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Excerpt 2
As they made a turn into a landing on the mountain trail, they came
face to face with a band of people dancing in the middle of the road.
Bob had to pull as far to the side of the mountain as possible. They
stepped out of the car.
Somewhere in the crowd someone had screamed out a phrase to the
beat of the music. The dancing throng repeated the words to the beat
of the drums. The music became louder and the dancing wilder.
At the head of the group was a young man with the front of his shirt
tied at the waist. He was holding on to a long pole with an obviously
heavy flag hanging on top of it like a Roman legion insignia. The
flagstaff was resting on the knot of the shirt.
The satin flag was covered on either side with sequins of gold, sky
blue and white. In the middle of the flag was a large design of the
letter ‘M’ in cursive with exaggeratedly curled legs.
Immediately, Carl thought it might possibly have something to do with
the Virgin Mary. It had often been difficult for him to tell the difference
between some of the objects he had seen in Catholic Church at
school and what his teachers had identified as being pagan items.
Behind the flag bearer came a man wearing knee-high black pants
and a sequined jacket of the same colors as the flag. The jacket was
in the shape of a formal tuxedo with tails. The arms of the jacket
barely reached the middle of his forearms. The man was dancing,
bent at the waist, blowing a whistle and spinning around to the music.
Bob went to him. The man stopped his spinning to face Bob who
stuck a few bills in the breast pocket of the sequined jacket. In back of
the throng, a combo of four drums kept the up-tempo beat going
accompanied by three men playing on hollowed bamboo shafts of
different sizes and tone, and a young man banging two pieces of
flattened steel. Another man was blowing in a tin funnel.
Bob rejoined his passengers at the front of the vehicle for a better
look at this ‘Rara’ as the dancing group is known locally.
“What was the money for?” he asked.
“Safe passage for us, as we cross their path. They will use it to pay
for drinks today,” Bob answered.
The ‘Rara’ was happy. The musicians were evidently perked up from
Bob’s offering. Bob and Janet seemed transported by the beat as
they rubbed against each other.
Carl saw that Jasmine’s head was swaying to the music, but just
barely. Her eyes had closed ever so slightly from the hint of a smile.
He might as well take a better look at her, he decided. Although she
had appeared petite at first, she was full-bodied as he used to hear it
described in commercials on U.S. television. She had well-shaped
calves. Then he realized that she was standing barefoot in the dirt of
the road. She must have left her sandals in the car when we came out.
The ‘Rara’ came closer to them. Upon seeing Jasmine, the dancer in
the tuxedo stopped spinning and stood erect, no longer blowing on
his whistle. He slowly walked towards the two couples to the cadence
of the ‘Rara’ music, all the time looking straight at Jasmine. The man
stopped about three feet from her. Again he bent at the waist,
spreading out his arms, one leg stretched behind him, the knee
almost touching the ground. He stayed in that position for a few
obvious seconds. Carl thought this man was playing at being a
country squire saluting his queen. Jasmine gently brought her right
palm near the back of the man’s neck, not quite touching it.
The man slowly pulled the stretched out leg under him while still bent
at the waist, his eyes fixed to the ground. He walked backwards. His
head was now bobbing to the beat of the music, his arm spread out.
When he reached the flag bearer, he turned around and touched his
head to the flagpole. The bearer lowered the flag. The beat of the
drums increased in intensity and the crowd went wild.
Screaming and dancing with their arms raised high, the ‘Rara’
marched past the vehicle, their feet gliding on the ground, raising the
dirt, as they shared bottles of ‘kleren’, the local moonshine. They were
all barefoot.
As the musicians passed by, Carl became exposed to a full dose of
the beat. He could feel the low-pitched sound of the hollowed bamboo
instruments interfering with his heartbeat as the drums worked on the
rest of his body. Parts of his body seem to move of their own. He felt
the banging of the drums in his head even after they were back in the
car on their way down the airport road.
face to face with a band of people dancing in the middle of the road.
Bob had to pull as far to the side of the mountain as possible. They
stepped out of the car.
Somewhere in the crowd someone had screamed out a phrase to the
beat of the music. The dancing throng repeated the words to the beat
of the drums. The music became louder and the dancing wilder.
At the head of the group was a young man with the front of his shirt
tied at the waist. He was holding on to a long pole with an obviously
heavy flag hanging on top of it like a Roman legion insignia. The
flagstaff was resting on the knot of the shirt.
The satin flag was covered on either side with sequins of gold, sky
blue and white. In the middle of the flag was a large design of the
letter ‘M’ in cursive with exaggeratedly curled legs.
Immediately, Carl thought it might possibly have something to do with
the Virgin Mary. It had often been difficult for him to tell the difference
between some of the objects he had seen in Catholic Church at
school and what his teachers had identified as being pagan items.
Behind the flag bearer came a man wearing knee-high black pants
and a sequined jacket of the same colors as the flag. The jacket was
in the shape of a formal tuxedo with tails. The arms of the jacket
barely reached the middle of his forearms. The man was dancing,
bent at the waist, blowing a whistle and spinning around to the music.
Bob went to him. The man stopped his spinning to face Bob who
stuck a few bills in the breast pocket of the sequined jacket. In back of
the throng, a combo of four drums kept the up-tempo beat going
accompanied by three men playing on hollowed bamboo shafts of
different sizes and tone, and a young man banging two pieces of
flattened steel. Another man was blowing in a tin funnel.
Bob rejoined his passengers at the front of the vehicle for a better
look at this ‘Rara’ as the dancing group is known locally.
“What was the money for?” he asked.
“Safe passage for us, as we cross their path. They will use it to pay
for drinks today,” Bob answered.
The ‘Rara’ was happy. The musicians were evidently perked up from
Bob’s offering. Bob and Janet seemed transported by the beat as
they rubbed against each other.
Carl saw that Jasmine’s head was swaying to the music, but just
barely. Her eyes had closed ever so slightly from the hint of a smile.
He might as well take a better look at her, he decided. Although she
had appeared petite at first, she was full-bodied as he used to hear it
described in commercials on U.S. television. She had well-shaped
calves. Then he realized that she was standing barefoot in the dirt of
the road. She must have left her sandals in the car when we came out.
The ‘Rara’ came closer to them. Upon seeing Jasmine, the dancer in
the tuxedo stopped spinning and stood erect, no longer blowing on
his whistle. He slowly walked towards the two couples to the cadence
of the ‘Rara’ music, all the time looking straight at Jasmine. The man
stopped about three feet from her. Again he bent at the waist,
spreading out his arms, one leg stretched behind him, the knee
almost touching the ground. He stayed in that position for a few
obvious seconds. Carl thought this man was playing at being a
country squire saluting his queen. Jasmine gently brought her right
palm near the back of the man’s neck, not quite touching it.
The man slowly pulled the stretched out leg under him while still bent
at the waist, his eyes fixed to the ground. He walked backwards. His
head was now bobbing to the beat of the music, his arm spread out.
When he reached the flag bearer, he turned around and touched his
head to the flagpole. The bearer lowered the flag. The beat of the
drums increased in intensity and the crowd went wild.
Screaming and dancing with their arms raised high, the ‘Rara’
marched past the vehicle, their feet gliding on the ground, raising the
dirt, as they shared bottles of ‘kleren’, the local moonshine. They were
all barefoot.
As the musicians passed by, Carl became exposed to a full dose of
the beat. He could feel the low-pitched sound of the hollowed bamboo
instruments interfering with his heartbeat as the drums worked on the
rest of his body. Parts of his body seem to move of their own. He felt
the banging of the drums in his head even after they were back in the
car on their way down the airport road.
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The Excerpts