“Yahnna, tell me the truth… what's wrong with my baby?!”
Jayah verged on panic and Yahnnah could see that the time for truth had come. Taking a deep breath, she could only hope that her body conveyed peace and calm.
“Nothing is wrong with your baby, but there is something you need to know. Your baby is a special gift from Ayah, however this will be questioned by some... and so the issue will go before the Tribal Council." Yahnnah took the time to choose from her vast repertoire of signs, ones that would convey everything with grace and yet straight to the point.
Jayah tried to understand as best as she could. Yahnnah had been crystal clear, but Jayah was still so weak from having just fought so hard, that the thoughts of yet another battle was overwhelming. As promising as Yahnnah conveyed the truth, Jayah couldn't help but feel a deep sense of loss.
When Atahr returned he found Jayah weeping in Yahnnah's arms. As Yahnnah took leave, he took up the position, embracing Jayah with one arm and tilting his body so that she could lean against him. In his other arm was their swaddled newborn. Jayah looked at Atahr who beamed with such obvious pride. She saw the love… it was the same look he had when holding Zahr for the first time. Jayah felt that it was not possible to love her mate any more than at that moment, and she knew that Atar would never let harm come to any of his children.
Slowly, Jayah's eyes moved from Atahr, seeking for the now squirming bundle cradled in his arm. Atahr watched as his mate gently pushed the soft swaddling aside and the smile that came upon her face was like sunshine. They held one another, smiling and weeping with joy ... and uncertainty.
“Do, you see Jayah,” Atahr signed, gently reassuring his mate, “ they are full of life like their mother and strong like their father … like land and water, and so the little girls name is Atal (Water), and the little boys name is Lant (Land). Within the small circle of love surrounding the newborn twins, Jayah regained strength and beamed with the same pride, Atal and Lant are truly gifts from Ayah, special like Zahr and any member of their Tribe... they too are simply meant to be.
As the babies slept peacefully, unaware of the dilemma brought about by their birth, Jayah placed a gentle hand to their rounded brow. In so many ways they appeared as a normal baby, though there were differences. The forehead didn't slant gracefully back above the brow in the usual manner of babies born to their Tribe, instead it moved straight up from the brow, and even though it was for the most part flat, Jayah could make out the soft indentation that ran from between the brow and continued upward in a perfect separation line. Jayah ran her finger along the odd indentation that started again just below the perfectly formed little nose, a subtle dip that stopped at the perfectly formed little mouth only to pick up again in a more pronounced cleavage at the tip of the chin. She didn't look any further than their conjoined little faces, she was not yet ready for the more obvious evidence.
Jayah allowed her finger to trace around the tattoo Atahr had placed on their forehead. It was neither of the usual cross shapes --an 'x' on the forehead of a baby girl or a '+' on the forehead of a baby boy. Instead, both crosses were present, one placed directly atop the other, and so taking on the form of a perfect asterisk '⁕'.
In the customary ways of the Dykelander peoples, Atahr proclaimed his fatherhood, and had made the tattoo on their forehead, breaking away from custom in the sense that he had applied both symbols, after all, the babies were not one or the other, but both male and female-- near perfectly conjoined fraternal twins.
The ⁕ was a sacred symbol of the Dykelander's, one used to represent the "male +" and "female x" attributes of their deity Ayah. Even the sign for "Ayah" was made up of two words: Ay (male) and Ah (female). And there was even a star in the sky that represented Ayah as well, a special star that changed its position in the sky every 5 winters, moving from morning star (Ay) to evening star (Ah). In similar fashion, the Dykelander's changed their Leadership every 5 winters: during the time of the morning star, men were the Leaders, and during the time of the evening star, women took on the Leadership roles.
The ⁕ had another highly valued purpose: a geometric pattern used in the construction of their circular homes and coracle boats. So indeed, Atahr's forthright decision will be met with resistance, but his place was beside Jayah and protecting their family first and foremost. It was without question that he had applied controversial measures, but they were strategic order of the day measures.
Many grey areas riddle the religious belief of the Dykelanders, leaving some to believe that their people are continually in the process of "becoming" the perfect image of Ayah. And then others believe that their people are already in the perfect image of Ayah, and it's this group that resist change and hold onto superstitions... and this was the group that Yahnnah, Jayah and Atahr would need to concern themselves with when the day came for the controversial birth to be brought before the Tribal Council.
