Chapter 11

The bed of the stream became broader and the water was moving more and more sluggish while the Bredd-ström searched his way in north-eastern direction a steppe-like plain. One afternoon the landscape changed suddenly from a grassy plain studded with small groups of trees into a swampy floodplain with numerous lakes and ponds connected by streamlets and channels. The dry land was covered with large groves of big willow trees shading sandy dunes along the river overgrown by shrubs and vines. The Bredd-ström split in two branches. One arm turned to the north, the other, bigger one, to south-east. Buri and Aegir decided for the latter. The banks of the meandering river-arm were covered by reeds, sedges and rushes. Ducks and mallards, geese and herons took refuge in the reed belts, schools of cormorants sitting on trees were watching out for fish, while wild boars, roes and up and wild dogs took off when the dugout passed by. The water was alive with all kind of fish, with carp and pike, perch and sturgeons. Islands of floating reeds and reed plats restricted water-course.

They passed a few fishing villages each with no more than half a dozens houses. Small children were playing on the beaches, while old people and pregnant women guarded the stilt houses. Men seemed to be absent. Further down along the river they met the men also. For the summer-season they were living in small houses on floating islands of cattails, bulrush, sedge and reeds, attending their business as fisherman away from home. Passing a pretty big of theses floating homes they were waved nearer by the friendly men. The travellers stirred up curiously of the fishermen, not only because of Buri’s dark skin, but also because of the different colour of their hairs. Who ever had met four youngsters with such differing hair colours black, maroon, foxy-red and light blond? They were immediately befriended by fishermen who invited the four to spend the night on the floating home.

The invitation was accepted willingly because all four wanted to know how it was to live and sleep in such a home. The first night on the float was a weird experience for Buri, Tsemo and Laong, who were afraid the island would break apart. Aegir however loved to stay there from the beginning, because as a boy he had spend many night sleeping aboard his father’s long boat during the hunting and fishing seasons.

Sitting around the dying fire after a fabulous evening meal the fishermen began to ask questions about their homeland, their families and last not least about the destination of their journey. Then the spokesman of the group, an already white-bearded potbelly, began to tell story of his journeys. “Only one more day from here,” he began, “you’ll come to the city of Agysst on the border of Black Sea. It’s dangerous to cross this open water! It’s so wide you can’t see the other side from the coast, not even from the top of the highest mountain. Its water is salty and deep. In the wintertime the roaring storms from the east make Black Sea unnavigable.  Even in summer you have to stay close to the coast in case stormy weather. Beware of the folks living on the other coasts. They are inhospitable and dangerous. You should not trust the tribes living in the North, the Laz, the Ubykh and the Scyts. They like to catch voyagers and make them slaves. These brutal people even undertake raids to catch girls and boys and young women to sell them into slave hood. The folks on the southern shores, the Abkhaz, the Adyghe are more hospitable. But don’t trust them completely either and be on guard.” Eyeing first Aegir then Buri from head to toe, he repeated, “Be on guard strangers! Tomorrow evening you will arrive in Agysst, the sacred city. It’s a place with an ancient sanctuary in a sacred precinct, the Temple Town. One time a year Great Mother visits this place to claim an offering. This offering is a young man in his prime, like you.” giving Buri and Aegir a warning glance. “The week-long festivities in honour of the Great Mother will begin the day after tomorrow. The citizen and the people of all villages and settlements around will celebrate the annual recurrence of the Great Mother! It’s the time of dancing, the time of singing, the time of rejuvenation and of the merging of virgin and young man!”

As neither Aegir nor Buri seem to sense the meaning of the words, therefore one of the younger began to explain, “Have you never heard of the Great Mother? She is also called Agdistis, but she is known by many other names too, by Cybebe and Daucia, by Enthea and Maja, by Kubaba and Turrita. She is living for ever since, she is immortal. Once a year she is riding on her boat across the Black Sea to Agysst. She is leaving her home high up on a mountain in the south-east in the morning when the sun rises, crosses the sea with the sun and in the dark of the night she arrives in Agysst. Only her true servants, the priests called Galli, know w when she arrives. Only they are allowed to be present at her arrival. On this evening the whole beach is of limits to the plain citizen. If somebody is caught spying, he is killed on the spot. However the whole city knows about her arrival. As soon the Agdistis touches ground, the night reverberates from sound of flutes, timpani and cymbals. Then eight Galli carry her on sedan chair to the temple on the highest hill of Agysst.

The Great Mother is veiled from head to toe in the white linen woven in a country far away! Nobody is allowed to see her radiating face, never, or to see her blossoming bosom, never, or to see her slender arms, never, or to see her soft feet, never. Everyone who has been successful to steal only a single glance at the perfect body of Agdistis is dammed to die!” The young man sighted yearningly, “There is one exception only!”

The white-beard took up the tale, “Be on guard strangers! Be on guard when you arrive in Agysst on the day the Great Mother arrives! She is beautiful beyond all measure but she is insatiable beyond all measure! When the morning arrives the Great Mother is carried on the sedan chair through the street of the city. The Galli are playing the flutes, the timpani and the cymbals again and virgins clad in white are dancing in front and behind the sedan. Their task is to decoy all the young unmarried men from near and far! They all come in hope to spend the nights of the celebration with the Great Mother ands so become immortal.”

