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Rituals That Aren't

Yesterday's ad-hocing in a favela temporarily enlightened by the discovery of a unique cultural practice: hanging a cow's hoof and bags of corn from the ceiling. A pulse quickens.

Except that its simply a bottle of cachaça disguised as a hoof, this is a bar after all, and the bar owner's husband hanging seeds to dry before planting. "Don't you know anything?"she asked. Apparently not.

A link, any link, to the future perfect? In a world of memes, the potential for the story behind the (manufactured) ritual being more important than the ritual itself. Who would dare to? Who indeed.

Writing from São Paulo | August 1, 2007 | Permalink