This is what the whole section on the rabbit has brought up for me. I've been trying to piece together what I think those people in that culture would do with events they cannot explain.
Did ice-age humans have formal religions? I don't think I've ever seen evidence that they did. This story takes place about 60,000ya (years ago,) near the end of the Middle Paleolithic (a fancy word meaning "stone age.") Wikipedia reports that complex religion, with artifacts, use of possibly abstract patterns, and pigments, started about 40,000ya, although humans have been burying their dead for about 300,000 years, and it is possible ritual goes back that far.
The evidence is almost nonexistent before 40,000ya, and it is very thin even then. Lots of implements have been found that might (even probably) have religious significance, but no one knows what they mean, although several theories have been brought forward.
As the tribe deals with many distinct sets of supernatural phenomena, one of the things I am struggling with is how to see the phenomena from people who live in the context. They aren't stupid; they are probably nearly as smart as a modern human--but not quite. If I'm right about their social development, they are probably nearly as complex in their interactions as modern humans--but not quite.
I am guessing here, but I think it is a good set of guesses. I'm guessing that religion in the modern sense did not exist, but they were probably highly superstitious. Because of the erratic nature of the world, which must have seemed capriciously cruel, they attributed many things to the work of some god behind the scenes. I think we have to temper that, though, as even the concept of deity was not nearly as developed as even the ancient Greek concept. Not only was a great deal of luck involved in staying alive, the concept that something must be helping or hurting this or that must have been well nigh irresistible.
So when the first of the three "supernatural" phenomena appeared--the silent dragon of light chased by the invisible dragon of thunder, followed by the emergence of the monster--they had no explanation for it in their framework. Dragon, monster; it was terrifying beyond anything we could understand, today.
Yet they dealt with terror and death, every day. Tiger was very afraid, when he saw Gerleesh, but he also saw it close to his friend, and charged in to kill it, even though he was very much afraid of it. Later, when he finds that Little Bear has lived, he is ashamed of his running away, and blames Little Bear for that.
The second set of supernatural phenomena surrounds Little Bear's being in a coma and coming awake again. We understand what is happening, but all they can tell is that he doesn't smell dead. They figure some magic is at work, and that's as much as they can grasp of it. They aren't stupid, it's just outside their experience. Clearly, something of magic is happening, and Little Bear is at the center of it, making everyone afraid, both of the magic and of him.
When Tiger throws the rabbit at Little Bear, that starts the third set of phenomena--the rabbit god, which is both humorous (I hope) and making a point. Instead hurting him, the rabbit lands in his arms, and then is turned loose. That seems to be Little Bear’s actions, and makes Little Bear suspicious.
When the rabbit comes back and sleeps on Little Bear's chest, however, it is the rabbit which breaks the rules. No wild animal would do that. The people are very frightened, and do not know whether to fight or flee. Is the rabbit magical, or has something happened to Little Bear?
We would jump to the conclusion that Little Bear is different, because he was just exposed to Gerleesh, but the tribe wouldn't necessarily do that. It is the rabbit which is acting strange, not Little Bear. The idea that an animal would do what a human suggests is probably still unknown in human experience.
As the rabbit does more and more strange things, the people are more and more afraid. Messing around with forces you don't understand is a good way to get your entire tribe killed; no wonder they are afraid. When their fear starts to build in a dangerous direction, it is Raccoon who diverts them, by blaming the strange happenings on the rabbit. Willow calls it a god, but it is really Raccoon who gets the tribe thinking in that direction.
How much Raccoon knows and guesses is something to discover later, but Little Bear's father is no fool. He is the tribe’s shaman, and as such, I am assuming he is both very smart and somewhat cynical.
Little Bear, meanwhile, has of course no illusions about the rabbit. It is just a rabbit, but it has gotten addicted to him. When he realizes the rabbit is draining him of energy, he promptly does the only sensible thing. He snaps its neck and hands it to Willow to cook for dinner.
Willow, of course, has been more in awe of the rabbit god than anyone else in the tribe, and her reactions add more humor.
What the others do with the emerging abilities of Little Bear, and how they interpret it in their context, is part of what drives the rest of the book. (The other parts being how Little Bear deals with his own changes in trying to help the tribe survive, and what happens when those two processes come into major conflict.)
Brian Groover
Frederick, Maryland
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
YOU ARE READING
NaNoWriMo Journal
RandomThis is the journal of a walk through writing an entire novel in a month, as it happens. This includes thoughts, tools, struggles, and planning strategies. I wrote 78,000 words for the novel in the month of November, 2014, and this is the journey...
