The Soul Pole

Chapter One:

TO BECOME A MAN

Eubo was the second son of the Tribal Chief and the first son of the Chief’s second wife, Yolanda. He had completed his Formal Lessons and Physical Training in the preparation for his Manhood Ceremony. His appointed teacher was the great one-eyed Warrior with the same name. Eubo should have felt doubly honored to have his distinguished name sake take a such a personal interest in his training and the preparations to become a Man of the People but he was not sure of his teacher’s true intentions.

Eubo had spent the required month alone in the wild bush country living off the land and proving his skills as a hunter. He had experience his ‘Dream Life’ under the direction and guidance of the Shaman and now he wore the skin of the Lion he killed in the Battle of Good and Evil.

Eubo was only 12 summers old. However, he was already a big man for any age. There was no doubt that he would grow to be as big and as tall as his father after he receive his full gift from the gods. He had mastered the skills of the ‘Jackal’ in its hunting and planning abilities. Eubo received his animal Totem when he was only 4 summers old from his father who had recognized his abilities and matched those of the Jackal.

The People respected the high-minded animal traits of the Jackal whose wisdom, patients and the daring allowed him to make his living off the labors of the lion. The Jackal was wise enough to let the lion make the kill. Then he would wait until the King of the jungle, stuff himself before the Jackal moved in to feasted upon the kill he did not need to make himself.

Unlike the lion, the Jackal was a good family man as he would allow his pack to feed right alongside with him and he would protect the kill from any others who might not be willing to wait until he and his pack were finished. The gods had given the Jackal powerful jaws to enjoy the best part of the kill, the marrow inside the bones, which the lion would not touch.

His father and the Chief of the People was very proud of Eubo and wished that he had been his first son of his first wife Euless, but that was not to be. Eubo would clearly become a War Chief and a great leader of men. Of this the Chief was very sure. As the son of his second wife, all Eubo’s skills and abilities would be required to support the Chief’s first son, and Eubo’s older brother Kacuru.

Kacuru was the first son of the Chief’s first wife. He was the Chief’s rightful successor by right of birth and he would become the next Chief of the People. Although Kacuru would be tall like his father, he was without meat on his bones. The Chief was disappointed in his first son, as he had demonstrated the skills and animal traits of the monkey.

The monkey Totem in the world of the People had the traits of the trickster and the thief. Such an animal did not represent the best image for the next Chief. The Chief could only hope that Kacuru would grow out of this Totem and that he would take on the characteristic of an animal of higher respect in the eyes of the people.

Kacuru was already 14 summers old and should have been making his own plans for his Manhood Ceremony. Yet he was not making any progress in his studies and he had not made the necessary preparations to become a Man of the People. His mother kept telling the Chief that Kacuru would become a man in his own time.

The Chief’s First Wife had assured him that Kacuru would be a great leader the Chief expected him to be. She pointed out that in the history of the People some young men took their time to reach a level of maturity and still had become outstanding leaders later in life.

The Chief desperately wanted to believe this and she had reminded him that it had happened before. The great Matingua of whom the People still sung songs of his great deeds and his accomplishments had been such a Man. Matingua had not taken his Manhood Ceremony until his 18th summer. Although this was true, the Chief also knew a greater number of such boys who did not become great men and they would not be remembered.

The Chief could not afford to have any true son of his be anything less than a great leader and a strong man for the People. Some of the members of the Tribe were already concern that the designated leader of the People had not even attempted the test for his manhood. If only Kacuru were more like Eubo, the Chief had thought many times. If Kacuru were only half the man that Eubo had become, the Chief would not need to be concerned about the future leadership of the People.

Eubo was already a very aggressive young man and he was not afraid to stand up to the older young men even those who had successfully completed their Manhood Ceremony. As bold and aggressive as Eubo had become he was equally committed to the traditional role of a Tribal Caretaker. He had become a Protector of all those who were weak and helpless. Eubo would never miss use his size and warlike abilities to threaten or intimidate anyone of the People and he would not allow anyone else to take advantage of those who needed protection. Eubo had already assumed the natural role of protecting his older brother and future Chief from other boys who would try to trick, torment and tease Kacuru behind the Chief’s back.

Picking on and playing tricks on the oldest son of the Chief was like pulling the tail of an elephant and running away before that elephant could turn to punish the trickster. If you were not careful or quick enough that elephant could squash you like a bug. It could be just as dangerous to pick on and tease the Chief’s first son. However, that danger in picking on Kacuru and getting caught, by the Chief doing it, was the thrill of the possible danger in their game that would not stop them.

Tomorrow would be Eubo's Manhood day. If he passed the tests placed before him, he would become a man capable of taking his own wife. Being allowed to take a wife and being able afford the bride’s price to possess a wife was a completely different matter. It might take several years to accumulate enough goods to please the father of the bride.

Eubo already had his eye on a young woman, who had also found him to be handsome, brave and most likely a great provider. Eubo and Tinnda had already snuck off into the tall grass to explore the inner pleasures of what being married would be all about. The woman Tinnda, was two summers older than Eubo. She did not have any problem in accepting him as a possible mate as Eubo was already larger than most men of the People. She had found him to be a very skillful lover and far better than many other men who had passed into manhood.

