Respect for the Elderly

The abandonment of Sa' and Ch'idzigyaak is not the only tale of abandonment shared in the story. Ch'idzigyaak's grandmother was also abandoned many years previously, and Sa' was abandoned as a young woman when she stood up to the chief who announced that an elderly woman in her tribe was to be left behind.

Abandonment of the elderly seems to have been very common among this people, and the result of this system is that younger people do not respect their elders much. They view them as liabilities rather than assets to the tribe. The introduction of Daagoo later in the story shows the disrespect that younger people show to elder people. The three young men sent to help Daagooo track the older women do not show him much respect.

When the men hear the story of the two old women, however, they start to...