Chapter 10 - Beads of Youth
Nammu’s isle-in-the-marsh, Gardens of Eden. SW Asia.
Hulla removes flat breads from the sides of the large clay cooking pot, behind the temple of reeds. She adds these to others cooling, and wipes sweat from her brow. Arrapu as priest-chieftain will be inside the tall, ceremonial house leading the meeting. The council has allocated collective labour for irrigation works. Now they honour the spirits before feasting on bread to be served alongside barbel and carp. The bread represents the gifts of agrarian deities, and the fish, those of the local water spirits.
A refreshing breeze blows through the open air kitchen. Hulla stokes the fire in the bottom of the cooking pot, adding more dried turf as fuel. Hulla was born to this rural, delta village. Raised on the dry side as an agrarian peasant’s daughter, before she married Malah the fisherman, and moved to the island.
Although their marriage had never been blessed with children, it has been a happy union. Malah spends long hours away from home, as he paddles his little reed boat among the marshes of the delta in pursuit of fat fish. His long absences allow for his wife to volunteer at the reed temple. Hulla’s energy is reputed to be boundless. She lives to care for others. As temple baker Hulla moulds more rough dough, while she shuffles in front of the big cooking pot. She wears a peasant’s skirt of cowhide, but above the waist she remains naked, her long breasts exposed to the breeze, her greying hair tied up behind her head in pigtails. Hulla hears familiar footsteps from behind and turns around to see Ittidu return with a terracotta platter,
Such a sweet girl, and she has grown up so pretty. Always a shame that young Ittidu has such a frail nature, thinks the baker to herself.
Hulla as a girl had been a playmate of Ittidu’s late mother. She remembers when Sidura’s folk arrived from a land west of the cedar mountains,
She has the eyes of her mother, bless her. The sudden death of Ittidu’s mother had been a local tragedy. Hulla and her husband tried to give the village priest-chieftain space to grieve by taking Ittidu under their wing.
Dressed in a sheepskin skirt, with a string of clay beads around her neck, Ittidu places the flatbreads onto the platter. Her sharp ears pick up on sounds blowing in from the dry side. She stares down the length of the causeway, to spot a gathering of locals. They welcome a large party of visitors. Ittidu sees an errand boy has broken away from the gathering and crosses the rope bridge. She expects he'll deliver news of this unexpected visit to her father.
Ittidu’s thoughts make it to her lips, ‘What’s going on down on the dry side?’
‘It would appear we have visitors. I wonder who they might be, and what they want from us?’ Hulla picks up a piece of hide to wipe sticky dough from her stubby hands. She steps away from the baking pot, and towards the causeway, before adding,
‘Let’s find out what this is about’.
Hulla steps over to intercept the boy as he reaches the isle, pausing to catch his breath. The boy requires little interrogation, so eager is he to share his exciting news,
‘It's the big men of the Guruš’ he loudly exclaims. ‘They’ve arrived at our village with a very important citizen from Engur’. He states both Guruš and Engur with obvious impression, this young lad of the marshes has never travelled far. The Guruš tour for works in digging irrigation, or the construction of new shrines. They form armies for rent and their unexpected presence at Nammu is concerning. The boy continues, ignorant of danger, ‘They want to speak with our sanga’.
With that leaked, the boy resumes his reporting to Ittidu’s father inside the reed temple. Sprinting up to the reed arches of the building, he falls down onto his knees to crawl inside. Abruptly, Hulla and Ittidu face one another. Puzzlement crosses their faces.
It's the baker who breaks the pause, ‘The Guruš? Here in Nammu’s Marsh? What would those tricky devils be doing here and with your father?’
Dismissively Ittidu shrugs shoulders although a demon whispers into her ear this concerns his pilgrimage to the E-engur. With a burst, Arrapu himself rushes out of the reed temple, his long arms flying with panic. Arrapu’s voice is distressed when he notices Hulla,
‘Precious neighbour, always as a sister to I, and a mother to Ittidu. Please I implore you to help us’. His eyes darted briefly to register his daughter by Hulla’s side. She pulls at her worry beads of clay strung around her neck. Arrapu tries to pacify Ittidu, as he makes his case to Hulla,
‘It's nothing serious to worry over. You know how rowdy these guruš can behave around young women of Ittidu’s age. Dear Hulla, take my daughter away from here and to safety’.
