Gods, Sarees, and lots of food

Friday night I arrived home from school a bit late because we had a really great presentation on Indian folk music. When I arrived my family informed me that I "had missed it."
"Missed what?" I said.
"The God. She came through the house already and is now in the next home."
Huh? I thought to myself. My sister said that I shouldn't worry because the God would be back on Sunday on her way out of town. We could go see her now and take pictures, but there were too many people there. Needless to say, this discourse led to much confusion in my mind. See a god? Take a picture of a god? The next night the festival would begin, so I just sat tight with my confusion.
I woke up and went to a friend's homestay house to learn the secrets of the Indian kitchen. I can now prepare chipati and some potato dish. I will dazzle you all when I return. After cooking and a little shopping I went home so that I could help prepare for the God. The night consisted of peeling hundreds of garlic cloves, shelling many many peas, getting my hand henna-fied, watching cheesy indian music videos,preparing offerings of flowers and fruit and coconuts for Aneema (the God), and trying desperately to stay awake until it was time for punjab at 2 in the morning. We knew it was time to go when men came to our door banging drums. They pulled Kantha, my brother, out of the house and danced with him as all the women gathered their offerings together. After the dancing we left the house and marched forward in the candle lit darkness to repeat our scene house by house. Each house delivered beautiful Indian women with pots of flowers, incense, candles, and trays of fruit. Occasionally someone would emerge with a chicken to sacrifice. The brigade grew into a swarm of colors and scents. I did my best to lay low , but my white skin glowed in the sea of Indian women. At the temple we gave our offerings, drank holy coconut milk, and received flowers. While some fave their trats, those with the pots circled through the chamber multiple times. Some time in there they sacrificed a sheep and chickens. It was surreal, the next morning it felt like i had dreamt it. There was a second punjab at 5:30 in the morning, but I didn't attend that one.
The next morning we prepped for the big party where 100-200 friends and relatives would be eating a feast on our roof. For the occasion my aunt and my sister, mamta, decided to dress me and bridget up in sarees. We went to the store where they bought us the little black belly shirts, then returned home to be wrapped and adorned. I wore a beautiful iridescent gold and black saree, a bindi, a gold necklace, and the henna on my hand. I truly felt like and indian princess ( i will add pictures soon). A bunch of my friends came to the party as well, so it was fun to show them my homestay life. THe feast was full of all sorts of flavors and chicken parts, some I was more inclined to eat than others. But mostly the festival was a time to interact with people and share in the love for the god.
So finally... the god Aneema. Sunday night it was time for the God to leave. We all went on the roof to watch the processional begin out of the neighborhood. It was at that moment I realized that the God was actually a big lit up golden float that contained an altar. It went with a marching band, a float with singers, and lots of people house to house to receive the people's final punjab. Our house was the last to be reached. Needless to say, it was quite the experience. Aneema is the god for health and success. SO maybe, just maybe, she can help me on this journey.