The Quest of the Zorami
There are a lot of unknowns about the Zorami; a manuscript of them--these semi-ancient native Americans--it was found by a woman in the early 19th century that was later translated by a combination of forensics, cross-linguistic triangulating, and computer technology.
The following are the things we know, from the manuscript of some who knew about them, while other details are arrived at through the power of imagination and memory.
The Zorami clan numbered about a thousand; they were not good at recording much by hand, so their lives were passed on in oral histories and imperatives. They had a high standard of expectation to live and comply with, especially compared to their neighboring tribes that later became the Mike, the Trique, and the Ixcatec. Scientists would like to be able to determine what centuries that the Zorami lived: the best that the experts can estimate was that their major history occurred between 700 AD and 1300 AD, long after the peak of some Meso-americans and well before the Europeans brought their awful eugenics to the hemisphere.
The thousand of them divided their families as constituted among what we consider in modern times as traditional families. One husband, one wife, as many children as possible, and older grandparents as they survived.
Each family was headed by a man and a woman. A man without a woman "co-leader" was not featured for leadership. Usually the Zorami had a head chief, and between 10 and 20 next chiefs up after him, and his accompanying wife. Single adults were good as special officers and trainers, but were not counted on for direct leadership.
Usually a man, or a woman, could re-marry when their spouse died and the family units continued as normally as possible. These relationships were one to one and monogamous. And notably, the individuals would wait for their partner, like themselves, to begin family creations, or relations conjugally.
In other neighboring tribes, some of them numbering tens of thousands of people, there were men with harems and concubines, there were relationships of men and women more openly, depending on their likes or tastes. Some of the minors experimented with desires and curiosities at young ages and when not committed to another partner, or not being devoted to being a parent and a partner.
The Zorami felt this was strictly taboo. It was not proper to act like a life partner with anyone but the officially recognized one, and the behavior outside of that was not virtuous, and would lead to destruction.
The partnership of the husband and wife was considered fundamental as well. The Zorami noticed in the other tribes that there would be sometimes only the man in charge, and the woman or spouse or concubines acted like property or slaves. Children were also kept in a lower station around much of the non-Zorami. Zorami tried to cultivate their youth to be co-active and co-independent. To be their future leaders and forgers of their destined fate, to be the best people that they could, according to their beliefs and principles.
There were three huge imperatives that they lived by, and these were their creed and their raison de etre. Those three virtues, were actually virtuous in their own definitions:
Dedication to one spouse, and the subsequent family.
Dedication to virtue.
Dedication to modesty.
Each imperative required nuances and practices unique to the Zorami, thus making them unique, peculiar. Sometimes ridiculed, sometimes mocked, oftentimes targeted and persecuted. They felt that they were safer, happier, and that the mysterious purposes of life were being answered by their determination to living these causes and practices.
No one knew all the exact reasons why, though. Some talked about a time long ago when their forefathers spoke to the heavens, or that there were spiritual guides who knew the ways of all existence, of contentment, peace, and prosperity. No one read and therefore no one could recall all the reasons, so they met together often to discuss and recount the ways. Songs and prayers were always shared, too.
Some of them thought that these sessions could be redundant or pointless, but the majority of them knew that to maintain their particular way of living required these get togethers and meetings.
The Mafume Clan
Ataf was a the fifth biggest tribal leader of the thousand strong Zorami. He was well respected, because he seemed to be well grounded at everything. He was very well trusted. While the top kinsman, the Tribal Toki, was strong and brave, and wise, he also sometimes showed weaknesses that Ataf rarely displayed. The top leaders would have moments of indiscretion or impertinence that Ataf never had been known for.
Ataf was happy as the fifth highest of the tribe. He was happy with his place, his wife, his children, and what gave him the most pleasure or contentment was that he knew that his people, the small but stable Zorami, were living the best that they could. Ataf's wife was Japhatha; they were stable and happy, and tried to stay vigilant as all parents did. They had multiple children but struggled to help them all feel the importance of the priorities, the reality of them to strive for. Ataf had a single brother named Chinguic who was single and hoping to find a wife. His former wife had died of calamity five years before.
Beesala was the eldest daughter of Ataf and Japhatha. She seemed to be growing in the way of the tribe but then in a season changed her attitude at a later stage of her growth. First the mother and then the father learned that a young man of an outside tribe had deceived them and violated the virtue of Beesala; this caused quite a consternation among them. They brought the issue to Chinguic, who mulled it over and decided to take matters into his own hands when finding out the perfidy of the youth.
After four years of search and verification, Chinguic found the young man who comprised his niece's stature; Chinguic killed him. Chinguic was sending a message to all: do not compromise their values and imperatives. Sometimes, subsequently and later in discussions and other moments of reflection, he thought it might have been out of spite or hate--but he believed it was deeper than that. He believed it was about who they were. If he could not stand up for the law of how they wished to live, how in fact could they go on? Could they continue as a people, or would they devolve into the masses of the others?
