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PART I
     BIRTH OF A CIVILIZATION

PROW TO THE SUN

The primitive raft had been floating adrift for many days. The terrified and exhausted young couple aboard, Pau-Llo and Ko-Lla, had gone astray in the immensity of the frightening ocean. They were being carried by the sea current in the opposite direction towards which they were rowing. The inexperienced navigators had lost all control of their precarious craft some time ago; after trying desperately again and again to get back on their course, their energy had expired.  Exhausted, they collapsed on top of their raft and fell into a comatose sleep.
         Pau-Llo, the male of the two, lost count of how long they had slept. It must have been for a long time, as the sun was now almost at its zenith, timidly making its appearance amid clouds of mist that rose from the heavy fog that surrounded them. The sun kept appearing and disappearing, making the experience even more mysterious and frightening.
     Without no point of reference to steer by, they tried again and again to regain command of the raft through rowing, but to no avail.  They became ever more exhausted. Their semi-naked, bronzed bodies were soaked with sweat and shone intermittently under the sporadic flashes of the fugacious sun beams as if painted with an iridescent dye. Everything was hazy, interrupted only by these sudden showers of light.
     Were they just hallucinating this phantasmagorical show?  Were the Gods trying to tell them something? They panicked at this thought. Or were they just solar beams filtering through the fog? These questions crossed Pau-Llo's adolescent mind. Like any seafarer of his time, 8,000 years before Christ, he had never gone through such a terrifying ordeal. His limited experience was restricted to navigating at sea for one or two days at the most, but always close to the dry land, always with the coast in sight.
     The mysterious sea for which they had only respect and reverence, terrified them with its vastness: an immense mass of water which millennia later would be known as the Pacific Ocean.

Sometimes, among the clouds, Pau-Llo's feverish mind seemed to discern the creased and venerable face of Tika, his mother, still sad for their sudden disappearance from their ancestral community but, as always, serene and dignified. This produced mixed sentiments in him; a weird phenomenon that gave him courage. It had always been that way, as though the untameable old lady with her brainpower and body language would rumble a war drum for him, encouraging him to continue his course, whatever he was doing – and he was usually doing it well. There had always been a special alchemy between them.  Ti-Ka didn't need to open her toothless mouth to communicate with him, as her eyes said it all for her.  She seemed to tell him: "You, Pau-Llo, are destined by the Gods to fulfil great responsibilities."

What was this powerful attraction that was carrying them in the direction of the sunrise?  Was it a sort of black magic, a curse from the old feared sorcerer of the tribe in retaliation for their escape? Or was it, as it seemed, that the sun now bigger, and brighter, as imposing as ever, was a gigantic magnet which was pulling them towards its core? Whatever it was, it was terrifying.
     Due to an ancestral respect for Father Chan, the creator of the Universe, they knew that they should not, by any means, have their backs towards the sun; they had to face it, to greet it and let its divine will carry them along to wherever it desired; and that is precisely what they did. They turned the raft around so that the prow faced the sun, and Pau-Llo, on his knees with his arms raised to the Creator, pleaded:
     "Dear father, please have mercy on us, your will be done oh mighty lord, and take us, your insignificant and humble servants, to wherever you want us to go."

Pau-Llo and Ko-Lla could not have known that at that precise moment they were the first human beings to be transported by what would later be known as El Niño, the current which would cause so many meteorological disasters and which was now pulling them to the coast.

They bowed deeply and diffidently in the oriental way, probably learned many thousands of years before, from their Asian roots when their people were still nomads - and went into meditation with their eyes closed for a long period of time. When they opened them, everything looked different, brighter and clearer. Although they still couldn't see any land, they somehow felt more secure, and protected by Father Chan.

