Chapter 10

Ingwe

Through the coming days, Eku often saw the beautiful Bwana female with the laza pendant at iliwi-kelele.

Always with her female friends.

Not sure of the other tribe’s customs, he wasn’t sure whether to approach her again.

But one day, Eku saw her wandering close to the walkway of logs.

Alone and glancing in his direction.

The beautiful Bwana female wore her usual zebra loincloth and necklace, but her hair was pulled back and wrapped tight, so from the front, her hair appeared shorn, making Eku think the perfect female had suddenly emerged from shatsheli-lambo and cut her hair, just for him.

But that was silly.

Nevertheless, having built up confidence that he knew was fragile, Eku approached as she watched.

Said hello in Bwana and Abantu, but the beautiful Bwana female with the laza pendant simply stared, as if waiting for something else.

Her eyes were so expressive.

Bright and beautiful.

Eku felt the pulse of his heart pounding his ear again.

How did she do that to him?

Her lips parted to show the edge of her upper teeth.

Freckles speckled her cheeks, something he hadn’t noticed before.

More character to an already perfect face.

More perfect.

Was that even possible?

Eku almost shook his head.

Her beauty was so distracting!

But then, he noticed that her feet were slightly apart.

Arms hung loosely.

Frantically trying to think of something to say, Eku only grew frustrated, his mind gone blank again, in the most baffling way.

Why could he not think of a single word?

The beautiful Bwana female finally made a face and ran off, just as before.

Crestfallen, Eku’s shoulders slumped as he watched.

This time she stopped, a short distance away.

Turned to face him.

Put hands to her hips in a way that Eku instantly adored.

Gave him a quizzical look.

Before he even realized, Eku was tearing after her.

Shrieking with delight, the beautiful Bwana female spun and ran.

And she ran fast!

Eku immediately began breathing heavily, but diligently pushed after, knowing his body would adjust.

So focused was he on her agile form, before he even realized, Eku had raced into the Bwana encampment.

Quickly slowed.

Tall palm trees with naked trunks interspersed.

The giant huts loomed in the background.

Waka-waka people all across the hard-packed dirt and certainly they were all staring at him!

In front of him a trestle hung with drying hides.

There was the stink from a fish pit for gutting and deboning.

Eku fought panic, knowing that if he lost the beautiful Bwana female, he would be all alone in the Bwana encampment.

Luckily, she also stopped.

Stood a few paces away, her pretty face flushed with excitement.

Not sure if he was bold or reckless, Eku charged forward and she took off, the squeal of her laughter telling him that she was pleased.

Making him forget the nervousness.

Eku raced past mothers with babies at the breast.

The beautiful Bwana female with the laza pendant was quick and Eku skidded around a group of young females carrying baskets toward the water, a linwelewana with them, but even that wasn’t a distraction.

Eku saw Bwana males of his own age staring at him, as though he were a silly Abantu gone mad.

Well, maybe I am, he thought, but no longer cared.

He was a leopard, pursuing prey.

Focused only on the form of the beautiful female as she sped through the heart of the communal area.

Eku had his second wind now.

Raced past a group of mothers working on cured skins, closing enough distance so that dirt from her heels began to spray off his shins.

Straining mightily, Eku drew within a single pace.

Both of them were breathing hard.

Feet pounding.

Eku reached for her shoulder—but oh she was clever!

Darting to the side at the last instant, the beautiful Bwana female sent Eku skidding, heels leaving dark streaks as he struggled to adjust.

He spun around the trunk of a tall palm.

The beautiful Bwana female leaped over the outstretched legs of a Bwana male, lounging and twanging away at some kind of instrument of sinew that produced a musical note.

Eku cut around the sinew plucking musician and the beautiful Bwana female dashed through a shaded area where people lay in hammocks.

Now the tenacious mongoose, Eku followed.

She wheeled around a large fire pit and cut through racks hung with skins as Eku dodged cooking pots and leaped over a seating log.

Surely, the entire Bwana tribe was watching them now.

Eku heard what sounded like a knowing laugh.

He also heard words he did not understand, but sounded like encouragement.

Eku was sweating, but growing confident.

The beautiful Bwana female was fast, but this was a game he understood.

Besides, Eku was proud and a good runner, not the fastest, but with excellent agility and stamina that only Yat and Dokuk can outlast.

But the beautiful Bwana female was fast AND has stamina!