What were all the lessons and stories for, if not to preserve and uphold themselves?
Chunguic's action, or retribution, brought more scrutiny and scorn upon the Zorami, perhaps more than ever before.
More tribes wished to do away with them; the Zorami had to learn to be more warrior-like. Existential survival was difficult from day to day. They had to be on guard from marauding neighbors, which made it more difficult to concentrate on other tasks, including food production.
Their continual quest to find some tribal members to learn to read or write went on frustrated, never coming to anything. If one came somewhat close to learning the symbols of the pen or the pencil, they would be captured or killed, or tragically die of a disease.
Life and their struggles were very hard.
Struggle to Remember
Ataf, like all the loyal Zorami, knew that they were different from others and other tribes for moons away, even whole seasons away. They had peculiar practices and beliefs that the greater numbers of neighbors did not share. They thought that there were others with their similar values, but they had no idea where. They would love to know where they were.
These three large principles or imperatives that others of the lands did not share as much made them unique:
Dedication to one spouse, hopefully for life. Others, even within their clans, wished to be adulterous and lecherous.
Dedication to virtue. Tying not to be ostentatious and overbearing. Others, even the youth and some older among them, wanted to do things that were low and degrading.
Dedication to modesty. Dress appropriately, speak in honorable ways. Others, and sometimes within the tribe and clans, would adopt ways of wearing less clothing and doing things with less decorum.
The oral traditions of stories and songs, and certain prayers provided ways to propagate the knowledge that they tried to maintain. But, the standards of generations past were being taken away, person by person, couple by couple.
These things that they strove for made them very different from other tribes, which made interacting with others a potentially difficult process. Some more belligerent tribes would take advantage of them as they could, by negotiating unfairly with them, sometimes by means of extortion or kidnapping.
Sometimes the Zorami youth thought their values and mores and practices were too antiquated and stifling, backward, too conservative and restrictive. Occasionally, even the adult Zorami would be tempted into thinking more open sexual lifestyles were acceptable.
This would make the relationship within the tribe very awkward, and often untenable.
Case after case would crop up over time: a young man would want to test his oats on other youth, or some foreign tribe member, or a young lady was convinced that her parents, her grandparents, her entire tribe and tribal history for unknown generations had been talking absurdities about virtue till the right time and staying modest, saving oneself for one partner.
Thoroughout the years they tried to maintain and grow their numbers, but attrition worked against them in spiteful ways. It was hard enough to battle the physical elements of drought and pestilence, hunger and diseases. It was another battle or war altogether to lose their mental flocks, the beliefs of their young and old.
The Old Ways Dying Away
The Zorami struggled in physical ways to survive due to drought and pestilence, and disease. They struggled as families and individuals to maintain their familial and conjugal codes because of their unique lifestyle and codes of conduct.
They thrived for periods and tried to grow in number, but the war of attrition was constantly upon them. They tried to have more children and expand, but they seemed to be fighting a losing battle.
Chinguic wanted so much to maintain their way of life, but he struggled to know if killing as he did was part of it being noble, because he had heard stories, and there were constant debates of the "honor killing", to make those who stole virtue or lied and deceived to be made pay with their lives.
Perhaps he was wrong. Beesala grew up and joined another tribe. Would she have softened to their values if he had not been as rash, as bold?
Japhatha was also forever torn by the deception, the betrayal of the outsiders and the loss of her girl. Who was to blame? Was it herself? Her family? Was the tribe mistaken in its goals? Were all these imperatives unrealistic, a fantasy played out by herself and her forefathers and foremothers?
Ataf saw his life and hopes as an existential open ended question, a series of ponderings, serious musings about the purposes of his and the others' lives.
Did his father and mother know what they were doing? Were they happy? (Yes, his parents were happy).
Did their parents, his grandparents, know how to live?
Was being monogamous and celibate until matrimony make for happier living?
Was being chaste and virtuous a better way than joking about dirty and ribald things?
Was it better to know how to read and write?
Was there a God or supreme powers somewhere that guided them, or wanted to guide them?
Were dreams an indicator of reality, or the future, or the past, or what did they mean?
Were people merely advanced animals, and were nothing too special in the world or the universe?
Did people have a presence or soul after death?
Was Ataf's life meaningful?
Was Araf's goals noble, or simply as common as the next man or woman?
Was it worth aspiring to be better?
Was loyalty and trust the ultimate virtues?
Were his children better off living austere rules in comparison to the youth who grew up with little restriction?
Was his life worth it?
Was it true?
Was it right?
Did it have meaning?
Did he have a right or obligation to impose his views on others?
Were there first parents on earth, or heavenly parents above?
Was there a right and wrong?
