Absolutely Nothing About Michael Jackson

Absolutely Nothing About Michael Jackson

Observed in my travels today: two dead chickens and a dead pigeon in the street about a block from where I live. They seemed to have fallen out of a disintegrating cardboard box. They had their heads and all their feathers, so it wasn't clear what killed them. It's unusual to see chickens in this urban area, although I suppose some people keep them. (A morning rooster crow is not unheard of.) I suspect they were the victims of a (cue scary violins) . . . ritual slaying. I've heard rumors that adherents of Santeria, a religious practice that involves animal sacrifice, live around here. According to the Wikipedia, "Chickens are the most common form of sacrifice; their blood is offered to the Orisha [a type of spirit]. Drum music and dancing are used to induce a trance state in specific participants, who may become possessed by an Orisha who then speaks through them." Supposedly, though, the animals are cooked and eaten afterwards, not put in a box and dumped in the street. Curious.
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