Odyssey From Africa 1a

Chapter 1 THE FISHERMAN At the dawn of humankind in Africa's great land of sunlight This adventure of survival Of a family's arduous journey One of exile and betrayal And of hopeful brave endurance Happened long before all memory Only scattered bones bear witness Mighty ice-sheets of the Arctic Would again repeat their south-march Hold the world in age-long winter Then retreat to warming sunshine All between this ancient voyage And the present time of writing Days of our long distant fathers Few in number were the people Somewhere on the south-east seaboard Was a modest fishing village Where a hundred families prized their Living from the restless ocean Here lived Han with his wife Kwona Their son Matto, daughter Lisa Twins of near a dozen summers Old enough to help their parents Lisa watched her mother's fingers Make, like magic, food and clothing Matto learned beside his father As a fisherman's apprentice Out of all the village menfolk Han had knowledge far surpassing All the others in the mysteries Of the sea and sky and fishes Thus when Han set sail with Matto Other boats would launch soon after Trying secretly to follow Like a shadow after wisdom There arose a time of hardship Scarcity had come among them As the currents of the ocean Changed their rhythm and their courses Boats returning to the beach had Only few and tiny fishes Hunger stalked the little village Fear was seen on people's faces Han prepared his boat with Matto For their longest ocean journey Packed equipment and provisions And a cover from the weather First they battled through the breakers Then they rode a surging spring-tide On an ocean that seemed hostile Till at last they cleared the shallows Striking offshore from the coastline Green sea changed to deep blue ocean Land was lost to sight behind them; Han surveyed the vast horizon Till, far off, he saw a crowd of Seabirds diving in the water Quickly Han and Matto paddled Over to the seething tumult Sardine shoals were being chased by Albacore and blue-fin tuna Soon their net was tugged so strongly That their boat was near turned over Son and father, muscles straining, Filled their boat with silver fishes Made them fast, then turning homeward Journeyed back in happy spirits On return they brought the fishes To their family and their neighbors News of their great catch spread quickly People came from all directions