Corps singuliers et corps collectif

Unlike other comparable ritual traditions, the transformation implied by the performance of the Bassari’s male initiation ritual is not made visible by lasting marks on the initiates’ bodies (tattooing, scarifications, etc.). However, initiated men are periodically involved in group activities that...

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Main Author: Laurent Gabail
Format: Article
Language:fra
Published: Laboratoire d'Ethnologie et de Sociologie Comparative 2019-07-01
Series:Ateliers d'Anthropologie
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/ateliers/11439
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author Laurent Gabail
author_facet Laurent Gabail
author_sort Laurent Gabail
collection DOAJ
description Unlike other comparable ritual traditions, the transformation implied by the performance of the Bassari’s male initiation ritual is not made visible by lasting marks on the initiates’ bodies (tattooing, scarifications, etc.). However, initiated men are periodically involved in group activities that cause their body to appear in a new light. The article examines two choreographic systems by means of which the effectiveness of the ritual is made visible to the public: group dances by men of the same age set, and masked performances. In the former case, the aim is to emphasise the equivalence that men of the same age set enjoy in principle, by attenuating, as much as possible, the corporeal differences that make each of them a unique person; in the latter case, the aim is conversely to emphasise an intrinsically individual corporeal quality of men partially anonymised by the costume of the mask: their voice.
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institution Kabale University
issn 2117-3869
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publisher Laboratoire d'Ethnologie et de Sociologie Comparative
record_format Article
series Ateliers d'Anthropologie
spelling doaj-art-65be5fbe76b64f39a378262d2ef85c822025-01-30T13:42:07ZfraLaboratoire d'Ethnologie et de Sociologie ComparativeAteliers d'Anthropologie2117-38692019-07-014610.4000/ateliers.11439Corps singuliers et corps collectifLaurent GabailUnlike other comparable ritual traditions, the transformation implied by the performance of the Bassari’s male initiation ritual is not made visible by lasting marks on the initiates’ bodies (tattooing, scarifications, etc.). However, initiated men are periodically involved in group activities that cause their body to appear in a new light. The article examines two choreographic systems by means of which the effectiveness of the ritual is made visible to the public: group dances by men of the same age set, and masked performances. In the former case, the aim is to emphasise the equivalence that men of the same age set enjoy in principle, by attenuating, as much as possible, the corporeal differences that make each of them a unique person; in the latter case, the aim is conversely to emphasise an intrinsically individual corporeal quality of men partially anonymised by the costume of the mask: their voice.https://journals.openedition.org/ateliers/11439West Africa
spellingShingle Laurent Gabail
Corps singuliers et corps collectif
Ateliers d'Anthropologie
West Africa
title Corps singuliers et corps collectif
title_full Corps singuliers et corps collectif
title_fullStr Corps singuliers et corps collectif
title_full_unstemmed Corps singuliers et corps collectif
title_short Corps singuliers et corps collectif
title_sort corps singuliers et corps collectif
topic West Africa
url https://journals.openedition.org/ateliers/11439
work_keys_str_mv AT laurentgabail corpssinguliersetcorpscollectif