Could the soul be cleansed?
Who were the Zorami?
Who were the humans on the earth?
Was this all a fool's errand, a foolish quest for nought?
The night before Ataf died, he dreamed of all of it together. And the planets and the streams and the clouds and the earth, all came together and made sense.
"It is true!" He exclaimed to anyone and no one in particular.
"It is true!"
"It is true!"
And he smiled after many years of hard living, and contented aspirations.
The thousand of them divided their families as constituted among what we consider in modern times as traditional families. One husband, one wife, as many children as possible, and older grandparents as they survived.
Each family was headed by a man and a woman. A man without a woman "co-leader" was not featured for leadership. Usually the Zorami had a head chief, and between 10 and 20 next chiefs up after him, and his accompanying wife. Single adults were good as special officers and trainers, but were not counted on for direct leadership.
Usually a man, or a woman, could re-marry when their spouse died and the family units continued as normally as possible. These relationships were one to one and monogamous. And notably, the individuals would wait for their partner, like themselves, to begin family creations, or relations conjugally.
In other neighboring tribes, some of them numbering tens of thousands of people, there were men with harems and concubines, there were relationships of men and women more openly, depending on their likes or tastes. Some of the minors experimented with desires and curiosities at young ages and when not committed to another partner, or not being devoted to being a parent and a partner.
The Zorami felt this was strictly taboo. It was not proper to act like a life partner with anyone but the officially recognized one, and the behavior outside of that was not virtuous, and would lead to destruction.
The partnership of the husband and wife was considered fundamental as well. The Zorami noticed in the other tribes that there would be sometimes only the man in charge, and the woman or spouse or concubines acted like property or slaves. Children were also kept in a lower station around much of the non-Zorami. Zorami tried to cultivate their youth to be co-active and co-independent. To be their future leaders and forgers of their destined fate, to be the best people that they could, according to their beliefs and principles.
There were three huge imperatives that they lived by, and these were their creed and their raison de etre. Those three virtues, were actually virtuous in their own definitions:
Dedication to one spouse, and the subsequent family.
Dedication to virtue.
Dedication to modesty.
Each imperative required nuances and practices unique to the Zorami, thus making them unique, peculiar. Sometimes ridiculed, sometimes mocked, oftentimes targeted and persecuted. They felt that they were safer, happier, and that the mysterious purposes of life were being answered by their determination to living these causes and practices.
No one knew all the exact reasons why, though. Some talked about a time long ago when their forefathers spoke to the heavens, or that there were spiritual guides who knew the ways of all existence, of contentment, peace, and prosperity. No one read and therefore no one could recall all the reasons, so they met together often to discuss and recount the ways. Songs and prayers were always shared, too.
Some of them thought that these sessions could be redundant or pointless, but the majority of them knew that to maintain their particular way of living required these get togethers and meetings.
The Mafume Clan
Ataf was a the fifth biggest tribal leader of the thousand strong Zorami. He was well respected, because he seemed to be well grounded at everything. He was very well trusted. While the top kinsman, the Tribal Toki, was strong and brave, and wise, he also sometimes showed weaknesses that Ataf rarely displayed. The top leaders would have moments of indiscretion or impertinence that Ataf never had been known for.
Ataf was happy as the fifth highest of the tribe. He was happy with his place, his wife, his children, and what gave him the most pleasure or contentment was that he knew that his people, the small but stable Zorami, were living the best that they could. Ataf's wife was Japhatha; they were stable and happy, and tried to stay vigilant as all parents did. They had multiple children but struggled to help them all feel the importance of the priorities, the reality of them to strive for. Ataf had a single brother named Chinguic who was single and hoping to find a wife. His former wife had died of calamity five years before.
Beesala was the eldest daughter of Ataf and Japhatha. She seemed to be growing in the way of the tribe but then in a season changed her attitude at a later stage of her growth. First the mother and then the father learned that a young man of an outside tribe had deceived them and violated the virtue of Beesala; this caused quite a consternation among them. They brought the issue to Chinguic, who mulled it over and decided to take matters into his own hands when finding out the perfidy of the youth.
After four years of search and verification, Chinguic found the young man who comprised his niece's stature; Chinguic killed him. Chinguic was sending a message to all: do not compromise their values and imperatives. Sometimes, subsequently and later in discussions and other moments of reflection, he thought it might have been out of spite or hate--but he believed it was deeper than that. He believed it was about who they were. If he could not stand up for the law of how they wished to live, how in fact could they go on? Could they continue as a people, or would they devolve into the masses of the others?
What were all the lessons and stories for, if not to preserve and uphold themselves?
Chunguic's action, or retribution, brought more scrutiny and scorn upon the Zorami, perhaps more than ever before.
