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Along with the rhythmic sound of
drums, flutes, musical bows and Aonikenk songs, the
Ostrich Dance began.
The men who participated in the ceremony came out in
a line from under a tarp. With their bodies covered
with animal skins and wearing ostrich feathers on their
heads, they started walking around the fire, closing
in until touching each other, and then backing up with
movements that imitated the ostrich and guanaco.
Collective songs and shouts conjured up the powers and
forces of evil. The rhythm of the dance rose until they
were transformed into hunted animals, the men shedding
their animal skins and showing off their strong painted
bodies. They danced only with a belt made of ostrich
feathers, seashells and bird beaks.
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