Manhood Rite

"Oh yes, he's cutting the pineapple for me. I love pineapple," said Peter wiping the pineapple juice off his chin. "Who are you?"

"I am the Great Mother, the Mother of the Tribe, the chief's wife." The woman sat down next to Peter, folding her legs under her cloth skins. She nodded to Natu, who cut a piece of pineapple off and handed it to her. "I'm also Nakibo's mother," she added before she took a bite.

Peter jerked his head to look at Nakibo. "No way! He's the chief's son?"

The old woman nodded. She waved Natu away and sat quietly chewing on pineapple.

"There will be a great feast tonight, in your and your mother's honor. Tomorrow we will show you how we live -- how we wash, how we work, how we gather food. You know, everyone in the tribe must work. That's how we survive as the community. We'll have to find you something to do, now won't we?"

"But I'm too young to work," protested Peter in his usual habit.

"Really? Too young?" The Great Mother chuckled. "Our boys begin work as soon as they are able, nearly as soon as they learn to walk. Of course the work gets harder as they grow up." She finished her pineapple slice and looked at Peter. "But don't worry, young one, we'll find you something easy." She smiled at Peter and stood up to leave. Then she turned and added: "Oh, and you'll meet your new friends tomorrow."

- Chapter 4 -

The welcoming feast was interesting to watch. There was a large fire, plenty of food, sounds of drums and lots of dancing. Most of the people decorated themselves with paint markings and exotic flowers. Peter and Zoe were seated on two large leaves in front of chief Koko'loko, who sat on the ground just like the rest of his people. Nakibo and the Great Mother sat to either sides of the chief -- their respectably honorable places.

Peter watched the people dance while eating fruits and meats from a large bowl. He tried his best not to look directly at the dancers and instead looked into the fire. It was because the dancing women were bare chested. When Peter was introduced to the tribe, the women wore tops made out of animal skins, but now it was different. Their breasts were fully exposed and painted with strange designs. Peter could clearly make out the nipples poking though the tribal paint. He didn't want to show anyone that he was bothered by it, so he tried to keep a calm composure. He could feel a stirring in his crotch everytime the dancers passed by him. He couldn't help but enjoy the view of their breasts swinging and shaking with the rhythm. It was exciting. Peter had seen naked women a few times on TV, but never in real life. He didn't want to get a full erection and get embarrassed on his first day with the tribe. Thus, he kept his mind off of the breasts by asking questions to the chief and stuffing his mouth with food.

"How is it that you speak English so well?" asked Peter turning to look at Koko'loko.

"It's a long story, Peter. Let's just say that I once lived in the modern world just like Nakibo."

"Did you teach your wife?"

"Yes, she was a very good student. I've tried teaching other members of my tribe, but they didn't take to it as well as Great Mother."

"Mom could teach them! She's a really good teacher. She taught me everything I know," said Peter excitingly.

"If that is so then we could arrange for a class. If your mother doesn't mind."

"Oh, not at all," chimed in Zoe. "I think it would be a great experience. I've taught some English in Peru."

The adults continued the talk, while Peter became preoccupied observing a group of boys wresting around next to the large fire. The boys looked to be about his age. Two of them where wrestling while two others cheered them on. He wondered if those would be his new friends that Mother of the Tribe spoke about.

The beat of the drums became slower. Peter saw a new group of dancers emerge and begin their dance -- four women and one man. He noticed right away that two of the women had very big breasts. In fact, they were the biggest breast he'd ever seen, especially in the nude. These two women didn't have as much paint as the other dancers and most of their tit flesh was visible. Peter suddenly forgot all about his potential embarrassment and followed the women with his eyes. The smooth, black skin of their heavy, sagging breasts was streaked lightly with white paint. Their large, dark nipples seemed to point directly at him. It wasn't long before his loins reacted to that sight.

For a moment, Peter forgot everything around him, until a nudge in the side brought him back. He looked over and caught a look of disapproval from his mother. Sheepishly, he looked down in his lap, covering the bulge at the front of his shorts. He heard Nakibo chuckle softly and didn't dare raise his eyes for a long time.

"You two must be tired," said Koko'loko at length. "Nakibo, please show them to their new home."