She was the favorite daughter of her father and she had successfully convinced him that the offers made by some highly qualified suitors, was not to her liking. She also knew that she could not put her father off very much longer as she was a very valuable asset to her father only if he could marry her to a rich man who wanted her as his wife.

Many young women her age had already been taken as wives and if she waited too long her value as a bride might become less. Waiting for Eubo to become a man was a big gamble on her part, one she hoped that she would not live to regret.

Her mother had already pointed out how foolish she might be, to wait for Eubo who was not even a man yet. Her mother kept telling her, she should not gamble with her life when she had so many rich suitors who wanted her now. Tinnda’s mother did not say anything more when she learned that Eubo was now making his bid to become a man at such an early age.

Tinnda would be watching Eubo along with all the other young women of the People as Eubo preformed his tests. She was confident he would pass the tests of manhood without difficulty. The Old Man with One Eye had taught a great many of other young men to become a Man of the People. During Eubo’s training period, he had learned his fighting skills so well that Eubo could be a threat to any other man. He was already seen as a Warrior of great promise by the Protectors of the People and even by the People who lived beyond the far mountain ridge.

Once a year during the Spring Moon Time, all the People from the ends of the Earth would come for the Celebrations and Dances held by the Tribe in honor of all the People. The ‘Spring Moon Time’ was the traditional period when many young women would choose a mate. The men of all ages who were looking for a bride would be dressed in their finest costumes displaying many colored feathers and fine jewelry. There would be games of skill and tests of strength that allowed the men to demonstrate their capabilities to protect, defend and provide for his new wife.

It was also the time for the great ‘Talk About’ where the men seeking to empress a prospective bride and the bride’s father, would tell their stories of great deeds and acts of heroism. This great boasting could become traditional stories sung around Tribal campfires. These stories could also become a point of challenge, if another man wanted to test the boaster’s claims. Such challenges could result in deadly combat especially when two men were seeking to impress a specific woman.

Tinnda was not about to take any chances in Eubo not becoming a man. She took the added precaution against the evil gods who might be working against Eubo’s early manhood. She had obtained a special charm from the Shaman. This charm, which she would wear over her heart, contained a hair from Eubo’s head and it would allow her to give her man strength as if he were protecting her. She was careful not to tell the Shaman the name of the man she had bought the charm for, as he would be testing Eubo and trying to find a reason to cause him to fail.

That did not seem logical to Tinnda as she thought that a good teacher such as the Shaman would want his pupil to succeed rather than fail. From what she learned, the Shaman had a greater duty to the People to insure the candidate for manhood was adequately prepared to become a man of the People. She did not really comprehend all that and she dismissed her lack of understanding as that was a ‘Man thing’ she was not expected to know.

That night Eubo ate a meal of raw meat from the antelope he had killed that afternoon. Eubo had killed the large Kudu with a sharp stone and used his flint knife to cut its throat to bleed it and to butcher it. Eubo used a slingshot to throw the sharp stone that brought the animal down having hit the animal just behind the ear.

After he had field dressed the Kudu. He had carried the whole carcass on his strong back to the hut of his mother. At her doorstep Eubo had cutoff a portion of the meat for his night meal and left the rest of the freshly butchered Kudu for his mother, three brothers and two sisters.

The two girls were the youngest in his family but old enough to know how to tease him about interests he had in a certain young woman. Eubo loved all his brothers and sisters deeply. They know he would have given his life to protect them. His younger brothers looked up to him in respect and for guidance as they tried very hard to emulate him.

As a true man of the People Eubo would always be willing to take time to correct the errors of his brothers so that they would properly learn the skills necessary for their own tests of Manhood and the Tribe’s survival. To ‘share’ was one of the first laws of the Tribe, but some could find reasons for their lack of time to meet that tribal duty and obligation. Not Eubo, he always seemed to be there just when someone needed him. He had gained the respect of the Men of the People as a true example of an honorable young man of the village, the Tribe and the People.

Eubo had spent a lot of time listening to the stories of the old warriors. He learned about how the warriors had protected the Tribe during some great danger. Eubo enjoyed the stories of one special old man who had a crippled leg named Vioumu. This old warrior had sustained several wounds during some small wars years ago. Eubo would always share his meat with the man and the old man was grateful.

Since the old man Vioumu was no longer capable of going to war, he had no students appointed for their Manhood training. Students would reward and pay their teacher with fresh meat and other gifts during and after their training period for their Manhood ceremony. Without students or any living protégé, he had lost his main source of continuing income that they would have provided.

All his past students had become great warriors but they had died in the wars defending the People. Old and alone, Vioumu survived on what food he could obtain himself. He welcomed the fresh meat that Eubo had provided as an alternative to the roots and berries and some small animals he might catch. Eubo could not understand how the People would allow a great Warrior of his stature to remain in such a degrading condition.

Vioumu was living in poverty in his old age. As Eubo had grown older, he was now beginning to understand how such a situation could exist. Eubo had felt or maybe saw without fully understanding that Vioumu was not friends with the Shaman and the Old Man with One Eye.