Jayah verged on panic and Yahnnah could see that the time for truth had come. Taking a deep breath, she could only hope that her body conveyed peace and calm.
“Nothing is wrong with your baby, but there is something you need to know. Your baby is a special gift from Ayah, however this will be questioned by some... and so the issue will go before the Tribal Council." Yahnnah took the time to choose from her vast repertoire of signs, ones that would convey everything with grace and yet straight to the point.
Jayah tried to understand as best as she could. Yahnnah had been crystal clear, but Jayah was still so weak from having just fought so hard, that the thoughts of yet another battle was overwhelming. As promising as Yahnnah conveyed the truth, Jayah couldn't help but feel a deep sense of loss.
When Atahr returned he found Jayah weeping in Yahnnah's arms. As Yahnnah took leave, he took up the position, embracing Jayah with one arm and tilting his body so that she could lean against him. In his other arm was their swaddled newborn. Jayah looked at Atahr who beamed with such obvious pride. She saw the love… it was the same look he had when holding Zahr for the first time. Jayah felt that it was not possible to love her mate any more than at that moment, and she knew that Atar would never let harm come to any of his children.
Slowly, Jayah's eyes moved from Atahr, seeking for the now squirming bundle cradled in his arm. Atahr watched as his mate gently pushed the soft swaddling aside and the smile that came upon her face was like sunshine. They held one another, smiling and weeping with joy ... and uncertainty.
“Do, you see Jayah,” Atahr signed, gently reassuring his mate, “ they are full of life like their mother and strong like their father … like land and water, and so the little girls name is Atal (Water), and the little boys name is Lant (Land). Within the small circle of love surrounding the newborn twins, Jayah regained strength and beamed with the same pride, Atal and Lant are truly gifts from Ayah, special like Zahr and any member of their Tribe... they too are simply meant to be.
As the babies slept peacefully, unaware of the dilemma brought about by their birth, Jayah placed a gentle hand to their rounded brow. In so many ways they appeared as a normal baby, though there were differences. The forehead didn't slant gracefully back above the brow in the usual manner of babies born to their Tribe, instead it moved straight up from the brow, and even though it was for the most part flat, Jayah could make out the soft indentation that ran from between the brow and continued upward in a perfect separation line. Jayah ran her finger along the odd indentation that started again just below the perfectly formed little nose, a subtle dip that stopped at the perfectly formed little mouth only to pick up again in a more pronounced cleavage at the tip of the chin. She didn't look any further than their conjoined little faces, she was not yet ready for the more obvious evidence.
Jayah allowed her finger to trace around the tattoo Atahr had placed on their forehead. It was neither of the usual cross shapes --an 'x' on the forehead of a baby girl or a '+' on the forehead of a baby boy. Instead, both crosses were present, one placed directly atop the other, and so taking on the form of a perfect asterisk '⁕'.
In the customary ways of the Dykelander peoples, Atahr proclaimed his fatherhood, and had made the tattoo on their forehead, breaking away from custom in the sense that he had applied both symbols, after all, the babies were not one or the other, but both male and female-- near perfectly conjoined fraternal twins.
The ⁕ was a sacred symbol of the Dykelander's, one used to represent the "male +" and "female x" attributes of their deity Ayah. Even the sign for "Ayah" was made up of two words: Ay (male) and Ah (female). And there was even a star in the sky that represented Ayah as well, a special star that changed its position in the sky every 5 winters, moving from morning star (Ay) to evening star (Ah). In similar fashion, the Dykelander's changed their Leadership every 5 winters: during the time of the morning star, men were the Leaders, and during the time of the evening star, women took on the Leadership roles.
The ⁕ had another highly valued purpose: a geometric pattern used in the construction of their circular homes and coracle boats. So indeed, Atahr's forthright decision will be met with resistance, but his place was beside Jayah and protecting their family first and foremost. It was without question that he had applied controversial measures, but they were strategic order of the day measures.
Many grey areas riddle the religious belief of the Dykelanders, leaving some to believe that their people are continually in the process of "becoming" the perfect image of Ayah. And then others believe that their people are already in the perfect image of Ayah, and it's this group that resist change and hold onto superstitions... and this was the group that Yahnnah, Jayah and Atahr would need to concern themselves with when the day came for the controversial birth to be brought before the Tribal Council.
No comments:
Post a Comment