The Land of Painted Caves - Jean M. Auel [343]
“I would like to hear it first,” said the Fourteenth.
“Of course,” Ayla said.
More than she realized, Ayla was incredibly wise in the ways of people, and much more sophisticated and knowledgeable than she knew. The tactics of the Zelandoni Who Was First in pushing the zelandonia into creating the ceremony were not lost on Ayla. On a sometimes subliminal and sometimes fully aware level, she had watched the First mold the rest to her will. The woman was quick to press her advantage, knew when to bluster, when to threaten, when to cajole, wheedle, criticize, praise—and the zelandonia were not easily led. As a group they were clever, shrewd, often cynical, and on the whole more intelligent than most. Ayla remembered Jondalar asking Zelandoni once what made a Zelandoni First. Even then, she knew just how much to say, just how much to hold back.
Zelandoni relaxed. They were into it now. It would gain momentum of its own accord. Her problem most of the time was to keep them from getting too carried away. This time she was going to let them take on just as much as they wanted. The more spectacular, the better. If I let them plan it big enough, and elaborate enough, they won’t have time to think about anything else until after the ceremony.
When the general outline for the ceremony had begun to take shape, and most of the zelandonia were developing a decided interest in the event, Zelandoni Who Was First hurled another surprise at them.
Getting up to get more tea, she made an ostensibly offhand comment. “I imagine we’ll also have to make plans for a Camp Meeting a day or so after the ceremony to answer questions that are bound to come up. We might as well get them out of the way all at once. That’s when we can announce the name for the relationship between a man and his children, and tell them that the men will name the boys from now on,” she said.
The consternation of the zelandonia was immediate. Most hadn’t had time to think about what changes the new knowledge was going to make.
“But a mother has always named her own children!” one of them said.
Zelandoni caught a few sharp looks. That’s what she had been afraid of; some of them were going to start thinking. As a group, it was not wise to underestimate the zelandonia.
“How are the men going to realize that they are essential if we don’t let them take some part?” the First asked. “It doesn’t really change anything. Coupling will still be a Pleasure. Men are not going to start giving birth, and a man will still need to provide for the woman he has taken to his hearth and her children, especially while she is confined close to home and with small children. Naming a male child is a small thing; women will still name the females,” the woman cajoled.
“In the Clan the mog-urs named all the children,” Ayla mentioned. Everyone stopped and looked at her. “I was very pleased to be able to name my daughter. I was nervous about it, but it was very exciting, and it made me feel very important.”
“I think the men would feel the same way,” the First said, grateful for Ayla’s unplanned support.
There were nods and grunts of approval. No one brought up any further objections, at least for the moment.
“What about the name of the relationship? Have you a name for it already?” the Zelandoni from the Twenty-ninth Cave asked, with a hint of suspicion.
“I thought I would meditate and see if I could think of something appropriate for children to call the men who shared in giving them life, to distinguish them from other men. Perhaps we should all think about it,” the One Who Was First said.
The First had felt that she had to push them now, while the zelandonia were still overwhelmed, and at a disadvantage relative to herself, before they began to think about the possible consequences, and come up with some real objections that she couldn’t confound with bluster. She had no doubt that this new Gift of the Knowledge