Kuiva Penkki

The land

Gently rolling ground under grassland with scattered trees, 1065 m up; brooks and springs in the folds of the ground; far from any sea; hot, with a wet season and a dry season.

Cover

grassland with scattered trees

Elevation

1065 m

Relief

gently rolling ground

Fresh water

brooks and springs in the folds of the ground

The sea

far from any sea

Climate

hot, with a wet season and a dry season

The patch

about 1.85 km north to south and 1.85 km across; 1,853 m north to south, 1,852 m east to west, 3.43 km²

Centre

1.8917°N 34.1583°E

What the land offers a builder

Of this land: timber, reed, earth, turf, stone, hide, bone, cloth, rope, fire. The land allows: ground, stilts, canopy.

Now

Heat and mild here, 04:56 local, the dry season, full dark.

The wild

Animals here this month: lion (feeding), elephant (passing), buffalo (rutting), leopard (feeding), wildebeest (migrating), hyena (feeding).

The lay of the land

• The inner grove (grove): a close stand of straight trunks with deep leaf litter below
• The low thicket (thicket): a dense tangle of low branches that turns the cold gusts

What stands here

THE TIMBER HUT — on the inner grove. House-sized, about 6 m. Timber, reed, stone. On the ground.
"A stout timber hut roofed with reed, set low out of the wind with a central hearth"
A roof of reed atop the top: pitched low to shed rain and heavy gusts. A hearth of stone inside the centre: set with flat stones to hold the embers through the night. A doorway of timber facing the south: fitted with a heavy latch on the leeward side. A storage rack of timber along the north side, hung with dry provisions, cordage, and spare gear.
Of this land: timber, reed, stone.

THE WATCH POST — beside the low thicket. Small, about 4 m. Timber, rope, bronze. On the ground.
"A four-post timber frame with a planked platform and a bronze beacon pan"
A ladder of timber against the south side, lashed with stout rungs up to the deck. A beacon pan of bronze atop the top: filled with dry pitch wood for dark nights.
Of this land: timber, rope. Carried here: bronze.

The story, as Sylvi Norberg tells it

Of the place

• Red Bench was laid out by Sylvi Norberg, who marked the inner grove first and set the timber hut to face out of the prevailing weather.

Of the people

• They keep a dry stack of fuel beside the timber hut and share the first meal at the hearth with any traveller who crosses the inner grove. (heard when a people lives here)
• Before winter sets in they check the lashings and stones of the watch post and sing the names of the first four who came. (heard when a people lives here)

The people

THE PEOPLE OF KUIVA PENKKI — herders, hunters, and gardeners, seasonal, in bands.
Names from their own tongue. They hold the rain sacred.
They keep: rain songs; age groups; burial in the fire; the feast of the rains' return; gifts to strangers; winter camps away.
They like earth, hide, clear, and wildebeest. They dislike frost, fog, and stone. Open to strangers.
Their words: hearth lengmu, river or sea tebiwe, winter or the rains usa, the dead nenmu, home kono, stranger tonbewu, feast miduyuyi, child nganlune, old one ngowingedu, the place Labi, the beast ukemo, the sky abeke.
Their herd: antelope.
Founders: four. Lore: 2 lines.

Ways

herding, hunting, gardening

Settlement

seasonal

Kinship

bands

Marriage

either

Naming

given names

To strangers

open

They hold sacred

the rain

They keep

rain songs; age groups; burial in the fire; the feast of the rains' return; gifts to strangers; winter camps away

They like

earth, hide, clear and wildebeest

They dislike

frost, fog and stone

Their herd

antelope, 10 head

Founders

4

Counted

4 named folk, a household of 0, 0 born here, 0 died here

Founded

6 November 2026

Their words

hearth lengmu, river or sea tebiwe, winter or the rains usa, the dead nenmu, home kono, stranger tonbewu, feast miduyuyi, child nganlune, old one ngowingedu, the place Labi, the beast ukemo, the sky abeke.

Their lore

• They keep a dry stack of fuel beside the timber hut and share the first meal at the hearth with any traveller who crosses the inner grove.
• Before winter sets in they check the lashings and stones of the watch post and sing the names of the first four who came.

Named folk

The chronicle

Every line is a record the land wrote; the names in quotes are the owner's words. What the chronicle does not say did not happen.

Year 1

The annals: 1 beast seen; 1 founders; 2 passage; 1 people founded; 1 ways changed; beasts: the young leopard of the forest.

• The dry season, the first year of Kuiva Penkki: wildebeest went by Kuiva Penkki, migrating.
• The dry season, the first year of Kuiva Penkki: the ways of the people changed: name. kept
• The dry season, the first year of Red Bench: wildebeest passed through Red Bench, migrating.
• The dry season, the first year of Red Bench: the young leopard of the forest was seen at the spot.
• The dry season, the first year of Red Bench: four came to Red Bench and lit the hearth. The net-mender "Sutekamumudo", the fire-keeper "Nolibimsu", the watcher "Langane", the lamp-lighter "Monlu". kept
• The dry season, the first year of Red Bench: Sylvi Norberg called a people to Red Bench: the people of Red Bench. kept

Here now

the net-mender "Sutekamumudo" (folk) · the fire-keeper "Nolibimsu" (folk) · the watcher "Langane" (folk) · the lamp-lighter "Monlu" (folk)