back to prehistoric savage

Chapter 252 Joy and Qingqing Zijin

In addition to wine, Zhang Tian also added a new percussion instrument for the sacrificial ceremony: a drum.

It is not the most common wooden drum in later generations. Under the current conditions, it is not possible to make a seamless wooden drum - what is made is a pottery drum that fits the background of the times.

Zhang Tian also heard Lin Yu mention it inadvertently, and then he learned that there was such a thing as pottery drum in history.

Although pottery drums have been completely eliminated, they once dominated an era during its most glorious period. Almost all pottery drums of different shapes have been unearthed from various prehistoric sites starting from the Liaohe River Basin in the north and the Yangtze River Basin in the south. Drums can be said to be spread throughout the entire land of China.

Of course, due to the age, the leather drum heads covering the upper part or the upper and lower ends have mostly rotted away, leaving only the drum frame.

Lin Yu fired a batch of pottery drum frames according to the appearance in his memory.

The shape is quite special, one is bigger and the other is smaller, the big head is bell-shaped, the small head is approximately bowl-shaped, the middle connecting part is cylindrical, the upper and lower ends are not sealed, each has a small ear on the same side, the small one has an everted edge, and the big one has There are six beak-like barbs on one end near the mouth to better fix the leather.

Because it is a sacrificial item, the surface of the pottery drum is also painted with exquisite patterns in red and black.

Lin Yu made the drum frame and gave it to Zhang Tian to cover it.

The rise of linen products has greatly reduced the tribe's demand for leather. The hides hunted in warm weather are carefully tanned and dried by the women, and then stored in warehouses. Some are used before the cold weather comes, but there is still a lot left. stock.

He asked Xiao to get some leather and turned it over in his hand for a long time. The more he looked at it, the more dissatisfied he became.

"What's wrong?" Xiao Xiao thought the leather was insect-eaten or rotten.

In fact, Zhang Tian just thought that these yellow-brown leathers were not good-looking and did not match the drum frames made by Dr. Lin.

It doesn't matter at ordinary times, sacrifice is the most important activity and should be perfect.

"Compared with these leathers or Pinecone's wolf fur coat, which one do you think looks better?" Zhang Tian asked coldly.

"Of course Pinecone's wolf fur coat is beautiful!" Xiao Xiao said without thinking, "That's white fur! It's very rare!"

Rare things are valuable, and this has been true since ancient times.

Zhang Tian laughed and said, "Do you want to wear white clothes? I have a way to make the leather white."

Xiao Xiao's eyes lit up: "What can I do?"

If he had known that this method would involve soaking the leather with urine, he would not have agreed so readily.

Xiao Xiao brought the chamber pot filled with urine with a look of disgust. Because it had been placed next to the fireplace for a while, the smell had actually evaporated, and it was inevitable that he would still feel sick psychologically.

"Does this really work?"

"of course."

Zhang Tian's tone was determined.

Urea, the main component of urine, decomposes into ammonia in a warm environment and is a natural preservative and bleaching agent.Although it is not pure white after bleaching, it is very close. After washing the leather, wringing it out several times, and then drying it, you will get white leather.

Although the process was a bit disgusting, the result was an eye-opener for Xiao. After making fertilizer from feces, urine also came in unexpected uses!

What he didn't know was that urine had another, more important use: making nitrate.

However, Zhang Tian has found a natural salt hole, so there is no need to keep fighting with shit and piss.Moreover, he is still not sure whether it is necessary to go to the step of boiling saltpeter to make saltpeter in his lifetime.

Once the leather material is available, it is then cut and drilled according to the size of the opening of the drum frame and the beak-shaped barb, and then covered with leather. The edges are glued with fish bladder glue, and then tied with belts and twine to expand and tighten the leather. Securely attached to drum frame.

Thread the twine through the ear on one side of the drum frame so it can be carried in your hand or hung around your waist.

From the perspective of carrying method, it is more like the waist drum of later generations, but the material and shape are different.

He whittled two pieces of wood to use as drumsticks, and tried to hit them twice. The sound was like thunder, which immediately attracted everyone's attention.

He didn't know how to play drums, so he played randomly for a while, and found that he could not only hit the drum head, but also the drum body. Because the internal cavity is large, a slight hit can resonate and produce a clear and loud sound.

Zhang Tian combined the two sounds of beating the drum head and beating the drum body to create an extremely simple but extremely brainwashing rhythm: "Dong dong, da! Dong dong, da! Dong dong, da..."

