Context B from "Peoples, Drugs and Serpents", D.Anton, Piriguazú Ediciones
Primates of the
Seashore
That day the sea
was calm.
The sun cleared
wisps of cloud and quickly rose away from the horizon toward the highest point
of the blue dome.
Several men were
swimming in the bay and regularly diving for food. A few women remained in
the shallower areas and every now and then swimmed a few strokes away from the
beach and then returned.
Some children
were swimming near the women and babies stayed afloat strongly clinging to the
mothers long hair.
This people were
excellent swimmers. For many thousands of lunar months they approached the
shores of the sea and lagoons to search for
food.
They developed
great skill with their hands. Their long fingers and opposable thumbs adapted
marvelously to the exploration within the sandy and clayey bottoms, where
shellfish lives.
The skin on
their palms had spread slightly between the fingers to facilitate swimming.
Gradually their
bodies had lost their old fur and now appeared smooth, tanned, just covered by
a slight, almost invisible hair.
Adult males had
their faces and breasts covered by curly hairs that showed their manhood in the
eyes of females.
Very young
children spent many hours in the water with their mothers. They
instinctively swam from birth. The tasks of caring for infants were shared by
women and men.
When night came,
the group left the water and took refuge under the palm trees growing along the
beach.
When the sea was
rough, they preferred to remain on land where there was also enough food.
Many plants and animals provided a varied diet which complemented well the
usual tasty menu of oysters and crabs.
The trees gave
nutritious fruits and some plants had leaves and edible flowers.
There were
animals that they could kill and eat. Some were small and agile, others
were large and powerful. But these animal-humans had managed to hunt
through cunning ambushes or traps hidden in the foliage.
Some animals
were very important because in their droppings special, almost magic, fungi grew. When they ate them they increased their
sensitivity and skill. They could see
much further away, feel extremely mild odours and hear almost inaudible sounds,
allowing them to find rodents or other animals inside their deep burrows.
The
mushrooms had other main properties. Under their effect it was possible to hear
the voice of the Mother Serpent. She appeared in visions to explain the
past and the future.
These
animal-humans were at the same time, creatures of the sea and the forests, they
could swim almost as dolphins, they were able to quickly climb the trunks of
erect palms and, if necessary, ran quickly on the sands of the beaches.
We do not know
how they called themselves. Probably they used different names according to
their traditions and places.
We don’t know
either how much time has passed since then.
Maybe 3 or 4
million years.
A few bones
testify of their existence.
Some scientists
have named them with, hard to remember terms:, Australopithecus
africanus , Australopithecus robustus ,Australopithecus
afarensis , and other similar appellations.
Of those who
lived near the beaches, may be the majority, very few remains were preserved.
The only
incontrovertible remains are ourselves.
Some define them
as primitive, semi-human, a very small and simple precursor to the “real” human
beings who were to appear in the future version.
Surely it was
not.
The spiritual
essence that brings us together as a species was already there. From them
we came to be what we are ..
This happened long
ago.
It was the time
when humans were still brothers and sisters of animals and plants.
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