Except for a few gaudily dressed high priests, the men and boys wear white. Some are in robes, some in overalls. Some youths wear baseball caps, jauntily reversed. The rest sing and chant as they cut sheep throats. Each man marks his forehead with blood.
Women sit on the sidelines, although they join in the feast.
Of course, troubles are far from over for the Samaritans. The current Palestinian uprising has revived a sense of insecurity. This Passover, Israeli troops oversaw the sacrifice from rooftops, rifles in hand, presumably to guard against an Arab intrusion. And the army recently set up an artillery position on the flanks of Mount Gerizim, from which they exchange fire with Palestinians below. Of course this is worrisome.