She dashed out of the communal area to the river, where this all started, slowing one last time and giving Eku another chance to think he might finally catch her, only to turn on the speed again.

When the beautiful Bwana female darted behind a patch of papyrus, Eku jumped in thinking he had her trapped, but she had disappeared, leaving him sweaty and panting, thinking only of her wonderful  laughter.

***

The following morning, Eku’s first thought was the beautiful Bwana female.

Despite how the chase ended, he felt renewed confidence.

Instead of hunting down Tiuti or throwing his ula-konto, Eku paced with a purpose out of the area of familial shelters, strode through the food preparation area under the tall palms, circumvented racks of pelts and sinew, circled fire pits covered by palm leaf tepees, and continued down the path from the Abantu encampment and across the clearing to iliwi-kelele.

Hiked over the rocks and dropped to the work area, currently uninhabited.

Headed for the dock just as a linwelewana ambled across the same spot where he had seen the beautiful Bwana female the day before.

Once again Eku stopped to watch.

The beast held one of the excellent Bwana gourds securely against a hip, long fingers curled around the neck.

The opposite arm swung freely, in its silly, palm-out kind of way.

The linwelewana walked with a side to side gait, reminding Eku of a recently weaned Abantu child; almost, but not quite ready for long distance.

He followed when the linwelewana ambled down the walkway of logs, glancing back once at Eku.

At the end of the walkway, the linwelewana bent to a knee.

Shoved the gourd into the water so fluid began to gurgle in.

Eku approached cautiously, feeling the rough logs beneath his feet, prepared for a quick pivot in the other direction.

Knowing that, while he could certainly not outclimb or outleap the beast, he was confident he could outrun it.

Stopped at what he felt was a considerate distance, figuring that if the linwelewana showed any agitation, he would immediately retreat down the log walkway.

But the beast paid Eku no heed, content to watch water spill into the container, one hand clenched around the neck of the gourd, the other set on the logs, long fingers flat, hairless and black, but with human looking nails.

Eku studied the beast.

Where an Abantu’s head was block shaped and sat vertically on a slender neck, the linwelewana’s head was egg-shaped and sat on a short and thick neck, as though tilted back.

The skin was dark and shiny, like a palm nut left in the sun with oil oozing.

The hair on the body was coarse and brown with hints of red around the face and groin.

A robust jaw thrust forward.

The eyes had a hooded appearance, due to a heavy brow ridge that encircled each eye and continued partway down the cheekbone.

The nose was flat with nostrils angled down, like a monkey’s.

The beast had strong shoulders, muscular arms and a round, hairless belly.

The legs were thin and shaped similar to his own, but the feet were hairy with the sturdy toes splayed out for grasping as well as walking.

Most of the linwelewana’s torso and upper legs were hairless.

There was hair down the back, reddish and thick along the spine, before fanning out and thinning to end above butt cheeks, smooth and plump, like an Abantu child’s.

Eku noted finer hair circled the head and neck, giving them a pretty look that made him think of how Yat said she felt an urge to stroke or pet them.

The beast turned and looked.

Eku was taken aback by how much the deep set eyes looked like his own.

The linwelewana set the full water gourd on the walkway and stood.

An adult male, full grown and a bit shorter than Eku.

The beast raised one of its extra-large hands and made a sing-song greeting with repeated sounds, almost like grunts.

Eku said hello in Bwana and smiled nervously—aghast when the beast grimaced horribly, revealing large yellow teeth; though, he quickly realized the beast had merely smiled back.

The linwelewana nodded its head and said perfectly clear, “ata”, which was the Bwana word for freshwater, then emitted a torrent of squeaks and grunts, bent to lift the full gourd with its two strong hands and slipped past Eku to trudge back down the walkway of logs, balancing the container against its chest and belly.

***

The linwelewana developed a commensalistic relationship with the humans of ichi-Bwana.

For generations, the two species knew of each other, particularly along the western-most enclaves of the salted sea.

They recognized their commonality and got along just fine—from a distance.

While food sources occasionally overlapped, it was never in a way that led to competition.

Humans were much larger and more aggressive and avoided; in fact, the secretive linwelewana made strenuous efforts to avoid contact with all large beasts.

The linwelewana inhabited a sprawling, freshwater delta, a humid mix of streams, marshes and bogs, with sporadic and hard to find dry forested islands, where they sheltered and raised families.

