The Ritual

There was a loud cheer from the other side of the hill and the combined voices of the men gathered there rang out, "See what we have done. See what you must do."

Karl then reached down, picked up his wife in his arms and walked slowly back to their hut. When they reached the house, he placed her carefully on her chair at the table and began removing the ropes which still dangled from her arms and legs. He then helped her stand and used a rag and a bowl of warm, soapy water to clean her back and legs. He handed her the rag so that she could wipe between her legs.

After he had dried her with their best towel, he once again picked her up and carried her to their bed. As he laid her carefully on the straw mattress, he said softly. "The ritual is over. We should all have bountiful crops this year."

He slid into bed alongside her and held her tight. He said, "You did well. Tomorrow I, and all the men of the village, will be planting our fields."

He stroked her face lightly and said, "And I will plant your bag of seeds in the special patch. When they are harvested in the fall, you can refill the bag and return it to Magona for next year's chosen one."

She snuggled back against him and murmured, "It is time."

They both then fell fast asleep.

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END OF STORY

(Some interesting historical comment from the author follows)

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Historical / Scientific Comment from The Technician:

What is described in this story is "cultic re-enactment." What this means is that people would act out what they expected the gods to do. In ancient days, it was believed that "Father Sky" gave fertility (or impregnated) Mother Earth. The rains of Spring were a sexual act between Father Sky and Mother Earth. If they didn't get it on, the crops would die, so people cultically re-enacted the desired sexual act with people standing in for the gods.

Most people laugh at these peasant superstitions but...

At the end of World War II, American agronomists swarmed all over war-torn Europe helping the local population return battlefields and bunkers to farm fields and barns. They also had as their mission to teach the people "modern" farming practices.

To their surprise, many of the small, very rural farms were doing quite well. For some reason, this was especially true in the very remote areas. These very poor peasants were somehow able to out-produce their more educated countrymen in the more populated areas.

It took quite a while before anyone would actually reveal the secret, but one agronomist eventually gained their trust and was told that their success came because they "practiced the old ways." That meant that they planted by the phase of the moon, etc. etc. etc. It also meant that before a man planted his fields, he and his wife would make a midnight visit to the field and make love on the bare ground.

As unbelievable as it sounded to the agronomists, those who followed this specific practice – made love on the ground before planting – had significantly better crops and fewer seed failures. Then someone – probably a female – figured out the science behind this phenomenon.

It is simple. If the woman is on the bottom, she is the one with the most skin on the ground. Wheat-type plants need 45 degrees Farenheight (about 7 C) to germinate. Corn and other plants need 50 F (10 C). 45F/7C is also the point where the body can tolerate the temperature of the ground without shivering. It's not like lying on a beach, but most people can handle it. What the sex in the fields ritual was actually doing was delaying planting until the female was willing to lie on the cold ground – which also meant that the ground had reached the temperature the seeds needed to germinate before they rotted.

The gods were not watching, but because Theata agreed to be the chosen one and went out each night to test the temperature of the ground, the crops would germinate before the seed rotted in the ground.