Chapter Eleven: Part One
After a quick shower and donning some warmer clothes, Kate walked outside to find her world awash in a fantastic light. Already in shadow, and bathed in reflected hues of gold and red, everything around her looked magical and slightly surreal. Feeling like a stroll, Kate turned right on the ring road and was entranced by the constant colour changes of the surrounding landscape and the wispy high clouds.
Entering the clearing of the maloca after wandering up the steeper and thickly wooded slopes of the northern path, she was surprised to see only Maria, Paz and Dee in the cooking area, especially given the number of boats she’d seen headed for the island. Kate returned the waves from the villagers as Dee, looking relaxed and happy, met her half way across the short grass surrounding the maloca. In a joyous, wordless, pirouetting hug, Dee squeezed the air from Kate’s lungs as she whirled her around.
‘What’s going on with you?’
‘It’s this place and these people. Oh Katie! Carrie and I have never been happier. It’s like we’re finding each other again, and we didn’t even know we were lost.’ Looking closely at her friend’s face, she added with a grin, ‘I see that happiness is catching too!’
‘It must be something in the water.’
‘It was in the water and on the beach this afternoon. I saw you staring at all of those glorious muscles!’ She looked at Kate with a devilish glint in her eye and added, ‘One lot of muscles in particular.’
Kate blushed as she said, ‘There were a lot of muscles to look at. I saw a lot of people headed over, are they not here?’
Maria and her daughter had quietly joined them, and Maria answered for Dee. ‘We have a ceremony in the Village this evening. The Big End’s oven pit is far larger than the Village’s, and most of the food will soon be headed there. It also gave Dee and Carrie time off since we set everything up this morning. We are just waiting for sundown before we take the food out.’
They strolled into the cooking area at the end of the maloca as Carrie walked out to join them. ‘That looks very full,’ Kate said.
‘We are feeding nearly fifty tonight. This is one of the two times a year when everyone from Alegria gathers together without exception. Tonight is the evening of the Spring Equinox and tomorrow morning is the start of Watch,’ Paz said.
Maria explained. ‘During Watch, we mark forty-six sunrises in memory of those not with us. Our other gathering is New Day, in six months’ time, on the day of the Autumn Equinox, the same day we arrived here. The Village, on Little End, is where Uncle and Dom lit Alegria’s first fire. At the Race, where we celebrate New Day, the Mother gave Uncle a huge fish on his first cast, showing us we are welcome here. He released it again to show the Mother, and the spirits of this place, that our people would only ever take what they needed. Our tradition during Watch is to focus on each of those we lost, and to remember the lessons each taught us. We do not tell the stories of other places or things during this time.’
Brightening the mood, Paz said, ‘New Day is our most special day. On New Day, Grandmother, Uncle and Mother sing the songs of Alegria, our histories. It’s the only other time we speak of our home before Alegria, and is our most special day. I hope you will come?’
‘I think I can say, on behalf of us all, that we shall be here with bells on,’ Dee proclaimed.
Maria said, ‘You will have to do a lot better than just bells, Dee. We make much noise and laughter, all day and all night. Few can even talk the day after, and we are all glad for the quiet by then.’
Kate said, ‘That sounds wonderful, Maria. Is there anything we can do to help tonight?’
Maria shook her head. ‘No. No, thank you, Kate. Dee and Carrie have also offered.’
‘Dom, Edison, Juanita and JC are participating tonight,’ Dee said to Kate before looking at mother and daughter, saying, ‘We understand totally. I look forward to finding out more about how this place came to be with the New Day stories.’
Maria and Paz were visibly relieved at the understanding shown by the three newcomers. As the last of the sunlight left the granite obelisk that stood over Little End, a distant, flat and mournful note echoed from the direction of the Village. A distant chorus of wild howls echoed from the other end of the island, raising goose bumps on the amigas. The desolate sounds went on for nearly five minutes before falling silent.
