12 May 2010
LongBeard and his young friend ShortBeard were sitting on a rock in the middle of the stream. It was hot and the cicadas, known by the local inhabitants as “sonbesies”, were buzzing about in their noisy, shrilly way. The two friends dipped their toes in the cold water. The stream which flowed down from the Langeberg Mountain was always cold and they delighted in cooling down in this way. “So,” LongBeard asked his friend, “anymore interesting dreams lately?” “Well, yes,” said ShortBeard. “In fact, I came prepared and have already written down the 6 words which you usually require when I want to have a dream interpreted. Here they are.” He passed a piece of bark to LongBeard and added, “It was actually a nightmare and I didn’t enjoy the dream at all. At the same time, I am keen to find out if there is a message or lesson in this dream for me.”
LongBeard read the words slowly, closed his eyes for a minute, and said, “ShortBeard, my friend, here is the story which will help you understand your dream:”
The Hunters Transgress
It was early summer in the fertile land along the Mamuti River. The sun was burning down on dry, scorched cornfields. The local people were restlessly looking up at the sky, mumbling to themselves about the lack of clouds and absence of rain.
They were too afraid to speak about it out loud, in case they offended the god of rain even more. “He is upset with us,” they told themselves, “or else he wouldn’t have sacrificed us to the devil of the sun like this. We are being punished for our deeds.”
Their thoughts went back to the winter season when, towards the end of the intensely cold period, some of their hunters accidentally came upon a female black bear hibernating in a cave. She was pregnant and would have given birth to her cubs in the coming spring. The hunters, however, broke one of the cardinal rules of hunting – they decided to kill her and use the meat and skin to feed and clothe themselves and their families. They had been brought up in a tradition in which the female black bear was sacred and her cubs could always count on their tribe’s protection. However, they were a lazy group of hunters and they had decided it was too much of an effort to search any further for more appropriate game.
So the hunters killed her there and then, skinned her and carried the meat back to their village to share with their immediate families. They sneaked back under cover of darkness, having decided to keep their vile actions secret from the rest of the tribe.
They were ill-prepared for their families’ reaction. Although their bellies were empty and they were extremely hungry, they wouldn’t eat any of the meat. The women also refused to treat the skin, as is their traditional role. The men ate the meat by themselves, but were too lazy to cure the skin, so they buried it some distance from the village. Lazy as they were, they didn’t bury it deep enough, and very soon the dogs from the village found it and dragged it back. The villagers were enraged when they saw the bear skin.
The chief of the tribe immediately called a meeting and the culprits were identified. They were severely reprimanded and as punishment their usual hunting duties were doubled. The lazy men thought that the villagers were being silly and unnecessarily superstitious. They decided to run away.
That night they quietly gathered their belongings together and disappeared while everyone was fast asleep.
When their families woke up in the morning and noticed that they had gone, they were deeply sorrowed. They knew that not only had the men broken the golden rule of the tribe by killing the black she-bear, but they had also seriously transgressed by deserting their families. Instead of running away, they could have found forgiveness by taking responsibility for their wrong doing.
Later that evening, as the families sat quietly around the campfire contemplating their situation, the silence was broken by a series of eerie howls. Suddenly the
y heard screams coming from afar and even though the voices were distant and muted, there was no mistaking the terror and fear in the sound. The next moment the screams abruptly ended, and the villagers knew that the culprits had met an untimely death in the jaws of the prowling wolves.
They looked up at the sky, and to their surprise, saw clouds drifting closer. The chief noticed it as well, and quickly called the tribe together. “It is time for ceremony,” he declared, “a ceremony of forgiveness, of blessing, and…it is time for our most beloved dance of all! The Rain Dance!”
Acknowledgment http://www.blazelightaround.co.uk/pages/dreamblazer.php
LongBeard and his young friend ShortBeard were sitting on a rock in the middle of the stream. It was hot and the cicadas, known by the local inhabitants as “sonbesies”, were buzzing about in their noisy, shrilly way. The two friends dipped their toes in the cold water. The stream which flowed down from the Langeberg Mountain was always cold and they delighted in cooling down in this way. “So,” LongBeard asked his friend, “anymore interesting dreams lately?” “Well, yes,” said ShortBeard. “In fact, I came prepared and have already written down the 6 words which you usually require when I want to have a dream interpreted. Here they are.” He passed a piece of bark to LongBeard and added, “It was actually a nightmare and I didn’t enjoy the dream at all. At the same time, I am keen to find out if there is a message or lesson in this dream for me.”
LongBeard read the words slowly, closed his eyes for a minute, and said, “ShortBeard, my friend, here is the story which will help you understand your dream:”
The Hunters Transgress
It was early summer in the fertile land along the Mamuti River. The sun was burning down on dry, scorched cornfields. The local people were restlessly looking up at the sky, mumbling to themselves about the lack of clouds and absence of rain.
They were too afraid to speak about it out loud, in case they offended the god of rain even more. “He is upset with us,” they told themselves, “or else he wouldn’t have sacrificed us to the devil of the sun like this. We are being punished for our deeds.”
Their thoughts went back to the winter season when, towards the end of the intensely cold period, some of their hunters accidentally came upon a female black bear hibernating in a cave. She was pregnant and would have given birth to her cubs in the coming spring. The hunters, however, broke one of the cardinal rules of hunting – they decided to kill her and use the meat and skin to feed and clothe themselves and their families. They had been brought up in a tradition in which the female black bear was sacred and her cubs could always count on their tribe’s protection. However, they were a lazy group of hunters and they had decided it was too much of an effort to search any further for more appropriate game.
So the hunters killed her there and then, skinned her and carried the meat back to their village to share with their immediate families. They sneaked back under cover of darkness, having decided to keep their vile actions secret from the rest of the tribe.
They were ill-prepared for their families’ reaction. Although their bellies were empty and they were extremely hungry, they wouldn’t eat any of the meat. The women also refused to treat the skin, as is their traditional role. The men ate the meat by themselves, but were too lazy to cure the skin, so they buried it some distance from the village. Lazy as they were, they didn’t bury it deep enough, and very soon the dogs from the village found it and dragged it back. The villagers were enraged when they saw the bear skin.
The chief of the tribe immediately called a meeting and the culprits were identified. They were severely reprimanded and as punishment their usual hunting duties were doubled. The lazy men thought that the villagers were being silly and unnecessarily superstitious. They decided to run away.
That night they quietly gathered their belongings together and disappeared while everyone was fast asleep.
When their families woke up in the morning and noticed that they had gone, they were deeply sorrowed. They knew that not only had the men broken the golden rule of the tribe by killing the black she-bear, but they had also seriously transgressed by deserting their families. Instead of running away, they could have found forgiveness by taking responsibility for their wrong doing.
Later that evening, as the families sat quietly around the campfire contemplating their situation, the silence was broken by a series of eerie howls. Suddenly the
y heard screams coming from afar and even though the voices were distant and muted, there was no mistaking the terror and fear in the sound. The next moment the screams abruptly ended, and the villagers knew that the culprits had met an untimely death in the jaws of the prowling wolves.They looked up at the sky, and to their surprise, saw clouds drifting closer. The chief noticed it as well, and quickly called the tribe together. “It is time for ceremony,” he declared, “a ceremony of forgiveness, of blessing, and…it is time for our most beloved dance of all! The Rain Dance!”
Acknowledgment http://www.blazelightaround.co.uk/pages/dreamblazer.php
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