Sun is Burning at Dawn 2 page

Cinksi watched the old chief sadly shake his head. A peek at her father and she could see a face comprised of worry and anger. "Ate?" she asked, reaching up to tug on the end of his shirt.

Wanbli Zi looked down at his daughter, the expression faded to one of love. "Yes, Cinksi?" He placed a large hand on her head, caressing the thick, dark hair.

"Are we going to go to war?"

His dark eyes looked up, into the distance where the riders had ridden off to. "I do not know, Cinksi. We shall see."

It was the noise that woke her up. Bleary eyed, Cinksi sat up in her buffalo robes and rubbed her eyes. To her left was her father who was also rising, albeit with more energy. As he scooped up a spear and headed for the tiopa, the girl's mother was getting up, a dress being pulled over her head as she spoke rapidly to her three children.

"Wake up! Wake up! We are being attacked!"

Galvanized, Cinksi dived out of bed, still wearing her breechclout and grabbing for her own spear. Her heart beat a tattoo in her rib cage and fear was an icy trickle down her spine. As her older sisters both dressed, she dashed for the tiopa, ignoring the warnings of her mother.

Peeking past the leather covering, she saw the camp in a turmoil. Ponies were kicking up dirt in the central clearing, their riders howling and attacking her people as they ran about. Women and children were running away and the men were standing and fighting their attackers, who were painted in garish colors that could be clearly seen in the early dawn.

Cinksi saw her father standing before the tent in nothing but his breechclout, his long hair flying as he reached out with his spear and unseated an enemy. He clubbed the other man who sank into unconsciousness before tossing a look over his shoulder and seeing his youngest child.

"Cinksi! Protect your mother and sisters!" Wanbli Zi yelled. And then he turned back to parry another attack from someone else.

The girl could see several of the ti ikceyas were being brought down by the horsemen. Embers from the banked fires were scattering like fireflies under the ponies hooves.

Even as she watched, a face painted with streaks of blood red seemed to rear up in front of her, leering. Cinksi yelled in surprise and automatically thrust her spear at her attacker, scratching his face. As he cried out in pain, she scrambled backward into her mother's lodge.

Behind the man, Wanbli Zi turned and saw him. Within seconds, his spear was imbedded in flesh, turning red with blood.

Inside the ti ikceya, Cinksi's sisters were huddled at their mother's side. She prowled near the doorway, not sticking her head out of it again. It was frightening, the not knowing, but her father had given her a task and she would die doing it.

Above her there was a whipping sound and she looked up. The top of the lodge was ominously moving back and forth. As it toppled from the rope that had been thrown around the poles and pulled by a horse, she pounced on her family, shielding the youngest of her siblings with her own body.

There was a loud crash and a scream near her ear. A heavy weight thudded too close for comfort, grazing Cinksi's arm, and then buffalo hide was suddenly surrounding them. Followed by silence that was broken only by the attacking party's whoops as they raced away.

Cinksi gingerly raised her head, trying to see through the buffalo hide that was the ti ikceya. The younger sister was beneath her, crying, and she could hear her mother trying to get out from beneath the stifling weight.

The girl moved, trying to increase her range of motion. She was able to succeed and found she could move her spear. Just a little bit. With steady pressure, Cinksi edged the spear to a place against the hide, hoping to cut an opening since her knife was still at her sleeping area. All the while, she was murmuring encouragement to the sibling beneath her.

As she worked, she could hear her father's yell as he called for his family. Her mother responded, guiding him to where they were huddled. Other voices could be heard, the men gathering to help remove the large logs that were pinning Wanbli Zi's family beneath the hide.

And then they were free. And Cinksi was helping her younger sister from where she was cowering. She could see her mother fighting through, crying, blood on her arms though there was no wound.

Cinksi's eldest sister did not come out.

The wind was blowing gently, rustling Cinksi's hair which had been cut short in mourning. She stood next to her father as they regarded her elder sister's burial. Her mother and sister had already left, wailing in misery at their loss.