Despite Arrapu’s effort to downplay the situation, Ittidu senses a lethal threat. He sees this in her face, and addresses her directly,
‘Sweet child, there’s no time left. I instruct you to do as Aunt Hulla tells you. I need you far from here!’
She wiggles her head in acknowledgement, tears release to run down her cheeks. Her body trembles with fear for her father. Ittidu doesn’t want to leave him to face the thugs who march the causeway. Before Ittidu can think to resist, she feels Hulla’s chubby mitt grab firmly. The stock fisherman’s wife tugs her from father, just as a jeering mob reaches the island. Ittidu finds herself pulled towards the opposite causeway towards the river.
While Hulla pulls her along, Ittidu steals glances of her father. He stands motionless in front of the beautiful reed temple. Another glance, she sees him surrounded by a baying crowd of angry men. Her view is now blocked as the causeway falls down to a riverside.
The Citizens arrive on the isle
Arrapu stands in the centre of the marshland isle, on the spot where he was wed to Sidura. The same spot where he found their little girl talking to a lady of the Moon. He is surrounded by a circle of violent young men. A swarthy citizen with a bushy black beard, and flowing robes pushes through to join him,
‘Arrapu, sanga of this’ Uguli adds ‘marsh’ with contempt. ‘I’m charged by the council of Engur to deliver your wicked soul to demons’.
A brutish executioner steps forward with a cruel appearing mace resting on his shoulder. Arrapu falls down to his knees and begs of Uguli,
‘Take my life, so I may reunite with Sidura, I'll stay still for my executioner. But please, spare Nammu. I beg of you not to disturb her peace, nor to desecrate her abode’.
Uguli smirks at this troublesome priest begging on his knees. He waves at the executioner who responds by walking behind the kneeling criminal. He lifts his mace ready to strike, but Uguli stalls him,
‘This house of reeds will be burned to the ground, Nammu’s idol carried to Engur as our prize, and this commune will be made an estate of Engur’.
His cruel taunts made to a dying man, Uguli waves his hand once more, and the executioner swings down his club. Arrapu’s existence on Earth explodes.
Water
Down at the riverside, Hulla breathes a sigh of relief finding her husband’s reed boat moored. A long, narrow canoe built from bundles of reeds roped together and covered with a thick layer of bituminous material. As a fisherman’s wife, Hulla is attuned to changes of tide, and had feared Malah had already disembarked. She hollers out, and her spouse appears folding nets onto the boat,
‘Thank you Nammu’ she exclaims with more relief. Hulla tries to explain the crisis to Malah, without further alarming Ittidu,
‘The Guruš were sent by Engur and they occupy our little island. Please husband, take Ittidu fishing with you, far from this danger’.
Mallah reads his wife’s expressions well enough to understand the urgency. He’s a quiet man who fishes alone and knows of Ittidu’s fear of the waters. He simply grunts in acknowledgement of the request. Hulla responds to this subtle exchange by swinging Ittidu towards him. He swiftly sweeps her into the narrow reed boat. Onto the soft but pungent fish nets she lands.
In panic Ittidu burrows beneath until she feels a familiarity of reed matting against her face. Hiding from reality she doesn’t see Hulla release the mooring rope, but she feels the narrow boat rock as Uncle Mallah boards. The stench of rotting fish scales and slime grounds Ittidu to the reed boat. She decides to hide until this nightmare is over. Later she’ll return to the warm embrace of her father,
It has to be, it must be so. She reassures herself.
Ittidu experiences vibrations and hears a watery rush against the creaking bow of reed. She knows Uncle Malah is paddling because he sings. She grabs at the string of worry beads around her neck, and squeezes too tightly. Thread snaps under the tension. Her beads of youthful worry fall away. They enjoy newfound liberty, rolling between the reeds of the craft. One by one these beads disperse until Ittidu has lost her childish innocence and with it her timidity. Following this journey, Ittidu will be changed.