They ate a robust diet that included roots and fruit, eggs, birds, small animals and fish, but they were not hunters and did not use fire.

Most large beasts and therefore most predators dared not venture into the wetlands where the linwelewana thrived; though, water-tolerating leopards occasionally preyed upon them.

And then one day, the world changed radically.

A paradise turned terrifying.

Unknown to the linwelewana, their future would only become more so.

In the midst of sika-yaka, the earth shook violently; soon after, water levels began to diminish, even as the rains continued.

When the dry season arrived, a calamity unfolded as huge portions of a vast wetland turned arid.

Streams went dry first.

Then the rivers.

Ponds emptied next.

Bogs died and turned to rock.

Swamplands rotted and died the slowest.

The linwelewana were already starving when the bubinzwana descended from the northern highlands to begin hunting them voraciously.

Unable to climb or hide because of leafless and dying trees, a last surviving clan fled east, at last able to find moist forests to the north of the salt lake.

From there, they watched the clash of two mighty species.

The linwelewana saw how the humans of the salt lake coalesced and forced the fearsome bubinzwana away, beasts the linwelewana considered all but invincible, far more terrible than even the leopards.

The linwelewana saw the Bwana as saviors.

The last surviving familial groups threw themselves at the mercy of the humans of the salt lake, living as close as possible, and eventually amongst them, a desperate act of survival in a world that had changed so dramatically.

In time, the linwelewana proved to be excellent helpers.

They procured and shared food with the humans and obeyed orders without protest, knowing that to remain near a Bwana encampment, was to remain alive.

When Uta led the new tribe east, a group of linwelewana tagged along.

***

Eku has told Yathi all about the beautiful Bwana female with the laza pendant.

Of course, Yathi already knew who she was, having identified ALL of the Bwana females of an age similar to their own, at least by sight.

“She is tall and beautiful,” he agreed. Adding, “The Bwana females are all beautiful. But she is very beautiful.”

Yathi waved a hand to indicate the big hut side of iliwi-kelele, where they were heading.

“But I do not see her talking much. Not like Yat and Tar, who are always talking.”

“She does not talk much,” Eku agreed. “She is more like Maz. More watching than talking.”

Yathi smacked his arm. “I have seen the way you look at her.”

Eyes narrowing defensively, Eku said,. “What do you mean?”

Yathi let his jaw go slack and lolled his tongue out; moaned and said, “How can she be so beautiful.”

Irritated, Eku snapped, “You are silly.”

Looked at Yathi crossly and added, “And I do not do that. With the tongue, especially.”

The two wandered across the flat rock of iliwi-kelele, close to the water, where the plateau ended with only a short hop down.

Eku made a beeline in the direction of the Bwana encampment.

Checked the log walkway.

The swimming area.

Turned away from the river to look over the big hut.

Disappointed to not see any sign of the beautiful female with the laza pendant or even her friends.

Following Eku, Yathi continued to look in the direction of the Bwana encampment and said, “Maybe if we walk down to see the big huts of the Bwana, you will see her. Find out who she is.”

He took a few steps in the direction of the Bwana encampment, adding, “Or we can just go there now, by ourselves. Others do, all the time.”

Eku, now looking past the big hut and down the length of iliwi-kelele, said, “Only adults.”

“Not just adults,” Yathi said. “Yat is over there all the time.”

He walked over and smacked Eku in the arm.

“Ouch! What?”

Yathi motioned with both hands through the oasis of papyrus and palm, toward the Bwana encampment, as though to indicate something big.

Arched his eyebrows and said, “You said you saw them!”

“What?”

“The big huts. I want to see them! Up close.”

Eku clicked yes and no. “I did not get a good look. The female with the laza pendant was running too fast.”

Yathi looked surprised and said, “You are fast.”

Eku shrugged. “She is faster.”

“But you must have seen something.”

Eku shook his head in chagrin and said, “I almost fell over in their cooking area. I was just trying to not let her get away.”

Fortuitously, as it would turn out, Dala and Longo happened to wander down the path from the Bwana encampment.

Yathi let out a happy squeal and said, “Maybe they can show us the hut and the beautiful Bwana female with the laza necklace you keep talking about.”

Eku protested, “I do not keep talking….”

But Yathi was already hustling away, leaving Eku no choice but to follow.

***

Dala and Longo are now good pals with Eku, Yathi, Goguk and Kolo.

