Morisco, Moresca, Moreška: Agonistic Mimicry and Its Intercultural Echoes Cover Image

Morisco, moresca, moreška: Agonalni mimetizam i njegove interkulturne jeke
Morisco, Moresca, Moreška: Agonistic Mimicry and Its Intercultural Echoes

Author(s): Lada Čale Feldman
Subject(s): Anthropology
Published by: Institut za etnologiju i folkloristiku
Keywords: moreška; intercultural antagonism; agonistic mimicry

Summary/Abstract: The narrative of the battle between Moors and Christians is still alive in modern Spain, giving rise to numerous and diverse ritualized practices, from street performances to danced mock-battles. Following Max Harris's interpretation of its possible "hidden transcript", this article focuses on one of its numerous echoes, the dramatized dance performed on the island of KorËula. The aim of the article, however, is not to trace the origin of the Croatian dance and the foundation of this lasting Spanish "influence", but to analyse the triangular dramaturgical core of the intercultural conflict whose fictional elaborations earned it the status of a fascinating mirror of intercultural recognition, producing multiple mimetic effects. The analysis refers also to Rene Girard's theory of agonal mimetism, its further elaborations in the work by Eric Gans, and the gender-sensitive critique by Eve Kossovsky Sedgwick, since the figure most often completely absent from the interpretations of the theme is a female character in whose name or in whose favor the battle is taking place.

  • Issue Year: 40/2003
  • Issue No: 2
  • Page Range: 61-81
  • Page Count: 20
  • Language: Croatian