Ritual

In the clearing of the forest, a man was lying almost dead. Age has forced him to be in this body not for long. His family members count the last moments of his life.

A crowd has gathered around the body of the man eagerly waiting for his last breath. It has been a ritual for all the people of the tribe to see the last rites performed. They believe that this vision is holy and on seeing this, they would gather courage and strength to fight the other tribes in the fight for supremacy.

The old man lay there writhing in pain, difficult for him to breathe. His eldest son steps close to him. The silent crowd stood gazing at the son. It is now time to carry out the ritual. The son gets hold of his father's right hand, The hand which has fought vigorously over the years to establish the supremacy of his tribe. With monsterous strength the son twists and wriggles the hand until it is broken. Then with a knife he cuts through the flesh of his almost-dead father's right hand and brings out the radial bone. By this time, individual chantings are heard from the people around.

He lifs the bone aloft for everyone to see and a cheer from the crowd fills the air. Then suddenly the son starts chewing on the bone until it is crushed to pieces. Astonishing is the maxillary strength of the man. The crushed bone is then buried in the ground and the body left to rot.

Everytime a man of this tribe dies, the same ritual is performed by his eldest son. The pain the dying person suffers in his very last moments reminds him of the pain endured in his lifetime. It is believed that he will die a very peaceful death now that the pain has gone away along with his body. The soul will now be free from all bondages and will no longer undergo the pain received in his lifetime. The burial of the crushed bone signifies the bondage with Mother Earth. And the body left to rot shows that his memory will slowly fade away in the minds of his tribesmen as his body rots to nothing.

---- this is the first short story in this blog... dunno if such things really happen... this was a dream....