Gerewol, the Bororo mating ritual, where single males put on heavy make-up and dress up like women to better attract young females, is both weird and wonderful. The ‘dance’ itself is not much to look at; the men push themselves up and down by their toes in slow motion, their arms rising and falling as they shake their long sticks. But together with the low humming chant in the background, it has the effect of a rolling trance, like waves lapping against the shore. All the serious action is concentrated in their faces, which are contorted into the sort of exaggerated expressions of joy normally only seen in cartoons.
