With a contrite spirit, Ajijaak paddled homeward. What would Miinan think when she saw the beautiful bear? If he had killed the bear he had planned to foolishly give it to her family, that would have been prideful and would not have been welcomed by her father. Miinan’s womanhood had not come to her yet. He would have shamed himself and his family. The Great Spirit had spared him much, by not answering his prayer to kill.
Soon, he saw the smoke from the village rising above the pines and cedars. His uncle paddled the canoe to shore. Ajijaak, jumped out into the cold water. It sent a shock through him. Uncle Ogaa paddled the canoe ashore while Ajijaak guided the back. His cousin and Azhe’o helped get the bear out. His blood dripped red in the water. Minnows swam to the surface to investigate the blood. The weight of the bear made the men sink deeply into the river silt. They slogged their way to shore.
All homes faced to the east to great the rising sun. Women were outside working, door flaps opened as old men came out of the shadows to see the kill. The only person Ajijaak saw was Miinan. By the look on her face he could tell she was impressed. Did she think he had killed the bear? She smiled at him. He ducked his head unsure of what to do. He did not see Ziibi, hiding behind the door flap watching.
They took the bear to his uncle’s home. His aunt, Anib, was there with his mother and his noko. Noko went to the bear and ran her old hands down the entire length of the dead bear. “He is large, who killed him.”
Uncle Ogaa said, “I did.”
Noko smiled a wide smile revealing her strong teeth. It is good. “We will have the warmth of the fur and wealth of his body. He is so big, we will need help to prepare him.”
Ziibi flew to the side of Ajijaak’s noko. She said, “I will help.”
Miinan started to come to, but her mother grasped her arm and shook her head.
Anger filled Ajijaak so quickly; he had to turn away lest he betray himself. He had not killed the bear, why couldn’t Miinan help?
Another voice spoke, it was Ziibi’s noko. “I too will help.”
*
Ziibi dark eyes traveled the entire length of the beautiful bear. How gracious of him to give his life so Ogaa and his family would be kept fed and warm. It was what animals did for the People, and the People were grateful for their generosity. The bear’s coat was thick and beautiful. He was a handsome creature. Beside her Ajijaak stood gazing at the bear. She wondered what he thought. Had he wanted to kill the bear? She looked up at Ajijaak. The sun reflected on his still wet thighs. She saw scrape marks and scratches on his shins and his arms. He must have tried to kill the bear, or at least helped to do so. She noticed his eyes, glance up toward Miinan. From a distance Miinan shyly nodded at him. A pain twisted inside Ziibi’s heart. Ajijaak and her sister were foolish. It seemed most young people were, why? Miinan should not encourage Ajijaak’s attention. Disgusted, she turned her eyes back to the bear.
The bear’s head was broad. His teeth were big and gleamed in the sun. His jaws were large. He was so still. She touched the soft velvet of the bear’s nose. His nostrils were delicate spirals like the inside of a snail shell. She felt the nearness of the Great Mystery.
Aniib said, “I prayed for a successful hunt.”
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Ziibi turned to her. “I did too.”
Softly Aniib said, “I thank you for your prayers, Ziibi. My family has something to share for a change. Come let us begin.” She went into the house and brought out the tools to slaughter the bear. Ajijaak, Asaawe and Uncle Ogaa, with Ziibi’s help dragged the bear to the slaughtering tree. Azhe’o had fled while no one was looking. He was fond of the hunt but not the work that came before or after it.
Ziibi noticed how Ajijaak’s muscles popped in his arms while he and the others hoisted the bear on the limb of the oak tree. With an expert slice of moose rib bone knife, Aniib cut open the carcass. With great skill, she and Nika, Ajijaak’s mother, peeled away the skin with sharp rounded stones that had small handles attached. When the skin was removed, Ziibi stared at the strange creature, robbed of its glory. It looked pale and pitiful. Nika cut through the fat and muscles of the bear’s stomach, Ziibi caught the entrails in a large birch bowl. The intestines fascinated her. The tubing was so long, why it could probably stretch the length of the village. She wondered how long her guts were. Aniib cut the entrails free, and moved deeper into the bear’s body. She reached the heart.
This was what in Ziibi’s mind was the most amazing part of the bear’s body, of any animal’s body. It was what beat like a drum inside the living’s chest. It was the most necessary sound. She loved to snuggle in her Noko’s arms and just listen to the beating of her heart. The bear’s heart looked like a huge closed flower bud rich with bursting life. It was where the bear’s spirit had resided, at least this is what Ziibi believed. Reverently Aniib placed the heart in a bowl and covered it. The women continued their work. Once the steaks had been cut and the flesh removed from every rib and bone, they removed the head. Aniib asked Ziibi, “Would you like to prepare the head, we must get busy with the smoke racks.”
Dumbfounded by this Ziibi could only nod. She took the huge head in her small hands. With the sharp bone tools Aniib provided for her, Ziibi carefully peeled the skin away, extracted his eyes, brain and the scant flesh that covered the skull. She put all of this in small containers Ajijaak’s noko had laid out for her. When the skull was as clean as she could get it, she took it to the fire where a pot of water boiled. Carefully she slid the skull off the paddle and into the water. It made a terrific hissing sound as it submerged. Huge and small bubble’s burst to the surface.
It was getting dark night would soon fall. The women would be up all night preparing for tomorrow’s feast. Ziibi had hoped to stay up with them, but her father came to get her. She did not want to go home.
Aniib, seeing her face, “Tomorrow morning you will paint the skull.”
Ziibi’s mouth dropped open. She had not expected to get to paint the skull. This was a rare honor.
Her father asked, “Why is my daughter to paint the skull?”
Ajijaak’s noko said, “Because the spirit of the bear has chosen her.”
A strange sensation filled Ziibi. She had been chosen? Why?
Without further questions, her father led her home.
Once they were home, her mother asked, “Where is Noko?”
Ziibi’s father said, “She has stayed to help.”
With flashing jealous eyes her mother said, “And who will help me?”
In a calm but firm voice Father said, “Miinan, and I.”
Her mother’s angry eyes landed on Ziibi. “Ziibi will help too.”
“No, Ziibi has been asked to paint the skull and she will do it.”
With venom in her voice, Ziibi’s mother asked, “What, what does she know about painting skulls? She is too young.”
With a hard look Father said, “She is old enough.”
“We will see about that.” Her mother turned away from her. Ziibi could feel her displeasure. It was not an uncommon feeling. Without her mother’s help, Ziibi bathed herself. She scrubbed all the blood off of her skin.bNext, she set her clothes to soak. Tomorrow, removing the blood from them would take much scrubbing. Weary from excitement and exertion, she went to her pallet and lay down beside Miinan.
Miinan whispered to her, “You will get to paint the skull?”
Ziibi nodded.
“I wish I could paint the skull, I would paint it purple.”
Purple was a hard color to make, and Ziibi knew her father did not have the rotting maple wood necessary to make it. “I am going to paint it yellow.”
With a touch a jealousy in her voice Miinan asked, “That is such a common color not fitting. Do you even know what makes yellow?”
“Yes.” She rolled away from her sister.
“How do you know?”
“The plants have told me.”
“Ha, you are making that up. Plants only speak to healers. Noko told you”
Ziibi bit her lip to keep from repeating what her father had said to her about her being Mide. It was a secret she must honor, the first of many, many secrets to come.