20. Triple celebration

Just a few more hours and then there’s a big party! All morning Gaméla and Sisoi are walking around with smiling faces. Several families have gathered specially for the party in the bay of Saint Martin’s Cove, near Cape Horn. There is another canoe arriving. It is mooring next to the other canoes. The group is big. Sisoi counts, thirty-five, forty canoes in total.

The Yahgans have a triple celebration. Recently the baby of the uncle and the aunt of Gaméla and Sisoi was born. There is also another newborn among the people they have never met before. The second reason for the celebration: some boys and girls who are 12 and 13 years old, will learn to take care of themselves. They will also learn which rules and traditions are important in life. Gaméla and Sisoi are still too young for this ritual. As a crown on the party, there is plenty of food for everyone.

Last week, there were rumours about a stranded whale at Saint Martin’s Cove. Those who found the whale first, called the other canoe families with smoke signals. Their parents also went there. In the distance Sisoi saw the huge body of the whale. The families took the dead animal closer to the beach so that the sea could not flush it away anymore. Very seldom do they enjoy such quantities of rich food. Usually the Yahgan people, being sea nomads, are very thin, so now they can regain their strength. A whale means having food for weeks. At such opportunity, the canoe nomads combine all festivities and have a great celebration which can last for weeks.

The older children gather branches in the forest. There is more than enough wood for all families to make a fire on which they’ll prepare food later. All the ingredients for the triple celebration are prepared. The adults decorate themselves and their children with red colours. There is still time, and whilst playing the children reach the edge of the forest. “Look for some fruits and nuts in the forest, will you? But come back in time, because the party is about to begin!”, shouts Gaméla and Sisoi’s mum. “And be aware! Don’t get too close to the swamp!”

• When was the last time you had a party?
• What kind of fruits and nuts could you find in a forest where you live?
• What kind of animals live in a swamp?
• Would you like to continue writing on this story? Would you like to make a drawing or create a photo about this story? Send it to my e-mail and I will post it on your behalf on the website.
• Or continue reading. Next story: 21. Beastly ice

The charm of the woods -Il fascino dei boschi- by C. Vignati, more on Fb-page ClaudiaClotilde