Tales from the Beginning
Sourced from the Mother-Father
Compiled by Reverend Corinne S. Ramage
Part One The Childhood of Llaa
The Divine Loving Presence is Everywhere in Everything
The name Llaa was given after the Awakenings. Before this, Llaa was known as four fingers or the fourth child. This name was a combined hand symbol and a soft sound like Huh. There were six children that Lived with Llaa's Mother. Llaa Loved the one called Mother, and this was good.
Llaa's Mother was both gentle and strong. She was a thinker and more intelligent than most of the others. She was the one who solved many of the community's dilemma's how to truss a large animal for cooking, what to do for a sick child (she seemed to instinctively know what plants supported wellness) and how to fairly resolve conflict within the community.
There were also three men called Father in Llaa's house. They were often near Mother. All three men were adored for different reasons. One had a laugh that quieted and soothed. One knew great skills with his hands. One knew physical feats to build his body and taught many to the children. Llaa Loved one Father, the one with skilled hands. It was good for a child to Love because as you remember, a child who did not or could not Love would be abandoned. No-Love was the Beings greatest fear of these Beings. Llaa had not known a child to be abandoned. In fact, it had only happened once in the oldest community member's memory.
Llaa's childhood was Joyous and filled with Loving interactions. There were other children in the community, many children, who laughed and played together. The tall fields of grasses and grains were warm when you laid down in them. The sun was kind, warm and nourishing to all Life. The days were equally sunny and rainy. The climate was moderate. Food was abundant. It was not preserved or conserved because it was abundant. The Earth produced many types of berries, nuts, plants and roots for consumption. The fertile soil produced a number of different edible grains and vegetables.
Eggs from birds were gathered to eat. There were many birds in the area. One of the chores the children performed was to take a few eggs from every nest, three consecutive days after the full moon. These birds were like chickens but larger and gray. They were docile but made their nests in dense bushes with thorns so the task of gathering the eggs was unpleasant. There was awareness around leaving some eggs to continue the brood. That was why all of the eggs were never taken. Eggs gathered could never be stored so only what was needed that day was taken. Eggs were often left in the sun if it was very hot which partially cooked them. This was a special treat for all. Otherwise they were mixed with grains, nuts or fruits and cooked in the sun or eaten raw. The grains that were harvested were wild not cultivated. The stem was stripped by hand and the seeds pounded between rocks until the outer husk was removed. The grain was then softened in water or fruit juice, left in the sun and eaten.
These Beings raised a goat-like animal. They kept it in a circle of rocks that it could escape from but did not because it was fed in this place. The community had a number of goats and usually one was pregnant. Milk from these animals was drunk warm only, and then soft cheese was made from the leftover milk. Soft cheese or what could be called yogurt was made by leaving the milk out in the sun for a day in a hollow rock or hollowed out squash type vegetable. How hard the yogurt or cheese became depended on how hot the days or nights were.
Fish was often eaten as this community was a few hundreds yards from cliffs by the sea. A path led down to the water. A free-form, woven net of vines was strung between rocks where waves crashed, and fish were caught about twelve inches long. Fish were eaten raw or dried in the sun. The net was set up only when the sun was the hottest. This way the fish dried in one day. When a fish was caught it was jabbed with a sharp stick behind its eye to kill it. It was then held with *Gratitude and a slow chant recited. Then the fish was slit open, the bones removed and it was set out to dry. The dried fish could be kept for months and was sometimes stored, but this was not usually necessary.
Only if it rained for many, many days would the Beings feel hungry. They were used to eating at odd, independent intervals and then together once a day.
There were no weapons developed as these Beings had no enemies and only animals that had died in battle or from trauma were eaten. If an animal died alone without any trauma or was not a fresh kill, they knew it was not safe to eat. There was plenty to eat without meat so animals were not hunted.
The meat of a cat-like animal and a large bird were eaten on rare occasions when death had occurred. At these times those who did this in the community, usually men but not necessarily, would know the animal must be taken so it would not suffer unduly, and the gift of their meat consumed to honor the gift. This ritual killing had to be done 2-3 times a year. The dying, suffering animal's throat was slit quickly with a sharp edged stone and then Loved until it bled out. There was a sweet melody chanted while the animal lay *Dying, a melody that held and rocked the animal into its *Death. During this time the fire was set by those who did this, and then the lifeless animal was skinned with *Reverence, rubbed with aromatic herbs, cooked and eaten. There was no communication throughout the cooking and the eating. Then song and a type of dancing began. *Reverence and *Gratitude for the gift of the animal was shown in this way.
