CHAPTER TWO: We Know What's Best
continued from 5/7/05
Life in general had been good to Thorat and Merka. They had four healthy and responsible children. The eldest son, now taller than his father, was thinking of joining the village militia. Merka and Thorat had some misgivings about this idea; they'd hoped he would take over the wheat and barley fields in a few years, but they believed their son had a right to choose his own way. The eldest daughter had her mother's instincts for plants and was assuming more and more responsibility for the gardens, allowing Merka to tend their experimental plot and advise the villagers.
Thorat had been a member of the Council of Ten for a short time, but left when he felt he could be more productive taking care of his fields. He was more interested in doing something rather than merely talking about it. He was also having some doubts about the growing influence of the Council in deciding what was "best" for the community, but he'd kept most of his feelings to himself. As one of the more influential and respected members of the community, he had originally supported Crug's proposal for the storage shed, but his misgivings increased as he saw the growing and arbitrary influence of a small handful of people, led by Crug.
Different plants were springing up from the soil around the community, and Merka was kept busy identifying them. One day she discovered a plant with ribbon leaves that was long and a clear green color. The stalk was about six inches in height and had little white flowers. We can not be sure if Merka or any of her contemporaries learned its usefulness, but we know that four or five thousand years later it was well known that the bulb of this plant was valuable. After it was dried it could be eaten, and it proved to be a lifesaver during periods of famine. This plant was known as Dove's Dung.
Perhaps someone in Merka's community stumbled across what would prove to be one of the most sought after plants in human history, both a blessing and a curse to humankind. This plant grew up to a person's waist and had a beautiful flower that was white or lavender with a rich purple color at the base of its four petals. The plant came to be named Gall. Gall is the juice of the opium poppy.
Truth was about to make its first serious appearance in our community in southern Iraq. With the early beginnings of "rules and regulations," Crug may have understood intuitively that he could not always count on informal alliances to insure his permanent influence. In fairness to Crug he genuinely believed he knew what was best for the community, not unlike many of our contemporary world leaders, corporate CEO's and religious advisors. He had to still establish some legitimacy.
What motivated Crug? Possibly some inner voice spoke to him or he'd had a vision on a hot Thursday afternoon. Certainly one of the good things about a revelation is that you don't have to prove it, only convince others that you had one ... ideally one which shows the "correct" course of action for everyone else. We do, however, have some basic information, which may help us to understand what drove Crug.
Several years before, Crug and two of his companions, quite by accident, discovered the cave that had been part of the village's tradition for as long as anyone could remember. No one knew when or how the tradition got started, but it had been part of the village's cultural life seemingly forever.
Like the famous Chauvet Cave discovered in France in 1940, our cave in Iraq was covered with awe-inspiring wall paintings depicting bison and other large animals in various poises, giving us a shadowy inkling of Paleolithic man. The Chauvet Cave in France may be some 30,000 years old.
This cave had a powerful influence on Crug, who said later he'd felt the presence of the spirits. Crug's two companions readily confirmed that something had indeed happened in that cave, which frightened them a great deal. Crug told this story many times and perhaps without realizing it, added certain embellishments each time he recounted it.
The natural world elicited both awe and dread among our ancient ancestors and was never separate and apart from the daily lives of the people. The forces of light and dark, unseen spirits, and strange gods needed to be appeased constantly. It was essential that an equilibrium be maintained in the world if humankind hoped to have any chance of peace and tranquility. Crug, as well as most everyone else, believed this with all their heart.
At the same time, Crug was a practical man who measured success in concrete terms. His meeting with the nearby village, two years before, had been incredibly successful. He'd convinced the smaller community that a permanent trading arrangement would benefit both villages. Above all, the other village offered Crug's delegation ten sheep and one of their young sheepherder to watch over them for fourteen complete days, until an individual from Crug's community could be trained properly.
Both communities did benefit. The smaller village increased its agricultural production and the larger community developed a sizeable herd of sheep. Merka and Thorat also developed some friendships with several people from the other community, which proved to be important some time later.
Crug was now one of the two most important members of the Council of Ten. It was not uncommon to hear people in the village ask, "What does Crug believe?" It was Crug who got the community to support a permanent meetings place for the Council. On any given day now you could find villagers out in front of this building waiting to speak with one of the Council members--often with some token of thanks, such as a basket, jewelry, or sometimes food.
to be continued....
