By Dale
As I walked down that narrow ridge, I recalled their anger over the earlier pay problem and thought to myself, Will these Umis receive us well? Just then, I heard loud wild yodeling coming up from the village. The sound was echoing off the mountains, “A-o-bana-ooo -i-o- a-nau-obe.” …. His eyes were flashing and he didn’t stop yodeling, “A-ru-aru a-nau-ooo A-o-bana-i-o a-nau-ooo.”
…. As this five foot tall chief danced up and down in front of me, facing his village, he gave another loud yodel. Then this young chieftain spun around and picked me up, holding me in a tight grip around my thighs. …. The two of us together were over eight feet high! I had no control over where I was going. I felt helpless, having another person’s legs dancing me around. We came bobbing right into the village…. The men and women chanted loudly as we came into the village…. One thought was spinning around in my head, Should this chief stub his toe, over that cliff we will go.
This powerhouse of a man just kept on dancing with my 150 pound body and six foot two inch frame in his arms. My legs were going numb and the people were still chanting all around me…. It seemed like an hour, but I know that it was just minutes. To my great relief, the chief finally put me down…. By now, there was no doubt in my mind that these were friendly people. We had been given the royal welcome into the Umi clan. While they were surprised to see us walking into their village, they were glad to see us at the same time. I think it was just a bit overwhelming to them.
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