Wanbli Zi looked down at his youngest child and felt pride fill his heart. He was sure that, had Cinksi not thrown herself across her sister, there would be two children dead. "You are a very brave wicincala," he said. "You protected your sister from harm."

Cinksi's dark eyes were wet with tears and her lower lip was pouted out. "But, I could not save my cuwekala," she sniffed, grasping her father's hand. "Maybe if I had done something else....?"

The warrior crouched down in front of his daughter. "No warrior can save every one who is in danger. Not even ones you love, Cinksi. And no warrior should question what is past. To do so will make you crazy with pain and grief. What is done, is done." He pulled her into an embrace. As she nuzzled his chest, her sobs becoming audible, he said, "I think that everyone in the camp is proud of what you have done, putting yourself into danger to save your sister. You have a true warrior spirit, my cunksi. For all of your seven winters, you are stronger and braver than most men."

Cinksi let her father's words wash over her as she mourned her elder sister's passing. To herself, she vowed, I will always protect my people from harm. I will always strive to be stronger and braver than most men. And then she thought, I will be like my father.

The sound of hooves approaching garnered Cinksi's attention. She looked up from her task, braiding leather and hair together with three small feathers, to see her friend. Nupa was considered a warrior now at fifteen winters, a man. He carried himself tall and proud in his saddle as his pony trotted closer.

"Hau, Cinksi!" he called as he neared.

The girl grinned and waved at him, tucking her project back into a pouch and jumping from a rock to her own pony. She noticed several other young men riding closer, relieving the older children of their duty to guard the herd of ponies as night grew closer.

They pulled up short next to each other.

"How was the day?" he asked with a smile.

"Bad. Nothing happened."

Nupa laughed, his voice still sounding strange to the girl's ears now that it had lowered. "Nothing happening is a good thing, Cinksi!" he insisted.

"Not if you were out here," she grumbled good-naturedly. Glancing at the other riders who were out of earshot, she asked in a low voice, "Do you know when we are to reach summer camp?"

"The elders say sometime in the next two days." Nupa scratched idly at one of the scars on his chest. "Are they going to allow you to do the Sun Dance?"

Cinksi hung her head. "Hiya. The elders say I am wicincala and only hoksila can do the Sun Dance."

Her friend's face frowned in sympathy. "I am sorry, Cinksi. You, of all of us, should be able to participate in the Sun Dance. You are the bravest warrior I know!"

The girl shrugged slightly, spirits raised a bit at her best friend's praise. "I will seek a vision when I reach my womanhood," she avowed.

"That would be good. And then, no elder can deny you." Nupa looked around at the change of guard. "Go home, Cinksi. Your mother is making a stew. I almost stopped at her lodge to eat before coming out here."

Cinksi chuckled. "I am surprised you still live with your own mother. You spend so much time with mine." She dodged under his expected swing and brought her arm around to touch him on the back as she kicked her pony forward. "You are slain!" And then she rode away. Fast.

It was a common belief among the tribe that Cinksi and Nupa would marry. They had been constant companions from the first, stirring up trouble wherever they set their minds and leading the pack of boys to all sorts of altercations. However, both of them had already decided that this would not be the case. He had no interest in marriage and knew that she would turn him down if he asked. Nupa wanted a woman like his mother, not to live with another warrior. And Cinksi couldn't even conceive of doing women's work, not even for her best friend.

The pair found the assumption amusing, however, and played it up upon occasion - becoming doe-eyed towards each other before suddenly bursting into an argument that would cause the both of them to tumble to the ground, wrestling. As time went on, Nupa was winning far less frequently and Cinksi's strength was growing. The elders would simply shake their heads and smoke their pipes while the younger members of the camp would bet on their favorites.

Cinksi arrived at her mother's ti ikceya and jumped off her pony. She stopped to scratch the reddish brown horse on the forehead before turning him back towards the herd. With a gentle slap on his withers, the pony trotted back the way he came, heading for the remainder of the herd and good grazing. The girl watched him go with great fondness.

