Paper short abstract:

The presentation focuses on the ethnographic conceptualisation of material culture and especially the digital recordings of the Tarantella Mafiosa as a site for the distribution of Mafioso personhood in Reggio Calabria, South Italy. The digital recordings index relations of tradition, space, hierarchy, power, appropriation of power and territorial ownership.

Paper long abstract:

The presentation focuses on the ethnographic conceptualisation of material culture and especially the digital recordings of the Tarantella Mafiosa as a site for the distribution of Mafioso personhood in Reggio Calabria, South Italy. During the various religious celebrations the local Mafiosi patronise the dance events that are integral to the ritual. They thus demand their own dances, namely the Tarantella Mafiosa. Spectators who wish to capture the event on camera are allowed on the premise that they are Mafiosi affiliates or people that can ‘be trusted’.

In line with the argument that creator and work are inextricably related, special emphasis is placed on these digital recordings of the tarantella and their conceptualisation as indexes of multiple relations. The digital recordings thus incorporate meanings related to tradition, space, rank, hierarchy and power, appropriation of power and territorial ownership.