Nakibo and Zoe stood up. Making sure his erection had subsided, Peter stood up as well. He said goodbye to Koko'loko and his wife, and followed Nakibo.

Nakibo led them to a small hut. Inside, there was a large sleeping pad against the far wall. It was made out of, what looked like, woven leaves and soft straw. It was covered with soft animal furs. Their backpacks were resting against another wall. There was really nothing else to the hut, other than a small table.

After Nakibo left, Peter claimed the wall-side of the bed. Whenever they slept together, Peter would always "claim" that side. Peter pulled off his shirt and dove under the covers.

Zoe looked through her pack and found a few things that she put out on the table. When she finished, she looked at Peter. He was facing the wall, curled up in the animal furs. It was dim inside -- the only light coming from the bonfire through the little window. Zoe didn't want to sleep in the sweat soaked clothes again. She glanced again at Peter and making sure his back was still turned, quickly pulled off her shirt. Her breasts felt pleasant once freed from the confines of the stretchy shirt. She noticed how the light of the fire danced on her pale skin.

"I really need a tan," thought Zoe, before putting on a loose sleeping shirt.

Keeping her eye on her son, Zoe carefully took off her boots and then her shorts, revealing her light blue panties. The panties were the modest kind -- they covered most of her bum and her front. They were soaked with sweat like the rest of her clothes. Zoe had an exquisite sense of smell and could usually discern the slightest of scents. After the feast, the smells of fire and food were still filling her nose, but she could definitely detect the musky smell of body odor. Whether it was hers or Peter's, she was too tired to tell. She climbed onto the pad and covered herself with the furry covers. She was glad that there was no scent of the long dead animal that the furs once belonged to. She took a deep, tired breath and looked over at Peter who hasn't moved since he laid down.

"What a day!" she thought before drifting off to sleep herself.

***

The next morning was just like Great Mother had promised. Peter woke up to someone standing over him. When his eyes cleared the morning fog, he realized it wasn't his mother, it was the Great Mother. She looked at him with a stern expression and told him to get dressed. As he was dressing, the Great Mother explained that Zoe was meeting with the chief, and Peter was to spend the day learning about the life of the Kilitoki tribe.

"Eat this on the way," said Great Mother handing Peter a bowl of fruit and nuts. She walked out of the hut, with him following on her heels.

"I will take you around and introduce you to our people. You'll meet everyone, learn about them and what they do. At the end, I'll let you choose your own work. Whatever you think is appropriate for you. I'll show you where we wash, then I'll show you where you can get a drink and some food if you become thirsty or hungry."

Great Mother led Peter past a large canopy and Peter saw Nakibo who waived at him.

"Peter! I am leaving," yelled Nakibo. "I have other business to take care of. I promised your mom I will visit every month and bring supplies. However, I think you'll find everything you need right here."

"You're leaving? But what about the Grass Warriors?" Peter took a liking to the friendly giant and didn't want see him go.

Nakibo came up closer and smiled. "You'll have to find that out for yourself," he said and clasped Peter by the shoulders.

"I'll see you in a month then," nodded Peter.

For the next few hours, Great Mother and Peter were busy meeting various people of the tribe. Peter tried to memorize everyone's name, but he seemed to forget them as soon as he heard them. He learned about what everyone did around the tribe. Work varied from fruit picking to hunting, to blanket and clothes making, to farming. Peter couldn't quite decide what kind of work he'd be good at.

Once they were done meeting everyone in the tribal village, Great Mother led him to the river, a little further down from where they landed the day before.

"This is where we wash ourselves," Great Mother explained, pointing to an area along the bank. The banks and the rapids formed a calm pool of murky water. Peter followed the Great Mother into the river and felt that the bottom was padded with smooth sand.

"Contrary to what others might think, we are clean people," said Great Mother. "Every morning the women come and wash here at the sunrise and every evening at sunset. This is special time for women. Remember Peter, men stay away at those times." She looked at Peter intently, until he nodded to let her know that he understood.

"Men usually don't have a set time. They can bathe anytime they want, other than the times at which women bathe." They walked a little further down the bank where the rocks began creating rapids. "This is the water we use for drinking, we use special plants to filter it."