They did not openly show their hostility towards Vioumu but neither did they show any recognition due him. Vioumu had once been a Warrior of great status and he had achieved many honors during his lifetime of service to the People. The Shaman and the Old Man with One Eye seemed to be pleased to see Vioumu humbled and reduced to living hand to mouth and begging for scraps that someone might give him.

Several times Eubo had asked Vioumu about this but, each time he would say it was nothing. Eubo could only use his own imagination and speculate just what could be behind what he had seen. This had been the way of things, until the Chief had appointed the Old Man with One Eye to be Eubo’s Manhood teacher. Such appointments to help a young man prepare for his tests as a Man in the Manhood Ceremony would insure the teacher continued support from his students.

The combination of the Old man with One Eye and the Village Shaman was not a good sign in Vioumu's opinion, as they may not want Eubo to succeed. The Shaman who was responsible for teaching a young man in the areas of the Spiritual World and preparing him to face the evils that would affect the People could easily limit the boy’s education. The Warrior teacher might only provide the basics of weapons and the Army’s Unit structures without insuring the student actually knew the battle formations and had perfected the use of Tribal weapons.

After questioning Eubo about his lessons Vioumu found himself torn between the duty not to speak against the other members of the Tribe and the distinct feeling that these two old enemies were setting Eubo up to fail in front of the Chief and embarrass the Chief in front of the People.

Since Eubo was just 12 summers old, it would be unusual for a boy that young to become a full man and actually pass his Manhood tests on the first try. Becoming a Man so young, had been accomplished. But it had only by a very select few during the known history of the People. Vioumu had only witnessed one young man of Eubo’s age who had passed the test of Manhood on his first attempt. Vioumu had seen that same spark of life in Eubo and he knew if anyone could become a Man on his first attempt, Eubo was such a young man.

Normally it was no disgrace to attempt to pass and fail at this age. However, Eubo was no ordinary young man, he was the son of the Chief and he could not fail without humiliating his father the Chief. A wise Chief would not let a son of his attempt his Manhood ceremony if he did not believe the boy was ready.

This situation was marked with danger. Vioumu had a great concern that the Old man with One Eye and the Shaman might take this opportunity to embarrass their old enemy the Chief by making sure that Eubo did not past his Manhood test.

One of the easiest ways would be if the Shaman failed to complete Eubo’s lessons on the history of the People and the dangers of the spirit world. Eubo would need to know the evil ways used against the People. Such areas of learning had been the downfall of many young men during their first tests for Manhood.

With these thoughts foremost in his mind, Vioumu started to teach Eubo through his stories, his tales of war and of the things that dealt with the history of the People. Eubo needed to know and understand the spiritual forces that were involved in influencing the ways of the People. He also needed to understand the tactics involved in the use of the weapons of the People and battle formations of the Army used to defeat an enemy.

Vioumu felt by his extra efforts when Eubo was tested with a question the Shaman forgot to teach him or when the Old man with One Eye failed to explain the correct use of a weapon, Eubo would know the answers based upon the stories he had told him. Vioumu would also take the time an explain things in detail and even show him how the maneuver had been made with the weapons involved in the battle formations that led to the victories of the People.

It did not take Eubo long to feel that his teachers were not always complete in their teachings. Eubo was in no position to challenge his teachers. He surely, could not challenger them based upon the information he had obtained from Vioumu. That would create a real problem in the village and with the People. It would also ultimately reflect adversely on the Chief. Since Eubo was less than a full man, he had no right to challenge anyone who was a man and to challenge his appointed teachers would bring disgrace upon him and destroy this first opportunity to become a man.

Eubo was wise enough to keep his thoughts from becoming words. He decided that he would take the lessons provided by his appointed teachers as best as he could without questioning their accuracy or completeness. There was no law that said he could not learn from others.

The young men learned about life from all the People. It was this shared knowledge of what he had learned would demonstrate his fitness to becoming a full man. However, to seek out a separate formal teacher who had not been appointed by the Chief had never been done. Eubo trusted Vioumu as if he were his older brother and because that man had nothing to gain by making him better prepared for his test of Manhood and helping him to become a greater warrior and that would make him better member of the People. All Vioumu’s help was well within the duty and obligation of the People to share. No one could openly find fault in what Vioumu had done. In the back of Eubo's mind, he was beginning to see Vioumu might have another motive and that could be to show up Eubo's appointed teachers.

Only Eubo’s teachers would know that the skills and knowledge that Eubo would possess during his Manhood testing had not come from them. When they failed to stop Eubo from becoming a man, the People might see Kacuru as being even less qualified to become the next Chief. All this would threaten and undermine their plans to control and direct the people themselves.

The Old Man with One Eye and the Shaman had considerably more influence over the Chief’s first son. They would also continue to have this control when he became Chief. Such control was power and power meant influence over what the Chief did and who might have control over things in the future.

It was no secret that the Shaman thought himself to be divinely inspired and a better leader of the people than the current Chief. He was wise enough to voice this opinion with only those who were his closest and most trusted friends. Had the Shaman’s beliefs ever got back to the Chief, it could have resulted in the Shaman’s head to be stuck on a pole in front of the Chief’s door.

