Ethiopian Summer

The land

Gently rolling ground under open grass steppe, 699 m up; the sea about 140 km away; hot desert.

Cover

open grass steppe

Elevation

699 m

Relief

gently rolling ground

The sea

the sea about 140 km away

Climate

hot desert

The patch

about 1.85 km north to south and 1.83 km across; 1,853 m north to south, 1,829 m east to west, 3.39 km²

Centre

9.2250°N 49.2083°E

What the land offers a builder

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

Now

Clear and mild here, 07:04 local, the dry, as always.

The wild

Animals here this month: lion (feeding), buffalo (rutting), wildebeest (migrating), antelope (rutting), wild ass (feeding), fox (feeding).

This season: a plague of mice.

The lay of the land

• The low knoll (knoll): a rounded rise with a clear view across the surrounding patch
• The north hill (hill): a broad shoulder of high ground dry underfoot after rain

What stands here

THE REED HUT — on the low knoll. House-sized, about 6 m. Reed, earth, stone. On the ground.
"A stout reed hut roofed with earth, set low out of the wind with a central hearth"
A roof of earth 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 reed facing the south: fitted with a heavy latch on the leeward side. A storage rack of reed along the north side, hung with dry provisions, cordage, and spare gear.
Of this land: reed, earth, stone.

THE WAY SHRINE — beside the north hill. Small, about 4 m. Reed, rope, bronze. On the ground.
"A quiet reed enclosure with a carved post and a sheltered offering shelf"
An altar stone of reed inside the centre: worn smooth by salt air and rain. A lantern hook of bronze at the front: lit at dusk when travellers are abroad.
Of this land: reed, rope. Carried here: bronze.

The story, as Delphine R. tells it

Of the place

• White Terrace Hold was laid out by Delphine Roy, who marked the low knoll first and set the reed hut to face out of the prevailing weather.

Of the people

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

The people

THE PEOPLE OF ETHIOPIAN SUMMER — 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 kakewi, river or sea somyebu, winter or the rains wuboko, the dead lumtatoyuna, home nengwe, stranger todanno, feast ilola, child enge, old one yesetongeki, the place Kokoba, the beast aseyi, the sky tengi.
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 kakewi, river or sea somyebu, winter or the rains wuboko, the dead lumtatoyuna, home nengwe, stranger todanno, feast ilola, child enge, old one yesetongeki, the place Kokoba, the beast aseyi, the sky tengi.

Their lore

• They keep a dry stack of fuel beside the reed hut and share the first meal at the hearth with any traveller who crosses the low knoll.
• Before winter sets in they check the lashings and stones of the way shrine 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 founders; 4 passage; 1 people founded; 1 ways changed.

• The dry, as always, the first year of Ethiopian Summer: a band of wildebeest crossed Ethiopian Summer, migrating.
• The dry, as always, the first year of Ethiopian Summer: the ways of the people changed: name. kept
• The dry, as always, the first year of White Terrace Hold: wildebeest passed through White Terrace Hold, migrating.
• The dry, as always, the first year of White Terrace Hold: wildebeest passed through White Terrace Hold, migrating.
• The dry, as always, the first year of White Terrace Hold: wildebeest passed through White Terrace Hold, migrating.
• The dry, as always, the first year of White Terrace Hold: four came to White Terrace Hold and lit the hearth. The net-mender "Ngosongenga", the fire-keeper "Ngongya", the keeper of the shrine "Wangme", the lamp-lighter "Ema". kept
• The dry, as always, the first year of White Terrace Hold: Delphine Roy called a people to White Terrace Hold: the people of White Terrace Hold. kept

Here now

the net-mender "Ngosongenga" (folk) · the fire-keeper "Ngongya" (folk) · the keeper of the shrine "Wangme" (folk) · the lamp-lighter "Ema" (folk)