Chapter 24

Gomoro spread his hands apologetically. “Only enough to defend themselves. It looks like he sort of ‘accidentally’ fell into the fire and set himself ablaze; very sad.”

Chief John listened to this with a small smile on his face. Gomoro was learning diplomacy.

Ferro cleared his throat before giving his own verdict on Denovo.

“Chief Gomoro and High Chief John, the council made a decision a short while ago. The council blamed Denovo for threatening Chief Gomoro’s wives, forcing him by that means to submit to questioning. It was very poor judgment on Denovo’s part, a judgment that the council does not condone, and so he was stripped of his position and banned from this tribe for five years. By the looks of him, that judgement has been overtaken by the results of his own actions. Is he dead?”

Gomoro said, “I should think so by the look of him, but if he is not, it might be less suffering for him if he was to become dead quickly. Would you and the council agree?”

Ferro looked around at his fellow council members and got the nod.

“It would be a kindness for him to go to the Earth Mother, we feel. Will you carry out this act for us, Chief Gomoro?”

Gomoro responded, “I will slit his throat to be certain, but primarily I do so for my wives, so that he can never threaten them again.”

He removed his dagger from it’s sheath and walked to Denovo’s unmoving body. Bending down and going on one knee, he braced himself and slit Denovo’s throat, as much as was visible, with one swift sweep of his weapon. The wound bled a little, but not the gushing that a fast-beating heart would produce, so this indicated the man had already succumbed to his multiple burns, as near as made no difference.

Gomoro stood, held up his knife, reddened blade uppermost, and announced, “Denovo is dead. The will of the tribe has been performed. The Council and the Chief are now as one, again.”

Ferro repeated, “The council and the Chief are now as one, again.”

He strode forward with outstretched hand to Gomoro, who dropped the dagger, offered his own hand in agreement and they shook hands. After that gesture, Gomoro bent and retrieved his dagger, first wiping off the blood on the bare ground before pointedly sheathing it.

They then embraced, shoulder to shoulder, to cement their joint actions.

As they stepped back from this hug, Ferro mentioned, “Denovo leaves two wives behind, but no children. According to tradition on conflicts, his women are now yours to treat as suits you, Chief.”

Gomoro blinked, but asked, “Oh, yes. Two women? What can you tell me about them, Ferro?”

“Not a lot, having met them today for the first time. They appeared afraid of Denovo: that was my impression. You may find them not unhappy with his demise. One seemed to be aged around two times two hands or a little more; the other appeared to be several years younger. I do not know them, only that I recognised that they are of this tribe.”

Gomoro nodded his understanding, saying, “I will visit them and pass on the news about their husband’s death. They are now widows. It is up to them what they want to happen next.”

Ferro was surprised at this statement. “But Chief, they now belong to you. They have no say in the matter.”

Gomoro drew himself up and looked Ferro in the eye before speaking in a loud carrying voice.

“Ferro, and council members, hear this. Firstly, I have decided that High Chief John will become High Chief for this tribe also, as a useful source for advice and assistance. Secondly, we will implement the social policy that applies in his tribes: women and men will be treated equally from now on. That means that taking on a trade or occupation is no longer restricted to one gender. A woman can be a warrior if she has the capability for it, and a man can become a cook or a herbalist if he shows aptitude in that line and wishes to take up that occupation. These are examples of what can be possible.

In High Chief John’s tribes, amazingly, almost all women are trained in fighting and able to act as warriors if it is needed, thus doubling the tribe’s fighting force. I would be pleased to see a similar change in our tribe, making us a community to be reckoned with, should others threaten us. We have had enough of bullies determining this tribe’s future.

Also, if women can take up new trades, so they can also decide on a husband. That means a man no longer has the right to expect a woman to become his wife or concubine without her prior agreement, even if he gives her father a bride payment. It is fine if a family agrees to a marriage that way, but the woman must also have shown her desire to take the man as a husband. If she does not wish to have him as a husband, the marriage does not take place and he forfeits the bride price. As from now, it is her right to choose, so the man should be sure she is happy with him before he makes a deal for her. She no longer has to marry the man that her father chooses. She can marry the man she chooses, if he in his turn wishes to marry her. He can then come to an agreement with her parents. Her parents have an obligation to respect her choice, as they would with a son.