He is getting older. Not as young and spry, she mused as she turned towards the lodge. I will need another soon. She remembered the day her father had presented the horse to her - a reward for her bravery in saving her sister. It still saddened her that she hadn't saved her eldest sibling. But her spirit is free now.

Cinksi moved to the firepit that was being utilized in front of the lodge and settled down.

Her father was seated to her left at the fire, the tiopa of the lodge at his back. Wanbli Zi glanced up at his youngest, flashing her a quick smile before returning to fletching an arrow.

Two women were across the flames from Cinksi. The younger one appeared to be no older than Nupa, a beautiful girl nearing full maturity. And sharing many characteristics with the youngest daughter of Wanbli Zi. The other woman was older and resembled them both, with hair turning gray like her man's. Both of them were bustling over the fire and a wondrous aroma was wafting towards the young girl, causing her stomach to rumble.

The elder woman filled a bowl with stew and handed it to Wanbli Zi who made appropriate noises of gratification as he set his arrow aside. A second bowl was brought to Cinksi.

"Thank you, ina," the girl smiled, accepting it. "It smells very good." Cinksi immediately dug into the repast with a great show of enjoyment.

"How were the ponies?" Wanbli Zi asked as he ate.

The girl shrugged. "They are fine. The travel has done them good. That fat pony of Hwa's has even lost some weight." Looking up from her bowl, Cinksi commented, "My pony's getting old. I will have to find another."

The man nodded solemnly. "Perhaps at the summer camp. You will have to train your own this time."

"Do you think I could trade for it?" she asked, finishing her stew.

"Possibly. You might want to wager instead. Or race or wrestle. You do all these things well." Wanbli Zi watched his youngest fondly as she held her bowl out to her sister to be refilled.

"I will do that, then," Cinksi decided. "Nupa says we may be at summer camp within two days." She watched her sister blush at her friend's name and grinned. Perhaps Nupa will be my brother-in-law!

"It will be good to have a rest from our travels." The warrior finished his own meal and, in an exact echo of his daughter's gesture, he held the bowl out to his woman for more.

And so the evening went. After the meal, Cinksi's mother and sister cleaned up and proceeded to work on their own projects. The elder woman, Waniyetu Gi, was involved in resewing a pair of moccasins that had worn through a seam. Her daughter, Hca Wanahca, was grinding a bone needle to a point on a well worn rock.

Wanbli Zi, finished with the fletching of his arrow, rose to his feet. He nodded at Cinksi, who stood as well, and the pair of them drifted over to the main fire where the men of the camp were gathering. There, the men smoked and talked, telling stories and singing songs. Many of the older boys were there, listening, learning.

Eventually, the hour grew late and the fire was allowed to burn down. The men drifted off to their women's and mother's ti ikceyas for the night. Tomorrow they planned to be up early and on their way, one day closer to the summer camp.

Cinksi ducked into the lodge and glanced about. The firepit was in the center, her father's robes across it and opposite the door in the respected place. Her mother was already rolled up in the robes, awaiting her man's arrival. To the right, Hca Wanahca was pulling a wooden comb through her long hair.

The younger girl averted her gaze, visually avoiding the area as she stepped over to her own sleeping robes nearby. Living in a ti ikceya with a number of people, avoidance was a common practice within. It was the only way to guarantee privacy. Respectfully, the younger girl's family returned the favor and did not look towards her as she pulled off her shirt and prepared for bed.

For a long time, Cinksi lay in her robes, her hands behind her head as she gazed up to the juncture of several logs that was the top of the lodge. Soon we will be at summer camp and there will be a Sun Dance. She thought of the men who would be attempting the Sun Dance this season.

Last season, Nupa had vowed to do the Sun Dance when he had survived a sickness through the winter. Others who felt that they needed to prove themselves to the spirits or show their appreciation for their help would do so this season. Cinksi knew of three here in camp who would be participating as dancers. But none of them will be me, she thought mournfully.

