Week 6 Story: The Elephant Circle
The elders gathered the circle early this year, and it was because of Sindbad. Equinox marked the time of equal day and night, when each tribe member could bring their equal voices to be heard, but that was many months away. The clan assembled by family, and all were shocked by the absence of so many. More than fifty were missing, leaving large gaps like missing teeth. The speaker waited in silence for moon rise, and watched the tribe's shock spread as the true number of their dead was realized.
The moon rose above the gathered circle of mournful elephants, and far off in the distance the howl of jackals greeted its ascent. Addressing the crowd from the center of the circle, the speaker's message was clear and filled with sorrow.
"The equinox is not yet here, but summoning the circle was deemed necessary in the face of our plight. The brothers and husbands we have left must be protected, or our tribe will be extinguished from the face of this earth. Many have argued that the death of Sindbad must be carried out, yet... Should you kill him, another will take his place, and we will be no better off."
"His tribe is vast, although we see them little in the heartlands. They want our bodies, and they come more often now than ever. More accounts of annihilation have been received from our Indian cousins, and I fear that ending the life of one could trigger a flood of killers arriving here to our home. We cannot defend ourselves from more than a few, and while the young are filled with fury, the old who remain among us are filled with sadness and fear for the future of our tribe."
"The true reason you are called here is to discuss the possibility of dishonoring our ancestor's graves. We reserve that land for their body, while their spirits journey onward and back again. Take Sindbad to the graveyard. Show him their bodies, and I promise that our children will be safe for their lifetimes. I believe, strongly, that the ancestors would welcome discourtesy to their physical bodies if this allowed for the survival of their children, and this is the message I have called you to discuss."
The elephants conferred late into the evening, and none slept that night as they worked through the idea and its consequences. They captured him the next morning, and came so close to destroying the man responsible for the deaths of fifty of their strongest and most revered leaders. But Sindbad was not killed, merely deposited at the sacred boneyard where all great elephants are placed at the end of their lives. Their graveyard was robbed and desecrated, but their children lived to the end of their natural lives.
Author's Note
I read The Voyages of Sindbad, and was fascinated by the response of elephants in the face of their steady annihilation. Sindbad climbs a tree every day for two months and kills a large elephant as the tribe journeys to and from their watering hole. The elephants, more than capable of slaughtering him, instead choose to take him to their graveyard. The true curiosity of this story lies in the enormous generosity in allowing Sindbad not only to live, but take ample tusks from their (presumably secret) graveyard. I wanted to explore how sentient the decision was, and whether one or many were responsible adopting the idea.
Bibliography
The Arabian Nights' Entertainments by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H. J. Ford (1898)
The moon rose above the gathered circle of mournful elephants, and far off in the distance the howl of jackals greeted its ascent. Addressing the crowd from the center of the circle, the speaker's message was clear and filled with sorrow.
"The equinox is not yet here, but summoning the circle was deemed necessary in the face of our plight. The brothers and husbands we have left must be protected, or our tribe will be extinguished from the face of this earth. Many have argued that the death of Sindbad must be carried out, yet... Should you kill him, another will take his place, and we will be no better off."
"His tribe is vast, although we see them little in the heartlands. They want our bodies, and they come more often now than ever. More accounts of annihilation have been received from our Indian cousins, and I fear that ending the life of one could trigger a flood of killers arriving here to our home. We cannot defend ourselves from more than a few, and while the young are filled with fury, the old who remain among us are filled with sadness and fear for the future of our tribe."
"The true reason you are called here is to discuss the possibility of dishonoring our ancestor's graves. We reserve that land for their body, while their spirits journey onward and back again. Take Sindbad to the graveyard. Show him their bodies, and I promise that our children will be safe for their lifetimes. I believe, strongly, that the ancestors would welcome discourtesy to their physical bodies if this allowed for the survival of their children, and this is the message I have called you to discuss."
Elephant elder and child
The elephants conferred late into the evening, and none slept that night as they worked through the idea and its consequences. They captured him the next morning, and came so close to destroying the man responsible for the deaths of fifty of their strongest and most revered leaders. But Sindbad was not killed, merely deposited at the sacred boneyard where all great elephants are placed at the end of their lives. Their graveyard was robbed and desecrated, but their children lived to the end of their natural lives.
Author's Note
I read The Voyages of Sindbad, and was fascinated by the response of elephants in the face of their steady annihilation. Sindbad climbs a tree every day for two months and kills a large elephant as the tribe journeys to and from their watering hole. The elephants, more than capable of slaughtering him, instead choose to take him to their graveyard. The true curiosity of this story lies in the enormous generosity in allowing Sindbad not only to live, but take ample tusks from their (presumably secret) graveyard. I wanted to explore how sentient the decision was, and whether one or many were responsible adopting the idea.
Bibliography
The Arabian Nights' Entertainments by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H. J. Ford (1898)
Hi Laura! Your introduction paragraph was so strong! I was pulled in with curiosity after the first sentence. You use such descriptive verbs and adjectives, it was really easy to stay engaged while reading your story. The only suggestion I have is to give a little more information on Sindbad when you first introduce him in your story. I am looking forward to reading more of your stories this semester!
ReplyDeleteHi Laura, I really enjoyed your story. You wrote it really well and in my opinion it set a fitting somber mood. I thought it was interesting that two big paragraphs of your story was written in dialogue, in my personal experience it is hard for me to create such mood and depth in purely dialogue but you made it work! I look forward to reading more of your stories this semester.
ReplyDeleteHey Laura, I really like what you did with this story. Exploring the way in which the elephant community would deal with something so traumatic like this is a fascinating topic. Often times in stories we read about actions of the protagonist without ever really considering the consequences, I like that you took the time to do so! Great job with this retelling.
ReplyDeleteHi Laura! Your story was written really well. I like how the story is based off of tradition. Sometimes it can be hard to make a story like this interesting but you did a really good job of keeping it engaging. Great job!
ReplyDeleteHi Laura! I thought that the flow of your words made the story easy to read and you used very nice language to tell your story. The introduction into your story was descriptive and it keeps the reader interested in what comes next, so great job! As the story goes on, I wish I had some more details about the character, but overall I thought it was a job well done!
ReplyDelete