In accordance with these principles, the women of Denovo’s household will each have the choice of their future, and I will tell them of the choices open to them before they make any decision. They will come to my hut, where my wives will discuss these choices with them, to ascertain their personal wishes. These wishes will be arrived at without any pressure from me or anyone else.”

Leaving the council stunned with this proclamation, Gomoro strode quickly back to his Chief’s hut, anxious to speak with his women before he left to collect the widows. Travana sheathed her knife and walked over to stand contentedly beside John. She was pleased at how the confrontation had unfolded. She had for a long time missed the fun of challenging an obnoxious man, so had enjoyed the clash with Denovo, though she loved being with her own John. Her mind offered surprise at this change in her, but she dismissed that as the old Travana who was now ancient history. She was a new woman, and happy with her new persona.

Ferro stood quietly and thought for a little, then asked John,

“High Chief John, can such arrangements work as Gomoro described? It all seems strange to me.”

“Ferro, they have worked well in what is now Numa’s tribe since I first arrived, and they have worked satisfactorily in the Farfarers tribe since Chief Maranga took over and introduced the policy. There is also a fisher tribe that seems to be bringing in this policy. As far as I can make out, all these tribes are continuing to work well under this new method of social respect. The women especially are pleased with the new gender equality. It empowers them, and their men see the benefit of treating them properly. I expect the same to happen here.

Tell me: do you treat your own wife as an equal or as a servant?”

“High Chief, my wife and I have been a pair for many years, and remain happy. These policy changes will not affect our marriage. She has been telling me what to do for many years, but always in private. All that will happen is that her active participation in our marriage becomes officially approved and normal in tribal law.”

John patted him on the shoulder.

“Ferro, you and I both have the same kind of wives, only I have fifteen or so to listen to. Fortunately, they discuss matters among themselves and settle on what they want to see happen, so that there is no squabbling over what I should be told!”

“Fifteen? You poor man!”

“Perhaps so, but I am well satisfied with them, and they are happily starting to produce the next generation for us. One hand of children are already here, with more on the way.”

“Children can be a blessing when young; when they have grown up, they act for themselves as they see fit. It has always been so.”

“That is life, Ferro. It is up to us to show them what makes a good man or woman, and trust that they will make the best decisions about their own lives. If they don’t, it is their choice. Your parents probably felt the same way about you.”

Ferro gave a short laugh, adding, “Parents, yes. My father and three mothers. I was one of four boys and five girls in the family; hardly saw my father at all. He was always either away at his work, or in the furs with one of my mothers; always busy, too busy to advise me on matters of concern to me. That persuaded me to stick with one good woman.”

John mused, “I take your point. I tend to be away a lot, too. Perhaps I should try to be around for my children as soon as they are old enough to want to play with their father. My own father was good at playing children’s games with me, but he never let me beat him at chess. Said the only way to learn chess was to get so fed up losing that you concentrate on winning!”

“Whatever chess is, High Chief; can you tell me?”

“It is a complicated game with models of warriors in pretend warfare between two sides, like tribes, but no-one gets killed, just captured. Probably most wars would be best fought by chess players deciding the moves, and the captured men would have to be ransomed – exchanged for trade goods.”

Ferro surmised, “Facinating idea. Certainly better for those like Denovo. Death is so final.”

“It is. Perhaps that is why I became a soldier – a warrior – for my own tribe at home, to learn how to win at the game of war. You don’t always win by simply killing. Winning is a more complicated answer, like the strategy of the chess game.

Do you think you and your council can get along with Gomoro as Chief, now that Denovo is gone?”

