Running for the Rain, or to Find Love
As part of the traditional start to the Rainy Season in my area, Thiura Pethie is an enormous festival involving storytelling, throwing millet and yogurt mixtures, traditional Serere wrestling, and running around sacred baobab trees. A type of fertility ceremony, the youth of the community run around the tree, at least 3 times, in hopes of having good fortune and finding their soul mate over the course of the following year. There is joy and anticipation in the celebration, praying for a bountiful harvest and healthy families. And a fascinating thing to witness (and of course, run in yourself!).
