This is week 2/4 on clowns. If you missed week 1, go read it here.
If you aren’t interested in learning about clowns, reply to the email, and I’ll pause your emails until the next topic.
Who Even Invented clowns Anyways?
Clowns are kind of like God in their origin. Mysterious, known by many common names, based in both religious ritualistic origins and also in completely commonplace entertainment. For the length of this essay, I will be reducing the existence of Harlequins, Jesters, etc., down to the more common understanding of the word we have now: Clown.
If you have a problem with that: I am sorry, I am a goofball, not a historian.
The clown’s primary function has almost always served the same function, regardless of the name or setting. They were focused on injecting a non-FDA-regulated vaccine of levity directly into the audience, no matter the setting.
But to shrink a clown down to being “Just a funny little guy.” Is not only insulting, but also really fucked up of you. The more I researched, the more I began to realize that clowns (in nearly all their many functions) are kind of just like social media today. They serve three primary functions: Entertainment, Distraction, Occupation.
In a clown’s original entertainment settings, we would see Jesters occupying the royal court. Providing entertainment to nobility in between meetings and keeping the mood light so they didn’t have a hissy fit and guillotine every person who pissed them off. I kind of think of it as almost a modern-day feedback sandwich your boss delivers: “You are so pretty, you suck at your job, but don’t be mad because your ass is also really fat. Anyways, next point of order.” Entertain, Distract, Occupy.
In religious settings, the clown’s function is really similar to its entertainment kin (although displayed differently). Ritual or sacred clowns employ the function of inserting chaos, comedy, and humanity into spiritual practices in native and indigenous tribal rituals. Just like the entertainment clown, the sacred clown focuses on personifying the human experience into the story that’s being told. It acts as a device to move the plot forward. To keep the audience engaged, and to see themselves in the practice / story, and initiate deep thought.
I don’t want to dive into Sacred Clowns too deeply, mainly out of fear that I am understanding them improperly. But if you are interested or intrigued like me, take a deep dive into the Heyoka and their role in the culture of the Sioux.
“When we become too heavy with self-importance, there is the Clown to knock some of that load away and lighten us up! The power of the Clown is the power of life itself.” - Peggy Andreas
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Volume 2 of The Unserious Club is available
and I won’t stop reminding you until it sells out.
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now with free shipping bc charging for shipping is annoying