 

Sika-Li-Pu, the all-powerful lord of Kiriwac, already had many concubines, more than enough by anyone's account. However, he had fallen madly in love with the gorgeous Ko-Lla,  the most beautiful girl born into the tribe for a long time. She was the daughter of Tu-Pa, his best friend and adviser. This was not well received in the tribe, as everybody knew that the girl was in love with Pau-Llo, the younger brother of Sika-Li-Pu, and they thought their ruler should control his lust for the young girl.
     Ko-Lla and Pau-Llo had been inseparable since they were children:  they had run around as free spirits throughout the woods, beaches and rivers.   His mother had tried to remind Sika-Li-Pu of this, and that Pau-Llo was his baby brother, the last of the twelve she had had, and so warranted special consideration. In spite of all this arguments, the mulish chief had decided that "no matter what, she was for me and that was the end of all arguments."
     It was under these circumstances that Pau-Llo, knowing how cruel his brother could be when anybody dared challenge his will, planned his escape from the tribe with Ko-Lla.  He knew that it had to be as soon as possible, as there was no hope of a solution. In several long meetings that lasted into the early hours, where they drank large quantities of "chicha"- a maize drink made from fermented corn - neither Ko-Lla´s mother nor Tu-Pa were able to put any sense into the drunkard chief's head and convince him to change his mind.
     Sika-li-pu had always been Pau-Llo's idol, but as a result of the unlimited power he had acquired, along with one or two triumphant forages into enemy territory, he had become arrogant and abusive.  This was contrary to the spirit of the tribe which was by nature humble and they hoped that, with the passing of time, their ruler would become wise and prudent.
     Once the decision to flee was made, they wondered where they could go. To the north? Should they go to the territory of their ferocious enemies, the Chanquis? Or, in the direction of the sunrise, where their no less abhorrent enemies, the Yapas, lived? They believed that their tribe inhabited the end of the world as, over the centuries, they had been cornered by their enemies into the last remaining land on the coast. The only escape, as far as they knew, was to head south, although since childhood they had known that no one had ever ventured there.
     So south it was, into the unknown, but they decided to go by sea, to gain precious time and also because then they could stay close to the coast.  This would enable them to escape the hunting party that Pau-Llo knew his brother would send out after them to make them pay for challenging their mighty chief. They had already chosen the raft, the best one available, equipped now with essentials for weeks of survival. They had also destroyed the planks that served as rudders on the other rafts, gaining extra time when the chase started, as it would.

When the news spread like straw catching fire that the couple had disappeared, it was about midnight; the mayhem it produced was equal only to that created when the hamlet was under enemy attack.  Much of the pandemonium was due to Sika-Li-Pu´s screaming and yelling.  Dead drunk, and in a state of semi-hallucination, he was blaspheming and shouting orders at random, added to the animals' screeching and the ear-splitting noises of the confused people tripping over each other in the dark and chaotic night.
     Straying off course for days, drifting through unfamiliar waters and not knowing what was happening, the two young lovers wondered where and when this nightmare would end. Again and again this young man came to the shameful conclusion in his primitive brain that it had been the explosive combination of egotism and the abundance of chicha consumed by his brother that had pushed them to the brink of their lives.
     "It is too premature be called into the reign of father Chan, the kingdom of the dead ones, or to become damned errant expatriates for life," lamented Pau-Llo aloud.
     During those prehistoric times the worst punishment that could be inflicted on anyone was to roam pointlessly through life for ever, like those infected with the plague, knowing that no tribe would ever accept them other than as slaves. To suffer until the end of their days, the long agony caused by the solitude produced by the painful separation from their family, their people, customs, environment; by the separation from their sacred mountain and rivers.  To be dead while still living, as if the paca paca, that evil bird of bad luck, should have crooned twice at them.
     "Why, our Lord? Why father Chan do you allow this injustice to happen in your kingdom?" agonized the young man.

 

In a rage of madness, a fuming Sika-Li-Pu had sent Shapra and his brothers to pursue the young runaways. These brothers came from the cruellest and bloodiest family of the tribe; they had enjoyed killing animals, using the most refined ways of torment, since childhood. Shapra knew that sooner or later the couple would have to touch dry land to replenish their supplies. For this reason they followed them close to the shore, permanently lying in wait for their prey, like animals.
     Pau-Llo and Kolla watched the new shore line on their left with the utmost apprehension;  they could see no major difference to Kiriwac, their beloved territory.  The vegetation was of the same medium height, luxurious, with  mangroves and tall trees;  only the mountains beyond were different. They suffered neither hunger nor thirst as their provisions of dried meat and fruit, together with rain water collected in gourds, were still sufficient.
     After some days, they planned to land anywhere that looked like a safe haven and where they would feel more secure. After many attempts, they finally managed to ride a large wave which ran them swiftly into the shore, where they found themselves on a beautiful and solitary beach. 
    
