Chapter 36: A Simple Offering
The first day of the Peach Month was the first day of the clansmen's new calendar.
Whether due to the significance of the calendar itself or the ancestor worship to be performed, the day was destined to be an important one for everyone living in the village.
Stone and her tribe were now members of the village, and this day was equally important to them.
She woke early. The heated kang, covered with hay and furs, was far more comfortable than the damp caves of her past. She had fewer furs than the tribe next door—after all, her people's resources were meager—but she was still deeply satisfied.
The tribe next door had everything, except for one thing her own tribe possessed: a surname. They had debated the matter many times, but everyone clung to their own opinions. Some suggested Tao as their surname, some Gong, and others wanted Xiong. They argued for a long time without reaching a consensus.
Recently, Jian had held up a handful of grass seeds called millet, claiming that pottery, bows, and nets would one day be eclipsed by it. A few clansmen habitually agreed, but most remained skeptical, waiting for proof.
As for the proposal to use Xiong, or Bear, as a surname, Jian had explained that the Bear was their great ancestor. He said that every person with yellow skin and black eyes would be a descendant of the Bear Ancestor. The land beneath their feet was the Land of the Bear, the village they lived in was the Village of the Bear, and any place they sacrificed to their ancestors was a place of the Bear. All who wore their hair in a bun as they did were descendants of the Bear, so it could not be used as the surname of a single clan.
Stone didn't understand concepts like nations or confederations, only surnames and blood clans, but she understood Jian's meaning. Her people were also descendants of the Bear Ancestor, but they had taken Shi as their surname to distinguish their bloodline.
If the Bear was adopted as a surname by the other tribe alone, what right would her people have to worship the Bear Ancestor?
The only thing her clan had more of than the one next door was this surname. In all other respects, they fell short.
But life, she was beginning to understand, should be measured by one's own progress, not by comparison with others. And every time the other tribe brought back pigs and sheep from a hunt, they sometimes shared a portion with her people.
As the leader of the Shi-surnamed tribe, she was more perceptive than others and had quickly learned the difference between a gift and a loan. Her tribe still owed the other a great deal of fish, but no one had pressed them for repayment.
Her clansmen's lives were much better than before. They had full bellies and dry places to sleep. A few days ago, her youngest daughter had fallen ill. The other tribe had brought over boiled eggs and water boiled with bitter herbs. To help her daughter drink the medicine, a girl named Yu Qian'er had given her a piece of maple syrup and a bowl of stewed apricots.
The apricots were long out of season, but Jian had boiled them and stored them in a clay pot. He had sealed the lid with hot turpentine before placing it in a cellar dug into the earth, and they had not spoiled.
Her daughter was healthy again and now slept soundly on the kang. Last night, she had begged to listen to Brother Jian play his flute and hadn't fallen asleep until midnight.
In truth, Stone herself had loved listening to the flute. The full moon was rising over the cliff's edge, and a hush had fallen over the tribe. The only sounds were the long, clear notes of the flute and the crackling of the bonfire.
Listening to the music, she had felt as if she were flying into the sky, transformed into a white cloud. She watched the emerald Grass River meander below and saw the white-capped waves rolling on its surface. A breeze blew through the willows and reeds along the banks, wrinkling the moon's reflection in the lotus pond. The village stood proudly, children laughed, and smoke curled from the hearths. She was home.
Thinking of the house-building a few days ago, it seemed the labor of the clansmen had awakened the very mountains and rivers. The barren hillside was now a village, the creek had been rerouted, and wild pigs and sheep grazed peacefully in their pens.
The clansmen had their own interpretations of the music; it was more than just pleasant to the ear. Finally, someone had stood up and asked Jian what the flute was playing.
Stone remembered how Jian had stood and pointed toward the village and the Grass River in the distance. "It is our village and that great river."
She had been surprised to realize that she, and many others, had been thinking the exact same thing. It was as if the flute could read their minds.
A night had passed, but the melodious sound still seemed to echo in her ears. She stretched, pushed aside the bark-lined door flap, and looked outside. Many people were already awake. Most had probably slept poorly, filled with anticipation for the day's sacrifice.
As was her routine, she picked up a bar of soap, grabbed two short ropes for her hair, and went to the river to wash. Fetching water upstream and washing downstream was a rule the clansmen had agreed upon; violators were punished by having to carry stones.
The moss on the bluestone platform had been worn away by countless feet, so it was no longer slippery. A few small fish chased the white foam in the water, while several women carefully arranged their braids—they had become quite close with the men of her clan lately.
Stone noticed how these small changes were gradually transforming her tribe's life. She was a generation younger than her grandmother, and she resolved to adapt to this new life and pass these experiences to the next generation, rather than feeling she was getting old.
In the distance, Yu Qian'er came running over, her two neat braids bouncing. She told Stone that the old grandmother was inviting her to help stew fish and to attach a rope to the charcoal drawing of the Bear Ancestor they had made yesterday.
