Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/299622
s u m m e r 2 0 1 4 | g o i n g p l a c e s 39 Whenever a solo dancer begins to spasm, her eyes roll upward and she careens aimlessly, like a slowing top about to tumble. At that moment – and the moment is repeated throughout the evening, as others are pos- sessed – the dancer becomes the deity. The invisible goddess or god – after a trans-Atlan- tic journey – has joined the party. Africa and Brazil are united. Exile is bearable. Redemp- tion possible. The beliefs and traditions of long-abandoned ancestors, the knowledge of herbs, prophecy, nature's wisdom, are reas- serted . . . even as the drummers play on and 20 or so trance-dancers slip into a backroom. When the mesmerized dancers reappear, they are transformed by masks and costumes into living gods. e drumming and chanting and rhy thmic shaking of rattle-gourds increase in tempo. Firecrackers erupt outside. There's Omulu, the god of epidemics and health, who's covered head-to-toe in an incred- ible raffia haystack. ere's Oxum, the West African goddess of love, her face concealed by a tinsel-draped crown. And, of course, there's starfish-crowned Yemanjá, the feminine spirit of moonlight and the goddess of creation. I step outside where the ground is littered with fallen hibiscus petals and firecracker shrapnel. All over Salvador on this night, I tell myself, all over Brazil in fact, the descendants of millions of West African slaves are calling their gods back. There's a cooling evening breeze off the appropriately named Bay of All Saints now. And in a city named for salvation, there's the sense an exiled people and their far- away gods have finally found accommodation with their fate. GP Exclusive travel tips from CAA Helping hand. "Brazil, like many foreign countries, requires a travel visa, and the application can be difficult to muddle through. One of the great advantages to using a travel agent is having someone to help you through that application process." –Tracey Payton, CAA Travel Consultant Visit Tracey at our St. Anne's Service Centre or call 204-262-6200 for more travel tips. p32_39Brazil.indd 39 14-04-10 2:26 PM