“I believe so. Gomoro has toughened up a lot in the last day or so. Previously, I doubt that he could have slit Denovo’s throat; but Denovo asked for it by threatening his women. Gomoro is a fierce protector of his wives. Still, the action of killing a man is not easy to do if you are normally non-agressive. His swift action was the action of a Chief, making me pleased with your choice of him.

Gomoro is swiftly becoming a man to be reckoned with, and his women are also dangerous, as we have just seen. A formidible family, I think.”

“That is my own opinion. He is a man of clever ideas, and the ability to implement them, with some help from others such as the Maker of the tribe. Your tribe has the potential to do well with him leading you. He may have his mind preoccupied with new ideas, but his women will keep him well-grounded in reality.

I believe these women did more to Denovo than was said; I trained them to punish an agressor to the utmost, to prevent a recurrence. Denovo was an aggressive man, thus I suspect that his ‘accident’ was a result of his agression being met by their active resistance. Warn others not to push these ladies too far, for they have learned how to win in a confrontation.”

“I will take that to heart, High Chief.”

“One final matter, my friend. Does this tribe have slaves?”

“What do you mean by that word, ‘slaves’?”

“People who have no rights, and are prisoners forced to work for the tribe without any reward other than basic food and accomodation.”

“That does not exist among us, High Chief. We are not warlike as a rule, so have taken no prisoners, and no such prisoners have been traded to us. Why do you ask?”

“It is a principle that we apply to all our tribes, Ferro. No-one should be kept as a slave, either for toiling or for sexual purposes, so any such slaves must be released when found. That is what we do when we find slaves. Criminals are normally punished by death or banishment, so are not the same. Would you accept such a rule, on behalf of your tribe?”

“Gladly, High Chief. We have not ever talked about such a rule, for we never considered having slaves, but we shall make it a rule for all future times.”

“Thank you, Ferro. In that case, I will leave tomorrow with my young wife here, who looked quite ferocious earlier, and was probably a leader in that resistance. She used to have a reputation for strong anger, but she has settled down to becoming a good wife, and perhaps a mother later.” Travana cuddled up to John and leaned into him at what she heard. “I no longer fear pain, John. I put that thought behind me when I stood up to Denovo, but Denovo learned to fear women for the short painful time before he died. Can we go home?”

John gathered her to him, and patted her rear affectionately, while Ferro looked on with an understanding smile.

“Soon, my love,” John told her.

Gomoro reached Denovo’s hut and announced himself.

“Chief Gomoro seeks admittance.”

The elder woman was there in a flash, ushering in the tribal Chief. The other woman came and stood silently beside her, hesitantly, wondering why the Chief was here.

“Please enter, Chief Gomoro. Our husband is out on an errand before leaving. His back pack is ready for him.”

“Ladies, I have news for you. Denovo is dead.”

He expected gasps of horror at the news, but got nothing but blank stares, as they waited for details, so he went on, “He burned to death in a fall into the fire in my hut, when he visited my wives before his banishment. At least, that is the story they tell. He ran out of the hut before he collapsed and died. They all came out brandishing their knives, including Chief John’s wife, as if ready to stab him, so I think there was more to the tale. The main point is that he is dead, and you ladies are now free to decide your futures.”

“What do you mean, Chief? According to tradition, we belong to the man who killed him, but you say it was a fire?”

“It can seem complicated, but Ferro, speaking for the council, declared that you are my responsibility for the present, as the ‘accident’ happened in my hut.”

This gained him smiles from both women. The elder asked, “Your wives are happy with this ‘responsibility’, Chief Gomoro?”

“They will be, once you are there. I think they will like you as I do. They will wish to discuss things with you, in detail. Ferro was under the impression that both you women were not very happy with Denovo. Is that so?”

The younger one volunteered, “It is so, Chief. He fucked us whenever he felt like it, giving our own feelings no thought at all; it was all about him, like everything else was. He was not a happy man because we had not become pregnant, and blamed us for it. That could often lead to a beating if his rage came over him.”

