Macumba Antropofaga

The two of us went to this theater, hoping to finally experience the liberation that cultural constraints had always denied us. The night was warm and humid, and you could feel the light breeze, like the breath of an animal. As we entered, we heard the drums rhythmically heralding the ritual. Men and women, old and young, of different skin colors and cultures, danced in a circle around the fire. We took off our shoes and stood barefoot in the dust, painting our faces with earth and ashes, as the actors showed us. A naked, black-haired woman emerged from the darkness with a calabash full of water. She lifted it high and let drops fall onto the skin of those gathered—as if she wanted to wash away the memory of the world. The actors danced rhythmically to the sounds and made contact with us and the others. Then the choir sang. Not a song, but breath, wind, hissing. The actors' bodies began to move even more intensely, each at their own rhythm, yet as if guided by a common heartbeat. “Devour what kills you,” cried a voice. “Devour what separates you. Feed on diversity and become one.” The drums responded. Bodies touched as they passed, not to possess, but to remember that they were made of the same dust. A woman placed her hand on the ground and murmured, “All we were was earth. All we will become is fire, all we will be is union.” And someone whispered, “This is the macumba—the mixing, the burning, the becoming.” Slowly, everyone began to take off their masks and clothes, and everyone became freer, wilder, as if carried by an invisible current. The night spun thicker around us, as if watching, curious, as people forgot for a moment what difference meant. Men kissed men, women kissed women, and women kissed men and men kissed women. Bodies touched and hands slid to vulvas and penises and caressed them. Hands became tongues and everything merged to the rhythmic sounds of the drums. And to the rhythm of the drums — the breath, the sweat, the laughter, the whispers — many bodies became one. Even though it lasted a long time, it was a brief moment of peace. Then silence. Only the smoke remained, and the smell of earth, salt, and life. We awoke exhausted, but with the knowledge that we had experienced the origin of life. The love for other souls that we were able to experience through physicality in our nakedness.