No, this isnt a metaphorical note. I was reading up on Samaritans and it turns out there are still real Samaritans living to this day. Its interesting in that the follow the Torah only, and so are very much like one would imagine primative Yahwism to have been like. I imagine the history of how such a small and isolated group of people survived intact for all this time would be very interesting.
http://www.bibleplaces.com/samaritanpassover.htm
An actual Samarian's take on Jesus parable of the "Good Samaritan"
http://www.predigten.uni-goettingen.de/archiv-6/040711-4-e.html