Transparent Masks

The Ideology and Practice of Disguise in Contemporary Cajun Mardi Gras

Datos Bibliográficos

ID3013398
AutoresPatricia Sawin (autor de correspondencia)
Año2001
Volumen114
Número452
Páginas175-203
Fecha de publicación2001-03-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaJournal of American Folklore (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0021-8715 • E-ISSN: 1535-1882
EditorialProject MUSE (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1353/jaf.2001.0006
OpenAlexW2133348136
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas3
Referencias citadas9

Stories and prescriptive statements recorded from participants in Cajun country Mardi Gras, as well as standard scholarly descriptions, insist that complete disguise is essential. However, actual masking practice varies between groups and among members of each group. I reject the claim that the tradition is truly degenerating and interpret statements about disguise as rhetorical moves. These portray Mardi Gras as promoting community cohesion and thus defend it against detractors' negative characterizations. Alternate masking practices articulate contemporary visions of a changing community and link participants to new audiences not seen as legitimate in older conceptions

Aesthetics · Art · Cohesion (chemistry · Ideology · Literature · Masking (illustration · Media studies · Political science · Politics · Rhetorical question · Sociology · Vision · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Anthropology · Global Maritime and Colonial Histories · Law · Postcolonial and Cultural Literary Studies