Now the young man took up the story-line again. He did this with the eagerness of a young man bewitched from love! “Yes! If Agdistis chooses a young man, he will be immortal and live with her on a high mountain wrapped in white clouds.” he sighed deeply, “I want to be the chosen!”

“You stupid youngster, you fool!” the white-beard scolded, “Don’t you remember that the body of the chosen is found on the beach after the days of celebration are over? Don’t you remember that his member is cut off! Don’t you remember that his blood is drained out of his body? Don’t you remember that only his body’s shell is left?” Imploring the man turned to Aegir and Buri, “Be on guard Red-hair! Be on guard Curly-hair! The cold eyes of the Great Mother may catch sight of you and then Woe betide you!”

When Aegir and Buri were about to fall asleep, the young sneaked to their sleeping-place, “My uncle is a scaredy cat. To morrow I am coming with you! I want to be the chosen. I want to become immortal! I may loose my body., my blood, my member, but my mind will travel with the Great Mother to the fountain of life and live for ever!” then he added, “In any case I am coming with you! I must! If the Great Mother doesn’t choose me one of the virgin dancers may! This will be the chance of my life!!”

~.~.~

Early next morning the travellers left the floating house generously endowed with food by the fishermen. Looking around for the eager youngster, they couldn’t spot him. While they embarked the White-beard told them, “AtthYs is away with the others. His uncles and he are checking the fish nets in a branch of the river. I had to send AtthYs away with them to keep him from getting into mischief!”

AtthYs however defeated his uncle’s plan. Further down the river he lay in wait for the sun seekers. He had made himself a small float of old bulrushes and ambushed them behind a bent. “Take me with you! I thwarted my uncle’s plan!” he shouted happily to the dugout. As they tried to pass by without stopping AtthYs begged, “Please take me with you! I have to grab the chance to meet the Great Mother! Its my last chance , next year I will be too old!”

In the boat he continued the account of the evening before. “My name is AtthYs, it’s the name of Agdistis´ son and the name of the young man who fell in love with the Great Mother, his own mother, so we are told! What a great event, an event out of this world!” When Tsemo checked him out highly sceptical the young fisherman continued. “Don´t you know the myth? Should I tell it to you?” and he did without waiting for permission.

“Agdistis father was the great king Meon and her mother was Dindyma, a beautiful woman. When Agdistis was born and her father saw the baby the first time he missed something. He had expected to father a son, but now? The baby’s pecker was so small like a raisin. He didn’t have beanbag, not even a small one! Instead the baby had a small slit were boys have a beanbag! Meon got upset! That’s no boy, that’s no girl, that’s a freak! King Meon roared like a lion! “Wife what did you do! Midwife!” Meon called, “Take the freak and throw him to the dogs!” But the midwife took the sweet smiling baby and carried it up a high mountain and put it down in midst of the spring flowers at the holy fountain. The wild animals visiting the fountain fell in love with baby and from now on the goats and sheep, the wolves and bears nursed it. Agdistis grew up to a beautiful being. But when the beautiful creature entered puberty it realized that it was neither a woman nor a man! From that moment on Agdistis began to feel unhappy. Agdistis was deeply grieved and cried and cried till the deities living on top of the mountain became aware of the misery of the beautiful creature. Lakchos, one the gods, had a soft heart. He went down and cast a spell on the fountain and its water turned into wine. The first time Agdistis tasted the wine Agdistis felt happy like never before. The second time the heart seemed to fly up to heaven. But the third time the world started to rotate around her head. Agdistis went crazy and cut off the manhood and threw it into the fountain. When Agdistis came to its senses again, the water of the fountain was water again and Agdistis had turned into a beautiful woman, a woman that never aged.”

~.~.~

Tsemo was surprised. He had listened to many tales but this one was new to him. It was also new his companion to Laong, to Buri, and Aegir. They all listened prick-eared and nearly run the dugout against an old tree drifting along.

“But the myth goes on.” AtthYs smiled, “When Agdistis threw the manhood into the fountain, a nymph guarding the spring caught it and planted it into her lap. There it grew and grew and nine month later she gave birth to a beautiful baby. The baby however wasn’t an elfin but boy. He grew up to become the most handsome young man on earth. Attis, this was his name, descended from the mountain and came to the royal court of Gordios. There he felt in love with the king’s daughter and they married.

Agdistis, having heard about Attis’ handsomeness, searched the whole world for him. For the first time she caught sight of him at his wedding. She was broken-hearted and furious at the same time and put an awful spell on him! He went crazy and Attis unmanned himself, run away and was never seen again. Since that time the Great Mother Agdistis visits Agysst every year in search of Attis, her beloved Attis. When she finally succeeds she will take him to the fountain up on the high mountain and never return to Agysst again.”

AtthYs was exhausted by the narration. He closed his eyes and became frightened when Tsemo asked, “Why do you want to meet the Great Mother? Are you sure you are the reincarnation of Attis?”

“I don´t know anything about a matter called reincarnation, but I have to try! It’s my duty to deliver Agdistis from her pain!”

Spontaneously the four sun seekers decided to become AtthYs guardians and Aegir told him, “We four will guard you! Tsemo the shaman, Laong his novice, Buri the reincarnation of Geb and I, Aegir the man from the northern rim of the world! We owe it to your uncle, your parents, and your clan.”

~.~.~