Once feared by explorers as fierce cannibals, the Mangbetu tribe inhabit the edge of the Zaire rainforest in the heart of Africa. Although they don't eat people any more, they still cling to their traditions of hallucinogenic rituals and retain a deep faith in magic and sorcery, despite the efforts of missionaries to change them.

The Hira Gasy is a family of troubadours, who travel the great plateau of Madagascar, earning a living at country fairs, second burials and ancestral spirit ceremonies. In brightly-coloured costumes they perform satirical plays about all aspects of Madagascan life. But their audience are not just human, they perform for the Ancestors too, for the troupe are both popular entertainers and musical intermediaries between the earthbound and the ancestral spirit world.