Ritual Soundings by Sarah Weiss

Author:Sarah Weiss
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
Published: 2019-07-17T16:00:00+00:00

Palliative or Galvanizing: Prenuptial Mockery from Iambe to Nana

As suggested by the effectiveness of Iambe’s jesting and mild insult of Demeter in chapter 3, mockery can be instrumental as a means of motivation, especially in situations wherein strong emotions might be temporarily paralyzing. Mockery and ridicule mediate anxiety and despair during moments of tension and transition. This chapter has discussed women’s use of mockery and insult in prenuptial performance by Hindu Trinidadians and Biharis; Canadian-Moroccan and Bulgarian-Israeli Sephardic Jews; Romanian Orthodox Christians; and professional Muslim Tuareg smith praise singers. In these case studies, mockery and ridicule are used to ameliorate the possibility of upset and anger since they often serve as indirect praise. They are instrumental in familiarizing soon-to-be-joined families with one another. They articulate and facilitate intragender relations while bolstering the emotions of brides as they move toward their new roles. They contest the power of new in-laws, husbands, and social boundaries, while allowing for the exploration and increased anticipation of new sensualities. Some of the events discussed here incorporate the presence of male religious officials (Trinidadian matikor and some Romanian strigatura); others are performed within an entirely female, nonpublic space (Pakistani Mehendi performance in the epigraph at the beginning of the chapter). Trinidadian matikor occur inside an imagined, private, female space that happens also to be populated by male drummers and the young male children of the family. The performances by Tuareg smith women are conducted in mixed-gendered contexts in which mockery, ridicule, and omnipresent sexual innuendo effectively generate a sensualized tension.85 In all cases, the excesses of mockery, insult, and ridicule contribute to the pleasurable side of wedding events while, following van Gennep and Turner, such tactics aid in moving the bride (and groom) through a liminal state in which she is not yet married but has progressed beyond the confines of her role as daughter.86 The impermanence and transitional nature of the bride’s prenuptial position allows for the testing of boundaries and resisting of religious and social norms—symbolic actions that are not usually part of the daily self-construction of the bride and her companions.

Performances of prenuptial mockery are complex cultural phenomena. As is the case for most compelling humor—as uproarious as the mockery in these performances may be—it is not uttered simply for a laugh. Prenuptial mockery plays an important part in the marriage processes described here. Rituals have often been theorized as constructing stability in families, communities, and societies.87 Yearly festivities draw extended families together, create and confirm expectations for the events, and foster a sense of continuity between generations. And irregularly occurring events such as marriages, funerals, circumcisions, and maturational celebrations such as confirmations, circumcisions, and bar/bat mitzvahs can be understood to have a stabilizing effect on communities and individuals for the same reasons. Yet rituals inevitably destabilize individuals within communities at the same time, especially those rituals in which people’s lived experiences are altered dramatically. When those changes will result in power shifts that will mark the lives of the participants forever—even if the outcome is reasonably predictable—apprehension is likely to be felt.

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