Not Just Clowning Around

by Rising

Certainly there is something to be said for the cult-following the indie-circus movement has acquired in recent years. No doubt, any dedicated performer under the Big Top has taken note of the religiosity of it all. For many, the circus and church, undoubtedly feel one in the same.

But have you ever wondered what Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel would look like if the angels and nymphs were portrayed as jesters and clowns? What if the Mosques across the Middle East announced daily prayers with a canon blast and devotees knelt before towering tents of red and yellow? Can you imagine Buddha being attended to by his royal clowns? 

Renoir - The Clown 1868

Think it’s too outlandish? An oddballish blasphemous quip of the imagination? After a recent pilgrimage through the history of the Clown I found myself traveling across cultures and transcending time arriving at a place where I had little choice but to accept the Clown as a prophet, and recognize all circus players as disciples spreading divine wisdom to the masses. 

How did the clown land the leading role as prophet? Within the first chapters of the Bhagavad-Gita, one of India’s most ancient and sacred texts, it is said that “the supreme goal” is attained when one recognizes the difference between the physical body and the eternal mind. Indeed, behind the clamor and color of the clown’s costume, the Clown echoes precisely what the Bhagavad-Gita says: “we are not this body.”

Many scholars give the time period for the Bhagavad-Gita to 5,000 years ago, not too long before the earliest recorded evidence of Clowns. The first Clowns to debut in history were Court Jesters employed by the Pharaohs of Egypt in 2500 B.C. Pharaohs went to great lengths and paid exorbitant prices for the Jester who could inspire laughter and joy in their audience. King Nefrikare reportedly would pay “higher awards than those given by the treasurer of the gods.” African Pygmies, 4-5 feet tall, amused the courts with their funny forms and curious movements as they “danced the dance of the gods.”

Such stories of Clowns playing key roles in religious rites rage on throughout history. A Chinese ruler in 1818 B.C. replaced traditional religious rites of China and filled his court with Clowns. In 100 A.D., a clown named Viduska interpreted Sanskrit for civilian audiences, a language then spoken only by gods, kings, and ministers.

A high order of trust was given to those who could fill the large shoes of the Clown. Jesters were employed for more than comic relief from reality’s woes, as they were generally the only ones allowed to question decisions of the ruling power. It is popular belief that many Court Jesters were killed for being too blunt with their opinion; however there are many accounts of Jesters who served as invaluable council to heads and are remembered as heroes because of their ability to change the minds of tyrannical rulers and save thousands of lives.

Patch Adams is perhaps the most famous of Clowns in modern history to have attempted to council medical boards on the healing power potential of Clowns, but such wisdom has been recognized as the Clown’s prophetic value for thousands of years. Within some Native American histories, clown characters are believed to obtain curative powers against certain diseases. One can only imagine that such cures were likely administered in the form of infectious laughter.  Additionally, some Native American ceremonies commence only after Clowns have roused laughter among all those present, believing that laughter made one more receptive to the ceremony’s lessons. 

While it is typically understood that Heads of State seek religious council, the role of clown as council may be misrepresented in history - perhaps because they are in fact one in the same. In an all too coincidental confusion of Clown and Council, clown characters played the role of Buddha’s royal attendants in 1257A.D. in performances depicting Buddha’s life. Is it possible that it was understood at the time that the Clown character was an influential councilor in the construction of Buddhism’s main pillars?

The Laughing Buddha, traditionally placed at the doorways of Chinese Buddhist temples, is often depicted with children at his feet. So too is the Clown traditionally depicted as Big Top’s main resident, inviting children of all ages to enter. But beyond their corresponding iconographies, the Clown and Buddha share identical ideologies.

Buddhism, simply put, is founded upon three pillars: nothing in this world is permanent; seeking satisfaction from material forms only brings suffering; and relinquishing attachments to the self and the physical world is the way to transcend suffering and attain Nirvana.                        .

With their outlandish antics, and intolerable behaviors clowns rouse us from our illusions, mock the importance of our egos, and escort our spirits to a place beyond the constraints of reality. They remind us that the physical form is not the ultimate form, and that what lies beyond is of much higher importance.

Thus, the Clown and cohort of Big Top players defy, contort, and manipulate the physical laws of nature in an attempt to free the audience’s attachment to it. When the performance is successful, audiences are lifted outside of themselves where they may experience, if for only a moment, what Buddhists describe as Nirvana: a peaceful refuge from the physical world.  Acting as concierge at the doorway to a world of wild imaginings the Clown escorts its audience to a visionary land, where nothing is permanent, and everything is exactly as one desires. 

For nearly five thousand years the Clown’s basic teaching has remained unchanged. The Clown exemplifies in his very being that form and formlessness are two sides of the same coin; lying in dependant balance, neither can exist without the other. Depicted in the opposing color schemes of the clown’s traditional costume depicts the Clown’s dualistic role. However, it is the unwavering role of the Clown throughout history that confirms:
It is our birthright to exist in the sphere of fantasy just as much as it is to exist in the realm of reality!!!

And yet, very few people realize the necessity of this balance. As reality becomes more and more regulated, it seems the imagination is falling out of use. Aren’t society’s ills in part fueled by the disconnection between these two aspects of ourselves? If this imbalance is to be repaired, doesn’t it seem appropriate to send in the Clowns!

This is a call to action to all artists who dare to defy limitations and are willing to take the risk. In a time where hopeful landscapes dwindle and the overcrowded residents of reality work more and dream less, it falls on us to restore their faith that miracles, madness, and magic do exist. Recognizing the role YOU can play is the first step toward creating a revolution. The revolution begins when you accept the part. This is the Circus Revolution, do you accept? “Your life is an occasion, rise to it!”