Tiopa Ki Lakota (2 page)

"Be brave," she murmured to herself. The girl threw her shoulders back and raised her chin to stare haughtily back as she marched forward. Stopping before the biggest boy, she glared up at him and set the butt of her new spear on the ground by her foot. A small puff of dust arose from it and settled back down.

The taller boy examined her much like she was a particularly fat bug underneath a rock. "Who are
you
?" he demanded, knowing the answer. No one was a stranger in the camp.

"I am Cinksi. My father is Wanbli Zi," was the regal reply.

The boy looked her up and down. With a playful tug at her breechclout, he snickered, "I heard you were a
wicincala

."

The other boys chuckled as well, but the smaller girl in their midst refused to be daunted. She didn't flinch away from the tugging on her clothing. "I am."

The boy immediately lost interest in her. "Go home, little
wicincala
. We don't play with dolls here." His dark eyes fell on the spear she held. "And
you
don't play with weapons." He plucked it from her hands.

Cinksi was stunned. She watched the boy heft the spear her father had given her, checking its weight and balance as he turned away. The other boys in the group were laughing, preparing to follow. It was utterly inconceivable that the boy would
do
such a thing, let along think he could get away with it. The world seemed to slow down as the adrenaline of anger sparked the fire the shaman had seen so many winters ago.

The spear was a good one, the weight comfortable in his hands.
Wanbli Zi made it well
, the boy conceded as he prepared to trot away. And then he was on the ground, gasping for breath as an angry child pounced on him. He was more surprised than hurt but the girl had driven the air from his lungs and he couldn't collect himself enough to respond. Two of the other boys in his pack pulled the small girl off him and he clambered to his feet.

Cinksi continued to struggle with her captors, growling wildly. The ones holding her, were now fearful for themselves and weren't about to let her go. The other boys stood back in awe as they watched the altercation. The eldest rose to his feet and dusted himself off.

He crouched down in front of her, studying her curiously. "You are crazy,
wicincala

," he said. "You should not fight me. I am older and stronger and bigger."

The girl had lessened her struggles a bit and glared back at him. "I will
still
fight you! Until the day I die!"

"But, you will
lose
, Cinksi."

"I do not care! Someday I will be bigger and stronger and then
I
will win."

The boy picked up the spear that had fallen to the ground during the scuffle. He looked it over carefully, dusting it off a bit and adjusting a feather that was adorning it. "All this for a spear?"

The girl's teeth could almost be heard grinding. "My father gave me that spear as a gift. It would dishonor him and myself to let it be stolen from me." She left unspoken the thought of who else would be dishonored.

She has much courage for being a
wicincala

.
Looking up to the boys holding her arms, the eldest said, "Let her go."

Cinksi nearly stumbled as she was suddenly released. She caught herself and pulled her small frame upright in a proud stance. "I will fight you now."

The boy silently handed her the spear instead.

Frowning, the girl took the spear back into her possession. Her dark eyes narrowed as she studied her tormentor.

"My name is
Nupa Olowan

. My father is
Wi Sape

. I am very sorry for the dishonor I have shown you."

The rest of the boys stared at him as if he'd suddenly grown two heads.

The girl thought about it for a few seconds before appearing mollified. "I will still fight you," she offered in a calmer voice.

Nupa smiled at her. "If you wish. Can you and I have a truce? Until you get older and stronger?" He refrained from laughing at her serious demeanor as she considered his request.

Finally, the girl nodded. "Yes. You and I can have a truce until then."

"Good!" He straightened and looked at the other boys. "Cinksi stays with us. I never would have thought I would see the day when a
wicincala

would fight me for a weapon!" He inhaled deeply of the summer air. "Let's go hunting!" he yelled before turning and running off.

As expected, the boys hared off after him, accepting his decision. Cinksi stood in place for a second. Just a second.
That was much easier than I thought it would be.
And then she raced after them, adding her own voice to their whooping and calling.

After two moons in the company of the boys, Cinksi was accepted as a well respected member. She and the oldest boy, Nupa, had become fast friends. If one did not think of some sort of mischief to get into, the other did. And, despite her age and size, Cinksi was becoming very adept at beating the boys on all levels of physical prowess.

Currently, the eight of them were playing near the camp in the tall grass. It was towards the end of summer and their naturally dark skin had grown a deeper shade of brown under the sun's ministrations. Less than a mile away a cloud of dust rose from where the hunting party was attacking a herd of buffalo in the last communal hunt of the season. The herd had been sighted three days ago and the entire camp had traveled to this spot.

In response to all the excitement over the last few days, the pack of children had begun their own hunting party, preparing to swoop down on the buffalo - a mangy bitch and her three puppies. They had split into two groups to outflank their quarry, Nupa leading one and Cinksi the other.

A drop of sweat trickled down the girl's intense face, but she didn't wipe it away. Her party had closed in on the left flank and she didn't want to move and give her position away to the dogs. It had taken the better part of the morning to gain this spot, a small hillock with a dip in the center that kept the small family beneath her hidden from general view. The inexperienced hunters had flushed the mother and her pups twice already. One more time and Cinksi was going to forget about the elusive bitch and return to her mother's
ti

ikceya

for something to eat.

On the other side of the dip, she could see a spear head slowly raise from the ground. It waved gently side to side, two times. In response, the small girl used hand signals to her party, preparing them for the attack. And then she heard Nupa's war whoop and the eight of them surged forward, hollering at the top of their lungs as they 'hunted' the dogs.

