Elements of first carnivals exist today
Published: Monday, October 1, 2012 at 2:36 p.m.
Last Modified: Monday, October 1, 2012 at 2:36 p.m.
As festival and fair season kicks into gear in North Carolina, the beginnings of such celebrations are interesting to consider.
Most research shows the two, which are similar but not the same, are offshoots of the carnival or carniv├ále, as it was originally known.
The late Russian essayist and philosopher M.M. Bakhtin traced the roots of a carnival to Europe's medieval era, when the church establishment governed the provinces, which were ruled by kings and queens.
Royalty allowed one street celebration per year, and it was to take place in the public square. Those celebrations, of course, took on various forms of revelry, and guards were on hand with their weapons to keep things from getting entirely out of hand.
Serfs and peasants began to use the occasion to mock the ruling establishment, dressing as royalty and appearing as bumbling idiots. Authorities, however, condoned the behavior because it allowed them to know who their adversaries in the community were and made it a point to keep an eye on them afterward. And in what better place to have them reveal themselves as such than in the public square?
In order to continue their annual protests, they went the route of anonymity. The lower-class countrymen and women began to wear disguises, such as masks.
Other aspects of the carnival included an abundance of color, pageantry as well as the absurd — we envision a man walking on stilts here — or what Bakhtin called "the spectacle elements." And as serfs and peasants acted out their imaginary battles with royalty, they were always victorious.
Bakhtin maintained the elements of carnival arose from a concept of resistance, and they exist today in other forms of story narratives. The classic movie "The Wizard of Oz" could be an example. It contains the elements of pageantry, brilliant colors, the absurd, i.e. flying monkeys, and the lower class prevails over the ruling class.
Our fairs and festivals are akin to the carnival. We recognize the likeness, but they have morphed into events just as purposeful.
Our annual Barbecue Festival, which commences here Oct. 27, is marketed to be about the celebration of our famous fare, but, like Bakhtin's theory of carnival, it serves a much more dynamic purpose.
It's one day out of the year that provides an opportunity for community fellowship, a day when we hope to catch up to an old friend or have the opportunity to chat with a stranger. It's a day we can spend with our friends, children and grandchildren and for a short time forget about the issues that cause us stress. We often underestimate the importance of such things.
We'll see brilliant colors and other spectacle elements.
Our politicos will be armed with literature.
And the influence of the church has not altogether abandoned us. We always pray for good weather.
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