     Less than a moon had elapsed since leaving Kiriwac, and Pau-Llo and Ko-Lla now enjoyed some wonderful and fulfilling days on the beach with a euphoric feeling of freedom. Their anguish and sorrow seemed to have left them as nobody had bothered them, not even the animals which approached these two strange creatures apprehensively in order to observe and smell them.  They were like nothing they had encountered previously.
     One afternoon when Pau-Llo was out hunting and climbing up a hillside, he saw, to his horror and by sheer luck, the unequivocal silhouettes of Shapra and his brothers on the top of a nearby hillside to the north.  They were coming after them armed to the teeth. Carefully unloading the game he was carrying over his shoulder, Pau-Llo began to run as fast as his feet would carry him towards the cave where Ko-Lla was calmly sun-drying some food.
     By the time that Shapra and his team had closed in on the couple, they were desperately dragging the raft towards the sea to make their escape;  the pursuers saw that the waves were impeding the couple's efforts by repeatedly pushing them back towards the beach.  In a panic, the two repeated the operation over and over again - until by good fortune, and just as the assailants were approaching, a huge wave crashed onto the beach, and on its return journey towards the sea took hold of the small vessel;  they were lifted on the crest of the wave, which carried them onto the surf and out of immediate danger.
     Pau-Llo's vessel was a well thought-out raft, made up of bare logs lashed together with a system of rudimentary false keels and primitive oars. The boat was designed to be handled by a minimum of three persons, so the couple were having a hard time controlling it on their own.
     At last, with the adrenaline that only comes with sheer panic, Pau-Llo and Ko-Lla managed to pull heavily on the oars with one final thrust; they passed through the strong surf and into the deeper waters where the swell began. With this final, monumental effort, Ko-Lla lost her balance and fell overboard; she just managed to grab one of the oars dangling over the side, and Pau-Llo could pull his terrified partner back on board.
     Loaded down with their heavy war paraphernalia, the Shapra brothers struggled deeper into the surf after them, until they were up to their chests and could venture no farther.  Some threw their javelins and spears at the escaping prey, while others used their bows and arrows which narrowly missed the young couple.  They could hear the hiss of the arrows and whistling of the spears as they sped past them; some hit the raft and became embedded in the wood. All the while, the couple frantically rowed their craft while watching the furious reaction of their persecutors who were screaming abominations at them;  the raft veered away out of reach and became smaller and smaller as it headed for the horizon.
     Their rowing became more rhythmic and peaceful, but the two didn't dare relax until they could no longer see the coastline.  They gave thanks to Chan for having sent them a miracle. 
     The small vessel turned south once more and they soon lost count of how many days they had continued their escape into the unknown.  They touched land more than a few times where they spent several days at the most, foraging for food and looking for a suitable place to settle, until finally finding a sheltered stretch of beach.  There was a dry area of land where they dug out a cave which they covered with logs and palm leaves.  They found the weather to be pleasant and the hunting and fishing plentiful.
     Many moons later, when they were organized and feeling more comfortable and had realized that the world was larger than they had imagined, they began to experience a desire to explore and to visit new lands to the south. One fateful afternoon, when returning from one of these exploratory trips, they got caught again by El Niño. The raft did not obey their commands; rather than heading back north, where they wanted to go, the sea current was pulling them in the opposite direction.
     By early dawn,  they had spent the entire night trying to get back on course. They managed to make a little leeway but at a huge physical cost and they were both on the brink of exhaustion.  Only fear kept them awake.
     In spite of the fog that hid the stars and all the other celestial bodies, they were sure that they were not just circling around, but rather that the raft was drifting directly into the unknown. They had the sensation of having been swallowed by a huge reptile of gigantic proportion and sliding along its long, wet tongue.
     As they advanced the hot weather seemed to change somewhat, moderating a bit, and the fishing was good. At times they didn't even need to use their primitive harpoons or their rudimentary nets, as fish seemed to jump onto the raft of their own free will. After killing them with blows and gutting them with stone knives, they cleaned them with sea water and added ají, a variety of chilli pepper, that they had brought along;  it seemed to add a magic touch to their meals.
     On occasion they were visited by gigantic sea tortoises which, with an excess of familiarity, stayed close to the vessel and accompanied them for days, as did sea lions, dolphins and octopus; some times cormorants, albatross and other sea birds joined them. This showed that dry land couldn't be too far away. Apart from a sporadic, ugly encounter with a stubborn octopus that ended up as food for the couple, they did not confront any serious problems.         
