It has been precisely one year since a plate full of rooster heads was found in Brooklyn's Dr. Ronald McNair Park. Last week, a tipster sent along photos of a goat head found in the exact same park on what appears to be the exact same type of plate/tray. Coinkydink?! I think not.
What do we know? Not much. We called around to various area botanicas and Santeria retailers in hopes that March 6thish is an established holiday among the African diasporic religions—but it's not, at least not according to anyone who answered the phone. According to one online source, early March coincides with the "New Year ebbos," ebbos being a ritual sacrifice. Could that be it? Your guess is as good as mine, despite you probably having spent much less time dwelling over this issue.
The year before that, decapitated roosters were found scattered around North Carolina. This is definitely not a coincidence. Or...is it? Kenneth Schweitzer, a lecturer on Santeria traditions at Washington College, referred to the annual head platter as "routine in a variety of African-derived religions."
"I think the timing of the two discoveries is purely coincidental," he wrote in an email.
DNAinfo also has some photos of the same goat head, after the snow melted and it was maybe kicked around a little bit.
Are you an expert in Santeria? Have you seen anyone depositing a goat head in Dr. Ronald McNair Park/any park in the city? Are you a goat head? Email us. Just do it.