Gomoro offered an opinion. “It might be that a defect in him was the cause of your lack of pregnancy. The lack of fertility may thus have been his fault, not yours. I say that as that the chance of two wives in succession being barren is not very probable in my experience.”

The elder woman asked, “Are you going to take us as your women, Chief? We would try to be good, even if we are not fertile. We would be very good to you, any way you want us to be, much more willing than we were with Denovo; just don’t beat us, please.”

He looked at them both for a long moment before replying.

“The matter of women is now a question for the tribe as a whole, about the position of women within our tribe. Our adviser and guide, High Chief John, has invited the tribe to take up the challenge of equality of gender. This means that men and women should be regarded equally, and so women are no longer seen as the possession of a man. They can decide their own destiny in the same way as a man was always able to decide his pathway to the future.

You can decide to become a wife and mother, or learn to become a hunter or a warrior or a Maker or shaman or Chief, much later. It is more a matter of ability than your gender. You can discuss this with my wives, once we get back to my hut. Do you wish to take things with you, or leave them here?”

“We do not have much, Chief; Denovo would not allow that, so we can come as we are. All I have that I would like to keep is a small wooden figure of a child; one I had as a pretend baby when I was small. I hoped to give it to my own daughter, if I ever had one. That might never be.”

“Pick it up at once, for it is a valuable object to treasure.” He sniffed. “Pardon me for asking, but when did you women last have an all-over wash?”

“We cannot remember, Chief. Denovo kept us in the hot for most of the time, as if he did not trust us. Do we offend you by our smell?”

“Not offend me; it is more a matter of personal hygiene, staying clean to keep healthy. I learned that some time ago and apply it to my family. My wives will introduce you to the routine of regularly washing your body and washing your clothes.”

“We would have washed our clothes, Chief, but Denovo would not allow us to leave the hut without him being present, and he saw no value to him of us washing our clothes and his clothes. He was a slob, that way.”

“Weird!” exclaimed Gomoro. “Even the birds wash themselves to keep their plumage clean. The man was an idiot in so many ways about women, yet clever in his manipulation of men. He was lucky that so many other men are sadly deficient when it comes to washing. None thought to suggest that Denovo wash himself, it seems. I may have to institute a rule that everyone must wash their bodies at least once every hand of days.”

This made the two women even more anxious to get clean.

“May we go and wash ourselves before we come to the Chief’s hut? You will like us better if we are clean, won’t you? We will wash our undersides for you. We know how to get on our hands and knees for fucking.”

Gomoro was shocked. “Is that the only way you have been fucked?”

“Yes. That is what Denovo wanted, so that was what we got. It was just a task to be endured.”

“Get my ladies to teach you about the many ways you can do this fucking, which Chief John has taught us to change to ‘make love’, as it should be done with love for your partner.”

The younger exclaimed, “That sounds wonderful, Chief Gomoro! Will you demonstrate this ‘loving’ with us?” She gushed.

“Just so we know it’s meaning,” clarified the older woman with a diplomatic smile. “You make it sound more than something to be endured.”

“It can be so. Speak to my ladies about it, both of you. I value my ladies’ opinion in most things.”

The woman asked again, “We will, Chief. May we go and wash now? We will be at your hut as soon as we can manage it, Chief.”

“Off you go, ladies. I am surprised that Denovo got himself such good-looking women as wives. He must have had a persuasive way with your fathers.”

They parted directions, with an apprehensive Gomoro heading back to his hut to brief his wives on the new arrivals. The two widows left for the stream with smiles on their faces for the first occasion in a long time.

As Gomoro arrived, his women were full of the excitement of recent events and wanted to tell him in detail what had happened. They related the events as they had experienced them, and apologetically explained their earlier less informative report in public.

“We didn’t want to say anything that might reflect on our husband, so we didn’t mention stabbing Denovo to keep him on the fire. It was all we could think of to stop him from hurting us, and Chief John said to not relent until you had won a fight. Was that all right with you, Gomoro?”

