(from Shaniya, age 13)
Dear Shaniya,
Good question and one that will take a little time. The most basic thing that makes them alike is their “humaness.” Both clans must be skilled in maintaining an adequate food supply and that means being skilled in tool making, hunting, and knowing which plants to cook and eat. Both clans must have devised ways of handling injury and illness.Both must have developed a society that works, and that means creating ways to hold down out-of-control competitiveness that can get out of control and become violent. These ways can include a method of selecting a competent leader (not a power-hungry dictator) and creating an orderly system of testing young people so that they gain recognition in the clan for achieving their maturity (tests for bravery, emotional strength, and an understanding of the clans’ rules of behavior that hold groups together. No clan or tribe or nation can survive for long without solving these all-too human problems.
I hope my answer helped answer your question, Shaniya.
Marjorie Cowley
Comments on this entry are closed.