Rydag is a sickly child, having a heart defect which limits him from even playing like the other children of the Camp. Ayla quickly discovers this and teaches him, and the rest of the Lion Camp, the Clan way of communicating. He cannot speak, having the same vocal limitations as the Clan, but he also has their memories. He was adopted by the headman's mate, Nezzie, when his mother died giving birth to him. He learned some of the Clan sign language during that stay, and became aware of the fact that the Clan are human (not animals, as is the common opinion of most of his people).Īlso within the Lion Camp is a boy of six named Rydag who is half Clan and half Others. Mamut is also one of the first to become aware of Ayla's unique upbringing, as many years ago he was saved by the medicine woman of the same clan that brought her up (the grandmother of Ayla's adoptive mother Iza) as he broke his arm while on his Journey. Observing Ayla's affinity with horses and wolves, Mamut begins to introduce her into the ranks of the Mamuti. Wisest of their nation is Old Mamut, their eldest shaman and the leader of the entire Mamutoi priesthood, who becomes Ayla's mentor and colleague in the visionary and esoteric fields of thought. The protagonists make their home with the Lion Camp of the Mammoth Hunters, which features a number of respected Mamutoi. As their name would suggest, their hosts rely on mammoth not only for food but also for building materials and a number of other commodities - and indeed for spiritual sustenance. The main protagonists, a young woman named Ayla and a man named Jondalar, meet a group known as the Mamutoi, or Mammoth Hunters, with whom they live for a period of time.

This book starts off from the events at the end of The Valley of Horses.

The mammoth hunters by jean m auel