"What? Longship tribe, you want to stay?"
The wooden house is low, with a faint smell of tobacco lingering in the nose, and a fresh earthy smell of crocodiles. Hearing Priest Tomat's words, Chief Shuihua opened his eyes wide in surprise and opened his mouth wide, with a look of disbelief on his face.
Priest Tomat was so rested, with a faint smile on his face, that he was ready for negotiation. Chief Splash was as shocked as he expected. However, when the other party spoke next, it was completely different from the conversation he had originally envisioned!
"Ah! Priest Tomat, are you going to take the Longship Tribe and join our Mayari Tribe?"
Chief Splash scratched his head, a little embarrassed, and then showed a sincere smile.
"Well, with the addition of hundreds of young men, the tribe's food and housing will be a little tight. But it doesn't matter! With so many more young men, we can separate the stems and cultivate a new cassava field! Wait for the new cassava seeds. Next, I estimate that it will only take eight months to grow into harvest, and then it can be harvested for many years.”
"By the way, you also have long boats that can go fishing in the deeper sea. I know a few bays in the north, where there are many and fat fish! Oh, and your huts, as long as the rainy season is over , in September or October, we can cut the grass and build houses. On the high side of the hill in the south, the land for building houses is ready. I will call on everyone to help with it."
Chief Shuihua pinched his fingers, thinking one by one, and spoke faster and faster. Priest Tomat had recently learned Taíno and his level was limited. After hearing this, he was already confused. He stared blankly at Chief Splash. The expression on his face was indeed sincere and did not mean to insult the kingdom at all.
"Let the elite and tough kingdom warriors join the Mayari tribe and then farm, fish, and build huts? Chief Shuihua, are you really serious?"
Priest Tomat's face twitched, and thousands of thoughts flashed through his mind, but when they came to his mouth, they turned into simple and straightforward Taino words.
"Ah! Chief Shuihua, you are mistaken! We stay here not because we want to join the Mariya Tribe, but because we want to create a new tribe in the bay to the north of the Holy Mountain, by a river!"
"Oh! Create a new tribe? So it's like this, in the bay north of the 'Sacred Mountain', by the river? Well, I know that location. If you walk quickly, it's only a day's journey. Right?"
Seeing Priest Tomat nod solemnly, Chief Splash stopped. He thought about the terrain carefully for a while, and a smile appeared on his face again.
"I remember going to that location when I was hunting. It was really good! You can grow cassava by the river, and the bay to the north is surrounded by a lagoon, which is very suitable for fishing! Well, it's a good location to establish a tribe!"
Hearing Chief Shuihua clarify the location of Iron Bay Town, Priest Tuomat looked solemn, straightened up, prepared for negotiations again, and spoke calmly.
"Dear Chief Shuihua, the tribe we established is to protect the entire sacred mountain and the bay. Therefore, we need all the land within a fifty-mile radius from the sacred mountain to the bay!"
"oh!"
Upon hearing this, Chief Shuihua paused slightly, nodded, and said nothing. Then, he and Priest Tomat stared at each other for a long time, neither of them spoke.
After a while, Priest Tomat couldn't bear it any longer. He took the initiative and asked in a deep voice.
"Then what?"
"Huh? What then?"
"That land should belong to the Mayari tribe, right? What price do we need to pay to buy that land?"
"Huh? Price? Purchase land?"
Hearing this, Chief Shuihua's face instantly showed confusion. Priest Thomas touched his chin and patiently explained a few words. Chief Shuihua listened for a while, shook his head and smiled. He spoke candidly, his eyes as clean as a stream flowing down from the mountains of Cuba.
"Haha! Priest Tomat, the tribe you come from is really interesting. How can the land blessed by the gods and ancestors have an owner? The land is a gift from the gods, and it is not the tobacco and pottery produced in the village, so what? Can I trade and buy?”
"This vast land belongs to all tribes. No one is the owner of the land. We just work on the land and receive gifts from the earth! The land in the sacred mountain area is very hard and cannot grow food. There should be no tribes exists. And around the bay, there may be some small tribes of a hundred or ten people occupying a little bit of land."
"So, whether it is a 'sacred mountain' or a bay, as long as it is land that has not been developed by other tribes, you can settle and develop it, cultivate the fields, and build villages. And when the village is built, the surrounding small tribes will most likely choose to join you. .After all, you have many strong men, good bows and arrows for hunting, and good boats for fishing.”
Speaking of this, Chief Splash hesitated for a moment, then added with a smile.
"Well, if there are young people in the village who want to join you and create a new tribe with you, I won't stop you. Building a new tribe requires manpower after all. In the epic told by the tribe many years ago, , the same is true for the Mayari tribe. It’s just that you have too many men and are short of women. But fortunately, you have a lot of things on board.”
"After your village has taken shape, I can send some hunters to contact the small tribes in the surrounding mountains and forests and invite them to join you! Some small tribes in the mountains are not doing well, and there are relatively few men. It just complements each other with you. There must be men and women in the tribe so that it can continue for a long time."
Chief Shuihua chatted for a long time, even worrying about the male-female ratio in the kingdom's stronghold.
Priest Thomas was stunned in place, all the negotiations he had prepared were cancelled, and he couldn't even utter a word for a long time. At this moment, he quietly stared at Chief Shuihua's face, with thousands of complicated emotions flowing fiercely in his heart.
He has sailed thousands of miles, experienced hundreds of battles, seen so many plateaus and Mayan city-states and tribes, and chatted and laughed with so many great chiefs! What kind of swords and axes have he not seen before? But at this moment, in front of an ordinary Taino chief, he was at a loss.
After a while, Priest Tomat felt a sense of peace that he had never experienced before, a rarely seen trust, and a low sigh.
"Witness the Lord God! You simple Taíno people, I will convert you all and become people under the Lord God's shroud! Because without the Lord God's blessing, you will definitely not be able to survive the invasion of white-skinned evil. .”
"Ah? Priest Thomas, what are you reciting?"
Chief Splash paused and looked curiously at Priest Tomat's prayer. The other party smiled slightly and answered with a smile.
"Chief Shuihua, I am praying to the Lord God for you! The Lord God replied to me and said that he is willing to protect you. How about coming and converting to the Lord God?!"
"Well"
Chief Shuihua's face showed embarrassment again. Priest Tomat smiled and reached out to pat the chief on the shoulder. Then, he straightened his body and asked in a deep voice.
"Dear Chief Shuihua, the kingdom is ready to settle down by the Bay River and reclaim the land. However, after all, that was the Mayari tribe's former activity range. Do you really not need any compensation?"
"compensate?"
Chief Splash scratched his head and thought carefully for a while. After a moment, he saw the bird feathers hanging in the wooden house and replied.
"There are many birds and animals on that land. The hunters of the tribe often go there to hunt. If you settle there, the hunters will have to change places."
"Well, Priest Tomat, if you really want to compensate, give some gifts to the hunters!"
"Okay! What kind of gift do you want? How much do you want?"
Priest Tomat did not hesitate, readily agreed, and was ready to donate generously. The hunter's status in the tribe has always been very high, and he will not be stingy. What's more, in his opinion, this is some price in exchange for land, and it is also a need for good relations with the Mayari tribe.
However, to Chief Splash, this is really just a gift to the hunter. He pinched his fingers, tried to count the number of hunters, and answered with an estimate.
"A hunter is given two white gems to enshrine the Zemi God's tablet for hunting. Then, give him a small bag of gems from the lake!"
(End of chapter)
