The paradox of Hallowe'en : masked performance and anxiety in a North American ritual
Date
1985
Authors
Modigliani, Jennifer
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Abstract
Hallowe'en is a currently widespread North American festival that was elaborated in the 19th and early 20th century by Irish and Scottish immigrants. It takes place on the night of October 31st when youthful mummers, enveloped in a special aura of intense social anxiety, journey from house to house begging candy. It now includes school parties, late night adult celebrations, youthful disruption of the peace, and is also perceived as particularly threatening to the safety of children. This myth is largely sustained by the popular media. All participants, almost without exception, are disguised. As a topic of anthropological research it provides us with the classic scenario; many of the reasons for its existence are completely unknown and its importance considerably downplayed by a public who, nonetheless, enthusiastically and anxiously celebrates its passage.
Data was collected over a period of two Hallowe'ens (1982 - 1983). Interpretation of the results relied on communication theory: an appreciation of the inversive nature o f thought and metaphor and its communicative extension into sign, symbol and deed. The results are under stood in this thesis from diachronic and synchronic perspectives, so a considerable portion of the text relates to the festival's origins, both remote and more recent. The linkage of history to symbolic analysis is intended to show how meaning and interpretation are transmitted over generations and how this creates subsequent sequences of meaningful encounters between generations.
The conclusions reached are that Hallowe'en is now, and has long been, a night of the year in which society and its members "review" an ongoing state of perceived "reality". This involves the reproduction of social roles, social control, and epistomological constructions. A socially agreed upon reality is a nebulous construct, always a little beyond our grasp, always fading, blending and being re-synthesized. Hallowe'en is an exercise in its reconstruction.
In conclusion, some suggestions are made regarding directions for further research. Since very little in any depth has ever been written on the subject the possibilities are considerable.