comicsocial fabric, this group wears long caps and shawls, tall peacock
feather hats, and sometimes a set of ankle bells. Some sect members
don a ritual shawl that consists of thick white cotton cloth covered
with the name of their deity Rāma. The shawl is usually worn when
chanting the name of their god.
Clothing just as unusual is worn by shamans in central Asia. The sha-
man’s costume includes a cap, a caftan hung with iron disks and figures
signifying mythical animals, a mask, a kerchief with which to cover his
eyes in order to enter the spirit world by his own inner light, and an iron
or copper pectoral. A drum is also often an essential part of the costume.
The shaman communicates with spirits of the other world, and aspects of
his clothing testify to it.Further reading: Lamb (2002); Storm (1987); Tarlo (1996)COMIC
The foundation of the comic is seriousness, a precondition, without which
the comic would be reduced to cynical contempt. The comic lies on the
boundary between the sacred and profane, the rational and irrational,
faith and despair, and cosmos and chaos. The comic keeps faith from
leading to despair and dogmatism. Hence faith needs the comic to avoid
falling into something superficial, empty, or helpless.
The comic and the sacred mutually benefit from their relationship
because without each other they are prey to distortion. The comic apart
from the sacred can, for instance, become irresponsible, while the sacred
apart from the comic may become inhuman. The comic and its accompa-
nying humor enable a person to transcend the tension inherent between
the sacred and the profane, and to capture a state in which categories,
tools of order and irrationality, do not exist. The comic moves within the
freedom of irrationality, of suspended order, and nonsense. Therefore, the
comic represents a chaos of infinite potentiality and creative possibility.
The comic is both playful and innocent, and without it human beings
become inhuman. A human being’s awkwardness within the world is
comical as well as serious and tragic. The comic suggests that to be truly
human one must be able to laugh at oneself and one’s situation. The
comic and laughter are not simply gaiety, but they rather manifest a per-
son’s struggle against hopelessness and despair. The comic celebrates life
by mocking its absurdities. Thus, when the comic and humor exist there
is still hope.