Night Dancers

Today Bry'Chell's friend Michael came to visit. Bry'Chell was telling him about the route where we run. Michael--a tall, well-muscled sixteen year old--told Bry'Chell that he wouldn't go that way because there are Night Dancers in the banana fields.

Night Dancers are a piece of culture here that I don't have a clear grasp of, but which are sort of a combination of boogie man and witchcraft. They're a mix of fantasy and reality. Most often they are used to scare children into behaving, but they do exist. A Night Dancer is a person--normal appearing during the day--who dances naked, digs up and eats corpses at night. They are described as cursed or bewitched. Exactly how much is true depends on who you talk to. Some people see Night Dancers everywhere, others see it as a rare practice mostly used to scare children into behaving. As in--don't stay out after dark or the Night Dancers will get you.

Still, practices like witchcraft and night dancers are not entirely imaginary and include things like child sacrifice--which is basically a get-rich-quick scheme. Sacrifice an innocent child and you will get rich. Sick, but it happens. It's, of course, more complex than I can describe, but that's the gist of it.