The shelters of stone - Jean M. Auel [86]
“Thank you, I would like to visit. I like fish, and I like to catch them, but I don’t know how to trap them. When I was young, I learned to catch fish with my hands.” Ayla emphasized her comment by lifting hers, which were still held by Brameval.
“Now that, I would like to see,” he said as he let go.
The woman leader stepped forward. “I would like to introduce our donier, the Zelandoni of River Place,” she said. “He was not here last night, either.” She glanced at Brameval, raised her eyebrows, and added, “The Eleventh Cave is known for making the rafts that are used to travel up and down The River. It’s much easier to transport heavy loads on a raft than on the backs of people. If you are interested, you are welcome to come and visit.”
“I would be most interested to learn about the way you make your floating river craft,” Ayla said, trying to remember if they had been introduced and what her name was. “The Mamutoi make a kind of floating bowl out of thick hides fastened to a wooden frame, and use them to carry people and their things across rivers. On our way here, Jondalar and I made one to cross a large river, but the river was rough, and the small round boat was so light, it was hard to control. When we attached it to Whinney’s pole drag, it was better.”
“I don’t understand ‘winnies pole drag.’ What does that mean?” the leader of the Eleventh Cave asked.
“Whinney is the name of one of the horses, Kareja,” Jondalar said, getting up and coming forward. “The pole drag was devised by Ayla. She can tell you what it is.”
Ayla described the conveyance and added, “With it Whinney could help me bring the animals I hunted back to my shelter. I’ll show you sometime.”
“When we reached the other side of that river,” Jondalar added, “we decided to attach the bowl boat to the poles instead of the woven platform because we could put most of our things in it. That way, when we crossed rivers, the boat would float and nothing got wet, and attached to the poles, it was easier to control.”
“Rafts can be a little hard to control, too,” the woman leader said. “I think all watercraft must be hard to control.”
“Some are easier than others. On my Journey, I stayed for a while with the Sharamudoi. They carve beautiful boats out of large tree trunks. The front and back come to points, and they use oars to steer them where they want to go. It takes practice, but the Ramudoi, the River People half of the Sharamudoi, are very good at it,” Jondalar said.
“What are oars?”
“Oars look something like flattened spoons, and they use them to push the boat through the water. I helped to make one of their boats and learned to use oars.”
“Do you think they would work better than the long poles we use to push the rafts through the water?”
“This talking about boats can, be very interesting, Kareja,” the man who had stepped forward said, interrupting. He was shorter than the woman and slight of build. “But I haven’t been introduced yet. I think I’d better do it myself.” Kareja flushed slightly, but made no comment. When Ayla heard her name, she recalled that they had been introduced.
“I am Zelandoni of the Eleventh Cave of the Zelandonii, also known as River Place. In the name of Doni, Great Earth Mother, I welcome you, Ayla of the Mamutoi, Daughter of the Mammoth Hearth,” he said, holding out his hands.
“I greet you, Zelandoni of the Eleventh as One Who Serves She Who Is The Mother of All,” Ayla said, grasping his hands. He had a powerful grip that belied his slight build, and she sensed not only his wiry strength, but an inner force and surety. She also detected something else in the way he moved that reminded her of some of the mamutii she had met at the Mamutoi Summer Meeting.
The old Mamut who had adopted her had spoken of those who carried the essence of both male and female in one