Black-feathered warblers fly by the seaside, their golden shoulder feathers flashing. This small songbird is so swift and beautiful, and so lively. They blinked their small eyes and landed on the nearby beach, curiously staring at the longship they had never seen before.
After a while, the long boat docked at the beach. The familiar two-legged beast jumped to the shore, waving its extra-slender claws and letting out a strange and rhythmic cry.
"God bless us! We have reached the shore again!"
Seeing this scene, the timid warblers all shrank their bright feathers. Then, they turned around hastily, chirped to remind each other, fled into the jungle with their wings, and disappeared in a moment.
"Ah! Praise the Lord God! This is the bird from my hometown, symbolizing good luck! I didn't expect to see it here!"
Seeing the golden feather light of the warbler flying away, Puton warrior Moka Yin was startled, and a long-lost smile bloomed on his face.
After a long voyage, more than a hundred Puton soldiers who boarded the ship had lost forty or fifty of them in fighting and disease. As the leader of the Puton warriors, Moka Yin felt heavy in his heart. Although he was known to be stoic and had become accustomed to death, he still felt uncontrollably tired of this nautical exploration with no end in sight.
The Prepecha warriors and sailors on the same ship, and the warriors of the Silver Crow tribe, sailed for a longer period of time, even close to a year. They were also deeply tired from this long voyage. Even though the faith of the main god inspired everyone, the priests who accompanied the ship often comforted them, and the villages along the way provided sufficient food and water, and also provided some additional comfort. The morale of the entire exploration fleet was still inevitably declining day by day.
Because the sailors have been bumpy for too long and trekked for too long. They long for stability, even if they just stay somewhere on the island and rest, it is a hundred times more comfortable than constantly wandering at sea. Navigation in this era, even along the coast, was a hard and tiring ordeal.
Until a few days ago, the trustworthy Captain Chihuaco solemnly announced that the fleet had turned back to the west, and its destination was not far ahead! Everyone's morale recovered slightly. And Moka Yin also had some interest. He could carry a sharp throwing spear and look at the flying birds in the sky.
"Ouch! The elders of the tribe said that meeting a bird is a good omen for a hunter!"
Following Moka Yin's shouts of joy, the Puton warriors on several boats also howled happily, followed by the Silver Crow warriors under Osprey, and then the sailors of all races rowing the boats.
In the Campeche region of the Central Maya, you can also see dexterous flying warblers. This beautiful and colorful bird can be found almost all along the Caribbean coast, and is a favorite creature along the coast. In the entire fleet, only the warriors from Prepecha looked at each other in confusion, not recognizing this beautiful bird that did not exist on the plateau.
"Praise the Lord God! Encountering warblers is a good omen for the fleet!"
Priest Thomas was the first to react. After hearing Tikalo's translation, he became excited, held up the scriptures, and shouted to the crowd.
"This is the will of the Lord God and the blessing of the Lord God! She told us that the destination of the voyage is just ahead! Praise the Lord God! God bless us!"…
Soon, the old militiaman Chihuaco, along with the backbone of the ship, responded. Then, the shouts turned into cheers, gradually spreading far and wide, resounding throughout the entire exploring fleet.
"Praise the Lord God! God bless us!"
The deafening cheers continued, and soon attracted the attention of the coastal Taínos. Dozens of Taíno militiamen, holding spears, cautiously approached and communicated with the fleet's translator, Kuba, for a moment.
Then, the faces of these simple Taino villagers also showed happy expressions. They held their wooden spears high and called out the names of the local tribes.
"Yaya Yaya! Piragua piragua'? Guarico Ke'? The great spirit of divinity welcomes the longship visitors to our land! The beautiful warblers welcome their kindred from far away, here is the' red The cassava tribe' of the soil, the red soil tribe!"
The Red Soil Department is located on the coastal plain, relying on a large river flowing out of the inland, and there are also lagoons rich in aquatic products outside the bay. Seeing such terrain, Chihuaco knew at a glance that this must be a large tribe! On the Cuban Snake Island, the necessary conditions for a large tribe are plains that provide food, rivers that provide fresh water, and coastal lagoons or inland lakes that provide fish. The population of each large tribe is about two thousand to three thousand people. The population of each department will not be particularly large, nor will it be particularly small. It appears to be very even, which is estimated to be the limit of natural carrying capacity.
The fleet traveled three thousand miles along Cuba's Snake Island, making a full half-circle, passing more than a dozen large tribes, but never encountered a particularly large tribal alliance. This means that there have been no large-scale fights or cruel merger wars between the major tribes.
For thousands of years, the peaceful and kind-hearted Taíno islanders have maintained almost the simplest social form and the gentlest ethnic relations, and have never taken a step further to transform into a higher organizational form.
And this also hints at the exploration fleet. There is no tribal alliance on the Cuban Snake Island three thousand miles away, let alone the prototype of a kingdom. There are no dedicated warriors in the Taíno villages, and no aristocratic nobles with higher status and powerful power are born from the warrior clan. The status of the villagers is more equal, they work and celebrate together, and raise children together.
The tribe lacks herbal medicine and likes to smoke sacred smoke. And because of insufficient processing technology, they have long eaten slightly poisonous cassava. Therefore, the life span of villagers is often very short, and the elders in the clan are only thirty or forty years old. This high mortality rate of population renewal smoothly maintains the population balance on the island and even retains the ancient matrilineal clan characteristics.
Everything is the oldest and most simple. Everything stood still, as if frozen in time, just as it had been thousands of years ago.
"Well, the Red Earth Ministry has also formed a patrol militia armed with wooden spears!"
Chihuaco, an old militiaman, glanced over the welcoming Taino militiamen and immediately noticed something different. There was some speculation in his eyes. He looked at Priest Thomas, who nodded affirmatively.
"The fish pond outside the village was empty. The villagers were initially wary. The canoes in the village were all parked together. There were people guarding the Red Soil Department. They must have been attacked by the Siguayo people!"
"Then just adapt to the situation and see the attitude of the local leader!"
"good!"
The local leader didn't show anything special. They quickly determined that the longship coming from afar had nothing to do with the Siguayu bandits, but to the former Mayapan caravan.
"Praise the Moon Goddess! Praise the Cassava God! Praise the Storm Goddess! Praise the Death Ancestors! You are friends, not enemies!"
Since a friend is visiting, the welcome dinner will be treated as if it has arrived. Everyone in the fleet worked hard for another night, with smiles of pain and joy on their faces.
The next day, Priest Thomas got up early and couldn't wait to wake everyone up. Then, he announced excitedly.
"I chatted with several girls from the Red Earth Tribe all night! They told me that the reason why this place is called 'Red Earth Tribe' is because the land is red! And in the south of the tribal village, there are several red earth and rock mountains. !”
"Puap, call for a small team of warriors! Let's go and see if there are any mineral deposits that the kingdom needs in these red soil mountains!"
bq
