Summary

Chapter 7 (first person, past tense, Bankson narrating / Nell’s journal) – The first part of this chapter continues Bankson’s narration, who describes how one of Nell’s journals was presented to him in 1938 by a colleague, Helen Benjamin. His narration refers to how he’s accumulated a degree of renown, partly from his book on the Kiona. The rest of the chapter consists of entries from Nell’s journal, written in the January immediately following the events in the previous section. She describes the process of settling in with the Tam, including learning some of their language, making friends with a couple of powerful women in the tribe (including an elder named Malun), and learning about the true nature of a powerful, respected man named Xambun, who is deeply missed by the tribe; in whose house Nell and Fen are temporarily staying; and...