say "Suddenly the air is filled with light and the sounds of an approaching band. Over the crest of the hill comes a parade of singing, stomping, hooting people: and not just people, but dogs, horses, elephants, giraffes... There are banners, and candles, and a flag that glows eerie-green in the dark; there is a float shaped like an enormous turtle, its shell covered with winking green lights; there is an old man dressed as a skeleton, carried in a litter, his neck garlanded with dried chiles. There are small girls throwing rose petals from a basket, and grown women half-naked carrying the emblems of Bacchic revelry, and two little boys each with a silver basin of clear water. All these go by in procession, and you join on at the end.";