The fool
My first direct experience with the masked fool was watching Morris Dancing here at my home in Yorkshire, England. The Morris dancers were dressed in their usual dance shoes with bells and baggy pants. To be absolutely honest, I’ve always found Morris’s men a bit funny! Maybe I should explain about Cecil Sharp, no, I’ll leave that in a footnote.
The Morris Men from Boars Head were dancing in a pub car park. (Pub, short for Public House, a place to drink beer etc. in the UK.) They were doing the usual dances related to fertility, good harvests, harvests, etc. But, of course, they don’t really have pagan beliefs misplaced. Mind you, when you see them drink beer in the quantities that they did, then you’ll realize that maybe they had fully understood the pagan ways of having a good time. (Not to say that all people who follow pagan ways drink a lot of beer, just a convenient concept)
What you are probably wondering at this point is that this has to do with fools.
Well, the Morris Men of Boars Head had a masked fool. It was complete with boar mask pants and boar head staff. He also carried a bucket to collect cash donations for charity, or maybe beer money. He followed the dancers, imitating them and cajoling the spectators into changing to fill his bucket.
Interestingly, he knew the fool quite well and in real life, without the mask, he would never do what he did with the mask. Being English he was too polite!
The boar’s head stick became a threatened club, never used, only aimed and waved. The mask was a place to hide behind, for an ordinary person. As you will find when searching more on this site, the mask allows people to change their personalities. He intimidated, he pranced, and he enjoyed his double mission of collecting money and protecting the dancers from the crowd. Sometimes children get too close. That is not allowed. Sometimes the dancers’ space is threatened by cars pulling into the parking lot. wow! It’s not a good idea!
But suddenly the fool sets off in search of three attractive women. He rattles his bucket and rounds them up like a sheepdog would. He pressures them to donate generously. He simply leaves his dancers unprotected to fend for themselves. The next ten minutes are exchanged for good-natured banter. (The fool’s wife is present!)
The above is from memory, probably about 20 years ago. In terms of mask traditions, that’s very recent. Mask traditions date back at least 25,000 years. I’m sure they go back to the time of the first questioning peoples; 50,000………………or more years?
What then is this reference to fools and masking traditions? Well, as you explore this site, you’ll find that fool comes up in various other traditions.
In Masquerade the fool is an essential figure. On the surface he, occasionally she, is the one who keeps order. He controls the children, prevents their prying eyes from invading the dressing room. His stick maintains the area of action. He jokes, entertains, juggles, makes faces and GETS VIOLENT. He chases the kids with a whip and mercilessly beats them if he gets the chance. He tries to seduce women, and he does it if he can!
Suddenly he gets bored and goes to sit down and chat philosophically with a group of friends from his unmasked days. As the conversation progresses, he introduces new ideas. He begins to ridicule the accepted norm. He questions the accepted reality. He tries to turn the arguments around.
the ubiquitous fool
The fool is an omnipresent. The fool occurs in the masking traditions of North and South America, Africa, Europe, Asia, China, ……………….. if you know anything more please fill in my blank.
Universally, the fool walks the line between normality and the inconsistencies that the world. The fool is both sensible and totally insensitive. It’s not that he doesn’t use his senses, he just uses them in a different way. He questions and cajoles. He jokes and makes fun of others. However, when someone crosses the arbitrary limit, (who decided) changes. He suddenly becomes the quiet house cat, the sleeping, domesticated, glossy, silky feline. And as you caress and give pleasure to the cat, it begins to grow claws and teeth and growls worse. He becomes the furious tiger, with claws and teeth.
What is the role of the fool?
The fool traditionally questions. He/she defies the norm. It goes beyond the routine and the everyday. S/He crosses the border between the physical and the spiritual. The fool knows both sides but unfortunately understands neither. The fool is beyond judgment but he is incapable of judging. The fool is a go-between, an obstacle, a creator and a destroyer. He sets things up just to break them down.
To be honest, I love the fool, because I feel like I am, sometimes. The fool embodies the contradictions of the world. He accepts our human weaknesses and at the same time challenges them. For those of you who know the symbols of the tarot cards, consider the fool, for those of you who do not take the time to find out.
Some examples of madmen in the masquerade Italy In Masks, the art of expression, Cesare Poppi describes the Carnival of Moena in the Italian Dolomites. Two Arlechigns, a local version of the Harlequin, lead the masked group. They are dressed in checkered suits, with a tall, pointed cap under which is a loose veil giving them a featureless appearance. They carry horse whips. Around him, the crowd of cheering youths follows his movements. Suddenly, the rush towards the youths cut fiercely with the horse whips, dealing fierce blows to the confused youths. Panic ensues. The pleasant scene of a village has suddenly been turned upside down.
China In China, or in your local China Town, when the New Year is celebrated, the Lion Dance is performed. This often acrobatic masked ball is performed by usually two dancers accompanied by two Happy Face dancers wearing their papier-mâché masks with big smiles painted on them. As the dance moves through the streets, the dragon collects lettuce and money to help bring luck in the New Year. Around the dragon, the two fools harass the crowd for money while keeping the crowd, especially the children, at a safe distance.
West Pacific Coast
noohlmahl
During Kwakwaka’wakw Potlatch ceremonies in the west coast areas of Canada, another fool was around. He is Noohlmahl. A disgusting creature with a long nose from which snot oozes, he is in a mood to laugh, but if observers mention his condition, especially his nose, a backlash can be expected.
Iriquois False Face Society
The Iriquois False Face Society also has a silly mask to support the healing processes they undertake. These corn husk masks are relatively simple and disposable. As with other traditions, the fool plays his funny and organizing role.
Joy has an important place in many masquerades.
In our life we all play the fool, we despise the fool in others and we love the fool who entertains. Unfortunately, the fool who entertains can also be torn apart by internal mental divisions.
The masked idiot is the one who maintains order and at the same time questions it and sometimes destroys it on a whim. Traditionally, the fool walks a fine line between the known and the unknown, the acceptable and the unacceptable. Even without the mask, I’m sure you recognize the fool in your life.
The fool is a universal being. Today (12/15/04) I lost my idiot, she was our cat. If you want to know that she died of old age. He had the soft luxury of purring fur to stroke and in moments transformed into a fanged biter. He had the gourmet taste of a French chef but he licked his ass. He refused to go out when the wind blew, because he was cold, but he sat happily on the wet grass when it rained and a gale blew. Tango, the cat, was my fool, as I was hers when I played hide-and-seek. She loved her affection and I was saddened by her rejection of the food she gave him. In general, Tango, our family cat, was all contradiction and beautifully herself. She is a very missed little being.
Note
Cecil Sharp collected popular songs in the British Isles. Among folk enthusiasts, he is something of a hero, as he preserved many folk songs and traditions. He was instrumental in helping to preserve the hundreds of different Morris dances. However, as with the lyrics of the songs he collected, they were purged for naughty bits. Anything that went against his strict Victorian morality was censored. The whole British folk lore was made “nice.”
Inspired by Masks the Art of Expression ed. John Mack ISBN 0-7141-2530-X and other sources I have long read and internalized.
© Ian Bracegirdle 2004 1 Elder Close East Morton BD20 5WA UK 01535 692207
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