Sasquatch dwellings are built in five layers. First to go up is the framework of sticks and wooden beams, and then the finer woven mattes. Moss and dry grass is packed into the holes of the mattes for insulation, and then the whole is covered in specially prepared bark shingles. Inside, another layer of woven mattes cover the walls and allow for easy hanging. All of their furniture is easily collapsible, everything portable and pack-able with a few hours of practiced efficiency. The dwellings themselves, called jukhom, look like enormous tree stumps, and are spread in such a fashion that a careless hiker could walk right through the center of the village without knowing anything.
My own bright orange tent was extraordinarily out of place, needless to say, and soon after I had met with the elders of the village, Wyatt's mother kindly offered to let me stay inside of their jukhom. It was warm and cozy, complete with a small radio, lamps, portable stove... almost anything you could find in the home of a modern American.
I was led to the Jkha, the communal building at the center of the encampment, to meet with the Elders soon after waking. The Jkha is quite different from the jukhoms, resembling a small hill- although by small, I mean about 500 feet wide, and 40 feet tall. On the inside was a low perimeter second level, and in the center they had set up a large fire pit. The area was cordoned off into various workshops for the members of the tribe. Set around the fire pit were the elders, literally the oldest members of the village, smoking and debating among themselves on wicker chairs.
The size of the entire place was staggering. Most sasquatch's are between 8 and 10 feet in height, and their buildings, furniture, doorways, everything was built for their size. I've never noticed before, how easy we have it in the 'civilized world', where everything is made for generally human size, but those extra feet really make a difference. Walking among them, I felt like a child. Actually, Wyatt's 9 year old sister was taller than me by a few inches. They tended to treat me like a child as well, carefully, cutting my food up for me, opening jars or reaching to the top shelves for things I couldn't reach... but i'm getting ahead of myself a little.
Among the sasquatch people, influence is accumulated right along with age. The youngest, the children and the young adults, make very few decisions within the community and are protected from outside influences. Once a sasquatch reaches 26 years of age, they go through their first hrumner ceremony, and are considered an adult, with a vote in the community and the right to their own tent. Adult sasquatches practice a trade and do most a the physical labor throughout the camp. In their late 30s or early 40s, they marry and begin their own families. At around the age of 65, a sasquatch undergoes a second hrumner ceremony, in which they become an Elder of the village. Elders are the master craftsmen, the political force, and the voice of the community to the outside world. While a humans at 65 are beginning to feel their age, a sasquatch is in the prime of health.
Sasquatches that live beyond the century mark may undergo, if they wish, a third and final hrumner ceremony, becoming an acknowledged Ancient. Ancients carry the wisdom of their people with them, and form the core governing council of any gathering of the People. Their word for themselves has been integrated into the modern veracular: Yeti.
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