Decorated elephants and turning the bones - by Elizabeth Kay

I have frequently used my travels abroad as inspiration for settings – but that tends to be stills of scenery, buildings, wildlife, enhanced by the personal memories of sounds, smells and tastes. Animating them can provide excellent and unusual opportunities for drama. Film does this particularly well, with people running through parades to escape pursuit which mostly consist of brass bands or cheerleaders. But there are so many other possibilities. And the more ethnic it is, and the more aimed at the local population the better. Although we are all travelling far less these days, it is always worthwhile checking for local festivals or events. Having your hero dodging between decorated elephants or fishermen with cormorants against a backdrop of bridesmaids is a lot more interesting.

One of the first events I encountered – by accident – was in Karnataka, in India. We had struck out on our own, with just a driver, and were in a tiny village, quite a long way away from any major towns.  Suddenly we heard disturbing sounds like distant gunfire, and it was getting closer. Our driver had no idea what was going on, and all of a sudden the road was blocked by people. The gunfire was firecrackers. A well was being dedicated to some deity or other by a small parade of people, who appeared wearing colourful costumes and chanting.

The biggest celebration I have ever attended was Perahera, ten years ago in Sri Lanka, also known as The Festival of the Tooth. It is not a tourist attraction; it is the real deal and this year it will be held from 23^rd July – 2^nd August. The roadsides are always packed with thousands of onlookers, and our guide arranged for us to have seats on the first floor of a rather rickety building. It was deemed too unsafe for us to remain there, and a roadside alternative was hastily organised.This historical event is held annually to pay homage to the Sacred Tooth of Buddha and the procession consists of traditional local dances such as fire dances and performances in whip-dance garments. Although these days you can look this up and get various explanations of it as well as videos, I will give you the one told us by our guide. Several weeks before the event, elephants from all around Sri Lanka start the trek towards Kandy, so that they can take part. The first day of the festival starts with one guild which decorates their elephants with magnificent trappings and coloured lights. The second day it is a different guild with lights of a different colour, which is added to the first, so the procession becomes longer and longer as each day passes until you reach the final day when the whole procession takes several hours. This was the one we were fortunate enough to attend. Everyone is eating things they have brought with them – we stopped at a stall on the way there, and bought bags of fruit which were cut up in situ. Mango, papaya, pineapple… The streets were filled with the smells of different curries and sugary sweets, mixed with incense. It was a truly magical experience.

Chinese weddings are big events, and a huge part of them, bizarrely, are the pre-wedding photographs. The venues for these are very carefully chosen, and a big favourite is Tong-Li, a medieval town with little waterways where fishermen in small boats still use cormorants to catch fish. There are wedding shops everywhere, where couples with their photographers pose on the banks or on picturesque bridges. The dresses are gorgeous, for both the bridesmaids and the brides, and there is an atmosphere of contained excitement. And no tantrums!

When we asked if we too could take photographs there was enthusiastic assent – with a surprise addition. Would we be in the photographs too, as a western guest, however randomly appropriated, was a status symbol?

Undoubtedly the weirdest gathering I have ever attended was Famadihana, in Madagascar, the turning of the bones. I had read about this before I went, but never expected to see it. The rest of the party on the bus simply didn’t believe me when I told them them that once every seven years or so, bodies of the departed would be brought out of the family crypts and the remains unwrapped. There would be a big party, with neighbouring villages invited, lots of food and a band. The role of the band was to play very loudly to summon the spirits of the departed back to their bones.

The descendants would ask their ancestors important questions, such as who they should marry, and which crops to plant that year. I spotted preparations being made on our way to a glaciated lake in an isolated area, and asked the guide whether it really was Famadihana, and whether we might be allowed to stop on our way back. Oh yes, he said, my grandparents will be there. Eventually the penny dropped, and I realised he meant their remains. We didn’t stay for the unwrapping, just the preliminaries, but we saw five shrouds lined up on trestle tables. There were a couple of doctors in our group, who were very curious, and one of them slipped over to the table and lifted a corner of the sheet. He told us the bodies appeared to be mummified, which made the whole practice rather less of a health hazard than anticipated.           

My last example is bittersweet, as it concerns Ukraine. It’s a religious country, and Easter is very big over there. Egg-painting is a popular activity, and so are gatherings in traditional costume at significant sites. On Easter Sunday everyone goes around flicking water at everyone else and saying, Christ is risen. To which the appropriate response is, Indeed He is risen. (Khrystos voskres - voistynu voskres). What was so lovely, in these days of virtual reality and junk food, was to go to an outdoor museum of rural buildings and see young men playing leapfrog and families dancing together. Sadly, those times are gone. Let's hope they will return before too long.

So think about your settings – would dodging between decorated elephants, or disguising yourself as a trumpeter in a Famadihana band be a more exotic possibility?