The community is gathered near a piece of ground into the forest and some distance away from their caves to mourn the death of one of their members. His name was Bauk-Shau, an able hunter in his mid-forties, he had slipped and fell into the rocks near a 30 feet gorge in the ravines. His death was fast, painful and instant. An accident. Not even the men accompanying him could revive him as his skull was fractured, the brain haemorraged and the shoulder broken. It was a disastrous and unfortunate fall for a man known to hunt boars, wild leopards and bison with strength and strategy. An untimely loss of a valuable member and also profound grief at the frailty of life, of how it can steal without warning and kill without mercy.
The burial ground was about an acre in length and breadth. It was covered with mud collected from the river bottom as a mark of respect for the people. The hole was dug into the ground and the man was lowered into the pit and covered with mud. Some flowers were collected from neighbouring fields and glades to cover the mound. The women and children and some men gathered around the mound. Some are trying to still understand their interactions with the dead man. A hunt together, a food gathering jaunt, a wait till midnight to take turns to wake up and other thoughts. The sudden loss of this man is both a shock and a scare. The thought of having been in his place passes a shudder in every man, as they come to terms with this new eventuality of a violent end from an accident. Demau-Que is the head of the community and is in his 50s. He was instrumental in setting up the community together with Akaru-Ku's father, when they moved to the foothills. He has eight children from four wives and makes the decisions for the people. Bauk-Shau was the third son of his father who was one of the early members and had passed away. His brothers stood close by, their heads hung in sorrow and disbelief.
Demau-Que sat quietly near the burial mound and others gathered around him in a circle. He laid the flowers on the mound, sprinkled some water on it, and laid some fruits and nuts on it. One of his brothers brought his hunting knife, his spear and his deer skins to the elder. They placed them on the mound.
The next day was sabbath or fasting day for the community to mourn and hence nobody would eat anything for the entire day. There would be more mourning in Bauk-Shau's cave. Akaru-Ku was close to Bauk-Shau and they would hunt together for bisons near the river glade, where a watering hole was situated. Both, would sit for hours in the foliage waiting for bisons to show up, so they could hurl their spears at them. As Bauk-Shau was known to be impatient and dandy, Akaru-Ku would ask him to wait behind him before throwing the spear at the animal. A perfect timing is required to hit the animal to kill it or else it would be a missed chance and a missed lunch. He would then instruct him to lie low as the animal approached the watering hole. Once the distance between the animal and the men becomes a few metres, Akaru would hurl the spear into the bison's neck. The spear would jam into its shoulders as it would crumble to the ground. The men would run to attack and kill the animal with their hand-axes, if it tried to run away. The captured animal would be dragged by the men to the cave. The throat is first slit open with a Mousterian knife-a stone chipped from sides-to let the blood flow out on the rocks. This would take hours to accomplish as a bison is a full blooded animal. Then, the meat would be chopped into parts to be distributed to all the members. The meat would be enough to feed the people for a neat two weeks. The daily staple was fruits, nuts and gourds collected from the forest and meat provided much needed strength, energy and vigour. Bauk-Shau was known to be a waster and would play around with the animal's bones, while the meat was being scraped from the bones. He would whistle, while beating the bones against the rocks and hoot as they made the various sounds as they hit against the rocks. It amused him no end to see bones making such sounds by hitting a hard surface. As the meat would be cut into pieces, Blau-Pu (Akaru's younger brother) would also skin the animal for its leather. A tool used for this was different from the one used for cutting the meat. Blau-pu would slowly and quietly run the sharp piece of stone under the meaty surface to separate the skin from the flesh. He would eventually become lost in the activity and would have to be hooted at by Akaru to take up another task alongside, such as cleaning the outflowing blood from the meat. Bauk-Shau would hardly involve himself in the butchering. He saw it as a lame and vexing activity. He would rather hunt, maim or try capturing a running away escaping animal. Recapturing a running prey gave him the most joy and the bigger the animal the more the excitement. Adale-So was Akaru's elder brother and though he never took part in hunting the prey along with them, he was to be informed as soon as a prey had been captured and killed. He was the overseer for the hunting party and would direct them to the watering holes or other places, where prey might be present. Once they reached the spot and the prey was sighted, he would return to his own hunting practice of capturing prey. As he was older and stronger than the rest, he would kill a bison, a reindeer or an elk all by himself.
On the fateful day, Akaru and Blau-Pu were moving towards the ravines and the river was full as it had been raining aplenty after the summers. Bauk-Shau was left behind as he was watching and teasing a cluster of honey bees outside their honeycomb on a pine tree. A bee had bitten on his left eye as he had got closer to the comb. His eye had swollen, but he did not mind. Akaru and Blau-Pu kept yelling for him and gave up. Eventually, he relented and gave up on getting some honey from the comb. As he moved towards the ravines, he had to cross the gorge, which was a waterfall escaping into the ravines from the waters from the hills. He tried to keep his balance, but as he walked on top of the gorge, his eyes started blurring from the bee bite, his vision grew blurry and he slipped into the gorge.
Some people from the neighbouring limestone quarries had come to see the burial. It was rare to see somebody dead. A group of 15, who once lived with the community, but had broken off to live in the quarries. Game was easier and faster to obtain in the quarries. Brothers, relatives, elders who had moved on for better gains. They brought a reindeer for the family of the dead and handed it over. It was a token of bereavement and folly. It was a token of being related. It was a token of guilt for having left the community for an easier life. An elderly man moved over to Demau-Que and handed over the game to him. He accepted it and placed it beside him. Two men came over and stood by the elder. Demau-Que explained them what had happened. They listened intently with horror in their eyes and apparently shell shocked by the nature of the death. It was a lesson for them from mother nature for those who played pranks with its workings. An act of punishment for being laggardly, wasting and eventually perishing without trace.