The men were all attracted by the rhythmic drumming, gathered around and started to follow the drumbeats, which was very lively.

Making drums is not difficult, just look at it once, and soon, pottery drums are being made one after another.

As a rhythmic instrument, drums are easy to play. The quality of the sound is related to the size of the drum and the size of the drum surface. This is something that the drum maker needs to consider. The drummer only needs to swing the mallet mindlessly and hit it every time.

Of course, in order to ensure the listening experience, Zhang Tian still taught them some simple routines. It is not the time to pursue rhythm changes yet, so it would be great if they can play in a consistent manner.

Following the women's dance troupe and the children's flute and xun orchestra, the men's drum and drum troupe finally stepped onto the stage of history.

While the men were rejoicing, the women, under the guidance of Lin Yu, dyed "green zijin" with vegetation.

Plant dyeing is a very ancient handicraft technology. As early as the Paleolithic Age, our ancestors discovered during the collection process that the roots, stems, bark, and leaves of certain plants can extract juice and use it as dye.

But the dyes at that time were still mainly mineral dyes. This was related to the raw materials of clothing at that time. Animal skins were not easy to color. Even if they were colored, the color fastness was not high and it was easy to fade.

In the Neolithic Age, with the rise of magnesium silk, plant dyes began to emerge.

The development of plant dyeing has gone through processes such as leaf dyeing, mordant dyeing, and fermentation dyeing, to printing and dyeing, overdying, and tie dyeing. Lin Yu uses the simplest and most primitive leaf dyeing, which means the dyed parts of the plant are directly crushed at room temperature. A method of extracting the pigment-rich juice after juicing and dyeing.

The ancients called green, red, yellow, white, and black the five primary colors in dyes. Lin Yu knew about the corresponding plant dyes, and sooner or later he would make the people's lives colorful.In addition to green clothes, she also used madder to dye a batch of red clothes, ready to be awarded as prizes to the champions of the sports games.

……

Everyone carefully placed the sacrifices on the table in the center of the threshing floor, which was already filled with various foods, pottery, linen products, handicrafts, etc.

Boom, boom, da!Boom, boom, da!Dong dong, da...

As a drum beat with a distinct rhythm, vigorous, deep, rough and heroic sounds sounded, the annual sacrificial ceremony kicked off.

Everyone's expressions were solemn, the deafening drums were beating continuously, and their hearts seemed to be beating heavily, full of reverence.

People look up to the sky and thank God for sending sunshine and rain; people kneel down and worship the earth, thanking the soil for bringing prosperity to vegetation; people kowtow to their ancestors and thank the sages for passing down knowledge and guidance...

Under Zhang Tian's guidance, the tribesmen have long realized that sacrifice is not a means of praying, but a way to express gratitude. It is a place to remember the deceased tribesmen and express their thoughts to them.

They have gained so much in the past year. Life here is very good and there is nothing to complain about.

Of course they hope to live a better life in the future, but that has to be realized through their hands. The biggest advantage of growing grains is that as much as you work, you will get as much harvest as you need. Unlike hunting and gathering, sometimes you may not be able to achieve your goals even if you work all day long. There was enough food, let alone leftovers.

As the sky priest shouted out the three loud and powerful "oh"s, everyone respectfully sent their ancestors off and then began to enjoy the delicious food.

Except wine.

Zhang Tian sealed the jar of fruit wine again and said he would wait until the sports meeting to drink freely.

So the men began to practice their skills hard, vowing to show off their talents in the sports games and win the championship!

The competition events have been set: in addition to traditional events such as sprinting, long-distance running, weightlifting, wrestling, climbing, and archery, Zhang Tian has also added several team events that combine competitiveness and entertainment, including tug-of-war, relay races, and two-person events. Three-legged relay, etc., in addition to shuttlecock kicking, rope skipping and other national events, both men and women, young and old can participate.

Before the event, preparations must be made, including venue planning, prop production, referee training, and explanation of event rules...

Shuttlecock kicking and rope skipping have long been popular. As daily exercise items, they are deeply loved by the elderly and children.

But tug-of-war, relay races, and two-person and three-legged events are completely new to the tribe. The rules are very simple. Everyone will understand after Zhang Tian and Lin Yu demonstrate them.

Everyone is fascinated and these new projects give them a completely different experience!

All competitions at the tribal conference are all individual competitions, and only men can participate. Most people can only be spectators on the sidelines. Although it is not bad to cheer for the tribe, it ultimately lacks a sense of participation.

