The Mammoth Hunters - Jean M. Auel [274]
Latie nodded, frowning seriously, beginning to feel the responsibility of establishing a new relationship with people she had known and loved all her life.
“What happens when a male spirit steals the life force?” Ayla asked, very curious about these interesting beliefs of the Mamutoi that were somewhat similar, yet very different from the traditions of the Clan.
“Then you have a powerful shaman,” Tulie said.
“Or an evil one,” Crozie added.
“Is that true, Mamut?” Ayla asked. Latie looked surprised and puzzled, and even Deegie, Tronie, and Fralie turned to Mamut with interest.
The old man gathered his thoughts, trying to choose his answer carefully. “We are only Her children,” he began. “It is difficult for us to know why Mut, the Great Mother, selects some of us for special purposes. We only know that She has Her reasons. Perhaps there are times when She has need for someone of exceptional power. Some people may be born with certain gifts. Others may be chosen later, but no one is chosen without Her knowledge.” Several eyes shifted toward Ayla, trying not to be conspicuous about it.
“She is the Mother of all,” he continued. “No one can know Her completely, in all Her faces. That’s why the face of the Mother is unknown on the figures that represent Her.” Mamut turned to the oldest woman of the Camp. “What is evil, Crozie?”
“Evil is malicious harm. Evil is death,” the old woman replied with conviction.
“The Mother is all, Crozie. The face of Mut is the birth of spring, the bounty of summer, but it is also the little death of winter. Hers is the power of life, but the other face of life is death. What is death but return to Her to be reborn? Is death evil? Without death, there can be no life. Is evil malicious harm? Perhaps, but even those who seem to work evil, do so for Her reasons. Evil is a force She controls, a means to accomplish Her purposes; it is only an unknown face of the Mother.”
“But what happens when a male force steals the life force of a woman?” Latie asked. She didn’t want philosophies, she wanted to know.
The Mamut looked at her speculatively. She was almost a woman, she had the right to be told. “She will die, Latie.”
The girl shivered.
“Even if it is stolen. Some may remain, enough for her to start a new life. The life force that resides in a woman is so powerful she may not know it was stolen until she is giving birth. When a woman dies in childbirth, it is always because a male spirit stole her life force before she was opened. That’s why it is not healthy to wait too long for the Womanhood ceremony. If the Mother had made you ready last fall, I would have talked to Nezzie about arranging a gathering of a few Camps to have a ceremony so you would not go through the winter unprotected, even though it means you would have missed the excitement of the celebration at the Summer Meeting.”
I’m glad I won’t have to miss it, but …” Latie paused, still more concerned about life force than celebration, “does a woman always die?”
“No, sometimes she struggles to keep her life force, and if it is powerful, she may not only keep it, but the male force as well, or a part of it. Then she has the power of both in one body.”
“Those are the ones who become powerful shamans,” Tulie volunteered.
Mamut nodded. “Often, that is true. In order to learn how to use the power of both female and male, many people turn to the Mammoth Hearth for guidance, and many of those are called to Serve Her. They are often very good Healers, or Travelers in the Mother’s underworld.”
“What about the male spirit that does steal the life force?” Fralie asked, putting her new baby over her shoulder and patting gently. She knew it was a question her mother wanted to ask.
“That’s the one who is evil,” Crozie said.
“No,” Mamut