Roaming Gypsies

Hi all,
I went to the beach and played the harmonica for about an hour. Mostly Beatles songs but I also played some Bob Dylan, and Simon and Garfunkel. As the sun set , I walked along the beach toward a rocky cliff area between the two most popular beaches here in Rio, Copacabana and Impanema. There is a city park there with a peninsula (not sure of the spelling, as I think I found the spell check, ok now) jutting out into the ocean for a couple hundred yards by about 100 feet high. The waves were loudly crashing onto the rocks below. There were initially two surfers in the water when two approached the edge of the escarpment, tossed their boards in the water and jumped in after. The waves which didn't break on the peninsula were able to be ridden with ease by the surfers alongside the point towards the beach shore.

The park was fenced in with only one entrance/exit along the beach sidewalk. As I passed, I could hear what sounded like live music and through the bars (fence) I could see a couple of people dancing next to a head high overhang of rock. Under the overhang was a small fire and I could smell incense burning. After exploring the Rock peninsula until complete darkness watching the full (I think) moon come up, I returned towards the music to inquire.

Upon entering the fenced in area. There were three older women dancing wearing what appeared to be belly dancing costumes to what sounded like Indian music coming from a receiver with rather large quality speakers. I sat and watched for about thirty minutes. Under the rock overhang were many (at least 100) votive candles burning with several apples cut in half with 10-20 burning incense sticks stuck into each one. On the ceiling of the rock overhang, as it sloped down from the entrance all the way to the rear about 15 feet back, were what appeared to be, from the distance where I was sitting, were gold colored starfish and seashells attached to the ceiling. The brightest of the parks light post shone directly onto the rock's face entrance illuminating the whole scene in bright white light.

My first thought was some kind of Indian wedding taking place. But as I sat there, it seemed strangers (like myself) would enter the park and join in the festivities. The first I saw were a local young couple with a young baby in her arms. They walked to the oldest of the belly dancers and had an inaudible (to me) conversation upon which the four continued toward the overhang, lit a couple of incense sticks, kneeled and seemed to say a prayer to some small statue, about waist high, at the center of the entrance. The alter was some sort of motherly figure dressed in very colorful dress similar to the dancers, complete with gold necklaces, rings and bracelets. On either side of the shrine were two blankets in the sand covered in about a half dozen baskets each of fruits; bananas, apples, papaya, mango, grapes.

Enter the second character form outside the park. A young latin man wearing shorts and no t-shirt. He casually walked to the center of the three women dancing and began to dance with them in some seemingly drunk appearance sometimes stumbling but never falling with slow fluid like motions which matched the rhythms of the music. Maybe he wasn't drunk at all, but from a distance, he sure looked like he was inebriated. Several other groups entered talking to the oldest woman and performed some sort of similar ritual to the happenings under the overhang.

After about half an hour of watching, the second oldest dancer approached me and began speaking in Portuguese as I listened intently for a minute or two. When she finished I was going to say "fala ingles?" Do you speak english? When without a pause from her portuguese, she began her broken translation into English. I didn't realize straight off her transition to english. After a few sentences of English, I realized she was speaking English, I interrupted her and asked her to start over with her english translation. She did not seem the least bit irritated to be interrupted. She began to say that her group were a band of Gypsies here for a while and would be performing this ceremony every night for about a week longer.

The ceremony, open and free to anyone, was held to spread love peace and joy throughout the earth. She handed me four incense sticks and said to me if I wanted to I could go up to "the old mother" and ask her for a blessing of love peace and joy for me and all in my life. At this point they were wrapping up their ceremony, a car had entered the park and the participants were loading up the canned music and other items from the surrounding tables. The old mother had a couple with her as I approached. I bypassed her without interrupting, toward the overhang. Even with all the incense burning, the first thing I smelled was the ever present dry stale piss, and without thinking I said aloud in a normal voice to myself, "smells like piss here". People on either side seemed to understand as they gave me a strange bewildered look. I finished my sentence with "and incense also". They smiled and left me alone. I lit three of the incense sticks poking them into the apples. I said a prayer for my friends, and loved ones for love peace and joy. I hung out there admiring all the candles and incense for a few minutes. I lit the last stick turned around to approach the old mother and she was gone. Maybe another night. I carried the lit incense all the way back to the hostel.

Another day in the life of Chewy.
Eric