Oldal 72 [72]
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JOHANNA DOMOKOS the general structuring characteristics of the ritual possess systematic relevance. In this regard, such formally structured and standardized processes become central to both ritual and art, aiding in the manifestation of performative, symbolic, self-referential, and communicative aspects. Thus, ritual elements in a socio-cultural or artistic practice give birth to structure while also enabling new meanings to arise. POETIC RITUALITY An understanding of ritual is highly relevant for the analysis of literature and theater, since ritual elements not only generally support but also substantially determine the aesthetics of literary works and performances. In dealing with this material, Wolfgang Braungart and Saskia Fischer have both worked on formulating the concept of poetic rituality. According to Braungart and Fischer, poetic rituality sheds light on the liminal characteristics of poetic as well as dramatic forms, and references to ritual practices, ritual forms and structures which are set in motion in a way that allows new aesthetic characteristics and semantic aspects to arise.* Thus poetic rituality manifests itself as an intrinsic aspect of such literary works and performances where the adaptation of ritual patterns becomes constitutive and determines the aesthetics of the artistic production in an essential way. The present paper explores how poetic rituality manifests itself in a play of a contemporary Sami author, Nils-Aslak Valkeapää (1943-2001), and in its two different adaptations. It focuses on how scripted and embodied rituality prove to be essential categories in investigating the poetic rituality of this or any other piece of art. SCRIPTED AND EMBODIED RITUALITY The above-mentioned works of Braungart and Fischer on aesthetic presentivity and poetic rituality focus our attention on the structuring, as well as the performative relevance, of ritual in the arts. Building upon these two lines of argumentation, the terms of scripted and embodied rituality can be introduced. Scripted rituality relates to the role and function of ritual elements and patterns that are fixed in some form before they reach their addressee (the writer, the * Wolfgang Braungart: Poetik, Rethorik, Hermeneutik, in A. Aurnhammer - W. Braungart — S. Breuer - U. Oelmann (eds.): Stefan George und sein Kreis: Ein Handbuch, Berlin/Boston, De Gruyter, 2016, Vol. 1, 509; Fischer: Ritual und Ritualität, 92-93; Saskia Fischer: Poetische Ritualität und Schuld im Theater nach 1945 - Nelly Sachs, Mary Wigman und Pina Bausch, in S. Fischer, B. Mayer (eds.): Kunst-Rituale - Ritual-Kunst. Zur Ritualität von Theater, Literatur und Musik in der Moderne, Würzburg, Königshausen & Neumann, 2019a, 39-62, 40-41. + 70 +
