# Clown society > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Clown_society > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Clown_society.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clown_society > Source revision: 1335090831 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Organization of comedic entertainers **Clown society** is a term used in [anthropology](/source/Anthropology) and [sociology](/source/Sociology) for an organization of comedic entertainers (or "[clowns](/source/Clown)") who have a formalized role in a culture or society. ## Description and function Sometimes clown societies have a sacred role, to represent a [trickster](/source/Trickster) character in religious ceremonies.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] Other times the purpose served by members of a clown society is only to [parody](/source/Parody) excessive seriousness, or to deflate pomposity.[1] In the sense of how clowns function in their culture:[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] - A clown shows what is wrong with the ordinary way of doing things. - A clown shows how to do ordinary things the "wrong way". By doing ordinary things "the wrong way" the clown reveals what would otherwise be perceived as the serious or true state of things in a different fashion. Members of a clown society may dress in a special [costume](/source/Costume) reserved for clowns, which is often a [ridiculously](/source/Ridiculous) extreme or improper form of normal dress.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] Some members paint their body with horizontal black and white stripes, which represents a [skeleton](/source/Skeleton).[2][3][a] In the case of the [Zuni](/source/Zuni_people) clown society of the [Puebloans](/source/Puebloans),[4] "one is initiated into the Ne'wekwe order by a ritual of filth-eating" where "[mud](/source/Mud) is smeared on the body for the clown performance, and parts of the performance may consist of sporting with mud, smearing and daubing it, or drinking and pouring it onto one another".[5][6] The sacred clown and his apparently [antisocial behavior](/source/Antisocial_behavior) is condoned in Native American ceremonies.[7][b] While in their costume, clowns have special permission from their society to parody or criticize defective aspects of their own culture. They are always required to be funny. In the case of the [jester](/source/Jester) at the English Royal Court with his cap of bells and [pig's bladder](/source/Pig's_bladder) stick he was allowed to make fun of, be indelicate and sometimes downright rude to members of the royal family and their entourage without fear of reprisal. Other persons living within the same culture nearly always recognize a clown when they see one, but seldom consciously understand what the clowns do for their society. The typical explanation is "He's just a funny man."[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] Clown societies usually train new members to become clowns. The training normally takes place by an [apprentice](/source/Apprentice) system, although there may be some rote schooling as well.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] Sometimes the training is [improvisational comedy](/source/Improvisational_comedy), but usually a clown society trains members in well known forms of costume, pantomime, song, dance, and common visual gags. On rare occasions the training includes scripted performances, or skits, which are part of a standard repertoire that "never gets old", and is expected by members of the culture that the clown society is embedded in. [Humor](/source/Humor) assumes a "sacred position within ceremonials" in many Native North American societies;[8] examples are found in [trickster](/source/Trickster) traditions, [Pueblo clown](/source/Pueblo_clown) societies, [Cherokee](/source/Cherokee) [booger dances](/source/Booger_dance), and aspects of the Northwest Coast [potlatch](/source/Potlatch).[9] Humor is a fundamental aspect of Native American life, and has many purposes related to sacred rituals and social cohesion.[9] ## Examples - [Circus clowns](/source/Circus_clown) function as a clown society, in [Western culture](/source/Western_culture). - [Sacred clowns](/source/Sacred_clown) are called [heyoka](/source/Heyoka) in [Lakota](/source/Lakota_people) and [Dakota](/source/Dakota_people), and [Pueblo clown](/source/Pueblo_clown) in [Hopi](/source/Hopi_people) and [Tewa](/source/Tewa) Native American cultures. ## Difference from school for comedians A *clown society* is different from, but closely related to a school for comedians. Comedians serve many of the same social functions of parody and social criticism, and also embody the role of the trickster, but a comedian usually only uses slightly exaggerated mannerisms to show that they are joking. Comedians who are not also clowns do not wear a blatantly outrageous or formalized costume.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] ## See also - [Heyoka](/source/Heyoka) - [Jester](/source/Jester) - [Kiva](/source/Kiva) - [Liminality](/source/Liminality) - [Pueblo clown](/source/Pueblo_clown) - [Satirist](/source/Satirist) - [Sin-eater](/source/Sin-eater) - [Trickster](/source/Trickster) ## Footnotes 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ... *leur corps est peint souvent de raies blanches et noires qui leur donnent plus ou moins l'apparence de squelettes.* ... "their bodies are often painted with black and white stripes which give them more or less the appearance of skeletons." — Cazeneuve (1957)[3] 1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** "The sacred clown and his apparently antisocial behavior which is condoned in Indian ceremonies seems outrageous to Western people who believe it is savage for a culture to institutionalize behavior that seems to be psychotic and perverted." — Shanley (1997)[7] ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Goode, Orwell (10 June 2019). ["Facebook removes "honk" post"](https://web.archive.org/web/20190622064740/https://www.newmediacentral.net/honk-honk-facebook-removes-honk-post/). *New Media Central* (op.ed.). Archived from [the original](https://www.newmediacentral.net/honk-honk-facebook-removes-honk-post/) on 2019-06-22. Retrieved 2019-06-11. