Chapter Text
The twin moons were high in the sky, casting their silvery light onto the village below.
Men, women and children had gathered around a fire, their voices hoarse with sorrow as they lamented the dead. The deceased had been the mother of a mother and it was her grandsons who had dug the burial pit and carried her body on top of a stretcher. The daughters and granddaughters in turn had gathered all the items dear to her in life: jewels of amber, combs made of antler and beaded necklaces her relatives had crafted.
Neenah, a young girl of ten winters stood close to both her parents and watched the procession with tears in her eyes. Old Kima had been like a grandmother to her, always kind and ready to comfort her whenever something was wrong, and now she would be gone forever.
Amidst the wails and cries of sadness, the shaman began his oration.
“Fear not, children of Gotara. The eternal spirit will always watch over his children, both in this world and the next. Pain and suffering fill the world of the living, but in the world of spirit only joy will greet us.”
“I-I hate t-this,” stuttered Neenah and tugged her mother’s skirt.
“W-will I ever see grandmother Kima again?”
“All our ancestors live in the spirit world,” answered her father. “Gotara watches over them, making sure there is no hunger, no death and very little pain. Shaman makes sure that Kima’s soul will arrive there safely.”
After the shaman finished anointing the body with a red-brown ochre, the children of Kima began placing all her dear possessions into the pit, then a few amulets of ivory to protect her spirit on its journey. It was time to bid farewell.