Mother and daughter looked grief stricken. After a moment, they nodded to each other before walking back to break open the earth oven, politely rejecting all offers of assistance. Maria served out a hearty amount for those eating in the maloca before packing the Village’s share of the food into woven panniers, already set over bamboo poles. When Dom, Edison, Juanita and Juan-Carlos appeared, they nodded sombre greetings to the amigas. With Maria and Paz, they lifted the three heavily laden poles and departed for the Village.
Mason, Madison and Rick had entered the maloca from the other side, and Madison had already set out their plates when Kate, Dee and Carrie carried two steaming platters of food and a large bowl of rice into the dining area.
Walking into the maloca moments later, Natalie said in her clear voice, ‘God, that smells superb! Can I help plate up?’ Natalie lifted the mood in the maloca, and everybody welcomed her positive presence. Honouring the traditions of Alegria, they all served a mouthful of food to a plate at the head of the table, and Mason offered thanks for their meal. Over dinner, their discussions turned to what was happening at the Village, with Rick being elected to start the explanations.
‘Alegria celebrates two unique events. Tonight is the start of Watch, which goes for 46 days in remembrance of forty-six lives lost. Each day is dedicated to a life lesson either from, or about, each person who was lost. New Day, in half a year’s time, marks the anniversary of the settlement of Alegria. New Day this year will be our twenty-first. As the dawn breaks, everyone calls out over the water to declare their gratitude for everything they can think of until they literally run out of breath. It goes on for ages. You have to hear the din and feel the vibe to believe it. Once the echoes have died away, a huge log drum gets worked over, and all hell breaks loose. The party happens like a tornado and the mood is euphoric.’
‘What about the story telling?’ Dee asked.
Rick smiled. ‘That starts about an hour or so later; after the initial steam has been let off, and the first course of food has been served and eaten. The dishes on New Day are mostly vegetarian, but not all. Fair warning though; the food is simple, succulent, and will keep coming all day and night.’ Rick paused to emphasise his point. ‘Really! Course after course until sun-up the next day. A full 24 hours. Make sure you remember to pace yourselves. After the first round of food is mostly finished, Grandmother, Uncle and Maria will tag-team telling the stories – the songs – of another place once called home, as well as many new songs of Alegria. The songs are the oral histories of the people and Alegria. About mid-morning, most of us will start drinking Grandmother’s Journeying Tea. The best way to describe its effect is that it unites us in mind.’
Madison joined in, explaining, ‘The brew is slightly psychoactive by common definition, but its action is totally different from any common definition of a drug effect. Drinking it is entirely optional. It’s a little like South America’s San Pedro cactus or Ayahuasca, but nowhere nearly as intense or physical. As long as you only have a little food from each course, you will not feel ill with it, and you will experience a vastly more open state of mind, as if you are sharing memories and feelings with everyone there. You never feel like you are losing control or seeing things. It’s not like that.’
Natalie suggested to the amigas, ‘Why not wait until you are in the vibe of what’s happening? The effect of the Journeying Tea can be quite challenging, because as they’re told, you will feel and live the stories. The stories are all true, and not all true stories are nice, or have happy endings. I love the experience. It is honest, confronting, uplifting, and brutal, all at the same time. Nothing is held back. Personally, I feel enriched by it every time, and I’ve never felt or seen an ill effect from it. Anecdotally, it seems to be as safe as anything can be.’
Madison added, ‘That’s good advice. Until you are there, you cannot begin to understand what New Day means. Regardless of your choice to participate, or not, in any part of the festivities, there is never any pressure or judgement.’
The three amigas nodded silently, recognising the wisdom of the advice offered. Their conversation reached a natural pause, and Carrie asked, ‘Forty-six lives?’ Rick looked at his parents, and then at the girls. ‘We are not bound by the taboos, so the prohibitions do not apply to us, but I will answer in broad strokes if that’s okay? The story is not a nice one, even without details.’ The girls all nodded. Even his parents leaned forward to listen.