Vioumu carefully took extra time in questioning Eubo on the verbal part of his tests. The Shaman could easily embarrass the young man who would not know the answers. Some of these questions could be very deeply involved beyond the basic understanding of the gods and how the gods protected the People. The knowledge of where all these gods had come from could be made to sound more important by the Shaman than it really was.

This was one area most of the Tribe would have difficulty in answering. However, the Shaman being in the position he was, could get away with asking them even though none of the other tribesmen would admit that they would not have known the answers themselves. The Shaman could on his word alone, claim that the candidate lacked the knowledge to proceed any further, with the testing. Would this be a fair test? Maybe it would be if Eubo was taking his final examination as an Apprentice who was about to become a full Shaman.

Vioumu felt comfortable in having helped Eubo prepare for his manhood day as he had meet the first rule of the tribe that of ‘sharing his knowledge and warrior skills’ with one of the finest young man he had ever known. Vioumu had been particularly proud of some of his own battlefield skills and combat maneuvers, which had saved his life on countless occasions. He had taught Eubo these moves and he had Eubo practiced them enough that they had become second nature to Eubo.

One of the greatest skills Vioumu had seen in this young man, was his ability to react without thinking and automatically select the best alternative of what he had available to him. This would be invaluable to Eubo throughout his life but perhaps even more important they would assure his success on the day of his testing for Manhood.

The dawn of the day of his manhood trials filled the sky with bright red lines and streaming yellow arrows that reached deeply into the retreating darkness. Eubo sat on his woven straw mat outside the door of the Chief’s Hut with the palms of his hands resting upwards on his knees.

He wore only a small string pouch that held his genitals. He had washed himself clean several times and had braided his hair in tight rows across his head. He wore none of the ornaments and jewelry he normally wore in his ears, around his neck, on his arms and legs. He sat before his Chief's door as a man who did not require anything else to show what he was, but a Man.

As the village came to life, the women and young girls emerged from their huts. They began clucking their tongues as if to sound an alarm that a stranger or enemy have invaded their camp. The noise rose louder and louder as more women joined in the process. The women moved towards the center of the Village where the Chief's Hut stood and the men followed, standing behind them. The Senior Warriors and War Chiefs along with the Army Commander moved forward and took their positions in a semicircle around where Eubo sat.

There was a clear space, which extended about 50 yards around Eubo. The men started to call out insults and vile names to the young man who sat facing the Chief's door. Most of the insults dealt with the size of his manhood or the fact that he would even dare come before the Chief and claim he was ready to be tested.

Everything about Eubo was subject to attack, ridicule and abuse. The majority of these insults continued to deal with the smallness of his male planter. How he would insult the women of the People, if he attempted to use such a small planter of his seed. They were claiming that if he used such a planter his children would never grow to full height.

There was one young woman, who knew that such insults could hardly be true of Eubo. However, she also leveled such attacks upon him less any women think that she already knew Eubo’s skills as a lover and the size of his planter.

The sun had risen to a good height while this verbal abuse had taken place. The Tribal Shaman came forward and addressed the young man. He asked him why he was blocking the path to the Chief’s door. The Shaman told him to go away that the Chief did not have time to deal with such an insignificant boy.

Eubo spoke sharply for the first time and demanded to be tested. That test would establish that he had both the knowledge and skills of a man. He had the right to be tested and not dismissed. Only if he failed would he leave.

The Shaman started asking him questions about the origins of the People and its history. He asked Eubo about the People’s great Leaders and the historical events which developed and shaped the world. The Shaman asked Eubo who the People of the Tribe were and where they had come from. The Shaman’s questions became more specific and in more detail. He asked Eubo to explain why the People lived here in this land. When he could not find fault in Eubo’s answers, he moved on to questions about the gods. He asked which of the gods dealt with the different situations that faced the People.

He was asked about, the one and only evil god who takes men's souls and how this evil god might attempt to influence good men of the People to do evil things to each other. The Shaman was surprised that Eubo had not made a single mistake. Most of this material the Witch Doctor had not covered when he was teaching Eubo.

The Shaman went over the gods several times asking specific questions about which god should be call upon to help his father the Chief and the whole Tribe. Eubo answered correctly and the Shaman was not pleased. He knew his trap had failed to catch its prize. He could only hope that the Old Man with One Eye would have more success in defeating the young man, than he had been.

The members of the Tribe sensed the battle between the young man and the Shaman. The Shaman was very smart and immensely clever. He could trip up most people with his seemingly simple but serious questions. The people waited and watched for the error Eubo would make. When he did they would heckle Eubo to undermine his confidence and try to get him confused so that he would make even more errors. But Eubo made no mistakes. The testing was dragging on too long and the Shaman knew that someone had coached Eubo.

The Shaman knew that he was not going to trip him up. Rather than suffer any ‘loss of face’ in trying to disqualify Eubo, the Shaman went over and greeted Eubo as if he were welcoming a high ranking stranger who had just come into their village.

