Sunshine Boy recognized the witch in motley patchwork robes as the blue-clad old woman who had handed out mugwort to everyone.
Beside the bonfire, two sturdy men stood bare-chested in red lower garments, red cloth bands tied around their upper arms. They walked to a red-rimmed cowhide drum taller than a man, raised their drumsticks, and struck the great drum.
Thump... thump...
Under the blaze of flames shooting toward the sky, more than a hundred villagers gathered around the headless roasted whole pig. Hand in hand, they bent at the waist and hunched their backs, forming rings three deep inside and three deep outside as they rotated counterclockwise.
They resembled a huge circular mouth that kept turning, biting down on the table and the roasted pig.
The patchwork-robed witch held a white-cloth-wrapped wooden stick aloft in her right hand. A string of bone bells hung from her waist, and red, blue, and white stripes had been painted across her face.
She raised both hands high, firelight dancing in her pupils, and shrieked, "Goddess of Birth, may peace grow year after year!"
"Goddess of Birth, may peace grow year after year!" the villagers shouted as they moved.
Thump thump thump!
"Goddess of Birth, reveal your divine miracle and bless the mistress with sons and daughters," the witch continued to scream.
"Goddess of Birth, reveal your divine miracle and bless the mistress with sons and daughters!" everyone cried out together, their voices ragged with strain.
Thump thump thump!
"Through all beings and all lifetimes, worship the Goddess; may every household's bloodline flourish forever," the witch shouted.
"Through all beings and all lifetimes, worship the Goddess; may every household's bloodline flourish forever!" The crowd shook their heads and swayed, their eyes rolling white as they shrieked and roared, their savage faces laid bare.