Life in general had been good to Thorat and Merka. They had four healthy and responsible children. The eldest son, now taller than his father, was thinking of joining the village militia. Merka and Thorat had some misgivings about this idea; they'd hoped he would take over the wheat and barley fields in a few years, but they believed their son had a right to choose his own way. The eldest daughter had her mother's instincts for plants and was assuming more and more responsibility for the gardens, allowing Merka to tend their experimental plot and advise the villagers.
Thorat had been a member of the Council of Ten for a short time, but left when he felt he could be more productive taking care of his fields. He was more interested in doing something rather than merely talking about it. He was also having some doubts about the growing influence of the Council in deciding what was "best" for the community, but he'd kept most of his feelings to himself. As one of the more influential and respected members of the community, he had originally supported Crug's proposal for the storage shed, but his misgivings increased as he saw the growing and arbitrary influence of a small handful of people, led by Crug.
Different plants were springing up from the soil around the community, and Merka was kept busy identifying them. One day she discovered a plant with ribbon leaves that was long and a clear green color. The stalk was about six inches in height and had little white flowers. We can not be sure if Merka or any of her contemporaries learned its usefulness, but we know that four or five thousand years later it was well known that the bulb of this plant was valuable. After it was dried it could be eaten, and it proved to be a lifesaver during periods of famine. This plant was known as Dove's Dung.
Perhaps someone in Merka's community stumbled across what would prove to be one of the most sought after plants in human history, both a blessing and a curse to humankind. This plant grew up to a person's waist and had a beautiful flower that was white or lavender with a rich purple color at the base of its four petals. The plant came to be named Gall. Gall is the juice of the opium poppy.
Truth was about to make its first serious appearance in our community in southern Iraq. With the early beginnings of "rules and regulations," Crug may have understood intuitively that he could not always count on informal alliances to insure his permanent influence. In fairness to Crug he genuinely believed he knew what was best for the community, not unlike many of our contemporary world leaders, corporate CEO's and religious advisors. He had to still establish some legitimacy.
What motivated Crug? Possibly some inner voice spoke to him or he'd had a vision on a hot Thursday afternoon. Certainly one of the good things about a revelation is that you don't have to prove it, only convince others that you had one ... ideally one which shows the "correct" course of action for everyone else. We do, however, have some basic information, which may help us to understand what drove Crug.
Several years before, Crug and two of his companions, quite by accident, discovered the cave that had been part of the village's tradition for as long as anyone could remember. No one knew when or how the tradition got started, but it had been part of the village's cultural life seemingly forever.
Like the famous Chauvet Cave discovered in France in 1940, our cave in Iraq was covered with awe-inspiring wall paintings depicting bison and other large animals in various poises, giving us a shadowy inkling of Paleolithic man. The Chauvet Cave in France may be some 30,000 years old.
This cave had a powerful influence on Crug, who said later he'd felt the presence of the spirits. Crug's two companions readily confirmed that something had indeed happened in that cave, which frightened them a great deal. Crug told this story many times and perhaps without realizing it, added certain embellishments each time he recounted it.
The natural world elicited both awe and dread among our ancient ancestors and was never separate and apart from the daily lives of the people. The forces of light and dark, unseen spirits, and strange gods needed to be appeased constantly. It was essential that an equilibrium be maintained in the world if humankind hoped to have any chance of peace and tranquility. Crug, as well as most everyone else, believed this with all their heart.
At the same time, Crug was a practical man who measured success in concrete terms. His meeting with the nearby village, two years before, had been incredibly successful. He'd convinced the smaller community that a permanent trading arrangement would benefit both villages. Above all, the other village offered Crug's delegation ten sheep and one of their young sheepherder to watch over them for fourteen complete days, until an individual from Crug's community could be trained properly.
Both communities did benefit. The smaller village increased its agricultural production and the larger community developed a sizeable herd of sheep. Merka and Thorat also developed some friendships with several people from the other community, which proved to be important some time later.
Crug was now one of the two most important members of the Council of Ten. It was not uncommon to hear people in the village ask, "What does Crug believe?" It was Crug who got the community to support a permanent meetings place for the Council. On any given day now you could find villagers out in front of this building waiting to speak with one of the Council members--often with some token of thanks, such as a basket, jewelry, or sometimes food.
to be continued....
posted by mumpsimus | 11:43 AM
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