RITUALISTIC PERFORMANCE IN MALTA'S HYPOGEA
On the Mediterranean island of Malta, there are at least twenty-eight excavated Neolithic temples, some of which retain archeological signifiers of performative ritual and theatric display, particularly with regards to funerary rites. These remaining architectural and artifact remnants of Malta’s Neolithic civilization may mark the precursors of theatre.
The Hypogeum of Ħal Saflieni and of its Gozo counterpart, the Xagħra Circle, house the remains of the Neolithic dead. However, it is clear that these adjacent structures were the location of culturally important funerary rites, many of which, especially in Ħal Saflieni, likely had a theatrical component. It is hypothesized that performative death-rites have been enacted in the hypogea, perhaps for millennia.
Given the architectural parameters and semiotic significance of the artifacts found within the hypogea, it is likely that liminal, multi-sensory rituals were enacted and that they also involved the performative arts of music, dance, and mythic-reenactment. This is indicated by the carefully constructed architectural spaces, acoustic features, and archetypal artifacts found within Ħal Saflieni's and Xagħra's hypogea.
It is additionally clear that these ancient peoples employed a wide variety of symbolic ornamentation--both within their architectural spaces, as well as on their persons--all of which indicate an elaborate ritualistic praxis. Taking into account the internment of bodies at Xagħra—as well as Ħal Saflieni's funerary functions, architectural features, lighting and acoustic properties—it is reasonable to assume that a variety of performative rituals took place in these hypogea. It is the purpose of this current study to investigate how prehistoric practitioners shaped their ritualistic landscape and architecture to performative ends, and to determine how this site fits into the larger context of the Mediterranean Neolithic mythos.
The Hypogeum of Ħal Saflieni and of its Gozo counterpart, the Xagħra Circle, house the remains of the Neolithic dead. However, it is clear that these adjacent structures were the location of culturally important funerary rites, many of which, especially in Ħal Saflieni, likely had a theatrical component. It is hypothesized that performative death-rites have been enacted in the hypogea, perhaps for millennia.
Given the architectural parameters and semiotic significance of the artifacts found within the hypogea, it is likely that liminal, multi-sensory rituals were enacted and that they also involved the performative arts of music, dance, and mythic-reenactment. This is indicated by the carefully constructed architectural spaces, acoustic features, and archetypal artifacts found within Ħal Saflieni's and Xagħra's hypogea.
It is additionally clear that these ancient peoples employed a wide variety of symbolic ornamentation--both within their architectural spaces, as well as on their persons--all of which indicate an elaborate ritualistic praxis. Taking into account the internment of bodies at Xagħra—as well as Ħal Saflieni's funerary functions, architectural features, lighting and acoustic properties—it is reasonable to assume that a variety of performative rituals took place in these hypogea. It is the purpose of this current study to investigate how prehistoric practitioners shaped their ritualistic landscape and architecture to performative ends, and to determine how this site fits into the larger context of the Mediterranean Neolithic mythos.
RENAISSANCE DRAMA AND HEGEMONIC AUTHORITY
Dawn Adrienne-Saliba's dissertation, King James and the Theatre of Witches: Subversion Upon the Jacobean Stage, synthesizes a cultural historicist analysis of King James I of England's changing epistemology regarding witchcraft and an exegesis of contemporaneous "witch plays."
When James was monarch, he wielded a powerful influence over the theatre and, as he was an avid inquisitor of witches early in his life, that theme became popularized. His various publications regarding witch-lore transmuted both the stage and the culture: notably influencing William Shakespeare's Macbeth, Ben Jonson's Masque of Queenes, Thomas Middleton's The Witch and Dekker, Rowley & Ford's The Witch of Edmonton.
During his reign in Scotland, James directed a fevered hunt of the witches he imagined were trying to kill him. He played a direct role in these interrogations, often overseeing the horrific torture of many of the accused. Afterward, these experiences were described in the 1597 pamphlet entitled The Newes of Scotland, which was disseminated throughout Britain. The king then penned Daemonologie, a treatise intended to act as a manual in terms of identifying, interrogating and punishing witches.
The influence of James's ontological musing is apparent. Once the King ascended to the British throne, London-based dramatists endeavored to paradoxically please their monarch with plays that catered to his interests whilst at the same time parodying those same beliefs. This project seeks to examine how the preternatural beliefs and epistemological constructs of one man sitting atop a hegemonic structure influenced Early Modern Britain's dramatic rendition of witches, and, concomitantly, the societal theory and praxis regarding the accusation, torture and execution of hated witches.
When James was monarch, he wielded a powerful influence over the theatre and, as he was an avid inquisitor of witches early in his life, that theme became popularized. His various publications regarding witch-lore transmuted both the stage and the culture: notably influencing William Shakespeare's Macbeth, Ben Jonson's Masque of Queenes, Thomas Middleton's The Witch and Dekker, Rowley & Ford's The Witch of Edmonton.
During his reign in Scotland, James directed a fevered hunt of the witches he imagined were trying to kill him. He played a direct role in these interrogations, often overseeing the horrific torture of many of the accused. Afterward, these experiences were described in the 1597 pamphlet entitled The Newes of Scotland, which was disseminated throughout Britain. The king then penned Daemonologie, a treatise intended to act as a manual in terms of identifying, interrogating and punishing witches.
The influence of James's ontological musing is apparent. Once the King ascended to the British throne, London-based dramatists endeavored to paradoxically please their monarch with plays that catered to his interests whilst at the same time parodying those same beliefs. This project seeks to examine how the preternatural beliefs and epistemological constructs of one man sitting atop a hegemonic structure influenced Early Modern Britain's dramatic rendition of witches, and, concomitantly, the societal theory and praxis regarding the accusation, torture and execution of hated witches.
