained motion less when he lit a fire from the trimmed branches. Still in good spirits, Noht-sy-cla-nay tried for a third time. He used a short red cedar log this time and carved it a beak. He sprinkled its back with ashes, and lit a fire from the branches. Nothing happened. He decided to try one last time. He found a log of yellow cedar that was twenty paces long. He gave it teeth and a tall fin on its back. He took the branches and lit his fire, noticing how they crackled. He danced and clapped in delight as all four animals came to life and leaped into the sea, shouting out his thanks to the Great Spirit. Noht-sy-cla-nay called the first three Porpoise, Dolphin and Blackfish, resolving that they would be good for food. The Whale Killer was told never to harm any man, and to live solely to help the sea lions against their mortal enemy, the whale." Silence cloaked the assembled gathering until a large spark leapt from the fire and startled everyone to alertness. People began to murmur softly, and drift away from the dying flames to retire for the night. After the rest of the village had left, Haee watched Nakasi from the shadows as he stared into the embers, no longer the hypnotic voice that influenced all who heard it, looking more a tired old man…she shifted in her crouch and he lifted his gaze to stare right where she was sitting, although there was no way he could have seen her in the black on black night. His eyes were hard, the firelight glinting off them like a fox's. He slowly raised himself up on his ancient carved stick and shambled away towards his hut, melting into the darkness as if he were a part of it. Haee shivered and moved closer to the fading coals, they would provide a bit of warmth for a good while yet. She curled up, not realising how exhausted she was, and quickly fell into a deep sleep, haunted by that last look from Nakasi's stony gaze. Chapter 2 Haee blinked groggily, and felt an unpleasant feeling in her middle. She looked down and with a start realised it was a foot. Khoon's to be precise. She groaned inwardly, and pulled herself to her feet, trying to avoid the stare of pure contempt her father focused on her. She tuned out his harsh voice-she'd heard the words before-and tried to organize her scattered thoughts. Images kept flitting through her head, and it was a minute or two before she managed to regain her senses completely. She ought to be doing something....ah, Khoon had finished his tirade and was now looking at her expectantly. She mumbled something incoherently and he turned away, disgusted. Haee slipped away quietly, hoping she wouldn't run into him for a while. As she walked, she remembered the dream. And stopped, mid-stride. It ahd come again. She could no longer ignore it. She knew what she had to do, and was brought back to the reality when she realised her feet had started moving again, almost as if of their own accord. And where her feet were leading her. She paused, and suddenly remembered the story from the night before. Walking quickly back the way she had come, carefully avoiding the looks she got from others, she went to the wood pile, and found a small pile of yellow cedar. Yes, that was what she wanted. And if anyone stopped her, well the old man wanted some for his rituals. Excuses like this, little white lies could save a lot of trouble in the long run. She walked hurriedly, and soon had overtaken where she had gotten to before. As she drew closer to the dusty clearing in which the small house had been constructed she noticed that no sound could be heard save the wind, her own footsteps (which she strived to make as quiet as possible) and once, the caw of a raven. The effect was eerie, and Haee started to contemplate, involuntarily, the stories she had heard of the old man. She knew that at one time he had been the most feared man in the whole Chilkat, even the entire Tlingit nation, and though she found it difficult to liken the withered and wrinkled brown husk of a man she could see leaning against the old brush hut at the end of the path to the dashing young man she had heard of in stories, it was with apprehension that she approached the small clearing, especially when the image of his piercing gaze flared in her memory. Nakasi (for it was the shaman she approached) appeared to be sleeping but Haee had learned long ago not to count on appearances. His eyes were closed and his breathing was even, but she was certain that all his other senses were as alert as the fox's for whom he was named. She knelt slowly to the dry earth beside the blanket hanging over the opening that served as a door, and tenderly placed the bundle of wood against the brush wall. She then stood up just as carefully, silently brushing the dust of buckskin apron, her eyes never leaving the expressionless face of the old man. She stood back a few paces with her head bowed respectfully and thought about her options. She decided upon reflection that she must wait until he decided to speak. And so she stood until the sun had almost crossed the entire sky. As the last rays of light dusted the tops of the trees with their fading glow, Nakasi lifted himself laboriously from the dry earth with a heavy sigh. The clouds of dust that fled his shirt as he lightly shook out the old cracked hide were testimony to the pensive hours he had spent completely motionless. As he turned his back on her, Haee caught a glimpse of eyes that gave her another momentary pause. They were a clear sharp blue, like that of thick transparent ice, and yet in them burned a