The Bwana pair happened to be looking for their Abantu friends.

They trooped down the wide path along the river, wearing their usual zebra loincloths.

Dala was built slim, along the lines of Eku, while Longo was short and stout.

Both Bwana males previously had long hair, now cut short like an Abantu.

Yathi ran up and practically shouted, “You cut your hair!”

“Many people are doing it,” Longo said. “Especially with your sharp blades. And especially after Uta cut his hair.”

Yathi said excitedly, “Can you take us to see the big huts?”

Dala and Longo instantly and enthusiastically agreed.

Coming up behind Yathi, Eku added, “If it is okay?”

Dala said, “People go see the big huts all the time. Everybody does. They are for everybody.

“People walk in and out. That is why Kafila only puts up skins for the inner chambers. So the people can come and go. You will see.”

He pivoted to face the Bwana encampment and motioned, “Come with us.”

Yathi said, the worry evident in his voice, “But what about Uta?”

Longo, still facing Eku and Yathi, said, “Sometimes Uta is there. Sometimes he is with the nesibindi.”

The look of apprehension on both Yathi and Eku made him add, “Uta is only fierce to look upon. Do not be afraid.”

Dala waved them forward.

“Come on. If Uta is in the big hut we can just stand outside and still see everything. We don’t have to go in and you can still see.”

“It is okay,” Longo insisted. “For sure. The big huts belong to the tribe. You must be respectful, that is all.”

Yathi said, “Uta is scary.”

“Uta is stern,” Dala agreed. “But at this part of the day, he is likely in the forest, with the hunters or nesibindi.”

Longo nodded in agreement and turned to follow Dala, who started for the Bwana encampment.

Yathi and Eku eagerly followed; though, Eku had to admit he was nervous.

What would he do if he saw the beautiful Bwana female?

The main trail along the river was flat and wide and they walked four abreast.

At the papyrus patch where the beautiful Bwana girl lost him, Eku said, “There is a female from your camp”, which immediately got the attention of the Bwana males, while Yathi clicked his approval.

“Yes?” Dala said.

“She is our age. This tall,” and Eku held his hand slightly above his head.

Longo asked, “What does she look like?”

Eku pondered a moment, then shrugged and blushed.

Longo smiled knowingly and said, “Oh! So she is beautiful.”

Eku nodded emphatically. “Yes. She is very beautiful. She wears a laza necklace.”

Dala and Longo exchanged a quick glance, then looked at Eku, as though amused.

Longo said, “A polished rock with a color like the sky before nightfall?”

Nodding eagerly, Eku said, “Yes.”

The four paused as young ones are prone to do, suddenly, in the center of the path, adults weaving around them in both directions, some with zebra loincloths, some wearing other skins.

Nearby, in a lone palm, a pair of green parakeets bobbed and bantered.

Dala and Longo looked at each other again and shrugged, as if sharing a secret; unnoticed by Eku, Yathi began to look worried.

The four resumed walking.

Feeling unsure of himself, Eku asked, “Do you know her name?”

“That is Ingwe,” Longo said.

“Well … Ingwe is a very fast runner,” was all Eku could think to say, and the Bwana burst into laughter.

Seeing Eku’s look of embarrassment, Dala said, “Yes, Ingwe is the fastest. But that is not all. If you dare to chase her, good luck. You will need it.”

The four followed the river into the Bwana communal area.

Eku and Yathi trailed Dala and Longo past fire pits, around adults working skins, simmering stew and shooing flies from dried meat and fish.

Eku, pondering what he learned.

Her name—Ingwe—spun like a shiny bauble in his mind.

Though Eku didn’t realize, he was smiling.

The four young males entered at the lower corner of the cleared area.

The encampment expanded in front of them, gradually sloping up from the shoreline before leveling where the three large huts stood.

Eku’s smile faded as he felt conspicuous in his loincloth of springhare.

But quickly realized none of the Bwana were paying them any heed.

Apparently, Bwana adults ignored young people the same as Abantu adults did (as long as chores were done).

Eku and Yathi began strutting with youthful exuberance, thinking of themselves as important and mysterious visitors from a far away land.

The big huts of the Bwana seemed to expand as they approached.

Distracted by so much going on, Eku nevertheless tried to spot the female with the laza pendant, but had difficulty recognizing anyone in a blur of strange faces.

