Page 53 - Brugger Karl The chronicle of Akakor

The Chronicle of Akakor
"Let us go to war!" So spoke the women. "Are we not numerous enough to drive off the
bearded strangers? Are we not strong enough to defeat them?" And the women of the Akahim
rose up. They broke their bowls, and they broke their pots. They extinguished the fire on the
hearth, and they went to war. They wanted to show their strength to the White Barbarians.
They were going to crunch their bones and turn their flesh to dust.

The Akahim war against the White Barbarians is one of the proudest chapters in the history of mankind. In
alliance with the survivors of the Tribe of Wanderers, they fought great battles against their enemies. The
warring women attacked the hostile ships lying at anchor from large canoes. They shot flaming arrows into
the sails and set them alight. To stop the advance of their enemies, they dammed the rivers with giant
stones. Like the Ugha Mongulala, they destroyed their own country. In this way, the Akahim withstood the
attack of the White Barbarians for seven years. During this time they killed thousands of bearded warriors
and were themselves killed by the thousands. And then the strength of the Akahim was broken. The women
had proved their courage and brought their people to the brink of perdition. The laments of the fraternal
nation were so loud that weeping and sorrow also erupted in Akakor.

The earth was red, red from real blood. But it was a good death the valiant Akahim had found,
the best. They broke the force of the enemies. They ground their bones like grinding corn for
flour. They threw their bones into the racing current. And the water carried them away, through
the lesser and the greater mountains.

The women of the Akahim, called Amazons in the language of the White Barbarians, have remained valiant
warriors. Despite heavy losses, they succeeded in ordering the life of the community anew in the course of
centuries and in preventing the advance of the White Barbarians into the original tribal territory. They
separated from the Allied Tribes and established a new order in the life of the community. Today only
10,000 people are left of the formerly powerful tribe who lived in the inaccessible valleys in the Parima
mountains. They pass the main part of their lives in the underground dwellings of the Gods. They only
come up to the surface to till their fields and to hunt.

The life of the Akahim differs completely from that of my own people. They are ruled by a princess who is
a descendant of the warlike Mena. She is the absolute sovereign of her people. She selects the members of
the high council, the warlords, and the officials. All high offices are reserved for women. Men serve as
simple soldiers or work in the fields. Even the high priest is a woman. As in my nation, she preserves the
bequest of the Gods. Since the women’s rebellion, the Akahim no longer know marriage. Only during
pregnancy do men and women enter into a loose union. After the birth of the child, the man is once again
rejected by the woman. From the age of twelve, girls enjoy a privileged education in the priestesses’ schools
and are trained in the art of war and in the administration of the realm. From this age on, the boys are
obligated to work. They have no rights and live like slaves. They are expelled from the tribal union for the
smallest misdemeanor and are forced to leave the underground dwellings. Many of these unhappy ones have
fled to Akakor. Here they have taken a wife of the Ugha Mongulala and have founded a new family. For the
women of my people are content with the part the Gods allotted them: to be faithful servants of the men.

Tona was dissatisfied with her husband. She was unhappy. Her heart was heavy. And she went
to the high priest and asked for advice. She wanted help. She wanted to part from her husband.
But the high priest ordered Tona to be patient. She was to remain with her husband until she
had written down his ten greatest faults; only then might she leave him. And Tona returned to
her house. She wanted to write down the ten gravest faults of her husband. She wanted to put
down what she did not like in him. But when she had found his first fault she did not think it
worth recording. And when she discovered the second fault, she thought it too slight. And the
days passed. One moon followed the other. And the years passed. And Tona grew old. Not one
fault of her husband’s had she written down. She was happy and an example to her children

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