"But this is the same water that you wash in," noted Peter.

"We gather drinking water when no one is bathing. Do not worry, after the filtering, it's very clean. There are other things in the water that you should worry about."

After that, Peter and Great Mother returned to the tribal village. She showed Peter where food and water supplies were kept. Peter noticed that for an old woman, Great Mother moved around quite swiftly.

"Now Peter, if there's anything else you ever need, just ask anyone."

"But how will they understand me?"

"Good point," chuckled the Great Mother. "In that case, speak to me or Koko'loko." The Great Mother grew solemn again and said: "Peter, did you decide what kind of work you want to do?"

"Well," Peter scratched his head. "I was thinking that being a hunter would be fun, but that sounds a bit over my head. I guess, picking fruit should be easy enough, but I don't really know the area around here."

"You'll learn it fast enough, Peter. As it happens your new friends do that same work. They will show you around." The old woman let a little smile slip past her lips.

"Friends." Peter felt his mouth go dry.

"Let's go meet them now," said Great Mother and began shuffling rapidly into the jungle.

***

Peter stood in front of a large tree facing a group of youngsters. These were the same four guys that were wresting by the fire last night. Peter's arms hung limply at his sides as he looked at them. One of the guys in front of him was leaning on a long stick, which Peter later learned was for shaking fruit from trees. Another one was eating a mango. Two others were kneeling next to him. The boys were skinny, but they looked strong -- their dark, smooth skin seemingly consuming the sun.

"This is Peter!" announced Great Mother in English, which Peter thought was silly. She pointed to the boy with the stick: "That is Tooki. Eating a mango is Pompo. And those two twins are Karo and Kuru." Peter nodded at each one in turn, but didn't receive any acknowledgment back. Suddenly, Mother of the Tribe exclaimed something in their native tongue.

"Hello Peter!" said the boys in unison, lazily.

"I've been teaching these boys some English and they learn fast," said Great Mother, "but from now on you'll be teaching them." She turned to face Peter, touched the top of his head and, just like that, left.

Peter found himself staring at the boy leaning on the stick, unable to think of anything to say. He felt stupid. This whole idea was stupid. How could he make friends with African boys? He didn't even know how to talk to them.

The boys studied Peter in silence.

"Come!" said Pompo finally, tossing his mango in the bush. Other boys began following him, disappearing into the jungle. Peter just stood there, stupefied. As the last boy was about to step into the bush he turned to Peter and motioned for him to follow.

"You. Come!"

Peter had no other choice but to follow.

The boys were walking single file through the jungle foliage, seemingly following an invisible path in between the trees. Peter couldn't tell where they were going or why he followed them. Finally, one of the boys, Pompo, stopped and disappeared into a tall bush. Everyone followed him. When Peter emerged on the other side of the bush, he saw something that resembled a modest tree house, built about ten feet off the ground.

"Our fort!" declared Pompo loudly as he turned to face Peter. "Only warriors may enter!" His face looked grim and serious. Peter could only blink back in reply. Then suddenly, one of the boys burst out laughing and the other boys joined in unison.

"Sorry friend," said the boy named Tooki in between fits of laugh. "We play joke on you. Make you scared."

"Yes! Your face look so scared," added Pompo heaving for air. He came up to Peter and heartily slapped him on the back, which caused Peter to pitch forward slightly.

Everyone around Peter was laughing, but Peter didn't think this was funny. So, he just stood there looking at each of them in turn.

"Relax, we play joke no more. You our friend now. You can enter our fort," said Pompo as he began climbing the rope that led up into the fort. Tooki followed him.

Peter found himself flanked by the two brothers, Karo and Kuru. They prodded him forward and urged him to climb the rope. Peter took the rope into his hands and looked up. He had a sudden memory of doing this at gym class and how terribly he'd performed then. He didn't have much hope for this time. Nevertheless, he gripped the rope tightly and tried pulling himself up. He barely made it up several inches, before his arms gave out and he sagged back down to ground. He tried again, with much of the same results. He heard Karo and Kuru giggle behind him. Frustrated, he let go of the rope and had a mind to run away.

"Come Peter," called Pompo's voice from above. Karo and Kuru yelled something to him and Pompo looked down at Peter, out of the fort.

