"Then Miriam, the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and dancing. And Miriam sang to them: 'Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea."' (Exodus 15:20, 21)

The serious, white, Western reporter commented, ''Here in South Africa, funerals of slain black South Africans begin as religious services but are quickly transformed into something like political demonstrations." Behind him jumped, danced, shouted and sang scores of black women. They had come to a funeral. A funeral which had begun with weeping and lamentation had erupted into people dancing and singing of liberation. Somehow, religion and politics, grief and joy had gotten all mixed up in the swirli…