Doctor Wooreddy's Prescription for Enduring the End of the World. Mudrooroo

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СКАЧАТЬ the morsel into her mouth, enjoying the sweetest of all flavours.

      Unlike other nights, Mangana retired early to his shelter. The two were alone at the fire. Trugernanna scowled into the flames, completely ignoring the man. They sat in silence for an hour, then the woman shot a hostile glance at Wooreddy and got up to make a fire in front of her sleeping quarters. She returned, put a large log on the main campfire, checked the supply of wood in front of her shelter, then went to bed.

      The good doctor sat on at the fire. At last he moved. Not getting to his feet he hopped like a kangaroo towards where Trugernanna lay. The last few metres he covered in such exaggerated stealth that he managed to crack a twig. The sharp snap alerted the woman who was pretending to be asleep. She lay still until the man reached out a finger to scratch her on one firm breast, then she sprang up with a whispered string of curses: ‘Get away, you ghost, you demon, you evil spirit. My father will take his knife and make a woman out of you, you mistake of a man that cannot even find the carcass of a rotting kangaroo for the bride price. Go and find a man to fit your womanhood. Go, or I’ll scream for my father!’

      Wooreddy’s teeth gleamed in the firelight. The good doctor knew the stages of courtship. On the first night should be only a slight touch, or if possible a scratch; on the second, the suitor might move his hand over part of the woman’s body; and on the third, he could try to lie beside her – though this (unless they were already lovers) should be met with lamentation, the woman should threaten to do away with herself rather than stay with him. On the fourth night, the woman flees to sleep beside her mother and father, and repeats this on the succeeding night. On the sixth night the couple finally lie together, but without touching, and after an hour or so the man should leave in mock dismay and anger. They stay apart on the seventh night, but at dawn the woman glides into the bush and after a time the man follows her. They spend a few days away from the camp with the male showing his prowess as a hunter by keeping the bride supplied with food. If all goes well, they return married. Such was the tradition and both had the theory down pat. Trugernanna found herself enjoying the rituals which were heightening her emotions to the final point of relief in surrender.

      Mangana was too listless to play the role of both father and mother, or even just the father. His daughter, as custom demanded, needing someone who would listen to her bewailing her fate, chose Meeter Ro-bin-un. If Wooreddy appeared in her sight, she immediately sought out her protector, her cheeks wet with tears. She accused the man of being a demon and even of killing his first wife. ‘Fader’ became overheated with the excited girl hanging from his neck while she tearfully sobbed out some wild accusation. Constantly, he had, figuratively, to take himself by the scruff of that same neck and force himself to play the role of father. The good doctor had filled ‘Fader’ in on his part and Wooreddy himself also had a role to play. One moment he smiled meaningfully at the woman, the next he crept up on her unawares, gestured angrily and acted as if he would carry her off by force. At other times he would scowl and turn away if he so much as glimpsed her. The nights moved along until by the fifth everything and everyone had become entangled in the mock drama of the courtship. Wooreddy often found himself trying to hide a partial or full erection. The num trousers helped, but also hindered – the woman should notice in mock horror and show contempt for his erect penis.

      The sixth and seventh nights were a time of trial for the good doctor. Fully aroused, he tried to grab his future mate, but she easily evaded his clutches. On the final dawn she ran off into the bush. Wooreddy filled in the waiting time by sharpening his spear or attempting to sharpen it. At last he raced off into the bush at the spot where he had last seen the woman. He found her tracks, lost them, found them again and eventually caught a glimpse of his prey through the trees. She had discarded her ghost wrappings and was her bare, lithe self. Now she disappeared and he could find no trace of her. Suddenly she materialised at his feet and sprang off. He followed closely.

      Trugernanna came to the edge of a low cliff and scrambled down a narrow path which led to a shallow cave. This was to be the bridal suite. Num blankets had been spread over the rock floor for them. She sat down and ignored Wooreddy when he entered.

      Finally, still looking at the floor, she muttered: ‘A strong man would have carried food; a clever man would have found food.’

      ‘A man in pursuit of game does not carry provisions with him,’ Wooreddy answered, giving the standard response. He left to hunt.

      It was not until late afternoon that he returned with six young possums. In his absence she had made a fire, but he had to cook the food. He did so, passed her half, waited until she had sampled it, then ate also. After eating, she went to the nearby stream for water and came back with a filled container from which he drank – then, unable to keep his hands off her, he grabbed. She struggled as he pressed his body against hers.

      ‘Leave me alone, you’ll hurl me,’ the woman protested to no avail. She fell on her back as he entered her, then waited for him to begin as he waited for her. Wooreddy did not know that Trugernanna had only endured the rough embraces of ghosts, and so many older women had died that she had remained ignorant of the different sexual positions. The man, almost twice her age and having already had one woman go to the fire, wondered at her lack of knowledge and movement. He decided to use the ‘open legs’ variations. They were simple enough for a novice to master and later they could progress to such variations as ‘riding the canoe’, ‘climbing aboard’, ‘from the back’, ‘across’, and so on.

      The good doctor moved onto his right side and kept the girl on her back. Now he twisted her hips towards him and re-entered her. He pulled her top leg towards his shoulder and began a slow rhythm. This was the first step and a modification of the classical beginning. The woman remained on her back, but now he squatted right against her buttocks with both her legs over his shoulders. Holding her around the shoulders he began a faster rhythm, slowed, and moved into another position. Now both lay on their sides facing each other. Leaving out further variations he returned to the first position and contented himself with varying the rhythm.

      Trugernanna was bewildered by so much movement. She had not experienced anything like it before. It reminded her a little of dancing. Then the man, now her mate, gave a long sigh which pushed his body into a series of jerks. She felt his nails digging into her back and marking out a line of half moons. Wooreddy had chosen a straight line rather than a curved one, as this was the good luck sign for a future filled with food. A curve meant a wish for children; an oval, faithfulness – both these things meant little in these times.

      The woman accepted her fate with a numbness worthy of Wooreddy. In the past she had found sex to be a weapon useful for survival and felt little pleasure in it. She gave her body in exchange for things and that was where the importance lay. Her husband’s love-making meant less than the rape that had been inflicted on her. She hated the men for doing that, and was indifferent to what Wooreddy could or would do.

      Tradition ordained that the husband take his new wife over his land, explaining the landscape and earning her respect by showing his prowess as a hunter. Trugernanna watched her husband, armed only with a club, stalk a kangaroo, bring it to bay against a tree, then race in to deal the death blow. She appreciated the deftness that belied his seemingly clumsy gait. Each day Wooreddy made love to his wife, but her lack of response began to bore him. After all, he was a doctor with a knowledge of love-making and he had already been married. Now it all seemed for nought. Finally he accepted the fact that they were together, not for love, but for survival. One needed allies during the ending of the world, and he had coupled himself with Trugernanna and Meeter Ro-bin-un. This had to be enough, he thought, as he led his new wife back to the camp.

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