While the Sun Dance was not written in stone, changing and evolving fluidly over the seasons, the one thing that appeared constant was the fact that no wicincala had ever danced. Cinksi had begun to wonder exactly what she could do should she call upon wakan tanka for assistance and receive it. There has to be some way to show my gratitude. Maybe I will be able to talk the shaman into allowing me.

Cinksi drifted off to sleep, hearing the drums and songs of the Sun Dance, feeling the sun on her face as she danced, feeling the tug of the ropes where they were attached to her shoulders and back.

Cinksi awoke in the pre-dawn hours of the morning. All was silent and peaceful, the sun not yet beginning to grey the sky. She rolled over onto her side and brought her arms around her middle. Her belly ached considerably, feeling as if someone had put a rope around her and was pulling it tight. The pain came and went, cramping.

Unsure of what was happening, she worriedly considered calling to her mother, asking for the medicine man. And then a fresh cramp hit unexpectedly and she moaned a little. She rocked in agony until the pain let up.

There was moisture between her legs. Did I wet my robes? she wondered, her fears gaining ground. I haven't done that since I was a baby! Cinksi's hand delved beneath her breechclout, feeling a heavy slickness. Pulling her hand out, the embers from the firepit showed only a dark stain on her fingers. The girl squinted in the dim light, trying to understand just what the substance was. And then they widened as she understood.

I am bleeding! she thought. Another cramp hit her and she moaned again, her heart pounding in fear. I am going to die! Once the pain subsided again, she struggled out of her robes, crawling towards her older sister, to wake her, to get help. I do not want to die!

Hca was rousted from sleep by a frantic little sister. There were whispered words as Cinksi explained what was happening and that she was going to bleed to death. When the older girl comprehended the reality of the situation, she urged the younger back to her robes. "I will take care of you, mitankala, she whispered.

Cinksi did as she was told, wondering why her sister did not wake their parents, did not call the medicine man and the shaman. She watched in pain as Hca slipped her dress over her head and moved away from her bedding to rummage around in the herbal stores their mother kept.

"Here," Hca murmured as she returned. She handed her little sister a root. "Chew on this while I make a tea for you. It will help with the pain." The older girl kindly caressed Cinksi's head and smiled. "It will be fine. Trust me. You are becoming a woman now." She then moved to the remains of the fire and stirred up flames to heat some water.

Chewing on the root, Cinksi watched, frowning. I am becoming a woman? This is the bleeding time? Many questions filled her mind regarding this new insight and she resolved to ask her sister and mother about them as soon as possible. Another wave of pain hit her and she gasped and rocked.

Hca returned a few minutes later with an herbal tea to help with the pain. She insisted that Cinksi drink it all before it cooled to get the healing benefits from the herbs. Hca then gave whispered instructions on what to wear, helping the younger girl put on the necessary items to contain the bleeding. Afterwards, she held her sister's head in her lap, caressing her hair and crooning a soft song that their mother used to sing to them when they were babes.

The pain backed away and the younger girl relaxed, a weariness stealing over her. She drifted off to sleep with a lullaby in her ear.

Cinksi carefully placed the sacred bundle in the branches of a tree near the summer camp. She murmured a prayer to the spirits, asking for a vision of her adulthood before she climbed back down and settled at the base of it.

It had been a week since she first began bleeding. The camp had made it to the summer place a day later and she had spent quite a bit of time with her sister and mother. Apparently, Wanbli Zi had been informed of the new state of affairs with his youngest daughter and had stayed away.

For a while, Cinksi was worried that she would have to give up her path and become a woman, but that had not come to pass. She was taught by the women of her camp the ways of the bleeding - how to protect against the painful spirits that invaded her belly when it happened, what to do with the soiled clothing used to capture the fluid that flowed from her. Hca had eased her mind by telling her that the pain only lasted a day or so with herself, dissipating to a dull discomfort rather than the aching cramps.

