The Autumn of Matriarchal Society (Novella) Zhang Baotong 2018.10.10

Day by day it was getting colder, even a little cold. The change of seasons is a big deal for the original matrilineal family. Because the season of ice and snow means a lack of food, it is very cold, and for their entire family, every day is a test of life and death. So, they have to find a way to save food now and be best prepared for the winter.

That morning, Wu Ma and her two daughters came to the river with spears and wooden shovels. Although the rain has stopped for two or three days, the surging water of the river has not subsided. The water level is still very high. Wu Ma has long thought about using the high water level of the river to catch fresh fish. Now that the sky had set, she decided to start fishing.

They went to a place near the river where the water level was relatively high, and used a wooden shovel to dig a gap in the embankment to let the river flow out through the gap. They then stopped many branches in the gaps. In this way, many live fish will flow out of the river, and when they pass through the branches, they will be stopped by the branches. This is the fishing method they use every year.

They dug a shallow and narrow gap in the embankment where they had dug it last year, and then they piled a large bundle of branches that had been removed from the trees and piled them under the gaps, and fixed them on both sides with stakes so that when the river flowed down, the branches would not run away.

When everything was ready, they opened the gap and released the water. The river flowed slowly down the shallow, narrow gap. In order to attract the fish, they also sprinkled a lot of grass on the water near the gap. In order to prevent the grass from drifting away with the current, they used some long branches to block the grass on the river.

But in a few moments, two not-so-large fish were struggling to jump among the branches. The fawn hurried over, stood in the water, and reached out to pick up the two fish and throw them on the grass beside them. Then, several more fish rushed out of the gap in the embankment. The fawn was in a hurry to pick up the fish. After a while, there was a patch of fresh fish jumping and jumping in the meadow.

Wu Ma is holding a knife made of stones and throwing away the intestines of the fish, because these internal organs are easy to rot and spoil. While the deer put the fresh fish cut by his mother to dry in the sun, he kept sprinkling grass on the water.

By about mid-afternoon, they had caught so many fish that they couldn't fit in their baskets, so they had to leave them on the grass to dry. However, these fish are very attractive to flies, and when flies are present, they tend to smell and smell bad. So, they can't catch too many fish. Eventually, they decided to open the gap and let the river and fish continue to flow out in the low-lying area below the gap. After a while, the water in the low-lying area slowly dried up, and they were able to catch a lot of fresh fish.

They brought three baskets, but they were full, and there were still many fish that could not fit them, so they had to put them on the grass and come back in baskets later. Today's harvest of so many fresh fish made Wu Ma very happy, and she wanted to put these fish by the fire and slowly roast them dry, so that they could be stored for a long time as food for the family to store for the winter. And, tomorrow morning, they can catch some more fresh fish, and if they're lucky, they'll be able to stock up on food for at least thirty or forty days for the winter. When the snow and snow cover the mountains, they no longer have to worry about running out of food.

When they returned home, they saw that it was dark in the cave, and they went into the cave in the dark, and saw that the fire had been extinguished, and the old mother was lying motionless on the bed of animal skins. Wu's mother was shocked, wondering if her mother had lost her breath. She didn't want her mother to die because people didn't want people to die at home. When a person is about to die, the family will carry her to a place where no one is there and let him die on his own.

She put down the basket in her hand, crouched down beside the fire, and picked up a handful of pine leaves and placed them on the ash pile, trying to revive the extinguished fire. However, the ashes of the fire were already a little cold, and there was no way to get up again. She dropped the pine leaves, patted the dust off her hands, and leaned down to observe her mother's breath. Mother still has breath, but the breath is very weak.

At this moment, the mother's eyes opened, and a series of feeble moans came out. From this moan, she knew that her mother would not live for a few days. However, she is still inseparable from her mother, because she has to take the child to find and store food, and the family needs someone to watch, at least someone to watch and not let the fire go out. Fire is absolutely indispensable for the family, in addition to barbecue food, but also lighting and heating. Fire is also the center of the family's surroundings and can make the family feel warm and safe.

However, the mother did not do her duty and extinguished the fire. This made her very angry. Because it was not easy to lead the fire, she had to go to someone else's house near her to borrow the fire. Going to someone else's house to borrow fire not only had to send some gifts to them, but also had to make her travel a long way. She wanted to scold her mother, but she felt that her mother was dying, so she held back.

She said to her two daughters, "Go and get all the fish from the river, and I'll go to your aunt's house and borrow fire." ”

The daughters answered, and threw the fish in the basket to the ground of the hole, and carried the basket out of the hole.

Wu Ma used a small basket to fill more than a dozen fish, and went out. The neighbor she was going to was not close, at least half an hour's walk. The neighbor's owner's name is Aya, who is the younger sister of her mother, and lives on the other side of the Houshan River. However, the cave in their house is not as big as theirs, and only a dozen or so people can live. But Aya had three daughters and two sons. The two sons have long since left home. Among the three daughters, the eldest daughter is less than thirty years old, and the second daughter is also twenty-five or sixteen years old, and they all already have two or three children, only the youngest daughter is still young, only seventeen or eighteen years old.

The family lives in a cave on the top of a hill by the river, which is far from the forest, so life is naturally not as good as hers. Because men are already a little tired and hungry when they come back from hunting, they often choose to go to the nearest woman's house. Wu Ma also visited their house last summer. At that time, they hunted a large black bear, because the weather was hot, and if they couldn't finish it, the meat would rot and spoil. So, her mother brought a large piece of black bear meat with her to her house.

Wu Ma walked along the side of the river, then went up to a high slope, and then went down from a high slope to the bottom of a not too high hill on the side of the river, and made a big bend along the side of the river, and then went up to the top of a mountain on the opposite side. There are three caves side by side on the top of the mountain, and the cave in the middle is where Aya's family lives.

Aya was not at home, and her youngest daughter Niu'er stayed alone in the cave. I haven't seen her for a year, and Niu Er has become a mature woman, pouting with a big belly, as if she is about to give birth, so she can't go out with her mother, so she can only stay at home and watch the fire at home and do some easier housework.

When Niu Er saw that Wu Ma was coming with a gift, she knew that Wu Ma was here to borrow fire, because every family was busy foraging for food all day long, so how could they have time to go to other people's houses. And you can't go to other people's homes empty-handed, and going empty-handed will make people drive people out. Because you will delay other people's time and consume other people's food. On the contrary, as long as you go to someone's house with a gift, even if you have never known someone, they will receive you very warmly.

The ox took the basket, poured out the fish in it, put it by the fire, returned the basket to Wu Ma, and then found two arm-thick pine sticks from the firewood and grass, and lit them on the fire. Because there is oil in the pine wood, it will catch fire immediately when it is put on fire. Niu Er handed the two lighted pine sticks to Wu Ma. Wu Ma took the loose handle and left. The pine handle was blown by the mountain wind, and it kept flashing, as if it was about to be blown out. But Wu Ma knew that the fire would not be extinguished, but it was a pity for her dozen or so fish.

When Wu Ma returned home, it was a little dark, and the children had already collected all the fish and were sitting at the door of the house waiting for her. When Mama returned home, the children had already prepared the firewood and grass. She put the pine handle on the firewood and grass, and the fire was lit at once, and the whole hole suddenly lit up.