TheBanyanTree: Tales of a Woodcat

[Roger Pye]

VEE Formation


(The rock appeared precariously balanced, way off the horizontal, on the 
top narrow edge of another similar block, way off the vertical)


Our feet took us up the gully, perhaps 50 metres along I was suddenly 
impelled to turn left to clamber out of the gully. At the top I was 
blocked by a very big dog rose bush. Had it not been for the sharp 
thorns I could have got through easily. Another twenty or so metres up 
the gully, I was turned again. This time there were no blockages and 
five minutes later we found ourselves standing on the western side of 
the balancing rock, having traversed a trail we could not see but that 
our feet could feel. Close up to the rock formation, it could be seen 
that the 'leg' on which the rock was balanced was matched by another to 
its left, off-vertical in the opposite direction, like a giant 'V'.

"So many unknowns, Jenny, so many unknowns. The un-natural origin of the 
Vee formation is shown by its 'bridge', a much different sort of rock - 
how many thousands of years ago was that erected? The Circle of Warmth 
on the flat, 400 metres diameter, its outer rim pumping out such heat - 
how has that come to be? Such technology!"

It was unaccountably warm there also as it had been down on the flat. As 
I stared through the open vee, east across the valley and creek and road 
and the far slopes, I began to feel very odd, as though I had been there 
before, not once but many times. I said as much to Jenny and then went 
and sat on a nearby rock to cool my feet off and think about it.

My mind went away . .

*****************
*****************

. . . . . It was an honour to be selected to go to the place of the 
balanced stones as a representative of the Tribe, the young ones all 
knew that. Only the fittest and cleverest were chosen by the Elders for 
the journey, whether from the coast or mountains or inland or, for some, 
even further away, was long and arduous and for much of the way edible 
grains and fruits of the earth were in very short supply. Still though, 
every seven years, they vied for the honour.

   For the Elders the choice was never easy even though there were 
natural limits outside of which they could not go. Peak of fitness, yes 
- clever enough to survive in areas of little nourishment, yes - some 
communications ability, mental and oral, yes - none younger than seven 
years or older than 21, yes - the most attractive female or male to be 
included, yes. Joined (other than one 'escort' pair), no - more females 
than male, no - mothers, no - inbred, no - more than one from each 
hearth grouping, no. Even so, they almost always managed to fill the 
quota of 11.

The guides varied each time, sometimes a star or a planet or a comet or 
rainbows, intuition or mental communication or gut feelings, other times 
animals or birds, one group came back with a story of golden winged 
creatures which faintly resembled themselves but this was discounted by 
the tribal elders.

Every sixth visit, the group returned with one member less than had 
departed, sometimes male, sometimes female . . .

***************.
***************

"They came here, Jenny, the Tribes came here for millennia, every seven 
or nine or twelve years, I'm not sure which, for a ceremony of some 
sort. From the far, far distance they came, groups of eleven young 
people, one group from each Tribe."

I paused - why did I think they were not all earth-bound tribes? I had 
no answer.

"Those on the Journey were guided here in such a way that they came over 
the furthest hill to the east that could be seen through this vee rock 
formation when it was whole. The route from there led them down to the 
creek, not much different then to what it is now, maybe a little higher 
in the terrain but somehow I don't think so, where they camped the first 
night on the eastern side."

About THERE on the bank just above that willow, I mused, seeking it out, 
the spot would be just inside the 'circle' we had detected earlier, it 
was where one of our consultants had 'seen' an age-old massacre - my 
thoughts stopped dead! Dazed, I fumbled around in my mind for something 
solid to hang on to, became aware Jenny was watching me with a strange 
expression on her face.

"Er, sorry, er, the next morning as the sun was rising, they came over 
the creek in their  groups and set up separate encampments within the 
western half of the Circle of Warmth as it was called. This took most of 
the morning. In the afternoon, they went in groups to make obeisance at 
the Rings of the Moon to the north of the toolmaking place."

And is that why the pines were planted mostly in rings three years ago? 
I shook my head, confused. There would have been no trees on that slope 
when the Tribes came, in fact it was the place I had been thinking of 
putting a medicine wheel but I had not had a theme. Well, I had one now!

"Then the second morning they came here, before dawn. Gathered around 
this spot where we're sitting. For what, I have no idea - maybe the sun 
rising in a certain spot, maybe a joining, maybe a sacrifice. Each 
morning for another ten days they came here, before dawn, worshipped the 
sunrise and went on to the tool camp."

Corroboree, something said in my mind but I thought not, there wasn't 
the room. The reason could wait, I thought, it had already waited God 
knows how many years.

"On the twelfth morning after the sun had risen, the worshippers were 
astonished to be confronted by strangers, a man in full ceremonial 
paint, a woman by his side. Wordlessly, the pair danced and weaved their 
way through the gathering, each stopping once, until they arrived back 
where they had started, accompanied now by a young man and girl, chosen 
from separate groups."

Who, I thought, were to be their 'replacements' as Keepers of the 
Stones. And so it proved. Though who was speaking through me I did not 
know.

"By word, sign and gesture, the painted man conveyed the message that 
the young ones they had chosen were to remain behind when the remainder 
left that morning. After a period of learning - the length not specified 
- he and his mate would die and the new pair would take their places, as 
had been happening since time began. The burial ground of the Place of 
Stones was across the creek opposite the Rings of the Moon."

Ha, I might have guessed! The area of the Landcare tree planting where 
the seedlings had steadfastly refused to grow!

*******************
*******************

Slowly Jenny and I made our away across the slope angling upwards, 
following our feet as we had before. At first I felt tired and very old, 
as I had before when climbing towards the Vee formation, but gradually 
the years fell away and by the time we reached the outer edge of the 
suspected tool camp I was back to my 'young' 64 years of age. A few 
yards more and a 4WD driven by the Landcare Coordinator, came trundling 
up the hill to meet us.

Normality once more - but we have been presented with a momentous array 
of questions, none of which will go away and leave us in peace.

Do you have any answers, I wonder?


Woodcat