And now, Cinksi was doing as many young women did with their first bleeding. Attempting a vision.

I do not see how a vision can come to me, she mused with a frown.

Cinksi was on a small hillock that had a stand of trees on it. Beneath her was the summer camp, laid out in all its splendor. The pole in the center of the clearing was where the Sun Dance would be held in two days and the entire camp was buzzing with excited preparations. From here on the southern edge the girl could see her own camp's settlement.

According to tradition, a girl's first bleeding was put into the limbs of a tree and the girl was to sit at the base for the day. A vision was supposed to come to her if she should be worthy of it. But how can I be worthy of it? The hoksila have to sit for days to receive visions from the spirits. How can the spirits deem me worthy if I am not willing to sacrifice more to achieve a vision?

The doubts swirled around in her head as she sat and watched the camp's activities.

"Wicahcala?"

The shaman, Inyan Ceye, looked up from his work. He was sewing a small pouch made of fox fur. Before him stood the youngest daughter of Wanbli Zi. "Hau, Cinksi. Please, sit with me." He set aside his task and smiled warmly at the girl.

Gingerly, Cinksi sat to the left of the shaman and in the honored place. She frowned to herself as she considered what to say.

Inyan Ceye kept his counsel, knowing the girl needed to come to terms with whatever she wanted. He had seen her on the hill a few days earlier and had surmised why she was there. But she needs to ask for herself. She must be strong for herself.

The silence continued for some time. It seemed to grow more comfortable as the sun moved across the sky rather than distressful. Cinksi mulled over her reasons for approaching the shaman, finally speaking up. "Wicahcala, I would like to seek a vision."

The shaman nodded solemnly, his suspicions confirmed. "You did not receive one on the hill?" he asked.

Cinksi blushed and ducked her head. "Hiya, wicahcala. I did not." She appeared to almost speak, but held back.

"Tell me your thoughts, Cinksi," Inyan Ceye said. "I cannot help you if you do not."

Her face flushing further, the girl said, "I do not see why the spirits would give me a vision that way, wicahcala. I did not seek a vision as my father did or his father before him." She shrugged a little and stared at the firepit before them. "I know that I am not hoksila, but I feel the spirits would want me to seek a vision as the other hoksila have. If I am to be a warrior, that would be the only way the spirits will speak to me."

The shaman nodded with the same serious intensity. Again silence filled the immediate area as they both contemplated this turn of events. After some time, Inyan Ceye spoke up. "Then I must instruct you on seeking a vision, Cinksi, so that you might hear what the spirits have to say to you."

The girl looked up in surprise, a glow in her dark eyes. "You will help me, wicahcala?" she asked, her voice almost a whisper.

"Hau, Cinksi. Now, go. I must prepare to teach you the way."

"Ohan, wicahcala!" The girl jumped up, failing in her attempt to temper her excitement. "Thank you!"

"Do not thank me, young warrior," Inyan Ceye intoned, though his dark eyes sparkled with humor. "It is you that must be clear and centered and able to receive a vision from wakan tanka." He shooed her away, happy to see the life return to her as she ran off. It had been disheartening to see her moping about the camp this last week.

The shaman inhaled deeply and looked down at the fur pouch he had been making. It is time to smoke a pipe and prepare the spirit banners. He set the project aside and rummage around for his pipe and tobacco.

Cinksi ducked out of the oinikaga tipi, her body slick from the sweat the heat inside caused. She was wearing only a breechclout and moccasins, as was prescribed by the elders of her camp. Outside the rounded lodge, she picked up a leather bag that she slung across her shoulders and a buffalo robe. These would be the only things she would take on her quest for a vision.

It was still dark out, the coolness in the air despite the season causing her to shiver. Cinksi pulled the robe tighter around her shoulders and moved into the darkness.

