And so the days and the months passed...
Judging by the Suns' position on the horizon, it's probably been about a year now since I first arrived. I've also noticed that the mean temperature here has never varied by more than ten degrees over the past year... no more Midwest winters for me! I'd wager that the heavy forestation on this planet has a moderating effect on the weather. In other words the heavy forestation helps the planet to keep more of an even temperature, unlike Earth.
After a year or so of life in the village, I feel I have developed to my full physical capabilities. I'm able to do a full days work now, even by their standards, though I'll never have the strength these men do. I've gained about thirty more pounds... of muscle, not fat, thankfully. I'd estimate my strength now to be roughly equal to the average woman here... (ok, you can quit laughing at me now)! I can honestly say that I've never felt so good physically in my life as I do now... and mentally also. The sweating that comes from the daily physical work and the pure wholesome food over the past year has probably purged most of the toxins that had built up in my body. I can't remember the last time I had a headache, allergy problems, or an illness!
A few weeks after I first arrived in the village, other villagers persuaded me to stay for a few weeks in their company after they had talked it over with the four who first found me. That really worked out to be the best situation. I would be with each family... working in the fields, other times playing games with their children... or doing whatever was needed to help out. When the workday was over, I would leave them and return the next day. Over time, I had worked closely with everyone in the village, men and women, at one time or another, in one capacity or another, fishing, making implements, repairing housing, gathering and preparing food. I had gained their trust and likewise feel that each member of the village was a close friend to me.
In turn, each family was sharing meals with me, helping me learn their language... first by pointing to objects and saying its name, then common greetings, and later advancing to speaking a sentence while acting out a common situation like coming into a hut. Slowly, I learned the language of the people... the Sarn. That's what they call themselves.
I found that one of my favorite jobs was watching the children at play. They were always so full of energy, nearly always laughing, and seldom quarreled amongst themselves to any great degree. Speaking of the children, while watching over them one day, I was thinking back to the first day I arrived at the village. While chatting with them, I carefully maneuvered the conversation around and asked one child why they all snickered when Giff introduced me by name to them. The girl slowly lowered her head while looking downward and went silent. I bent down a bit and spoke to her very softly and said that it was ok ... she could tell me. Cupping her hands around her mouth, she very quietly whispered in my ear that "zhimm" was the name given to the small monkey-like creature that lived in the forests with a big nose. She quickly lowered her head again and hid her face in her hands. I started laughing to tears and pulled her close, hugging her. Hearing that I was laughing, she also started laughing, and threw her arms around me. I looked her in the eyes, pointed to my nose and said "zhimm... zhimm"... laughing, and while hunching over, I scratched under my armpits and walked around acting like a monkey. All the children joined in and nearly laughed themselves into side aches. Even the adults around us were laughing to tears watching us. I sure love those kids!
By the way, I have to mention something that took a while to realize, but it is so extraordinary. It dawned on me that I hadn't seen a case of real sickness among this people in the entire time I have been with them. Some of the children have had short durations of elevated temperatures, or the sniffles for a brief time... that's about it. I've seen nearly perfect pearly white teeth in everyone except the old ones, and even their teeth were not diseased, just simply wearing out... all this, in spite of the fact that there are no real medical doctors available, dentists, or vaccination programs in place.
All but the old ones were capable of doing a hard days work... including the women. I found out that the old ones are well over one hundred years old, and still move around well and are not even totally gray headed... having nearly a full head of hair. An old one passed away during the year. She was fairly active until a few days of her passing. I think she just simply wore out, she really wasn't sick. Generally, the only physical problems I've seen here are that of trauma. You know, an occasional fall... a broken bone or some other accidental injury... the stuff that happens simply because we live in a physical world.