     One night, they were awoken by a huge jolt and the raft began to shake ferociously.  A gigantic white shark had gripped the raft in its jaw and was shaking it from side to side with all the force it could muster.  Pau-Llo and Ko-Lla hung on for dear life but everything else on the raft scattered into the blackened waters of the ocean. 
     Luckily they had grabbed their harpoons at the outset of the attack and they frantically struck at the monster, trying to pierce its thick skin which seemed impenetrable and which rendered the harpoons useless as a weapon.  The youngsters were terrified of falling into the water and being crushed, or, worse still, eaten.  Suddenly, Pau-Llo lost his balance and went flying over the side into the dark water.  "This is it, the end of my life," he thought helplessly.  
     Only a flash of time seemed to pass between falling, reacting and swimming as fast as he could towards the raft. The shark was almost upon him, jaws opened wide for a vicious attack when Ko-Llo, at her wit's end, used a broken harpoon to land a frantic blow to the shark's nose, stunning it for a few precious seconds. She then dragged her partner onboard and started rowing again frantically. She hadn't thought about what she was doing, but had just reacted spontaneously to the danger.
     Although brief, the brutal battle was devastating. The ropes joining the logs had been loosened and frayed, and some of the planks had been lost.   To stay afloat, they had to think fast and use their initiative: they braided rudimentary ropes using they own clothes, some fishing nets and bags that hadn't gone overboard.
     Naked, with no food and no water, they hadn't the remotest possibility of surviving, only an immense desire that this torment should come to an end and the sooner the better; then father Chan, showing mercy, would receive them in the after life. They lay down embracing each other with unfettered passion, in part to protect them from the cold breeze and in part to experience some pleasure as a farewell to this present life. They caressed each other tenderly and under an open sky, with the flickering stars as witnesses, they made love as if it were the last time of their lives, then fell into a deep sleep.
     The burning sun awoke them near mid-day. The powerful sun rays had combined dangerously with the marine breeze to blister their dark skin; they found they had bloody, open wounds on their noses and lips, and that their throats were parched which made it hard to swallow and made it almost impossible to talk. Due to the strong sun rays reflecting off the water, their eyes were like two swollen balloons.
     They didn't even have the energy to finish off the flying fish that landed on the raft now and then. Days later, when hunger wrenched their guts, Pau-Llo managed, with great difficulty, to bite into the live fish all the while trembling and in great pain as his lips were so badly blistered.  He bit some off, and hand fed his partner. They were so confused and terrified at the way the Gods were treating them that they just wanted to die.
     Yet another day went by. Only Chan knew how many had passed! "Why did Sika-Li-Pu forget everything, forget that I am his brother, blood of his blood and send those bloody assassins to persecute us?" thought Pau-Llo. "And what did my mother and Tu-Pa do to avoid all this?" He did not reproach them as he knew them well and was sure they had done absolutely everything possible to avoid it. He would never know, however, that they were the first victims in that horrifying night: when Tupa tried to intervene and to stop Shapra, a terrific blow cracked his skull open followed by a piercing scream that slashed the night like a lighting bolt: it was Ti-Ka overcome by a heart attack at witnessing her son ordering the killing of his best friend.
     The drama was gradually coming to an end; any time soon father Chan would finally welcome them to the eternal life. Pau-Llo was having these thoughts when seagulls, fluttering around the remainder of the sorry raft and picking up leftovers of discarded fish, distracted their painful gaze towards the coastline that had appeared very dimly on the horizon to their left.  Fine-tuning their ears, they could hear the distant sound of waves breaking on the shore. Investing their last drop of strength and with the waves help, they ended up on a beautiful beach.
     Where were they?  Were they alive?  Was this father Chan's land?
     They staggered erratically like drunkards, zigzagging through the wet sand, but could only manage a few steps forward before collapsing.  They lay on the edge of the shoreline until the next day dawned.
     As the tide began to rise, the young lovers were woken by lapping waves against their lacerated bodies.  They slowly crawled higher up the beach and made their way to the vegetation that would provide shelter from the strong rays of the sun and protection during the period of convalescence. They found a nearby stream that provided fresh water, and they fed on molluscs called muy muys that became their only food for days. They were too weak to do anything but extract the Muy muy´s from their shells with their fingernails, clean the meat with seawater and gulp them down.

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