This is the first time they have heard about team competitions, not in the name of individuals, but in the name of tribes as a whole, such as tug-of-war. Each tribe sends 20 people to participate, ten men and ten women, working together to defeat the opponent!
Just thinking about it makes my blood boil!

Moreover, the sky priest said that this sports meeting will not only determine the winner of each event, but also calculate the points. The six tribes ranked first, second and third according to the points will receive three jars, two jars and one jar of fruit wine respectively. As a bonus.

When it comes to various numbers, not everyone understands the points rules, but they all understand one thing: even if they can't get the first place, they still have to compete for the top ranking, not only for themselves, but also for the tribe. !
This is not the first time for the tribesmen to participate in the competition, but it is unprecedented for them to be so united, so excited, and so looking forward to it. Everyone is training intensively. It is clearly winter, but the camp is filled with more intense enthusiasm than in midsummer.

Everyone looked forward to the stars and the moon, and finally the Sky Clan’s first National Sports Conference came!
The opening ceremony was still performed by the men's pottery and drum troupe, the women's dance troupe and the children's flute and flute troupe. Because the interval between it and the sacrificial ceremony was too short, no new programs were rehearsed, and the same old routine was still used.

But this did not prevent everyone from watching the performance. It was still a pleasure to watch it again. They were intoxicated by the graceful green clothes and the melodious sound of the flute, and swayed to the rapid drumbeats. The atmosphere immediately became lively.

The threshing floor is used for threshing and winnowing during the harvest season. It is usually an activity center where women chat and men brag. Now it has been transformed into a sports ground. The referees have already drawn a standard length of [-] feet with a measuring stick. Standard size archery targets were set up and the venue was divided into multiple competition areas.

The games last for two days and are held during the hottest time of the day.

The first day is the individual competition, and the second day is the team competition and the national competition.

Before the official start of the game, Zhang Tian loudly announced to the tribe the purpose of the sports meeting: "Friendship first, competition second!"

This sentence soon became a slogan throughout every tribe and became popular throughout the winter.

The drumming sound became more and more urgent, and the blood of the tribesmen was heated by the sound of the drum. The athletes in the field were either running forward, gritting their teeth to exert force, or focusing on aiming. The audience on the sidelines shouted loudly for their own success. The tribesmen cheered.

Of course, there were also wolf howls, and the wolves were also infected by the warm atmosphere and ran with the players on the sidelines!
Most of the referees are half-grown children. Firstly, there are few events to participate in, and secondly, they have strong understanding ability. They can understand many scoring rules that adults cannot understand.

Children also enjoy it. They are always controlled by adults, but now they can finally "rebel" legitimately: break the rules?Punishment!Confronting the referee?Punishment!Do you still dare to quibble?Punish again!Punish him severely!

They shuttle around the field, making penalties, counting scores, announcing results... and enjoying the small power brought by their status as referees.

Lin Yu serves as the chief referee, responsible for counting the points of each tribe and awarding awards to the winners of each event.

As for Zhang Tian, ​​he signed up for the archery competition. He hadn’t held a bow and arrow for a long time, and his hand was really unfamiliar. The static target was hit hard on the beach by the back waves, and he didn’t make it to the top three. Fortunately, he regained his hand when shooting the moving target. After fighting for a respect, he finally lost to Gu by a hair's breadth and lost the championship.

Hutou did not participate in the archery competition, but he defended his title in the strength competition again, so it was not a loss in the end.

The team competition on the second day pushed the atmosphere to the climax.

In the tug-of-war competition, they gritted their teeth and tried their best; in the relay competition, they encouraged each other and chased each other; the two of them were competing in a three-legged wrestling competition. Zhang Tian and Lin Yu had the least understanding and fell the most miserably. What a fool, everyone burst into laughter, leaning forward and back...

Although they fell violently, both of them were very happy and fully integrated into it, as if they had returned to the sports meeting in their student days. No, the atmosphere was better than that then. After all, they did not ask for discipline or force them to write newsletters, they just played. How come happiness comes!
Regardless of whether they won a prize or not, everyone was very excited. Even though the competition was over, they were still in high spirits, but they were still a little bit unfinished.

But the Sky Priest said that the first Games is over, and there will be a second and third Games in the future... It will become a tradition like the Tribal Conference, held every year, and there will be more and more events, and the scale will be bigger. The bigger you get, the more generous the rewards will be!

Everyone was so happy that even in their dreams at night, they were waving their arms crazily and shouting, come on...

(End of this chapter)