Time passed and soon the sun was high in the sky. The girl had removed the robe, not expecting to meet anyone out in the wilderness of the northern plains. Rolling hills rose around her and she considered which would be the proper place to make a stand for her vision. The warm breeze of summer caressed her back and she felt goose bumps arise at the oddity. She'd been forced to wear a shirt for the last two winters. It was good to be free of it as she'd been as a child.

Cinksi finally found a hillock that felt right and began to climb. Her stomach indicated that it was now nearing dinner as she reached its summit and looked around. This will do well, she thought with respect.

She removed the pouch and set it aside with the robe. As the shaman had instructed, she began clearing a patch of ground of all life. The area was longer than she was tall and as wide as her reach. When her chore was complete, she gathered the robe and pouch and stepped within.

Now, she could not leave until the spirits blessed her with a vision or until she gave up.

Cinksi began saying the prayers she had been taught by the elders as she opened the pouch. Carefully, she drew out four tiny bundles about the size of her thumb. Each was attached to the twig of the plum tree and had been made by the shaman for her quest. With further prayers, she stood the twig in the ground on the western side of the cleared area. And then the southern side, followed by the eastern and northern edges. These were the spirit banners and would help protect her from harm.

Next out of the pouch was a fur-wrapped pipe, a quantity of tobacco and a few other herbs. She gathered the herbs together into a small pile and also loaded the bowl of the pipe. The final thing from her pouch was a smoldering ember that had been kept safe in the hollow of an antler and fed bits and pieces of grass to continue burning. Cinksi lit the herbs, the sweet smell of sage and rosemary filling the air around her.

Using the ember to light the tobacco, she offered the pipe to the western sky. "Spirit of the West," she called, "I am Cinksi and I seek a vision." And she took a puff of the smoke, directing the excess cloud over her head, and waited.

Nothing happened.

Cinksi wasn't sure how long to wait. She'd been told by Inyan Ceye that she was to allow some time in between requests to give the spirits time to contact her. I cannot wait too long. My ember will burn out and I will not be able to complete the ritual. She debated this for some time.

Finally coming to a decision, she turned to the east and followed the same procedure, offering the pipe, calling out a request, smoking and waiting. This was followed by supplications to the Spirits of the North and South with the same results.

The girl sighed. Of course, it cannot be easy. The spirits need to see my resolve in this matter. She decided to take the next course of action.

"Spirit of the Sky, I am Cinksi and I seek a vision."

Nothing.

Frowning, Cinksi finished the ritual. She asked the Sun itself for a vision, its flaming soul beginning to dip behind the hills as the evening drew to a close. And then she asked the Earth itself for a vision, the final and most significant request. The girl finished just in time as the coal she was using finally burned out.

She crouched down in the clearing, face down on the ground. Cinksi wrapped her robe around her and concentrated on receiving a vision from the spirits.

It was the second night, moving into the third morning. About the only truly scary time had been the wolves howling nearby, but none had approached the girl on the hill.

Cinksi found it hard to continue focusing on her desire for a vision. Especially at first, when her every thought was on food and warmth. When she wasn't asleep, she was thinking of a vision, searching the area around her for a sign from the spirits. And none was forthcoming.

The girl was feeling a little dizzy from the lack of food and water. If she did not receive a vision soon, she would have to make the choice of dying here or giving up. It wasn't unusual for someone to return to camp after a vision quest without finding what they sought. But, Cinksi just couldn't believe that wakan tanka would set her on this path as a newborn and not speak to her.

Cinksi was currently facing the east. As the sun rose before her, it happened.

The Sun seemed to flare into a brilliant white light. The girl had to squint to peer at it, one hand raised to shade her eyes. As the light faded, she could see a cloud of dust rising and feel the ground beneath her shake at the stampeding of a thousand buffalo. They were running towards her position, led by the most sacred animal of all, the white buffalo.

Watching in dazed awe, Cinksi saw a warrior woman swoop in from the south, screaming her cry as she attacked the white buffalo with a spear. The warrior's hit was solid and the white buffalo was mortally wounded.

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 719