The Beings did know how to make fire but did not do so except for the ritual of preparing meat. The climate did not require fire be created for warmth.
There was no understanding of lack. Everything needed to sustain Life was abundant. The Beings had an abundance of food, a climate that was kind and a community that Loved and supported each one of them. They lacked for nothing.
Llaa's house of birth was in the circle of homes that made up the community. These homes were in an outcropping of rocks in a fertile valley a short distance from the cliffs down to the sea. The houses themselves were tucked up against the rocks. Each house was unique in that it incorporated the rock itself as its center, more or less. Some of the houses connected to each other. Some stood alone.
Trees that had died and fallen were dragged to the site from the forest a few hundred yards to the east. They were laid diagonally against the rock and draped in branches that were tied in a fashion with vines. Animal skins were draped over most of the houses in certain sections where it was desired that it stay dry. The highest point in the house was the rock itself. Some homes had branches all around the rock like the spokes of a wheel. Others were irregular.
(These Beings did not use the wheel for transporting. There was no need to transport anything long distance so no inventive thinking was applied then to transporting.)
Since the climate was moderate to tropical there was no concept of cold or threatening weather. The houses had stood through most wind and rain. The Beings did make repairs continually to their homes. They did not have the capacity or the tools to fell trees so they had to wait or search for a felled tree to make major repairs.
(The only tools they possessed were the sharp edged stones used for ritual killing, to skin animals, and to prepare foods and for fishing, the tangle of vines used to catch fish and the sharp stick used to kill them.)
The homes in the community were not built in Llaa's generation. They'd been built about six generations earlier, and then added to or repaired. There had been no need or inclination to move. The land and sea were abundant. There was nothing perceived as missing so nothing to look for.
The community supported about 30 people. The usual life span was about 28 years of age for these Beings which meant there were not too many elders alive at any given time to impart their knowledge of Life on the next generation. Consequently growth was slow. Most Mother and Fathers died before seeing any grandchildren. The average age for a young girl to bear children was 12 or 13. By the time her child matured she would most likely have died. In Llaa's lifetime, one half of Life was childhood and one half adulthood. Very different from the expectations you have of your Life today.
The siblings in Llaa's family were playful, curious and mischievous. They learned basic skills and did certain jobs assigned regardless of gender. The sixth child was a lovely girl who was of great importance to Llaa and you. She was curious, lively, laughed easily and was willing to comply with everyone's wishes. She was brave and agile physically and actually performed many skills of a physical nature. The Father who knew feats of physical prowess taught her many. She was the sixth child and then Mother of Anaul because Anaul was born after the Awakenings when names were given.
Llaa did not necessarily due poorly at tasks but had no interest in them. As time went by there was more and more worry. There were no skills being learned to support the community and more and more of Llaa's time was spent in reflection. This reflection was noticed and was of dire concern. Retreats to the open field over looking the sea were becoming a daily ritual. As Llaa grew towards adulthood, he became a quiet observer, participating in Life in *Reverent, thoughtful, reflective ways. Much of Llaa's time was spent contemplating the nature of things.
It was unclear as to whether Llaa should play the Mother or Father role since there was no aptitude or interest for either role when developmental years should have already revealed this. What did one become if there was no role for them? This created fear then, as it often does for you now.
Llaa's Mother's Love was as strong as she was intelligent. It was her influence that kept Llaa safe for a year longer than the community desired. It was her intelligence and Love that allowed Llaa to actually Live which changed everything.
My Personal Afterthoughts
Important for us to remember from Part One:
1) These Beings had no enemies. Life was simple and they felt safe. How different our Lives would be if this was true for us. I think we all long for this type of Peace again. There is an implication that without needs or suffering inventive thought did not flourish, that when complacent these Being did not grow. This is also true, and is another legacy we carry, but the yearning for a simple Peace is still very much with most of us.
2) That everything needed for Life was abundant is true today also, but we no longer believe this. We live independent of others and separate from them. We are no longer one Loving family but it is in our collective memory to mourn this disconnection. On a very primal level, we miss each other dearly. Without each other, our natural belief in abundance has floundered.
3) Llaa's behavior was feared and judged because it was unfamiliar or not known. We continue to do this today. We are shown in this tale that this behavior is deeply rooted in our history.