Hvar City Theatre Days, Vol. 33 No. 1, 2007.
Original scientific paper
On the Carnival: Diversion, Cohesion, Obscene and Mythical
Ivan Lozica
orcid.org/0000-0001-7537-0004
; Institut za etnologiju i folkloristiku, Zagreb
Abstract
The first part of the paper contains basic data on the origin and history of carnivals in Europe, with some annotations on changes in the carnival practice which were consequences of political changes. The author clarifies shrove terminology, analyses the place of the carnival in the Christian calendar, and writes about the masks of ancestors and about the heritage in late Classical times during shrovetide. He designates some general carnival customs which have been preserved until today: the attraction of the mask and costume, loud riot, beverages, food and the exceptional freedom, all which preserved the carnival as a collection of characters and actions, as a collection of standardised or conventional symbols, despite forgetting mythological and religious messages and meanings. Carnivals are divided in two main types, magical and critical. These may be only two components of the same event, but these rarely merge completely. The polysemic nature and duration of the carnival phenomenon and symbols enabled the existence of the carnival out of the traditional way of life and its continuous adaptation to historical changes.
The second part of the paper emphasises the suppressed, the forbidden and the challenging within the carnival – in the light of comparison of the carnival with the artistic sphere, especially literature and theatre.
Keywords
Hrčak ID:
72985
URI
Publication date:
3.5.2007.
Visits: 3.155 *