More tribes wished to do away with them; the Zorami had to learn to be more warrior-like. Existential survival was difficult from day to day. They had to be on guard from marauding neighbors, which made it more difficult to concentrate on other tasks, including food production.
Their continual quest to find some tribal members to learn to read or write went on frustrated, never coming to anything. If one came somewhat close to learning the symbols of the pen or the pencil, they would be captured or killed, or tragically die of a disease.
Life and their struggles were very hard.
Struggle to Remember
Ataf, like all the loyal Zorami, knew that they were different from others and other tribes for moons away, even whole seasons away. They had peculiar practices and beliefs that the greater numbers of neighbors did not share. They thought that there were others with their similar values, but they had no idea where. They would love to know where they were.
These three large principles or imperatives that others of the lands did not share as much made them unique:
Dedication to one spouse, hopefully for life. Others, even within their clans, wished to be adulterous and lecherous.
Dedication to virtue. Tying not to be ostentatious and overbearing. Others, even the youth and some older among them, wanted to do things that were low and degrading.
Dedication to modesty. Dress appropriately, speak in honorable ways. Others, and sometimes within the tribe and clans, would adopt ways of wearing less clothing and doing things with less decorum.
The oral traditions of stories and songs, and certain prayers provided ways to propagate the knowledge that they tried to maintain. But, the standards of generations past were being taken away, person by person, couple by couple.
These things that they strove for made them very different from other tribes, which made interacting with others a potentially difficult process. Some more belligerent tribes would take advantage of them as they could, by negotiating unfairly with them, sometimes by means of extortion or kidnapping.
Sometimes the Zorami youth thought their values and mores and practices were too antiquated and stifling, backward, too conservative and restrictive. Occasionally, even the adult Zorami would be tempted into thinking more open sexual lifestyles were acceptable.
This would make the relationship within the tribe very awkward, and often untenable.
Case after case would crop up over time: a young man would want to test his oats on other youth, or some foreign tribe member, or a young lady was convinced that her parents, her grandparents, her entire tribe and tribal history for unknown generations had been talking absurdities about virtue till the right time and staying modest, saving oneself for one partner.
Thoroughout the years they tried to maintain and grow their numbers, but attrition worked against them in spiteful ways. It was hard enough to battle the physical elements of drought and pestilence, hunger and diseases. It was another battle or war altogether to lose their mental flocks, the beliefs of their young and old.
The Old Ways Dying Away
The Zorami struggled in physical ways to survive due to drought and pestilence, and disease. They struggled as families and individuals to maintain their familial and conjugal codes because of their unique lifestyle and codes of conduct.
They thrived for periods and tried to grow in number, but the war of attrition was constantly upon them. They tried to have more children and expand, but they seemed to be fighting a losing battle.
Chinguic wanted so much to maintain their way of life, but he struggled to know if killing as he did was part of it being noble, because he had heard stories, and there were constant debates of the "honor killing", to make those who stole virtue or lied and deceived to be made pay with their lives.
Perhaps he was wrong. Beesala grew up and joined another tribe. Would she have softened to their values if he had not been as rash, as bold?
Japhatha was also forever torn by the deception, the betrayal of the outsiders and the loss of her girl. Who was to blame? Was it herself? Her family? Was the tribe mistaken in its goals? Were all these imperatives unrealistic, a fantasy played out by herself and her forefathers and foremothers?
Ataf saw his life and hopes as an existential open ended question, a series of ponderings, serious musings about the purposes of his and the others' lives.
Did his father and mother know what they were doing? Were they happy? (Yes, his parents were happy).
Did their parents, his grandparents, know how to live?
Was being monogamous and celibate until matrimony make for happier living?
Was being chaste and virtuous a better way than joking about dirty and ribald things?
Was it better to know how to read and write?
Was there a God or supreme powers somewhere that guided them, or wanted to guide them?
Were dreams an indicator of reality, or the future, or the past, or what did they mean?
Were people merely advanced animals, and were nothing too special in the world or the universe?
Did people have a presence or soul after death?
Was Ataf's life meaningful?
Was Araf's goals noble, or simply as common as the next man or woman?
Was it worth aspiring to be better?
Was loyalty and trust the ultimate virtues?
Were his children better off living austere rules in comparison to the youth who grew up with little restriction?
Was his life worth it?
Was it true?
Was it right?
Did it have meaning?
Did he have a right or obligation to impose his views on others?
Were there first parents on earth, or heavenly parents above?
Was there a right and wrong?
Could the soul be cleansed?
Who were the Zorami?
Who were the humans on the earth?
Was this all a fool's errand, a foolish quest for nought?
The night before Ataf died, he dreamed of all of it together. And the planets and the streams and the clouds and the earth, all came together and made sense.
"It is true!" He exclaimed to anyone and no one in particular.
"It is true!"
"It is true!"
And he smiled after many years of hard living, and contented aspirations.
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