Paying the Rent

Summary

The Jenhallo people, after finding their ancestral land occupied by new settlers, decide to move to a new location following the advice of their wise medicine woman, Minganez, who predicts a future cataclysm and emphasizes the transient nature of land ownership.

Abstract

Several years after a devastating cataclysm, the Jenhallo people return to their former homeland only to find it inhabited by others who have prospered. After much deliberation, they are guided by Minganez, an elder, who advises them that attempting to reclaim their old land would be against the natural order of flowing with the energies of the land. She suggests they warn the new inhabitants of an impending disaster and move to a new location, a lake surrounded by hills and forests, where they can live for the next five generations. Her predictions come true, and the Jenhallo people find peace and abundance in their new home, eventually welcoming survivors of the foretold cataclysm.

Opinions

Minganez believes that humans are transient caretakers of the land, not owners, and that the rent paid for living on the land is love and caretaking.
The Jenhallo people initially have mixed feelings about Minganez's advice, with some advocating for violence to reclaim their land and others wanting to continue wandering.
Minganez's meditation and communion with the land lead her to predict another cataclysm, reinforcing the idea that the land cannot be permanently owned or settled.
There is a sense of responsibility to warn the new inhabitants of the impending cataclysm, despite the expectation that their warning will not be heeded.
The concept of "flow" is central to Minganez's worldview, suggesting that resisting change and trying to hold onto the past leads to stagnation.
The story reflects on the cyclical nature of human history, with the Jenhallo people preparing to welcome future wanderers just as they were once welcomed.
The narrative emphasizes the importance of heeding the wisdom of elders and the consequences of environmental changes, which can necessitate human migration and adaptation.

And going with the flow

Several years after the great cataclysm the Jenhallo people, after years of wandering, returned to the land where they used to live. They were surprised to find new people living there — and they were surprised that the new people were thriving.

The great cataclysm had left the land uninhabitable. Their homes and crops were destroyed. Many perished. For the sake of survival they were forced to leave their homeland and search for a new home.

They had become nomads yet they maintained a deep-seated memory of the old times and longed for a homeland to settle into. The people felt joy in finding that their original homeland was once again habitable but they also felt anger to discover that it was inhabited by other people.

Camping a few miles away, the Jenhallo people held meetings. Discussion was rampant among everyone about what to do. Some wanted to attack the new people and drive them out so as to retake the land. Others wanted to resume their wandering in search of a new land.

Minganez, an old medicine woman did not partake in the debates. She went out into the nearby hills to meditate and feel the land. When she came back to camp everyone stopped their discussion and turned to hear what she had to say:

“Humans cannot own the land or the trees or the sky or the water. All humans are nomads moving with the energies. All land, all homes are just rentals. The rent we pay is our love for and care-taking of the land. We can love our homes but not own them. The natural order is to flow. To not follow this flow is to stagnate.”

“I have communed with the land here and it told me that another cataclysm is coming. We cannot go back in time and it is foolish to repeat the past. There is a place to the northwest of here. There is a lake surrounded by hills and forests. That is where we should go and live for the next five generations before we move once again.”

“But first we must warn these new people of the upcoming cataclysm. They will not believe us. They will think we are trying to trick them. But it is our duty to warn them then quickly move on.”

Many of the Jenhallo people grumbled at this.

“In the future the survivors of that cataclysm will begin wandering just like we did. They will eventually stumble onto our home by the lake to the northwest. Some of them will remember us. We must welcome them with open arms.”

The grumbling intensified.

“So let us move and be quick. Our next rental awaits us and it is definitely not here.”

The Jenhallo men who had been arguing for an attack on the new people in their old land were not happy with what Minganez said. But the consensus of the others was to follow her advice. The thought of undergoing another cataclysm finally prompted the people to leave and head to the northwest in search of that lake.

All of Minganez’s predictions came true. The Jenhallo people found that lake and settled there and for several generations lived in peace and abundance. And the old land did indeed suffer another cataclysm and the survivors did in fact eventually show up at the lake. The Jenhallo people took them in and together they lived in harmony and waited…

Minganez’s predictions did not go beyond that. They remembered what she had said about flow however. So the two people waited together for the next eviction which flow would surely bring them in coming years.

Speaking of nomads…

Paying the Rent

And going with the flow

Living on a Volcano

The importance of sitting around a campfire