had to get into with the ram. I had been told it would be very, very bad luck if the ram escaped, and that I had to hold on to him, and that the reason we had to be in this wedding bed was that all my depression and all my problems were caused by the fact that I had spirits. In Senegal you have spirits all over you, the way here you have microbes. Some are good for you. Some are bad for you. Some are neutral. My bad spirits were extremely jealous of my real-life sexual partners—some of whom are here tonight. And we had to mollify the anger of the spirits.
So I had to get into this wedding bed with the ram, and I had to hold the ram very tightly. He, of course, immediately relieved himself on my leg.
The entire village had taken the day off from their work in the fields, and they were dancing around us in concentric circles. And as they danced, they were throwing blankets and sheets of cloth over us, and so we were gradually being buried.
It was unbelievably hot, and it was completely stifling. And there was the sound of these stamping feet as everyone danced around us, and then these drums, which were getting louder and louder and more and more ecstatic.
And I was just about at the point at which I thought I was going to faint or pass out. At that key moment suddenly all of the cloths were pulled off. I was yanked to my feet. The loincloth that was all I was wearing was pulled from me. The poor old ram’s throat was slit, as were the throats of the two cockerels. And I was covered in the blood of the freshly slaughtered ram and cockerels.
So there I was, naked, totally covered in blood, and they said, “Okay, that’s the end of this part of it. The next piececomes now.” And I said, “Okay,” and we went back over to the area where we had done the morning preparations.
And one of them said, “Look, it’s lunchtime. Why don’t we just take a break for a minute? Would you like a Coke?” I don’t drink Coke that much, but at that moment it seemed like a really, really good idea, and I said yes.
And so I sat there, naked and completely covered in animal blood, with flies kind of gathering, as they will when you’re naked and covered in animal blood. And I drank this Coke.
And then when I had finished the Coke, they said, “Okay, now we have the final parts of the ritual. First you have to put your hands by your sides and stand very straight and very erect.”
And I said, “Okay,” and then they tied me up with the intestines of the ram. In the meanwhile its body was hanging from a nearby tree, and someone was doing some butchering of it, and they took various little bits of it out. And then I had to kind of shuffle over, all tied up in intestines, which most of you probably haven’t done, but it’s hard.
I had to shuffle over and take these little pieces of the ram and dig holes, and put the pieces of the ram in the holes.
And I had to say something. And what I had to say was actually incredibly, strangely touching in the middle of this weird experience. I had to say, “Spirits, leave me alone to complete the business of my life and know that I will never forget you.” And I thought,
What a kind thing to say to the evil spirits you’re exorcising: “I’ll never forget you.”
And I haven’t.
So anyway, there were various other little bits and pieces that followed. I was given a piece of paper in which all of the millet from the morning had been gathered. I was told that I should sleep with it under my pillow and in the morning get up and give it to a beggar who had good hearing and no deformities,and that when I gave it to him that would be the end of my troubles.
And then the women all filled their mouths with water and began spitting water all over me—it was a surround-shower effect—rinsing the blood away from me. It gradually came off, and when I was clean, they gave me back my jeans. And everyone danced, and they barbecued the ram, and we had this dinner.
And I felt so up. I felt so
So I had to get into this wedding bed with the ram, and I had to hold the ram very tightly. He, of course, immediately relieved himself on my leg.
The entire village had taken the day off from their work in the fields, and they were dancing around us in concentric circles. And as they danced, they were throwing blankets and sheets of cloth over us, and so we were gradually being buried.
It was unbelievably hot, and it was completely stifling. And there was the sound of these stamping feet as everyone danced around us, and then these drums, which were getting louder and louder and more and more ecstatic.
And I was just about at the point at which I thought I was going to faint or pass out. At that key moment suddenly all of the cloths were pulled off. I was yanked to my feet. The loincloth that was all I was wearing was pulled from me. The poor old ram’s throat was slit, as were the throats of the two cockerels. And I was covered in the blood of the freshly slaughtered ram and cockerels.
So there I was, naked, totally covered in blood, and they said, “Okay, that’s the end of this part of it. The next piececomes now.” And I said, “Okay,” and we went back over to the area where we had done the morning preparations.
And one of them said, “Look, it’s lunchtime. Why don’t we just take a break for a minute? Would you like a Coke?” I don’t drink Coke that much, but at that moment it seemed like a really, really good idea, and I said yes.
And so I sat there, naked and completely covered in animal blood, with flies kind of gathering, as they will when you’re naked and covered in animal blood. And I drank this Coke.
And then when I had finished the Coke, they said, “Okay, now we have the final parts of the ritual. First you have to put your hands by your sides and stand very straight and very erect.”
And I said, “Okay,” and then they tied me up with the intestines of the ram. In the meanwhile its body was hanging from a nearby tree, and someone was doing some butchering of it, and they took various little bits of it out. And then I had to kind of shuffle over, all tied up in intestines, which most of you probably haven’t done, but it’s hard.
I had to shuffle over and take these little pieces of the ram and dig holes, and put the pieces of the ram in the holes.
And I had to say something. And what I had to say was actually incredibly, strangely touching in the middle of this weird experience. I had to say, “Spirits, leave me alone to complete the business of my life and know that I will never forget you.” And I thought,
What a kind thing to say to the evil spirits you’re exorcising: “I’ll never forget you.”
And I haven’t.
So anyway, there were various other little bits and pieces that followed. I was given a piece of paper in which all of the millet from the morning had been gathered. I was told that I should sleep with it under my pillow and in the morning get up and give it to a beggar who had good hearing and no deformities,and that when I gave it to him that would be the end of my troubles.
And then the women all filled their mouths with water and began spitting water all over me—it was a surround-shower effect—rinsing the blood away from me. It gradually came off, and when I was clean, they gave me back my jeans. And everyone danced, and they barbecued the ram, and we had this dinner.
And I felt so up. I felt so
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