The Narrator is a reflective individual who bends over an altar of white paper to compose poetry and pray. Deeply invested in their African heritage, they act as a representative voice for their community and the living. They pray directly to the spirits of their ancestors, seeking strength, connection, and a path forward for a world damaged by war and machinery.

The Masks are the eternal, purified spirits of deceased African ancestors. They exist in a sterile afterlife guarded from mortal laughter and joy. Represented physically by black, red, white, and rectangular wooden forms, they are free from human impurities like dimples and wrinkles, offering the living a direct link to the past.

The Panterheaded Ancestor is a specific spirit guarding the afterlife. Characterized by an animalistic mask, this ancestor protects a sacred space closed off to mortal smiles and feminine laughter. They stand alongside the other masks as a purifying force.

The African People are the living descendants called upon to rebuild the world. Though subjected to racial slurs and viewed as mere laborers or men of death by outsiders, they possess deep physical and cultural strength. They find their power through cultural practices like dance, beating the hard soil to gain vitality.