Yathi clicked rapidly to show pure amazement and Eku reciprocated.

The big huts towered over the young Abantu.

There were many vertical poles and different sections of roofing; confusing, at first, as Eku had never seen a hut with more than a single room before.

From a distance, the huts gave Yat and himself the impression of a spiraling conch, but up close, Eku saw the design was more like the web of a spider, where the main trees acted as mooring, with hardwood poles serving as radial beams, supported by rafters of bamboo and roofed with papyrus.

Skins of zebra, kudu and other antelope hung from the beams and rafters to create different sections.

At the front, where they would enter, Eku saw a bench made of papyrus covered by rows of clay pots, lined up like people in formation.

How clever!

Once again Eku was so impressed by the Bwana.

The front section of the big shelter held gourds readily available for anyone and everyone to grab and use.

Longo asked, “What do you think?”

“This is the best hut ever,” Yathi said.

The interior appeared deserted and they eagerly moved under a roof that rose impossibly high.

Eku and Yathi gawked at the lattice-like structure of beams and bamboo rafters.

They rapidly clicked at each other, pointing out beautifully cured skins hanging all around.

Hanging from the rafters on strings as decorations: bird nests, the different colored tails of beasts and decorative shapes woven from pine needles.

There were carvings of bark shaped to look like the profiles of elephants, hippos and baboons.

Catching movement, Eku glanced up to see a lone vervet monkey swing across the highest rafter.

The monkey climbed to the ponderously wrapped joint of the central mooring trunk, where all the radial beams intersected.

Eyed Yathi and Eku warily, having recognized them as strangers.

Eku made a face and the vervet monkey showed fangs.

Giggling, Eku smacked Yathi on the arm.

Yathi looked and Eku squinched his features into a funny face they both knew well.

Pointed up at the monkey.

Yathi looked and giggled.

Enthusiastic, he exclaimed, “Do it Eku. Show Dala and Longo. Do it!”

The Bwana males remained just inside the roofing of the big hut, standing by the water gourds.

They looked at Yathi and Eku curiously.

“This is funny,” Yathi said. “Eku can be just like a vervet monkey. It is very funny.”

He gestured at Eku with both hands and stepped away, to give him space.

Eku smiled, embarrassed, but eager.

Dala and Longo walked closer and looked at him, expectant.

“Go ahead,” Yathi encouraged.

They were in the largest section of the big hut, surrounded on three sides by hanging skins.

Eku rotated his head and darted his eyes from side to side.

Settled into a crouch, knees splayed and began to prance about like a juvenile monkey trying to escape its mother, twisting his body, whimpering, holding his arm out as though tethered in the grip of another.

Yathi, who has seen this act before, nevertheless bellows every time.

Eku’s impression was so perfect that Dala and Longo easily recognized what he was doing, vervet monkey antics being universal comedy, after all.

Energized, Eku continued a well rehearsed routine.

With so much noise from so many people outside, he figured that no one else would be pay attention and raised his voice.

Decided this would be his best performance ever.

Eku gazed around the impressive enclosure, looking for something interesting, which was easy to find in every direction.

Pointed and screamed shrilly at three zebra pelts hung overlapping.

Yathi, Dala and Longo bellowed laughter.

Eku made high-pitched chattering noises and spun, frantically waving his arms, eliciting more giggles.

Observed a stack of grass baskets, such as those used for harvest and hooted loudly, as a vervet mother does when warning a little one.

Yathi, Dala and Longo held their stomachs and howled.

Eku stamped his feet and continued to hoot and squeak.

Shuffled for a closer look at hanging kudu pelts and there, behind the skins, previously hidden from view was the beautiful Bwana female with the laza pendant.

Ingwe lay on a grass mat, cheek rested on a palm, arm propped up by the elbow, waiting for Eku to see her.

And of course Eku froze, stuck in his silliest monkey face.

Ingwe sat up and made a face back; stood, and walked past the young males to exit for the community area, head held high.

Shocked, Eku remained standing where he was, but turned to watch her go.

Yathi looked at him worriedly, while Dala and Longo held hands over their mouths and tried to contain their laughter.

Perhaps, Eku might have been more embarrassed were it not for a combination of two things.

First, he was thrilled to see her, of course.

But second, was the indescribable feeling that came from having just learned that Ingwe’s father was Uta, the tall and fierce and scarred nesibindi, leader of the Bwana tribe.