The Last Sundancer Read Free Page B

flat lands that made up the base of their village.  
    Kaichen wondered why his mother spoke to him without his brother present.  Siada enjoyed the stories that his mother told, just as he did.  However, Denoa’s face was set and her eyes were determined.  Kaichen knew better than to question his mother when she had a purpose in mind. 
    “ It is said that long ago, a great warrior cleared the land and planted the first sunflower seeds.  The ancients shared his story amongst themselves and it has carried down to us from that day to this one.” Denoa waved her hand over the softly broken ground and Kaichen’s eyes followed his mother’s graceful gesture.
    Denoa did not try to bring attention to herself, she simply commanded it with her presence alone.  It was for this reason that she held the honored position of Beloved Woman.  She was a bringer of peace for their village. 
    “The great warrior’s name has been lost or perhaps it was too sacred to be spoken.  They did not live upon this land but in another.  Their story was passed down from one Beloved Woman to the next that it would never be forgotten.  The great warrior sought to honor his sister and he cleared the land for her.  He dug into the soil, breaking it apart with his bare hands and tools made from stone.  It is said that he worked until the sun rose from its resting place.  His hands bled, his back ached with each movement and still he dug, row after row, raking the land with his fingers when his stone tools gave out.” Denoa sat with her legs crossed beneath her and she was silent for a time. 
    Kaichen tried to envision his mother’s words so that he could look without seeing, listen without hearing.  In this way, the story would become entwined with his very being so as to become a part of his spirit. 
    Kaichen allowed his eyes to lose focus and as his mother continued the story , he looked with his inner eye and he listened with his heart.
    “The great warrior took sacred seeds gathered from the hands of the many villagers and he spread these about the land.   He pressed each small seed into the soil and covered them over. Each seed had its own resting place. He worked throughout the night and when the sun’s brilliant rays brought daylight to the land, each seed was in place.  The great warrior stood and invoked a blessing from the heavens.” 
    “He raised his palms to the sky and asked that the sunflower seeds grow with strong stalks and many flower petals.  It was the first time that a hunter and warrior planted seeds in the ground and waited for them to grow.” Denoa chanted a blessing over her son as he closed his eyes and went with her into the dream world that was open to them alone. 
    Kaichen slipped into the dream world without effort.  His ability to lose himself in the world of dreams was part of the reason that he was special, blessed amongst all. 
    Denoa had fought most of her life to meld her spirit with the dream world.  It was not easy for her and it came at great cost. 
    “It is said that the great warrior hurried to find his sister and he brought her to stand before the ground which had been changed for all time by the work of his hands.  The girl knew at once that her brother had given her a great gift.  She turned wise eyes to her brother and he blessed her with these words. 
    “That all may know that you are blessed amo ngst women, for you are our Sunflower maiden.” Denoa repeated the sacred phrase three times as Kaichen swayed back and forth to the rhythm of her voice. 
    “It was at that time that the way of the people changed.  We imitated the great warrior in all things, because he was a man of great wisdom and knowledge.  Soon other seeds were gathered and other seeds were sown.  We learned the way of the harvest.  The people no longer traveled from one place to another in search of food.  They remained in the sacred places where crops grow tall and strong.  They learned to cycle