"Peter, grab rope," he called. "Hold strong."

And thus, the first time Peter met his new friends, he was being hauled up into a tree fort.

- Chapter 5 -

The life in the tribe slowly became absolutely normal for Peter and Zoe. Zoe spent a lot of the time with chief Koko'loko. They exchanged ideas and traded knowledge. As promised, she began teaching English to all who desired. The class was held in the afternoon, outside, under a canopy and students consisted of adults and children alike. Most of the students attended daily and Zoe wondered if they were under some sort of orders from the chief or if they actually enjoyed the class. Her best students were Peter's new-found friends. All four of them seemed so eager for the class each day. While she held her English class, Peter would sometimes help her out. After the class, Peter and his friends would get together and go off doing whatever it was they did. Zoe was beyond happy to see Peter making such great new friends. Sometimes he would tell her about their adventures and she could see that he finally found true friendship.

Nakibo visited every month, but he was rarely needed. Thus he decided that he would come every two months since it wasn't an easy trip to make.

Each morning Zoe would rise early and bathe with the rest of the women. The women would undress completely and wash themselves while conversing and laughing. At first, Zoe felt uncomfortable being nude in the open area as such. She felt extremely exposed and was afraid that someone might be watching. However, each day she grew more accustomed to it, and after a while didn't think twice about it.

For bathing, the women used sponges and soap made out of special plants. Often times, they would break up into small groups -- old women, middle aged, and young. Zoe usually bathed with the young ones. She even made friends with Umani and Cili -- two large breasted sisters. Zoe found out that Tooki, one of Peter's friends, was their little brother. The girls were younger than Zoe, but she enjoyed their company more than the somber company of the middle aged women. Funny thing was, the girls had tits like cannon balls -- big, round and black. Zoe found herself somewhat envious, even though her own breasts were quite ample, they just weren't this massive. She would tease the girls that one day their tits would sag down to their waist, like their mother's. The girls would laugh and retort that at least their tits weren't as bright as the sun, referring to Zoe's pasty white skin (and it was especially white on parts of her body that were usually clothed).

The boys always went to their tree fort after they picked enough fruit for the day, which was their tribal duty. They would hang around the fort, playing games and telling stories. The boys would always speak English when together. It was for practice, but mostly for Peter's sake. In fact, Peter didn't even notice their accents anymore, or the fact that they constructed unusual sentences. He tried to correct them at first, but as his friends' English improved, he stopped.

While his African friends learned English from him, Peter learned things from them in return. He learned how to climb the rope, climb trees, avoid snakes and insects, and shake down ripe fruit.

Their most favorite activity was to talk about women. Often times, the subject would turn to Tooki's sisters. They were several years older, but were the closest to the boys in age. And of course, they had the biggest breasts of anyone else in the tribe.

"I almost saw Cili's boobs today," said Pompo.

"Yeah? How so?" asked Tooki. He didn't seem to mind when they talked about his sisters and he always joined the conversation eagerly.

"She was stretching and her top lifted up. I saw the bottoms of them."

"You're lucky!" Karo and Kuru exclaimed in agreement.

"I'd love to squeeze them and rub my face all over them." Pompo closed his eyes and made motions with his hands.

"Stop talking like that, or else we'll have to do another mission," said Tooki smirking mischievously.

"Mission? What mission?" asked Peter, suddenly curious.

"Never mind him. He's just stupid," answered Pompo. "Have you ever seen anyone's breasts before, Peter?"

"Uh. I have," answered Peter. "Well, not in real life but on TV."

"I'm going to have to get a TV someday," said Pompo. Peter's friends became intrigued with the magic TV screen, the very first time he describe it to them.

"How about your mom's boobs, Peter?" asked Tooki. "I bet they look pretty good. Ever seen her change or wash herself?"

"No!" Peter cried out. "That's not normal. I mean, where I come from... you're not... you don't look at your mom like that." Peter paused and looked at Tooki. "Or your sisters, for that matter."

Tooki shrugged. "I don't see why not. If they have large breasts, I don't care who they are."

The other guys nodded.

"I guess... you guys are just too different to understand," said Peter quietly. He suddenly felt that he was culturally distant from his friends.