The Mute: Ritual and Transgressive Meanings of the Masked Character in the Romanian Căluş Ritual

Abstract

The article focuses on the importance and meanings of the masked character of the Mute (Mutul), part of the Căluş ritual performed at the Whitsuntide feast in several regions of Romania and observed in two villages in Argeş County (Stolnici and Bârla). The Căluşari (the members of the Căluş group) perform specific dances meant, first of all, to cure the ritual illness inflicted by Iele (mythological feminine creatures) and also intended to provide for the good health and prosperity of the households where they are being performed. One of the performers is the Mute, archetypally similar to the Jester/Joker, who is impersonated by a man dressed as a woman but endowed with the fertility symbol of a wooden phallus. His presence and actions are all about transgression – he can mock the Căluşari or the community members assisting in the ritual, breaking all conventional behaviour rules. He plays, as well, an important part in the short episodes meant to make the audience laugh. We inquire into how his performance and actions can be perceived in relation to the social limits they break. At the same time, the article discusses what happens to the masked character in the staging context of the ritual, since from the beginning of the twentieth century, especially during the communist period, it reached larger audiences during local (and international) festivals. As of 2008, the ritual has been recognised internationally as an identity emblem, part of the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.