The Shaman knew that the People of the Tribe would give him credit for the knowledge this young man had displayed. After all he was the young man’s teacher, was he not? The Shaman than called out in a very loud voice to inform the Chief that there was an important person here who believed he was a man. Any candidate who wanted to be tested for Manhood, had to challenge the Chief to show him that he was indeed a Man.

The Chief and his full family assembled out in front of his hut. He sat down on a drum like stool, which had been made of light wood and animal skins. Eubo's father was a huge man well over 7 feet tall and over 300 pounds without any fat showing on his body.

The Chief wore leopard and lion skins draped around his shoulders. He had many loops and bands of brass and gold around his neck, on his arms and legs. In his right hand, he carried a spear with a very sharp stone point, which he had already used many times to kill his enemies and those animals that might have strayed across his path.

The Chief asked Eubo questions about his candidacy for manhood and specifically asked what deeds he had done to prove himself worthy as a man. Eubo listed his accomplishments along with all his acts of kindnesses. He listed the weapons he claimed he could use in battle. He reported the trophies and animals he had killed and the skins that were hanging in his mother's house.

Eubo was fortunate to have already killed an enemy who had tried to sneak into their village uninvited. Eubo had killed that man in one to one combat and he had actually used the enemy's own weapon after he had taken it from him. This part of the answer seemed to be crossed between some bragging and telling the village people of his true skills and accomplishments which even at 12 summers were many.

The Chief sat back and rocked back and forth on his small throne and then his right hand dropped to the throwing position of his spear and hurled it directly at Eubo’s chest. As fast as the Chief had moved Eubo had moved just as fast as he grabbed the spear in mid-air just inches from his heart. Eubo stood up after proving that his hands were fast enough to protect himself. Having gotten to his feet Eubo placed the spear in his own hands as if he were to defend himself or attack the man who had thrown it. Eubo could use the weapon to defend himself in his Manhood test. When he did, he could not draw any blood from his opponent. However, his attacker could kill or wound him without any concern about being fair.

A large man stepped forward from behind the women and spectators. He was a Commander of a Shoulder Unit in the Army of the People. A Shoulder Commander was the third highest Military Unit in the People’s Army and he would Command 1690 seasoned Warriors. The man held his position of the Commander as no one else could defeat him and take it away from him. This was truly a mighty Warrior of the People.

The man carried a long dark wooden club with a sharp rock tied in the forked end of branched that the club had been made from. Eubo stepped back from his straw mat as the man approached and stopped on the other side of the mat facing him.

Without any warning or signal to begin, the Commander lunged forward swing his club at Eubo’s head. When he missed he fainted a swing in the other direction hoping to get in close enough to Eubo to inflect an early wound. Eubo remembered his friend Vioumu’s advice and taught him to expect such a move. Eubo easily defended himself from the second blow with the handle of his spear. Eubo danced sideways causing the man to miss another swing and he dug the blunt end of the spear into the ground and pole vaulted into the chest of the other man with both feet.

The man had started to charge and the force of the two men colliding had been a major blow putting the man down with the wind knocked out of him. Eubo gained more confidence as he slid the spear behind the man’s legs and pushed him down for a second time. But the man was a highly skilled warrior and he quickly bounced back up on his feet and prevented Eubo from using the advantage he had created.

The Shoulder Unit Commander had been surprise twice he would not be easily surprised again. He circled to Eubo’s left which is normally a warrior’s weaker side. The Commander appeared to look down at the ground as if something was there, but it was a trick designed to fool his opponent into looking down and when he did, the club would strike home.

Again, Vioumu’s advice and teaching had taught him about the trick and Eubo was prepared for it. He flew under the man’s anticipated swing and was inside it when he jammed the blunt end of the spear under the man’s chin and sent him reeling again. Had Eubo used the stone point the man would have been dead.

Even though the man was falling he still brought his club around and clip Eubo on his forehead. This minor wound caused Eubo to realize that less than a half inch separated him from sure death and the nick he had just received. This first blood was all Eubo needed to understand just how serious this encounter really was. He would never allow himself to underestimate an opponent again. The spear was back in the defensive position.

The smacks of the wooden club against the hardwood of the spear echoed as a hammer blow striking on an oak post. They continued to dance around while Eubo set up his next move. Eubo would try a variation of the opponents look down trick when he took the spear’s stone point and pointed it in the man’s face and then quickly dropped it towards the man’s feet. The man’s eyes foolishly followed it just as Vioumu said he would. This move gave Eubo a second chance to kick the man in the chest and put him down to the ground again.

The man sprang up quickly and ran at Eubo with his club ready to do bodily harm. Eubo slipped under his swinging club and as the man rushed past him Eubo slapped him on his back with the flat side of the spears point leaving a bright mark on his glistening black skin. Had that spear point been turned to its razor edge the warrior would have been seriously wounded.

Enough! yelled the Chief. The boy can fight. The Chief hollered and paused before he called out. Who else challenges this boy, claiming to be a Man of our People?

The people in the crowd looked at one another and watched to see if anyone else might give the boy claiming to be a man a try. No one spoke up or stepped forward.