“It was perfect, my lovelies! The event appeared as if he had fallen in the fire by accident and couldn’t get himself out before his burns were too severe for him to survive them. Your part in that adventure does not need to be mentioned, so just forget it now. We will regard it as his lack of balance that first of all toppled him and later the pain prevented him from escaping the fire. Your appearnce behind him, carrying your knives, we will regard as a mere sign of fright if anyone asks.

Now, to change the subject, the late unlamented Denovo had two wives and no children, so I have been to see them to inform them of his departure to the Earth Mother. They were not too upset, for it seems he was never nice to them, and at times beat them, so they continually lived in fear. He blamed them for not getting pregnant, instead of allowing it might be his own failure as a man. He unfortunately had a low opinion of women and a high opinion of himself.

Incidentally, he always fucked them animal fashion, so that was the only style of fucking that they are familiar with. I have promised them some education on sex positions, imparted by you lovely ladies. Will you do that for me?”

Shanna questioned him, “Gomoro my husband, will you be taking these women as wives as well? We need to know this, so that we know how to treat them.”

Gomoro found it necessary to remind them, “Ladies, in our new tribal regime, women and men are to be treated equally, so as I explained to you before, a woman can refuse a man who proposes to take her as a wife or concubine. By the same arrangement, she is at liberty to ask a man to become her husband if she likes him enough. Both parties must be in agreement.”

“Yes, we know that, but do you want to ask them to become wives to you? It is a practical question for your other wives to be aware of the likely outcome if that is what you propose. My own feeling is that they will most probably jump at the opportunity to be a wife of the Chief, even if one of six.”

“Give them and me a chance, ladies! They have just lost their husband, - for whatever that might mean in their lives. I suspect it means relief to them. I believe it remains a sensible plan to perhaps wait for a few days before thinking of such a decision. They are good-looking women, younger than yourselves, and I would like you to examine them for suitability as extra wives. Your opinion will determine my final decision.

In the meantime I would like to know what you four feel about the possibility, for I will not do anything which will upset my wonderful wives.”

This got him sudden frenzied hugs from four pleased and relieved wives, then the inevitable worried question.

“How pretty are they, these two ‘good-looking’ women? Tell us more about them.”

“Ldie, ladies! I will leave you to judge for yourselves, but I trust you not to be swayed by outward looks. Their body shapes, sizes and ages are of less importance than an ability to fit into our family. Examine them, make your decision, then tell me what I should do. Remember that they have long lived in fear so you should encourage them to become liberated women, free of pressure on them to obey their man. They must be free to make their own assessments of their future lives. You must give them knowledge of that freedom and what it offers.”

“Of course, but they will probably fall for you anyway, as a worthy contrast to Denovo, as well as the greater status you offer.”

He shrugged and left them, seeking to find John and Travana.

He found John had gone back to the council hut with Ferro, to cement his new relationship with the council. This time there would be no infighting, at John’s advice. Any kind of dispute would be bad for the tribe, he told them.

“You can usually find a solution to any problem, if you approach it in the right way. You men have the brains and experience to work things out, if you don’t allow yourselves to be sidetracked by a rabble-rouser like Denovo. Oh, and a reminder: A few women on the council would not go amiss in coming to decisions that the tribe will accept. Women can give you a valuable insight into the opinion of half the population of the tribe.

I now propose to go back to my own two tribes and start another baby or two, or perhaps just satisfy my pregnant wives. Good luck with your council deliberations, and support your council leader, Elder Ferro, and your new tribal Chief, Chief Gomoro; both are worthy of your support, and you will do well by them, I am certain.”

He headed back to the Chief’s hut to say farewell, and found himself behind two good-looking women in what smelled like damp clothing, who were heading in the same direction. He automatically looked at their matted hair with a thought for liquid soap that would help tease out their hair, which had been washed but not properly combed out; perhaps they were short of time, so they looked to be in a hurry.

Surprisingly, they led him without noticing to the door of the building where he was headed and preceded him inside. They were about to introduce themselves to the wives when they realised someone was standing behind them, and whirled.