The puppies scattered in clumsy surprise, yelping in fright at the sudden cacophony about them. The boys and Cinksi pretended to thrust spears into them as the trio scampered away. Their mother, a mean spirited animal by most of the camp's definition, got hold of one boy's spear and a tug of war ensued. Eventually, the remainder of the hunting party had forgotten the pups, laughing at the antics of the boy with the spear as the dog growled and gnawed her way on the haft.

Nupa finally aimed a kick at her, to distract her from her chewing, and she pulled away to snap at his moccasin before trotting back towards her offspring. Once she was sure that all her pups were present and unharmed, she urged them away from the gaggle of attackers, keeping a watchful eye.

Cinksi threw herself down onto the grass, peering up at the deep blue sky. Most of the other boys followed suit. The only one remaining on his feet was the boy who was studying the damage to his weapon.

One boy pulled a waterskin from where it hung across his shoulder and took a long drink before passing it along. "I wonder how many buffalo my father took down?" he idled.

"Your father is a good hunter," another answered. "But
my
father and brother will kill more than him."

Nupa had his turn at the waterskin before handing it to Cinksi. "I had a dream last night. A vision."

That information garnered the attention of the group, several sitting up to peer at the oldest boy closely.

"What did you see in your vision?" Cinksi asked, intrigued.

"My father, Sape, killed two bulls. Your father," and he nodded at the girl beside him, "killed a bull and a cow." And then he went around the circle and pointed to each of the boys, informing them how many kills their fathers and brothers had made.

One boy looked suspicious. "Are you
sure
it was a vision, Nupa?"

Indignant, the older boy puffed his chest out. "Want to bet on the outcome of the hunt?" When there were no immediate takers, he said, "Unless you believe my vision was a true one."

"I bet my spear that you are wrong," the smallest boy said with a stern expression.

This seemed to be the catalyst and each child began making bets of their personal items and toys. Those who believed in Nupa's vision put up their items to back his. The spear that Cinksi's father had made her two moons ago was bet in support of her friend.

There was the sound of a horse and Nupa rose to his feet, he being the tallest to see over the small hollow and tall grass they were lying in. "There's a rider! The hunt must be finished!" He looked down to the pack, excitement in his dark eyes. "Let's go see if I am right!"

The eight of them stood and trotted towards the camp that was now humming with industriousness.

Once word of the hunt being finished reached the camp, the women and older girls gathered their knives and other accoutrements. All members of the camp proceeded to the killing fields with an excited buzz. They soon began picking over the corpses of the huge animals that had been slain by their warrior husbands and sons and brothers, identifying each by markings on the arrows and spears that were used to kill them.

The boys all gathered with their older male family members, as the excited tales of the hunt began to be discussed. Soon, as the women and girls worked in the field skinning the great beasts, the men were sitting at the council fire, smoking pipes and filling the boys' ears with stories.

Cinksi hung on her father's every word as he described waiting on the ridge above the tiny valley. She could almost feel the dry wind as her father received the signal to attack and swooped down on his pony to harry the herd.

The buffalo had been startled, initially milling around in surprise at the sudden danger before finally settling on a course. They had stampeded and the sounds of their hooves on the hard packed earth were like the thunder in a stormy sky. Her father had pulled his horse near a well grown bull and had let his arrow fly. The buffalo had stumbled and fell to its death as he continued on to his next likely target. The second was a pregnant cow that hadn't die immediately. Her father had stopped his chase and put the cow out of her misery, a dangerous task as the wounded animal thrashed in terror and pain. By the time that was finished, the hunt had been completed, the remainder of the herd stampeding off.

As the stories trickled through, some of the older girls began arriving with the raw livers of their kills. Cinksi's eldest sister trotted up with a breathless smile and handed three of the livers wrapped in a skin to her father with an exuberant smile.

Wanbli Zi took his delicacy, thanking his daughter. He settled the bundle on the robe he was seated on and pulled a knife of obsidian form the sheath hanging around his neck. With great care, he sliced the two larger livers into chunks and passed them to others around the fire even as they did the same with their own prizes. The liver of the animals were strong in spirit and endowed the Lakota hunters with strength and courage. In this way, all the men of the camp could partake of the spirit, even the elder council members who did not participate in the hunt.

The smallest liver, that from the fetus held within the cow Wanbli Zi had slain, was held up in front of Cinksi. The warrior looked down upon his youngest daughter with grave intent. "This is the liver of the unborn
tatanka

whose mother was killed by my hand. Tonight, we will all feast on it after it has been boiled."

Cinksi's eyes were full of love and adoration as she listened avidly.

"Today, however, I give this liver to you, my
cinksi

of the heart, so that you may grow strong and brave." And the warrior handed the small organ to his daughter.

The girl's dark eyes widened in surprise. "
Thank
you,
Ate

," she murmured with delight in her voice. She received the meat and bit into it, savoring the saltiness of the fresh blood, the tenderness of the organ's texture. Cinksi could almost feel the surge of energy from the unborn buffalo's spirit fill her as she finished her treat. And then another warrior was speaking, telling his tale of the hunt and all eyes were on him.

And so the late morning went. After the women had finished their duties of skinning the animals and slicing up the meat, everyone in the camp returned to where the carcasses were laid out and helped transport them back to the camp. By the early afternoon, the hides had been staked out and meat was cut into strips to dry in the sun. The atmosphere was one of happiness and excitement, as the camp prepared to feast that evening.

There was a creek nearby that the warriors cleaned themselves in while the shaman, Inyan Ceye, was off seeking a vision. Cinksi ran off after the pack of boys as they scampered off to reenact the hunt as they had heard it. The women and girls had already cleaned themselves of the butchering and were beginning to roast meat or tan the hides of the buffalo.

"Nupa!" the girl called. "You were right! My father
did
kill a bull and a cow!"