Paper short abstract:

The paper focuses on the Pablos, a particular group of Ritual Clowns performing in the Pilgrimage to the Señor de Qoyllur Rit’i. By examining the Ritual Humor, I aim to define the contested field in which authority and spirituality are negotiated through the figure’s burlesque character.

Paper long abstract:

Once a year the pilgrimage to the Señor de Qoyllur Rit'i is held in the southern Peruvian Andes and playfully reflects the diversity in Andean Spirituality. 16.000 dancers perform to the lord during the six days of the pilgrimage. This paper, based on field research, is concerned with a deeper analysis of a particular group of dancers called the Pablos (or Ukukus), a group of Ritual Clowns, which embody values from both Christian-catholic and spiritual-Andean beliefs. Thereby, the centre of attention is focused on the ways in which the Pablos relate to those two "worlds" through their burlesque performances. By examining Ritual Humor, understood as an intrinsic element of their clownesque performances, I aim to define the contested field in which authority and spirituality are negotiated through the figure's burlesque character. The analysis has found fundamental changes in Ritual Agency shaping the actual performances and ritual elements thoroughly, although the social perception towards the performance remains constant. Pablos have not always played the distinctive role of Buffoonery in the pilgrimage, other satiric groups at times far more present in their clownesque Performance used to play a leading role in the pilgrimage.

The comic elements are crucial to the spiritual experience of the pilgrimage to the Señor de Qoyllur Rit'i. The question I raise: Is it of real importance who embodies the comic figure?