Dal simbolo al rito (passando per il tartan)

Padoan, Tatsuma

Dal simbolo al rito (passando per il tartan)

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PADOAN_Dal_simbolo_al_rito_in_Annali.pdf(458.61 KB)

Published Version

Date

2021

Authors

Padoan, Tatsuma

Publisher

Meltemi Press srl

Abstract

In this article I investigate the relation between symbols and ritual, by contrasting Hobsbawm and Ranger's classical "fabrication" argument in The Invention of Tradition, with Roy Wagner's perspective on "creativity" in The Invention of Culture. In order to do so, I explore different "isotopies" or trails of meaning produced by the tartan kilt, from an "object of value" defining Scottish identity, to a Freemasonry symbol, widely used in ritual and video arts. By discussing Umberto Eco's notion of "symbolic mode" as a textual practice producing new lateral meanings, between tradition and revolution, I will thus advance the argument that ritual too might follow the same dynamics, in a continuous oscillation between continuity and discontinuity, institutional and charismatic power.

Keywords

Symbolic mode , Freemasonry , Ritual , Enunciative praxis , Objects of value , Tartan , Invention , Culture , Semiotics , Anthropology

Citation

Padoan, T. (2021) 'Dal simbolo al rito (passando per il tartan)', in Marrone, G. (ed.) Contaminazioni simboliche. Annali del Centro Internazionale di Scienze Semiotiche, Vol. 1, pp. 67-86. Milan: Meltemi. Available at: https://www.meltemieditore.it/catalogo/contaminazioni-simboliche/ (Accessed: 20 September 2021)