How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
The Spirit Medium turned his attention from the ndoro to Tendai's face. Tendai expected to see hatred, but what he detected was far more surprising: it wasn't the Spirit Medium at all! The shape was the same, but the presence hovering inside the man's body was completely different. (23.42)
Creepy. Tendai can't believe what he sees during the ceremony, especially because he wasn't sure whether he believed all this supernatural hoopla anyway. Something is happening at this moment, though, and we're pretty sure it has something to do with the supernatural taking over.
Quote #8
Tendai caught a glimpse of what the mhondoro really was. It—for the spirit was both male and female—stretched back to the first human who raised his—or her—shaggy head from the immediate business of finding food. She—or he—became aware of the land. He saw the good red soil and clean water flowing through it, the plants that sprang up and the animals that bounded through them. (39.15)
We love the way the mhondoro is described as completely ambiguous and androgynous. It's not important what the spirit looks like—in fact, s/he is utterly malleable—it only matters how the mhondoro is used. The spirit uses power in a different way than humans, and doesn't need human features to work the magic.
Quote #9
Gradually, one after the other, the spirits that attended the Masks took up residence. The men jerked as they were possessed. The sound grew louder. Barks, yowls, grunts and hyena laughter filled the air. It was the animals trapped as messengers. They circled the chair, calling for their Master, who fed only on humans. (39.38)
The Masks don't hold back when it comes to their beliefs. Not only do they use the supernatural, they make sacrifices to it. We can tell that overuse of the supernatural is not always a good thing. It's fine to believe in spirits, but it's quite another to kidnap a teenage boy and kill him for the sake of spirit warfare.