Page 47 - Demo

47But as time wore on, the memory of the anaconda%u2019s teachings began to fade. The people grew proud and careless, forgetting the old ways. They polluted the rivers and cut down the trees, and the land began to wither. The forest darkened, and the rivers ran dry. The people, seeing the error of their ways, called out in their time of need. The anaconda surfaced once more. She gazed upon the people with eyes as old as time and sighed a breath that stirred the waters. She taught them anew the songs and the stories, the rites and the rituals, and the sacred dance of life. She showed them how to heal the wounds they had inflicted upon the land and themselves. Humbled and repentant, the people vowed to remember her teachings and to live harmony with the river and the forest once more.A large fire warms the faces of the people as everyone finds a place to sit. From an early age, each Carijona is instilled with a profound respect and responsibility for their heritage.This transmission of knowledge is not merely educational but a rite of passage, binding the youth to the land with unbreakable threads of tradition and duty.Now the storytelling can begin. The villagers smile as Tuma begins the telling of one of their favourite stories...At the dawn of time, the people were but children learning to walk the earth. The ANACONDA, seeing their innocence and need for guidance, emerged from the depths of her watery domain. She stretched herself across the land, her scales glistening in the sunlight, and whispered to the people the tales of creation and the laws of the forest.The people learned to follow the cycles of the river, to plant their crops by its rise and fall, and to fish with gratitude, taking only what they needed. But as time wore on, the memory of the anaconda%u2019s teachings began to fade. The people grew proud and careless, forgetting the old ways. They polluted the rivers and cut down the trees, and the land began to wither. The forest darkened, and the rivers ran dry. The people, seeing the error of their ways, called out in their time of need. The anaconda surfaced once more. She gazed upon the people with eyes as old as time and sighed a breath that stirred the waters. She taught them anew the songs and the stories, the rites and the rituals, and the sacred dance of life. She showed them how to heal the wounds they had inflicted upon the land and themselves.Humbled and repentant, the people vowed to remember her teachings and to live harmony with the river and the forest once more.THE CALL OF THE MIGHTY ANACONDA