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Chapter Twenty-four. The World Beyond |
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abstention from work, genna, to avoid misfortune |
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By morning the storm abates, and, to my surprise, we find my tent has resisted its force. But the village presents a scene of destruction. Roofs have been blown away, and big trees broken or uprooted. I would never have thought that such giants could break under a storm like matches. On the path to Wakching a whole patch of forest has been battered down. Most of the field-houses are destroyed and the fragments dispersed untidily over the ground. Just as the Konyaks did some weeks ago after an earthquake, the whole village holds a holiday to avert further misfortune. For whenever anything unusual or disastrous occurs, a day of abstention from work is supposed to re-establish the disturbed balance and protect the community from latent dangers. |
