Nyau on the Prowl

One of our neighbors died during finals period. He was old and sick,
so it wasn't a community tragedy like some of the losses we've
experienced so far, but apparently he was high-ranking within the Nyau
community, the Chichewa brotherhood of spirit channelers, so this made
his funeral rituals a little different than what we've come to expect.
Immediately after the man's passing drums began to sound, calling all
the Nyaus to our neighborhood, and the rhythmic beating didn't stop
until the actual burial two day later. The Nyau didn't come to perform
their dances in their beautiful costumes in the relatively orderly
fashion as they do on public holiday performances, but to prowl our
narrow streets with their more grotesque monster costumes, covered in
mud and striking anyone slow to flee their presence. The Nyau terrify
most of our students under any circumstances, so having them loose on
the community in mass made proctoring finals a little challenging, as
people burst into our rooms sporadically seeking shelter from the men
possessed by beast spirits, and students tried to duck under their
desks to avoid being spotted from the windows. Janet found an old
drunk Chewa woman on our porch where she had passed out while hiding.
Our neighbors were reluctant to let Janet run, but she went anyway
although she had to evacuate the trail several times as Nyau stormed
by. At night the incessant sounding of the drums and the high pitched
yelps of the Nyau speaking in trance as animals made it difficult to
sleep and left us a little reluctant to leave the safety of our house
to use the latrine with all those machete wielding man/animals
rampaging about. We imagined the terror early explorers and
missionaries must have felt during such events and how these
encounters have continued to affect the continent's reputation. We
never felt ourselves in any real danger, but these types of
experiences are the ones that really remind you that you're in Africa.