Surely you are not afraid to test this boy of only 12 summers? The Chief challenged his people and waited. Am I to declare him a man with only one test of battle? The Chief cried out even louder. But no one stepped forward as they knew the large man who had already fought Eubo was one of the most experience warriors of the People. That Shoulder Unit Commander had never been beaten in combat, yet Eubo had embarrassed him as if he were the boy faltering in his test to become a man.

Alright then, the Shaman has found you worthy and has tested your knowledge to be without fault. The Chief stated with obvious pride. "You have shown yourself to have an exceptional mind that has retained the knowledge and history of our people way beyond what most men know. You have the quickness of the Cheetah and the strength of the Lion. You plan like the Jackal and you are like the wind to your enemies who cannot strike to find your flesh. You have the stealth and patience of the Alligator who lies and waits under the water before he strikes.

I now call you a ‘Man of the People and I give you a man’s name. A name that is highly respected in all the minds of all our warriors and that is the name, Helisco the warrior of the sky. You are Eubo Helisco, from this day forward. The Chief declared with a broad smile on his very proud face.

The Chief was full of pride at what his second son had accomplished and he looked over at his second wife who beamed and basked in the glory her son had given her. He was truly a Man. A proud brave Warrior, who could not help but make his whole family proud.

There was much cheering and clucking of tongues as the new Man of the People stood before them. Eubo Helisco walked over to his younger brother hand handed him the spear that he had used to defend himself. Here little brother this spear has already won its first Manhood test. It is yours now, and you too can become a Man.

The People cheered repeatedly before the announcement that the tribal beer had been brought out. This is when the celebration truly began. A great many of young men came over to congratulate Eubo on his successful testing of his Manhood. They freely admitted that they would have surely failed the Shaman's testing as he appeared to be determined to find one area, one point that Eubo did not know. Eubo down played those comments and just told everyone he had studied hard. Eubo Helisco wisely said the Shaman was showing himself as a great teacher and how proud he was of his student who had learned so much from him.

The Chief saw what Eubo had done with the spear that he had thrown at him and he used to defend himself. At first, he wanted Eubo to keep it but then realized that his second son had wisely presented it to his brother so that he too would have the courage to be tested as a Man at an early age.

The Chief walked over to his son now a Man and said, Eubo Helisco you have made me very proud that you are my son as you are truly a leader of the People and should be the Chief when I hunt in the sky. We both know that is not to be. I remind you of your duty to your older brother when he holds the responsibilities of the Chief. I am sure a man of your knowledge need not be reminded of those obligations. The Chief said as he hugged him and there were tears in his eyes as he was so proud that his huge heart almost burst.

I see you have given your Manhood spear to your brother. I want you to come to my lodge tomorrow, as I want to give you the spear my father hurled at me during my manhood ceremony. You should have it to give to your son when he is ready to become a man. The Chief turned away less he would actually, cry in front of the People.

Off to the side of the other women a special woman grinned, as she looked down at her own body. She hoped that this new Man of their Tribe and of the People would soon come up with the bride’s price. She had a deep stirring in her belly. It was a place that only Eubo Helisco could reach. She laughed to herself as she recalled the jeers about the smallness of his planter of seed. He was a very big man in that area too. She had already enjoyed that part of him more than any other part he had. She would talk with her father to make sure that her bride price was very reasonable for the man she wanted. She would help Eubo Helisco gather the goods necessary to meet her father's demands.

She doubted that she could wait very long or stay away from Eubo until he had produced her bride price. Three months later Eubo Helisco presented her father with four cows and a bull as the offer required of Eubo to marry Tinnda. Her father accepted the offer and she had her man.

Chapter Two:

THE MAN TAKES HIS WIFE

By the time Eubo Helisco’s thirteenth summer, he was already a Hand Unit Commander. In his tribe of the warriors and protectors were organized into Military units using the names of the human body parts to identify them.

The smallest unit was a HAND. It had five warriors and its Commander. The FIST Unit had five Hand Units, a Commander and a Deputy Commander. The ARM Unit was comprised of five FIST Units a Commander, a Deputy Commander and a Staff of five special warriors. Five Arm Units made up a SHOULDER Unit. It had a Commander, Deputy Commander and a Staff of ten warriors. Ten SHOULDER Units made up the People’s Army unit call a BODY. It had a Commander, Deputy Commander and a Staff of 20 Warriors. Ten Body Units made up the of HEAD of People’s Army with its Commander, Deputy Commander and a Staff of 25 Warriors.

Within the Army there were five Professional Societies, which transcended the Military Command and represented Warriors of special fighting skills. They would practice against each other in mock engagements unless the Military Leaders wanted to form up his Units and prepare for battle. When that happened, the Military leader was the life and death authority over all his men, just as he and his men were subject to the authority of his Commanders and the Rule of the Chief. All Warriors were duty bound by blood oaths to die rather than disobey the order of the Chief or his Military Commanders.