I seem to recall taking a college class that mentioned a doctor named Weston Price who traveled all over the world in the early twentieth century studying the level of health of native peoples before civilization got to them. At that time, those people still had not been assimilated into the practice of eating a modern diet. The doctor found remarkable health in these aboriginal peoples. They were free of the diseases we believe are just part of life and aging. When those people started eating a "modern" diet, they were beset by the same ills of civilized man. Sadly, the doctor's findings were neglected to the detriment of human life. His findings just didn't fit into civilized life, or with the "learned" medical establishment. I think the Sarn are the typical example of his findings.
Comparing humans to the Sarn, humans seem to be their equal genetically, physically speaking, other than the Sarn's taller stature. I did find that their men are clearly much stronger than I. Even the women were physically stronger than me when I first arrived here, (a situation I found somewhat embarrassing at times). This, I attribute to their diet and the hardy physical life they’ve lived since day one, rather than to genetics. I grew up on the usual standard American diet, of which no doubt, hindered my body from ever reaching its full potential. By the way, it's amazing to look around this village and see women that I know are somewhat past middle age, (like Leea), that have "hour-glass" figures and are still quite physically attractive! Likewise, the men of the same age have very good muscle tone with "V" shaped torsos and lack the "pot bellies" of men on Earth.
Intellectually, I think we're equal, but I have to tell you what a difference I noticed between the Sarn children and human kids. The Sarn children are nursed longer by their mothers than human children are. Even before they are totally weaned, they have the purest, most nutritious foods available to them... (no junk foods, of course). I believe this alone gives them a jump-start on life that many human children never receive, (even in middle to upper class families). The minds of the Sarn are able to reach full intellectual capability, as well as their physical bodies.
At an early age, the children are with their parents learning and participating in every task that must be learned in order to survive in their world. They learn very quickly... and they have to. Their world can be a dangerous place, with the many different life forms present, as well as the common physical dangers of outdoor life. Their parents teach them to observe their world very carefully, to notice even the minutest of detail of what is going on around them... to use all their physical senses to their fullest potential.
If there is any one secret of the Sarn's well being, it's this; The Sarn have an affinity for a plant they call sibannac. This plant grows to heights of nearly ten feet and produces many pointed, jagged leaves along the length of its stalk. It has a beautiful glistening bud when mature that is used as medicine for body and mind... it's among the Sarn's most powerful medicinals. The plant is quite prolific and produces more than one crop per season.
Their very lives revolve around this plant... the way modern human civilization revolves around petroleum and its by-products. Sibannac produces a highly valued food source, and also provides the fiber that they use to make utensils, clothing, housing, sandals, fishnets, small things like necklace chain, bedding... nearly everything. The Sarn tend to this plant in their midst with near sacred devotion. Nearly every part of the plant is used, and that which is not is placed back in the soil to act as fertilizer for regrowth.
Something else to consider...
It seems that the Sarn try to keep their communities between thirty-five to fifty individuals. It seems to work best socially. Speaking to the issue of population, abundance of food would ordinarily lead to over-population fairly quickly. I learned that Sarn women have knowledge of, and make use of extracts from certain plants that inhibit fertility without compromising their health. They simply choose when the time is right for them to have children. Generally, the women feel that two or three children at the most is an ideal situation for them.
Naturally, limiting the number of people in any given area would not be so taxing on the eco-system, even though there is much abundance. That's one reason there is abundance. The main reason, from what I observed, is that the Sarn have got to be the best land managers that have ever been. I've noticed that they never clear land for any reason, (cutting down trees or other vegetation). They use what already is in place… rocks, or other natural formations of trees, etc. to build their huts around.
They also never over-harvest any resource, just because they can. They take only for their immediate needs, whether it is animal or plant. Here, there really isn’t any good reason to do otherwise. Nothing needed is in short supply. Where I come from, people would have killed each other grabbing all this abundance. First, they would have taken ten times their actual needs, afterward taking as much extra as possible, so they could sell it somewhere else for a profit. After there was nothing left, this paradise would have looked like the Badlands in the Dakotas. Then they would have moved on and done the same to the next area. That's how we operate. That's the general pattern of "civilized" humans. I wonder where a primitive people like this received so much wisdom.