Unbeliever

Horacio Guimares, a workman, lived in the village of Nilopolis,an hour's ride from Rio de Janeiro. Next door lived Ricardina Rosario da Silva, "Mae de Santo" (High Priestess) of a fetishistic, voodoo-like cult which Brazilians call "Macumba." Pious worshipers filled Ricardina's yard, clapped and stomped, chanted and sang, screamed and shouted outside Horacio's door.

Horacio lost sleep, protested, continued to lose sleep. One evening he came home from work, tired and late. He ate his black beans and went to bed. Soon Ricardina started the service. In a turban and bright red robes, she screamed incantations before the "pegi" (altar) to "Xango" (God of Thunder). The holy uproar swelled. At the climax, Oswaldo Candido da Silva, the "Pae de Santo" (High Priest) beheaded a squawking chicken.* The congregation made suitable noises.

Horacio Guimaraes could stand no more. He burst from his house, invaded the sacred ground shouting curses at Ricardina. The High Priest came to her rescue. Drawing a knife, Horacio stabbed him four times. He died. Horacio ran away, was caught and consigned to the peace & quiet of jail.

*To Macumba devotees the chicken has great significance as a receptor of evil spirits. A practical-joking American in Brazil once put a dead chicken outside a friend's house. The servants vanished.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.