The skills of War and Defense required each level of unit to maneuver in a precise pattern or formation. There were specific Battle lines of men when they held the ground in the Square Box, the Wedge and the Hooks formations. The Hooks formation was based upon the horns of the Buffalo. In this formation, the center of the defense line would remain in place while the ends of the line like the horns of the great Buffalo would flank their enemies and then totally encircle them until they were defeated. There was no formation for retreat. The men of the People fought where ordered and they stayed there until they won or died.

Before Eubo Helisco's fourteenth summer, he was a Fist Commander and he was seriously being considered for a Command as an Arm Unit. He was by far the largest man in his Warrior Society and he was just as clever as the animal totem he had been called after, the Jackal.

His older brother Kacuru had not even tried to pass his manhood ceremony. This was becoming of some concern with the Warriors of the Tribe. The failure to pass or try to pass into manhood did not reflect favorably on the man's ability to lead or to hold the position of Chief in their Tribe. The older brother of Eubo Helisco was taking an extralong time in his training. He even had several teachers for both the oral and practical tests that he would have to pass soon. Being the First son of the Chief’s first wife require him to pass his manhood test. A failure on his part would adversely affect his ability to enforce his orders when and if he was ever to become Chief.

He would not become Chief without the support of his Warriors. No Chief of the People had ever failed to pass his Manhood Ceremony. There were other consequences if the boy was weak and unskilled. This could mean that he obviously could not have come from the great man that should have been his father. Someone must have stolen into his mother's hut and planted a bad seed while his true father slept. That sin would mean death for both the boy and his mother as such an illegal planting was surely a death sentence in the laws of the People.

If this happened it would also upset the plans of the Old Man with One Eye and the Shaman. Extra efforts had to be made to make sure the Chief’s first son became a Man soon.

In the Spring of Eubo Helisco's fourteenth summer, he and his Fist Unit of men were running at a pace that was known as the ‘Support Trot.’ This pace was required when the Military situation called for a unit to move a great distance to support another unit and join in a battle when they arrived. It was as a dog would run at a trot. It would allow the men would eat up the miles yet, conserve enough energy to continue right into a battle.

Eubo took them up and down the toughest hills and over long open spaces of land with no destination in mind. When Eubo leading his unit came over the top of a small rise Eubo stopped his men before he exposed them to a possible threat to the People.

Off in the distance a strange group of what had to be men riding an animal Eubo had never seen before. His men quickly followed Eubo's hand commands and dropped immediately into the grass as the group continued to move closer. Squinting in the bright sun light, Eubo could see that the men were dressed in some colorful lose fitting blankets, which covered their heads and bodies. These lose fitting blankets did not encumber their hands and feet. The animals they were riding swayed and swung in a rocking motion as the animal's feet hit the ground.

The heads of the animal seemed to remain motionless but the men who rode them rolled and rocked in a rhythmic cadence. The closer the men came Eubo noticed that the necks of the animal seemed to droop in an arc from their head to the middle of the front of their chest.

When they moved closer, Eubo could see the fancy belts with tassels hanging down from them. There were tassels hanging all over the harness and saddles of these men and especially on ropes that ran from the hands of the men to the mouths of the animals. There were a great many of these strange animals who only carried large bundles.

Eubo observed a long shiny tooth like object stuck in the belts of these men's body blankets. Each man also carried a long pole or spear that came back to a larger curved portion that the men rested against their hips. As these men came even closer, Eubo could see these poles or spears were highly decorated. They were not like any kind of spear that he had seen before.

These ‘spears’ had a shiny part held by gold and silver bands placed up and down a dark piece of wood. Eubo did not know what to make of these people. They were entering the land of the People and they made no effort to turn or stop when they came past the boundary marker made of pile of rocks. Eubo’s ancestors had erected this Marker to establish the edge or the end of the world.

It obviously could not be the end of the world as these strangers had come from some place beyond the marker. Eubo always thought of the marker as a warning signal that if someone went too much further he would come to the end of the world. A place just beyond where he could see the sky meet the earth. No man was so foolish as to walk out to the edge of the world. If he did, he would reach the area where the thin crust of the world would just brake off and all this was part of his tribal history. Anything beyond that pile of rocks there were weak areas in the earth where someone could break through. When he did, he would be lost forever. A ‘forever time’ meant to Eubo and his People as being for as long as anyone could remember the People existed. The future part of the concept of a ‘forever time’ represented the idea of when the no one could remember the People existing any more.

Eubo as the Commander of this Fist Unit he knew that he needed to make, a decision. He did not want any of his men to think he had any doubts about his ability to command this unit in this situation. Such possible indecision would show weakness and cause his men to doubt him when he needed them the most. Eubo stood up and called to the leader of the men on the strange animals, as he raised his hand high and open so they could see that he held nothing in it.

Eubo ordered his second in Command to send a fast runner, at ‘Battle Run’ speed back to their village and report the possible danger of the strangers who might be going their way. He also ordered his Fist Unit under his second in Command to move into the Military position of the Hooks and be prepared to confront these strangers if they proved to be hostel while he, as their leader would go and find out why they were trespassing on the lands of the People.

Once his Unit had moved as he had directed, Eubo raised his stone pointed spear above his head with both hands and ordered the strange men to stop. The men having noticed Eubo stopped as several of the other riders moved forward into a group in the front of their line as if to see what might happen next.

