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Chapter 75 Lucky Star

When the men who had gone hunting and fishing returned, they were overjoyed to learn that the mother and child were safe.

Mint has woken up, drank another bowl of meat porridge, and some blood has returned to his face.

The baby had just been breastfed and was now sleeping soundly in her arms.

The men asked, "What's the name?"

Mint said: "I don't have a name yet! Grandma said I'll pick it up when you come back."

Newborn babies have always been named by their mothers, and in the past, boys were usually named after ferocious four-legged predators, and girls were usually named after flowers and plants.

However, this rule has changed in recent years, probably because the common beasts and plants have been used up. There are seventy or eighty babies who have died in these years. Naturally, their names cannot be used again, which is too unlucky. .

In short, from a certain year, Grandma changed to naming her children with monosyllabic words.

Zhang Tian reasonably suspected that Grandma was actually trying to save trouble. After all, to the clansmen, names were just addresses without any special meaning.

"Now we're back." Langya couldn't wait, "Grandma, hurry up and name the child!"

Grandma smiled and said: "I have thought about the name a long time ago. Since Tian was guided by the ancestors and Lin came to our tribe, new words are created every day. These words are very good and have never been used before. However, it is a perfect name for it.”

The clansmen deeply agree.

The "good and bad" in their concept is judged according to the practical value, rather than the symbolic meaning of the words. All kinds of new things invented by Zhang Tian and Lin Yu have brought great changes to the life of the tribe. is excellent.

"Tianhelin taught us a lot of new words, which one should grandma choose?"

Mint was very curious and sat up slightly.

Grandma said: "Not long after Tian made pottery, this child was born. There may be some connection between them. Let's call him 'Tao'!"

"Tao!" Looking at the sleeping baby in her arms, Mint called out to her son in a tone of surprise.

The clansmen also repeated this word and memorized it silently.

However, Tao is not yet a member of the tribe at this time. He will not be able to tie their knots on the "family tree" until the weather gets warmer, he turns one year old, and a ceremony is held.

Waiting for the one-year-old ceremony with Tao, there are four other babies. They were born in the spring, and the other two brothers born at the same time have died. Can't survive this level.

The extremely high mortality rate is one of the main factors restricting the growth of the tribe, which is closely related to the harsh natural environment. The long and cold winter in the Northeast and the relatively less abundant animal and plant resources make survival and reproduction extremely difficult.

In fact, the Northeast region is indeed the last region in my country to enter the farming society. Lin Yu, who knows this well, is even more in favor of moving south than Zhang Tian. Even if there is no climate change during the Younger Dryas period, she still thinks it should be done.

Seeing that Tao woke up, Zhang Tian got up and walked to Sister Mint, and squatted down to tease the temporary youngest in the tribe. His skin was wrinkled and his head was deformed due to the pressure during childbirth, but Zhang Tian knew it was It is normal and will return soon.

Mint said to Tao: "This is heaven, you must be as smart as heaven in the future!"

Tao opened his eyes wide, and suddenly grinned and giggled, not at the sky, but at the black tail at the foot of the sky.

Attracted by the laughter, Heiwei curiously climbed onto Mint's thigh, stretched out his fleshy claws covered with white fluff to Tao who was lying in Mint's arms, and let out a barking sound.

Tao stretched out his small hand to grab the hairy paw of the black tail, and smiled even more happily.

Should it be said that they cherish each other?Human cubs and lynx cubs hold friendly paws, which is a very rare and warm scene in this era of the jungle.

However, this scene was quickly shattered. Zhang Tian grabbed the nape of Heiwei's neck, lifted it from Mint's legs, and put it aside.

He took out a red five-pointed star made of pottery from the folds of his coat, and said to Mint: "This is a star I fired out of clay. When Tao was born, this star was just fired into shape. I think this should be It's what Grandma calls connection. This star may bring Tao health and good luck."

Mint was so happy from ear to ear, the stars are the symbols of the ancestors, and the ancestors are the embodiment of wisdom, generosity, and kindness. The birth of the son is connected with the stars and the ancestors, which is enough to show that Tao is extraordinary!

As a mother, who doesn't want their children to be safe and successful, and to become dragons and phoenixes?

She accepted it happily, and brought the lucky five-pointed star in front of her son. Tao stretched out his hand to grab the star, and giggled with his mouth open.

Seeing it, the other children felt envious and ran over to surround Zhang Tian, ​​expressing that they also wanted stars.

The tribe has always had the habit of grinding broken bones and animal teeth into ornaments.

Every summer tribal meeting, mating season, people of the right age will wear all kinds of beautiful bone ornaments, men will carry the beast's long whip, eat a little secretly before mating, women will wear it to symbolize fertility Exquisite dresses woven with flowers and plants of vitality, vigor and life, dressed up to attend.

In the tribal assembly in winter, Xueling is sacrificed, and the men and women attending the meeting will also dress up solemnly, although the meaning is different. It is no longer to attract the opposite sex and increase the chance of pregnancy, but to pay homage to Xueling.

How does ground bone jewelry compare to fired clay jewelry?

Everyone has a love of beauty. Although primitive people are not as anxious about appearance and figure as modern people are, they also hope to be shining and unique. Children even fantasize about becoming the most beautiful boy in the world. , so that you can get more attention and love.

Zhang Tian said with a smile: "Come with me, I will teach you how to make stars."

He took the children outside the cave. There is nothing to teach about making stars, even for children who have rich experience in playing with mud.

What Zhang Tian wants to teach them is not this, but imagination.

Imagination may not be of any help to the rough life in front of us, but in the long run, whether it is the formation of abstract thinking, the cultivation of creativity, or the improvement of aesthetic consciousness, imagination is inseparable.As Hegel said, an ethnic group must have some people looking up at the starry sky to have hope.

"Not just stars, you can use clay to make anything you like, the moon, the sun, clouds, mountains, trees, beasts, even rivers, wind, flames..."

The children started working enthusiastically, but immediately became worried again: "The river water, the wind and the flames have shapes?"

"I don't know." Zhang Tian spread his hands, "I have to ask you, in your eyes, what shape are they? Or, what shape do you want them to be? Just pinch them as you like, don't have any Any worries and things you make belong to you, as long as you like it."

The children were very excited. In the past, the elders gave them bone ornaments or wooden toys. Now they can make their favorite ornaments and toys according to their own wishes. How can they not be excited?They rolled up their sleeves and started working.

(End of this chapter)