fire that Haee felt she could not stand up against. He belligerently let the curtain fall back into place as he shuffled into his dim abode, but after seeing those eyes Haee knew that if she did not enter and speak now she would never again be able to muster up the courage to approach him. She nerved herself, closing her eyes and breathing deeply, offering a silent prayer to Wolf, to give her courage, and ducked hesitantly under the blanket, despite the situation admiring the intricately woven designs. Surely only a master weaver could have accomplished such a marvel…then she was inside. She did not take time to glance around, as she felt the power of the room constricting enough without taking it all in. It was as if all the bundles and totems that lined the walls were aware of her intrusion. And they did not take kindly to it. She stared straight ahead, focusing inward, searching for the strength that had brought her this far. The swiftness with which Nakasi spun around to see who dared enter his home belied his worn form, just as did his eyes. Haee now found herself staring into those eyes, those shrewd points of pale light which seemed to penetrate through to the center of her soul. At that first glance she almost fled, but maybe it was her rigid terror that held her still, and perhaps saved her as well. He seemed to then accept the fact that she was here, and was not leaving, and perhaps, just maybe, she thought she might have detected a slight spark of curiosity pass across his otherwise impassive face. As the aged shaman eased himself into a sitting position on his pallet Haee began to speak, at first in a faltering voice, but then at Nakasi's unwavering gaze she gained strength from her fear, her knowledge that she had the truth on her side, and told her story. She told him of her dream. One which she had had three nights in a row, the sacred number, and which she couldn't ignore. For it was the third time she had had the tri-nightly visitor. She went on and told him how she'd always held an extreme and profound respect and fascination for the spirits, at times she had even felt an affinity. Using examples from her childhood and anything she could think of, Haee struggled to explain her feeling of longing, of hunger to learn more about the spirit world, and about the spirits themselves. She wanted to say how the legends she had been taught as a child were not enough. She wanted more. At last, at the end of this exhaustive monologue she took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and stated her wish to be apprenticed. She opened her eyes and saw the old man's face contort and twist into a grimace; of pain or anger she did not know. She was even more terrified than before, she did not know what this meant. Had she unwittingly enraged this powerful man? Then he started to laugh. He threw back his head and laughed long and loud, while Haee stood numbed by the intensity of what she felt. She fought to keep control of her emotions, and suppressed her tears of rage and humiliation; she could not let him see her pain. She forced herself to stay tall and straight, staring directly ahead. She would not betray her heart and pain to this, this man. Just as Haee thought she could bear it no longer, that she would turn and flee, or worse, collapse into sobs where she stood. Nakasi abruptly turned his face towards her and stared deep into her eyes. That piercing blue gaze so out of place in that worn out body seemed to be able to bore directly to the very core of her being. The silence that now surrounded them combined with the darkness was suffocating and charged. He started rasping out questions about her vision. Not knowing what else to do, Haee complied. This is the narration that followed: "I was surrounded by night. Wolf appeared to me, and Fox was behind him. He told me I had only to learn to run like the wind through the trees with him and I would be safe. He bade me climb on his back to begin my training. As I grasped the fur around his neck and was about to swing myself over his huge shoulders I heard a loud caw behind me and turned to look. It was Raven, and with him was Marmot. Raven told me that although Wolf was my friend his brother Fox would never wholly support me..." Here she paused, as Nakasi's brow clouded over as if remembering some long forgotten pain, realising too late that he was named for Fox. But he motioned for her to continue, so she did. "...He said that my true destiny lay where I would never expect it, and that only Marmot would help me find the right path. Then everything disappeared and I was surrounded by the midnight blue of the sky and Raven and Eagle flew up and crashed together over head in a blinding flash of white light-" She paused again as she realised her voice had risen and her hands were knotted tight at her sides. Forcing herself to relax, she continued. "-when I managed to look back, for the light had been too bright to stay focused on, Petrel was swooping towards me, through me, then gone." The dark room lay as if under a blanket of silence for a time, then Nakasi abruptly raised his head and made a gesture of dismissal. Haee turned woodenly, drained of all energy, emotion, she felt nothing. As she let the hanging fall back into place, she saw Nakasi silhouetted by the faint moonlight that came in through the cracks, he was still sitting on his pallet with his aged head resting on his wrinkled brown hand; he looked as if he would be thinking for a while yet.

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