By the time she finished these preparations, the sun was high in the sky. Jian had said that when the shadow of the house shrank to the slate used for recording the daily harvest, they would go down the mountain to prepare.
She carried a large clay pot engraved with fish patterns. Inside was a large fish stewed with pepper leaves, dogwood, and chive flowers, smelling fragrant. A few wolf cubs followed at her heels, nipping at her calves until Yu Qian'er, walking behind, scolded them away, though she didn't have the heart to strike them.
At the foot of the mountain, everyone had already gathered. The men stood in formation, just as they did for their drills on the river beach.
Stone carefully placed the clay pot on a wooden platform, which was already laden with various foods and tools. The longbow was there, too, with a piece of ochre-red cloth tied to it, dancing in the wind.
*Dong, dong, dong...*
A sudden rush of drumming sounded, like thunder on a clear day, heavier and more solemn than the light notes of the flute the night before.
At the sound of the drums, the men instantly formed neat rows, their expressions stark with awe. Stone's heart throbbed in time with the heavy beat. She looked up at the huge banner of the Bear Ancestor—which she had helped sew—now hanging from a treetop, and her heart filled with reverence.
Amidst the thundering drums, she turned to look quietly at the distant village, her faith in the guidance of her ancestors deepening.
The drumming continued for some time before finally stopping, only to be followed by another hasty rhythm. All the people present knelt, expressing their heartfelt gratitude to the fluttering banner. They slammed the palms of their hands flat on the ground and then lightly touched them to their foreheads. It was the most defenseless posture possible, taken because they knew their true ancestors would not harm them, but would only guide them to a better life.
After worshiping the ancestors, it was time to worship heaven and earth. They thanked the sky for the sun and rain, and the earth for the abundance of plants.
For this, however, their fists were slightly clenched, and their heads were not bowed so low. The world provided not only sunshine, rain, and lush vegetation, but also lightning, hail, and frost. While grateful, the clansmen would not simply close their eyes and await death in a flood or frost; they would clench their fists and fight back with hard work.
Stone could hear Jian chanting in the distance. The words sounded smooth and rhythmic. She repeated them to herself; they flowed like honey, with the end of each line rhyming with the one before. The chant seemed to speak of thanks for the ancestors' guidance and the generosity of heaven and earth, announcing that the clansmen had settled here, were enjoying a good year, and hoped for the same next year.
Before long, the drums sounded again, and the clansmen rose to their feet. After the solemnity of the worship, the entire assembly was quiet, everyone absorbed in the shared emotion.
"Thanks to our ancestors for guiding us to learn the bow and arrow!" Jian's voice carried from afar. "We can capture prey and no longer fear beasts!"
Several people carried out a large effigy made of fiber cloth and stuffed with grass. It was as tall as a person and vaguely resembled a wolf or a tiger. Its body was dyed in vibrant colors from leaves and flowers, and it cast a huge shadow in the sun. A circle drawn on its forehead was painted red with deer blood, making it look even more fearsome.
The women retreated to the sides as the men picked up their bows and arrows. Standing at a considerable distance, they imitated Jian's earlier gesture, saluting the ancestor's banner.
A rope marked the shooting line. Men from both tribes stood behind it. Stone felt the distance was quite far; her own tribe was not skilled in archery.
The men of the two tribes used two different kinds of arrows—one fletched with black feathers, the other with white—and began shooting at the beast from both sides.
The women knew the beast was just made of grass, but they still felt a sense of unease from its imposing size. Seeing their brothers and sons drawing their bows one after another, they couldn't help but let out bursts of applause.
The pounding of the drum grew more and more urgent, heating the clansmen's blood. They shouted loudly, cheering for their brothers, their sons, or the men they admired.
Rows of feathered arrows struck the effigy, though many went wide. One unlucky bird was even struck down by a stray arrow, drawing a round of laughter from the crowd.
Finally, when everyone had only a few arrows left, the blood-red circle on the grass beast's forehead remained untouched. The crowd's shouts grew louder, the drums beat faster, until at last, an arrow struck the center. A massive roar went up from everyone.
Stone shouted along with the crowd. The rest of the people rushed into the field, and several men lifted the archer, Wolf Skin, high into the air.
The old grandmother beckoned to Stone. Together, they solemnly took a long dagger made from a wild boar's tusk out of a pottery box. Chen Jian had given it to them. They hung the dagger around Wolf Skin's neck. The dagger was engraved with simple blood-red patterns, its tip ground into a sharp triangle. It was short but beautiful.
The clansmen carried the "dead" grass beast to a circle of bluestone arranged the day before and set it on fire.
In the distance, another contest was beginning. Several men, holding wicker shields and stone axes, stood hundreds of paces away. At the sound of the drums, they charged toward another grass beast, ready for a mock hunt.
The clansmen gathered around them, cheering for their favorite contenders.
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