Family. In Awakta Village, we were family even if we weren’t related. The elders cared for the children, and treated them as their own. The parents were not afraid to discipline other children. “Respect your elders” was something we learned by the age of two.

I grew up in an amicable village. Men taught boys to hunt and find food to support their family. The most astute hunter became the chief. If a man couldn’t or was loath to hunting, he was ineffectual. Hunting was a necessary task for every man.

If the chief suffered from a malady, we began the process of choosing another. This was a vexatious time. The nefarious men were revealed. Before the chief had been laid to rest men began advocating for a new chief, often choosing themselves.

Yes, “it takes a village to raise a child.” I would not have been close with people in the village otherwise.