Despite such short notice the ceremony was attended by the whole village.
The proceedings began at the stream where Christian and James were washed clean of their pasts by a group of six naked males who made sure they did a thorough job. While the rest of the village watched from the grassy bank, Christian and James were scrubbed with soap and straw before being anointed with fragrant oil that was massaged into their naked flesh.
Following the cleansing ceremony, they were carried from the river and back to the village.
“So your feet don’t collect any of the past you might have left on your way to the stream,” Celia had explained.
Both of them were placed, side by side, on a mat of woven reeds in front of Shaman’s hut and the women of the village decorated them with chains of flowers,