They did not seem particularly nervous or concerned even when all the members of Eubo's Fist Unit stood up. Each man in his blanket had turned towards them holding his strange spear pole against his hip pointing the end of it up into the air. They seemed to be waiting to see just what Eubo intended to do.

Eubo's People were friendly to most of the other tribes around them. They were hospitable even to strangers if the strangers displayed no hostel acts. Eubo’s People were also very protective of its people and their lands. Travelers and traders had to balance the Tribe’s friendliness with the understanding that travel through the land was acceptable if they did not try to take anything.

Eubo faced his second situation. The strangers who were traveling into the land of the people had stopped. They seem to be waiting for Eubo to do something and the only thing he could do now was find out who they were and where they were going. Eubo boldly walked forward to meet with these strangers and stopped just a spear throw away from the group gathered in the front of his men.

Eubo stood with his feet wide apart and his spear planted next to the heal of his right foot with the stone point in the air. He again offered a greeting which none of the strangers understood. Eubo was getting frustrated at the lack of response from this group.

Surely someone in the group must speak the language of the People. How could they not know who the People were and whose land they were trying to cross? Eubo made an aggressive move toward the apparent leader and one of the strange men leveled his silver and gold ringed spear and a loud noise belched from it along with a streak of fire and a cloud of smoke. The dirt kicked up a few spear lengths in front of Eubo’s feet. Eubo stood his ground totally fascinated at what he had just seen. Neither he or any of his men had flinched. Eubo could feel and smell the fear that their bodies sweat was generating. None of them had ever seen or heard anything like this.

They had just witnessed a spear that could shoot fire and smoke and then make the ground move some distance away from it. This was beyond their experience. Eubo could not show any fear and he moved forward almost half the distance between where he had first stopped. Eubo’s men also moved forward about the same distance and stopped when he did. It was at that point that Eubo took his spear and tossed it toward the men and it stuck in the ground just a spear’s length from the stranger’s feet with the upper end quivering as if to challenge those who used the strange spear against him.

One of the men who rode the animals came forward and stopped about two spear lengths from Eubo. He spoke in a language, which Eubo had never heard before. Eubo shook his head indicating that he did not understand. The man changed his language several times as he was speaking and trying to find one they both could understand.

The man suddenly spoke in the language of one of the Coastal Tribes. There were only a few words Eubo had heard before but he could not speak more than a few of these words himself.

The Old Man with One Eye could speak these words but he was not here. Eubo made gestures and attempted to use sign language to ask the men who rode the strange animal to follow him. Eubo ordered his men to form up in two lines and he made jesters to the strangers asking them to follow him and his Fist Unit. The idea of leading them should make the strangers feel comfortable that the men of the People were ahead of them rather than somewhere behind them.

They were almost half way back to the village when several Tribal Warriors met Eubo and the strangers. The runner Eubo had sent back for help had made good-time and was already bringing back support. The Old Man with One Eye was with them. He spoke to the Leader of the strangers and invited them to the Village. All the Warriors of the People formed up in lines to lead the visitors back to toward their village.

New Runners went forward to alert the village and the Chief of their pending arrival of traders bearing gifts and friendship. When they arrived, the Old Man with One Eye introduced the strangers as being Princes of the Sands known as Arabs. They were Traders who traveled the world trading goods with many tribes. They had come here to open trade with the People. They opened many bundles of goods containing many presents that they offered as gifts of friendship. There were bright colored buttons, small silver bells, metal knives and hand tools.

This metal called iron was the first thing that interested Eubo. He picked up one of the knives and cut his finger on its sharp edge when he tested it. Eubo had not realized just how sharp something new like this could be. He did not mind the cut as it was only a little blood to pay for such a wonderful experience of testing something so sharp.

This was a well-made knife of iron that had no comparison to the flint blade that he had carried since childhood. Eubo wanted one of these and a Trader in robes made the jester that he could take it and it was his. This made Eubo very pleased and he carefully tested the blade again.

There were bright colored ribbons for the women and girls. There were so many different, colors that Eubo could hardly believe his eyes. He had always marveled at the colors of the rainbow but these ribbons had colors in between those of a rainbow. He picked out a bright yellow one for his wife and knew that she would be very pleased.

While the strangers were talking with the Chief and the Tribal Elders, Eubo was telling his story about his meeting these men and the ‘thunder spears’ that shot fire and smoke and spit a stone many spear lengths way from them. The strangers called these Spitting Spears muskets. Eubo had one of the strangers show his Spitting Spear to the crowd, which had formed around them.

The Chief hearing this asked to see this Spitting Spear and the long barreled smooth bore musket was presented to the Chief for his inspection. It was truly a thing of beauty with the bright silver and gold bands that held an iron part on the wood. There were many decorations carved in the wood and it had ivory and small colored stones were place in what was called the musket stock.

The leader of the Arabs was called Assan Zewail informed the Chief that his men with his musket could kill a man at 50 paces by just pointing it at him and firing it. Seeing the doubt on the Chief’s face Assam Zewail called for a demonstration. Two