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Patterson, Lotsege; Snodgrass, Mary Ellen (1994). [*Indian terms of the Americas*](https://archive.org/details/indiantermsofame00patt). Libraries Unlimited. p. [122](https://archive.org/details/indiantermsofame00patt/page/122). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9781563081330](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9781563081330) – via Internet Archive. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Cazeneuve-1957_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Cazeneuve-1957_3-1) Cazeneuve, Jean (1957). *Indiens du Nouveau-Mexique* (in French). Paris, FR: Connaissance du Monde. p. 242. [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [26224115](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/26224115). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-Bunzel-1932_5-0)** Bunzel, Ruth L. (1932). ["Introduction to Zuni ceremonialism; Zuni origin myths; Zuni ritual poetry"](https://www.sacred-texts.com/nam/zuni/bunzel/zunirel.htm). *47th Annual Report*. Washington, DC: [Bureau of American Ethnology](/source/Bureau_of_American_Ethnology). pp. 467–835 – via Government Printing Office. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** [Parsons, Elsie Clews](/source/Elsie_Clews_Parsons); Beals, Ralph L. (October–December 1934). ["The sacred clowns of the Pueblo and Mayo-Yaqui Indians"](https://doi.org/10.1525%2Faa.1934.36.4.02a00020). *[American Anthropologist](/source/American_Anthropologist)*. **36** (4): 491–514. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1525/aa.1934.36.4.02a00020](https://doi.org/10.1525%2Faa.1934.36.4.02a00020). [JSTOR](/source/JSTOR_(identifier)) [661824](https://www.jstor.org/stable/661824). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Hyers, M. Conrad (1996). [*The Spirituality of Comedy: Comic heroism in a tragic world*](https://books.google.com/books?id=_0KjfR6U4VwC). Transaction Publishers. p. 145. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [1-56000-218-2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1-56000-218-2) – via Google Books. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Shanley-1997_8-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Shanley-1997_8-1) Shanley, Kathryn W. (Autumn 1997). "The Indians America loves to love and read: American Indian identity and cultural appropriation". *American Indian Quarterly*. **21** (4): 675–702. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.2307/1185719](https://doi.org/10.2307%2F1185719). [JSTOR](/source/JSTOR_(identifier)) [1185719](https://www.jstor.org/stable/1185719). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** Emmons, Sally L.A. (2000). *A disarming laughter: The role of humor in tribal cultures: An examination of humor in contemporary Native American literature and art* (Ph.D. thesis). Norman, OK: [University of Oklahoma](/source/University_of_Oklahoma). 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Johansen-2005_11-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Johansen-2005_11-1) Johansen, Bruce E. (May 2005). ["Catharsis *vis-a-vis* oppression: Contemporary Native American political humor"](https://web.archive.org/web/20070927230021/http://www.utpjournals.com/simile/issue18/Johansen1.html). *University of Nebraska at Omaha Studies in Media & Information Literacy Education*. **5** (2). Archived from [the original](http://www.utpjournals.com/simile/issue18/Johansen1.html) on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-06-07. ## Further reading - Hayman, David (Winter 1983). "Toward a mechanics of mode: Beyond Bakhtin". *[Novel: A Forum on Fiction](/source/Novel_(journal))*. **16** (2): 101–120. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.2307/1345079](https://doi.org/10.2307%2F1345079). [JSTOR](/source/JSTOR_(identifier)) [1345079](https://www.jstor.org/stable/1345079). - Honigmann, J.J. (1942). "An interpretation of the social-psychological function of the ritual clown". *[Journal of Personality](/source/Journal_of_Personality)*. **10** (3). Blackwell Synergy: 220–226. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1111/j.1467-6494.1942.tb01904.x](https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fj.1467-6494.1942.tb01904.x). - Crumrine, N. Ross (Spring 1969). "Capakoba, the Mayo Easter ceremonial impersonator: Explanations of ritual clowning". *[Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion](/source/Journal_for_the_Scientific_Study_of_Religion)*. **8** (1): 1–22. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.2307/1385250](https://doi.org/10.2307%2F1385250). [JSTOR](/source/JSTOR_(identifier)) [1385250](https://www.jstor.org/stable/1385250). - Bunzel, Ruth L.; Pareto, Nancy (intro.) (1992) [1932]. *Zuni Ceremonialism: Three studies*. University of New Mexico Press. Reprint of the three titles published in the 1932 *47th Annual Report of the [Bureau of American Ethnology](/source/Bureau_of_American_Ethnology)*. *See* Bunzel (1932) *ref above*. v t e Clowns List of clowns / List of jesters Types Blackface Bouffon Canadian Chou Circus Contemporary Evil Harlequin Harlequinade Heyoka Jester Mime Pierrot Pueblo Ritual Rodeo Scaramouche Silly Billy Skomorokh Organizations Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown Army Clown Conservatory Clowns of America International Clowns Gallery-Museum International Clown Hall of Fame Loldiers of Odin Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College World Clown Association World Festival of Clowns in Yekaterinburg Related 2016 clown sightings Clown alley Clown bicycle Clown car Clown Care Clown ministry Clown society Coulrophilia International Clown Week Motley Toronto circus riot Documentaries The Clowns (1970) Category --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Clown society](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clown_society) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clown_society?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.