Part Two -- The Vision
"I'm pregnant," kept drumming in his ears along with the throbbing pressure in his head. Suddenly thrashing and gagging Jack bolted up mumbling "I'm pregnant, I'm pregnant!"
Debbie, cradling his head in her lap and toweling the sweat from his brow scolded "You are something else Jack. No, you are not pregnant, just excessively drunk! You have been unconscious for hours."
Opening his eyes Jack could only make out the faintest figure before him. Blinking his eyes his sight finally cleared and he was staring into the face of his wife, Debbie. "I feel sick to my stomach, I think I'm going to throw up," he choked.
"It would serve you right. Our first night with the Bide and you make an ass of yourself by drinking too much. It's a wonder you are alive," Debbie explained.
"Ayahuasca," injected Hoopoe.
"What," asked Jack? Slowly coming to his senses Jack looked around and saw Hoopoe with a big toothless grin sitting with his legs athwart on the sleeping mat across the hut.
"Ayahuasca, it is a hallucinogen, Jack. The Bide men drink it like beer, but it is much more potent and can cause hallucinations. You have been rambling that you are pregnant," she laughed nervously.
He was hallucinating? It all seemed so real. "I need some water," he pleaded as he felt the contents of his stomach growl forth. "I am so exhausted, can we talk about this in the morning," he asked? Nodding, she laid his head down and covered him. As he closed his eyes he tried to recall what exactly he had imagined. Through a fitful night he alternated between recurring sexual dreams involving Debbie which he couldn't seem to identify with. Finally, exhaustion overtook him and his dreams gave way to a deep sleep. He awoke feeling energized instead of drained like a hang-over usually leaves you. He quietly arose and went to the gathering area to make some tea and try to remember the events of the night before.
Debbie soon joined him as the Bide were also beginning to stir. Their daily routine generally did not begin early in the morning, but rather mid-morning as they often slept in, unless the hunters were going out. "Jack, I am so relieved that you are ok. I was frightened to death when you started having a seizure last night," she said.
"I guess I made a fool of myself," he stated flatly.
"It is not unusual for the men to have convulsions and other frightening reactions to the drink. It's just that they are used to it. That drink is used mostly in ceremonies and by the Magi in a strong potion. Since you are not that accustomed to it, it would have been better to have drunk a lot less," she admonished.
Over the next couple of months they fell into a routine where Jack spent the day taking photographs and Debbie would spend the day interviewing individuals, participating in daily chores and learning the various crafts like making baskets, cloths, utensils, and meals. Each night they would gather their notes from the day and prepare a log of their activities. Hoopoe would spend nearly the entire day with Debbie helping as an interpreter and at night would teach them the Karaja's native language.
As a professional anthropologist Debbie's approach to her work involved experimental immersion and participatory observation. Basically it meant she would live as the Bide not just among the Bide so her knowledge came from first hand experience and not just general observation.
During this period both their language skills grew rapidly and soon Jack was able to communicate well enough that he began to develop a close personal relationship with Minjue, the tribal elder. Sitting quietly together there was a bond that Jack could feel. He liked Minjue and had come to respect his calm leadership of the Bide and knew they followed him not from a position of authority, but rather because of his serene manner and selfless wisdom.
One afternoon sitting in the shade of a Curandero tree Minjue said to Jack "I saw your dream. You are troubled but should not be. Ayahuasca show what is in the heart," nodding as if confirming his understanding.
Jack frequently found himself immersed in the dream from his first night with Bide. Confused by what Minjue saw he asked "What dream?"
"The dream on your face," he answered looking off into the distance.
He was wise but how much could he see on Jack's face?
"Do not worry what is in your heart. She will take a husband," he said rising and walking off into the gathering area.
For the rest of that day Jack brooded over what Minjue had said that Debbie would take a husband! He was distressed by the sexual vision but it excited him as well. He was full of both dread and desire, and yes it troubled him.
That evening sitting in the gathering area Hoopoe was very animated and laughing. He wasn't a Karaja but of a different tribe. He was of African heritage, coal black. He was about Debbie's height, slightly built as were nearly all of the jungle peoples. His hair was speckled with grey. He had a broad flat nose and a wide mouth. His hands were large for his stature and hardened by years of toil.
Jack remembered when Debbie accepted this project she went in search for a guide and translator. A Brazilian outfitter suggested Hoopoe. They said he was elderly, in his mid-seventies but very fit and capable. At first Debbie was reluctant because of his age, but she knew enough to listen to the outfitter. She hired him when she found he knew the jungle and the language and his energy put her at ease.
Listening in on the conversation Hoopoe was telling Debbie he was like her husband. He protected her, showed the ways of the jungle, and hunted food. He explained this made him very happy to have a family once again.
Like a husband Jack thought as he drank of the Ayahuasca again, but more slowly. Soon the Bide started to leave to their huts for the night. Debbie said "I think I will get ready for bed too." She left to the hut to change into her night shirt.
Nodding Jack sat and sipped on his drink quietly staring at the red and yellow hues of the fire sitting along side of Hoopoe. Bizarre thoughts swirled inside his mind. Hoopoe and Debbie had built a very close bond. Had he become her protector and mentor in a way that Jack had taken for granted? Were these strange dreams he was having an involuntary jealousy?
It was the rainy season and common for torrential rains with terrible thunder and lightening. During the night a horrifying wind began to blow with thunder that seemed to shake the ground. A sudden flash of lightening and the strike of thunder caused Debbie to bolt upright, frightened by the nearness of the hit. Shaking she lay back down facing toward Hoopoe.
Jack looked toward Hoopoe and could see his eyes were open looking intently at Debbie. He stretched one arm toward her with hand open and Debbie reached and put her hand in his. Smiling he squeezed her hand reassuringly. Jack realized it was true, Hoopoe had become her protector.
The next days turned to weeks and before he knew it they had been with the Karaja for nearly 5 months. Debbie had immersed herself in the ways of the Karaja. Simple things like a daily bathing ritual for the women only, to participating in the rite of passage for youngsters when they became adults. She cooked meals and gathered nuts and roots from the jungle and caught fish in the streams. She had learned their language and dances, songs and stories.
Jack for his part in the project maintained a professional removal from these behaviors. As a photographer his role was to capture their way of life on film. To do so he practiced an art of being hidden from view so he could capture the reality of life without affecting it by his overt presence. He wondered if this practiced invisibility was also contributing to the growing closeness between Debbie and Hoopoe. Had he become indiscernible to her as well?
His only personal attachment to the Karaja was his relationship with Minjue. He considered the elder a close friend. He was friendly with all the rest of the Bide, but he had a special relationship with Minjue, he confided in him and took counsel from him.
This morning while sitting around the gathering area, Minjue came and sat with him. "You are not happy with the Bide," he asked?
"The Bide are a wonderful family, why do you ask," Jack replied?
