Mamut was the mamut (shaman) of the Lion Camp of the Mamutoi. He was the oldest mamut, so old that no one remembered his given name. Most members of the Lion Camp were kin to Mamut.
Story[]
Journey[]
As a young man, Mamut went on a Journey, intending to skirt the Beran Sea (Black Sea) and then follow the eastern coast of the Southern Sea (Mediterranean Sea). He took a shortcut through Clan territory across the Crimean peninsula. He fell down a high river bank, hitting his head and severely breaking his arm.
Mamut had lost his pack and was disoriented. Delirious with pain, he stumbled along the river until he saw a campfire at dusk. He lost consciousness, and when he awoke, he found a poultice on his head and his arm in a sling.
Mamut was shocked to discover that he was in a Clan camp. The woman who healed him was Uba, the maternal grandmother of Iza. Uba was so skilled that Mamut’s arm did not become infected. He regained full use of his arm, and it did not give him any trouble until he began to feel minor aches as an old man.
Mamut stayed with the clan until they left for the Clan Gathering. He hunted with them and learned some of their language and customs. The hunting ceremony that he participated in had a lasting effect; Mamut wondered if it had changed him or made him more powerful.
While Mamut was recovering, a young woman helped to take care of him. After Mamut was included in a hunting ceremony, she was given to him as a mate. At first, Mamut did not find her attractive, but he was a healthy young man and was expected to relieve his needs with her. The longer he stayed, the more appealing she became to him. He considered taking her with him when he returned to the Mamutoi, but he thought she would be happier with her clan and was not sure how the Mamutoi would react if he returned with a Clan woman.
When Ayla stayed with the Mamutoi, each filled in some gaps in this story for the other.
Age[]
Mamut was said to be so old that no one remembered his given name. When asked about his age, he said that he had stopped counting his years but claimed to be the ancestor of four generations. However, Mamut’s approximate age can be estimated from the details of his Journey.
Mamut was a young man when he went on his Journey. Journeys were usually undertaken by adolescent men (before settling down to start a family). When Mamut stayed with a clan (the one that Ayla later joined), Creb and Brun were alive, but Iza had not been born. (Creb and Iza were 11 years apart.) Creb was still a boy, and Brun was an infant. That summer, the clan went to a Clan Gathering. These gatherings were held every seven years. During the events of The Clan of the Cave Bear, Creb attended gatherings when he was 29 (the summer before Ayla was adopted) and 36. If gatherings followed their regular schedule, Creb also went to gatherings at ages 22, 15, 8, and 1. So Creb was 8 years old when Mamut stayed with his clan. (That is the only year that satisfies the other conditions.)
Creb was 25 years older than Ayla. When Ayla arrived at Lion Camp, she was 17. (She turned 18 that winter.) Therefore, Mamut stayed with the clan about 34 years before the events of The Mammoth Hunters, making Mamut’s likely age between 49 and 59.
Relationship With Ayla[]
It is possible that Mamut’s encounter with the clan indirectly saved Ayla’s life. Although Brun never mentioned this consideration during the The Clan of the Cave Bear, Ayla told Mamut that Creb had told her that the reason Brun allowed her to stay with the clan was that he had learned from Mamut that “Others are men, too.”
Talut and Nezzie (the headman and his mate) had planned to adopt Ayla into the Lion Hearth until Mamut stunned everyone by declaring that Ayla was a daughter of the Mammoth Hearth.