After a panicked look, they recognised his figure and his pale skin. The elder burst out,”Oh, it is High Chief John. Pardon us, sir. Denovo pointed you out in case we had to accompany him when he met you.”

“Correct. Please ignore me, ladies.”

He moved to the side and greeted Gomoro, while the four wives welcomed the two new women, allowing for introductions all round, then they sat down to chat. Women always seemed to manage to chat right away when they met.

John spoke softly. “Gomoro, I have spoken with the council; things should be normal again, and you should be safe to work with them. I have asked them to proclaim a new rule that the tribe should never hold prisoners as slaves, and Ferro has agreed to do that.

Now, I want to go home shortly. Is that acceptable to you?”

“It is. I need to stand on my own feet as you have pointed out, High Chief. Thanks for all your help, and have a safe journey home.”

Gomoro looked over at the women.

“I hope they all get along. Denovo’s women were not well treated, so they will need some coddling and cosseting to begin with.”

John glanced over.

“First signs are good. Are you going to keep them, if they want that?”

“I will see what my wives decide, and go along with them, but as you say, things are looking good from here. They are good lookers, so as long as my women feel they will fit into our family, then that may be the solution.”

Travana had been with the Chief’s ladies, listening to all the women conversing for some time. Now she stepped over to the two men.

“John my husband? Please can we demonstrate how to make love by the ‘woman on top’ position? The new ladies know nothing of it and really ought to see it in action, to see that it gives a woman the power to choose in having sex.”

“Here and now? In this hut, with all the others around?”

“You know we have to leave soon, my love, and these women need to see what is possible. They still cannot believe what they are hearing. We can show them how a loving man treats all his wives.”

Gomoro grinned and stepped back. “I like this plan. Be my guest, High Chief. The furs are clean, and if my wives and our two guests get off them, you can use my furs for the show. It will be an interesting demonstration to us all, for I am not familiar with this position of Travana’s!”

John gave a glance up at the roof with raised eyebrows, as if in supplication to the gods, and took both Travana’s hands in his own.

“Yes, Travana my love; if that is what you want, we will do that. You are in charge.” He gave her a kiss to reinforce his message.

They walked to the furs, where John stripped naked and lay down on his back, his male member already protruding upwards in anticipation of action. Travana was also quick to strip, then stand over her man, ready to start. Gomoro’s wives started a quiet running commentary in the background to enlighten the two guests, who were watching in fascination. The mere idea of the woman being in charge of fucking was a revelation to them, particularly the teenage wife of a mature High Chief. He had to be about ten years older than her, they guessed.

Gomoro stood at the back, also interested in this demonstration.

There were gasps as Travana deftly dropped to her knees and pushed John’s erect cock up into her woman’s opening. She then sat down, impaling herself on his erect member. John stretched out his hands to hold and caress her prominent breasts with their now straining hard nipples. There were more gasps of surprise as she lifted herself up a little and slammed down on him time after time, starting slowly then speeding up. The High Chief just lay there most of the time while she was active, fondling her breasts until at some point he changed to thrusting upwards to meet Travana as she came down.

This action proceeded for a while, Travana and John enjoying themselves, audience forgotten.

There was even more excitement when at some point Travana’s body started to shudder as if she was not in control, and then John made a similar jerking motion; and both produced utterances of exerted excitement before Travana collapsed on her husband, grabbing him tight and then kissing his face all over as his hands wandered lovingly over her bum as she pressed herself to him.

“That was lovely, John. You always seem to get me going at the right time.”

“Travana my dear wife, your energy is wonderful. Your cunt muscles are a great stimulus for me.”

They resumed kissing again, lost in themselves, until Travana pulled herself up to speak, her husband’s cock still embedded in her. She looked over at the other women.

“Did you see, ladies? This is what we mean by ‘woman-on-top’ love-making, but we also feel it is baby-making if we get lucky. Did you enjoy watching?”