Babakawquit, continued
When the sun set the shaman grew silent and stared toward the rocky lodge -- which seemed empty to us. Darkness came and still we dared not move. By this time the coldness all around felt as intense as our hunger pains from not eatting all day. Then Nishga spoke out of the darkness and reported in a voice without expression that she had a vision. The spirit council had met on top of the spire and found father guilty of breaking his blood promises to Babakawquit. She said that a ghost had entered into his dreams to discover that he secretly desired to resist ordering the raids. As a result Babakawquit rejected the deer meat and ate the chief instead, saving his head as an ornament.
“'The inheritance right of ascension and the mighty powers of the spirits now belong to you, Chief N’ha-itk,' she said. 'You must purify yourself in the waters of the Crater Tarn of Ice Mountain and then be married according to the way of our ancestors.' She lifted her face to the sky and imitated the slow cackle of a raven -- the final call echoed off the cliffs and sounded down the rocky incline to the lake. 'In the name of Babakawquit, you are Chief N’ha-itk Calling Raven,' she said in an equally firm voice in the darkness.
“She then took me by the hand and led me up to the door of the rocky lodge. It was very dark, but white clouds in the black-blue sky reflected upon snow and cast enough light to see as we passed the wall of skulls. We took off our snowshoes and I tried not to look at father’s bloody remains. She bent down and again leading me by the hand, we squatted through the door and into the interior. Inside a total darkness consumed us and soon I felt an intense cold drinking up the warmth from my bones, making my whole skin numb -- as if I was naked in a snowstorm. It felt like I was being changed into a ghost without a firm body holding me to the earth.
"As I looked into darkness all around, the ghosts of many dead chiefs began appearing before my eyes, each dressed in fine regalia, and seemed to beg me with out stretched hands. I saw battles fought long ago and prisoners executed. I even saw spirits rain from the sky world and fall to mountains when the earth was new. Discordant music, tormented people wailing and the smell of decaying bodies filled the room.
Finally, and I speak in all truth, the mighty Lightening Snake himself appeared to me, lighting up the dark with a blue-green glow. He cracked and twisted across the room and in a flash wrapped his fiery tale around my neck and pulled me to the ground with a snap. The side of my face hit the rock floor and I still have the scar -- see.” N’ha-itk put his hand to the left side of his face touching a long red mark that Snowy Owl hadn’t noticed until then because of the white paint.
“The spirits said that from now on I was their slave and that if I didn’t obey the desires that they put into my heart, they would trap me in House of Sculls forever. Then I felt Nishga’s hand leading me out of the dark lodge back through the door's threshold and outside. It was warmer and lighter outside and white clouds covered the top of the peaks.
The men had retreated down to a dry portion of land without snow to set up camp at the shore of Crater Tarn. I walked like a dead man down the hill towards the campfire, overcome with grief and shocked by the evil visions frozen into my memory. I kept seeing the head of father fitted into the wall of skulls and the burning eyes of Lightening Snake staring with bitterness deep into my soul, his power trying to control my desires.
“The only thing that saved me that night was remembering the prayers that you taught me, and I kept crying out silently to Wonderful Doer and his Great Spirit. You are right. The Creator is more powerful than the spirits. That is why I am sure that you will be able to defeat the monster Babakawquit and that is why you must join me as a witness to the spring funeral service at the new full moon.”
Next chapter
“'The inheritance right of ascension and the mighty powers of the spirits now belong to you, Chief N’ha-itk,' she said. 'You must purify yourself in the waters of the Crater Tarn of Ice Mountain and then be married according to the way of our ancestors.' She lifted her face to the sky and imitated the slow cackle of a raven -- the final call echoed off the cliffs and sounded down the rocky incline to the lake. 'In the name of Babakawquit, you are Chief N’ha-itk Calling Raven,' she said in an equally firm voice in the darkness.
“She then took me by the hand and led me up to the door of the rocky lodge. It was very dark, but white clouds in the black-blue sky reflected upon snow and cast enough light to see as we passed the wall of skulls. We took off our snowshoes and I tried not to look at father’s bloody remains. She bent down and again leading me by the hand, we squatted through the door and into the interior. Inside a total darkness consumed us and soon I felt an intense cold drinking up the warmth from my bones, making my whole skin numb -- as if I was naked in a snowstorm. It felt like I was being changed into a ghost without a firm body holding me to the earth.
"As I looked into darkness all around, the ghosts of many dead chiefs began appearing before my eyes, each dressed in fine regalia, and seemed to beg me with out stretched hands. I saw battles fought long ago and prisoners executed. I even saw spirits rain from the sky world and fall to mountains when the earth was new. Discordant music, tormented people wailing and the smell of decaying bodies filled the room.
Finally, and I speak in all truth, the mighty Lightening Snake himself appeared to me, lighting up the dark with a blue-green glow. He cracked and twisted across the room and in a flash wrapped his fiery tale around my neck and pulled me to the ground with a snap. The side of my face hit the rock floor and I still have the scar -- see.” N’ha-itk put his hand to the left side of his face touching a long red mark that Snowy Owl hadn’t noticed until then because of the white paint.
“The spirits said that from now on I was their slave and that if I didn’t obey the desires that they put into my heart, they would trap me in House of Sculls forever. Then I felt Nishga’s hand leading me out of the dark lodge back through the door's threshold and outside. It was warmer and lighter outside and white clouds covered the top of the peaks.
The men had retreated down to a dry portion of land without snow to set up camp at the shore of Crater Tarn. I walked like a dead man down the hill towards the campfire, overcome with grief and shocked by the evil visions frozen into my memory. I kept seeing the head of father fitted into the wall of skulls and the burning eyes of Lightening Snake staring with bitterness deep into my soul, his power trying to control my desires.
“The only thing that saved me that night was remembering the prayers that you taught me, and I kept crying out silently to Wonderful Doer and his Great Spirit. You are right. The Creator is more powerful than the spirits. That is why I am sure that you will be able to defeat the monster Babakawquit and that is why you must join me as a witness to the spring funeral service at the new full moon.”
Next chapter
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