|
|
VU University Amsterdam, Blaise Pascal Instituut > Studiekring René Girard > Online teksten
Michael Elias
Neck-riddles (AT
927): the two faces of
the scapegoat
Summary
Ph D Utrecht University 1998 Rechterraadsels
of De twee gezichten van de zondebok
(Maastricht: Shaker
Publishing, 1998). ISBN
90-423-0040-X.
This study discusses folktales in
which condemned prisoners who had propounded a riddle their judge could not
answer, are acquitted (AT 927). This subject, at a crossroads of various
disciplines, has not been widely researched in the Netherlands; in folklore
studies such riddle tales are known
as neck-riddles. Research into these folktales started in mid-19th century
Germany, when people discovered that European story-tellers had placed
traditional riddles within a judicial frame. Initially, they were called Verbrecher-Räthsel,
later: Halslösungsrätsel. The
research soon raised numerous questions, however.
An
eye-catching characteristic of the riddles that the condemned prisoners
propounded, is that they cannot be guessed. This is due to the fact that the
solution is based on experiences unique to the condemned person. An example of
such a riddle runs as follows:
Love
I sit
Love
I stand;
Love
I hold
Fast
in hand.
Love
sees not me.
Riddle
me that,
Or
hanged I'll be.
The
judges could not guess, so she was acquitted. Then she gave them the explanation.
She had a dog, called 'Love'. She had killed it, and with its skin had made
socks for her shoes - on these she stood; gloves for her hands - and these she
held; a seat for her chair - on that she sat; she looked at her gloves and she
saw Love; but Love saw her no more.
To
be able to better place the neck-riddle, I have first developed how our concept
of riddles lies to that of different cultures and times (chapter 2). My argument
is that we have to guard against taking our own concept of riddles as the
starting-point for our definition of the riddle genre: historic contemplation
shows that obscure riddles were quite common in history and were still accepted
in the language community till the end of the previous century. The ancient
riddle contests to be found in various narrative traditions, show that
insolubility was an acceptable characteristic of riddles. Meanwhile, the meaning
of the word has been split up in two: on the one hand, we know the riddle as
more or less synonymous with mystery, paradox, and secret; on the other, it has
a place in the speech situation in which somebody challenges a conversation
partner to find a solution. In its first meaning it has disappeared from
linguistic usage, in its second meaning it can be further specified as opposed
to informative and test questions. In this chapter I also present an overview of
riddle-related customs that present the speech situation of the research
tradition in the ethnography of speaking. Comparisons with data from other
cultures and traditions show that the state of affairs as presented in the
neck-riddles is less strange than it may prove at first sight.
In
a speech situation, the propounding of riddles can be alternated with other
genres, for instance: the telling of tall stories, gossip, jests, practical
jokes, and fairy tales. Neck-riddles pre-eminently border two genres: that of
the riddle and the tale. In chapter 3, which brings clarity regarding the
terminology used, I first discuss the difference between riddles within stories
and riddle tales. Neck-riddles (an abbreviation of neck-riddle tales) belong to
the second category. The English term neck-riddle is somewhat confusing, as
riddles based on the poser's life history, or on something unusual he has seen,
are often loosely called neck riddles. This, however, confuses the nature of the
riddle itself with that of the frame tale in which the character's life is at
stake. In my opinion it is important not only to define the riddles according to
the speech frame, but to further distinguish between neck-riddles and
neck-saving riddles. The latter category is a subform of the more general
neck-riddle (Huizinga used the term capital
riddle), which either you solve or you forfeit your head. Besides, as the
English term indicates, the neck-saving riddles distinguish themselves from the
various neck-riddles, by the fact that the condemned prisoner's riddle is always
a life-saver.
In
chapter 4 I have examined in how far one can speak of a Dutch tradition as
regards neck-saving riddles. To that end I give an overview of the Dutch
material that researchers and collectors have gathered. During my research, I
was pleased to discover that the Dutch P.J. Meertens-Institute possessed an
extensive collection of neck-saving riddles, started in 1968, but as yet unknown
from other research. The four categories from the international corpus, Ilo,
Living in the dead, Morning Spring and Unborn, were found here in varying
numbers; Ilo riddles were the most, Unborn ones the least numerous. Specific for
the Netherlands was the high frequency of riddles in the judicial frame in terms
of legs: two-legs (stork) carrying four-legs (frog) in the air.
In
chapter 5, in order to answer the question whether the neck-saving riddles
derive from real events, I distinguish various levels in the material: the
speech situation, judicial practices (events related), and source material.
These levels interact: story-tellers generally attune their folktales to two
traditions, thus the events that take place in present times, influence source
material from more ancient levels. The speech situation of the neck-saving
riddle is historic: for a century and a half people have been telling this kind
of tale. They have drawn on a fairly limited stock of riddles that previously
occurred in different folktales. Riddles and folktales bear traces of
transgressions, rivalry, and violence. European story-tellers left the riddles
more or less intact, but reduced their numbers when they transformed the setting
of the folktales. Thus it became typical of neck-saving riddles that, in all
instances, the condemned prisoner propounds
the riddle to the judge. The situation is never turned around, as in other
stories in which a king, for instance, propounds riddles to his subjects. The
socially lower class person tests out the higher in the neck-saving riddle; this
enabled participants in a speech or riddle session to identify with the poor,
condemned prisoner who outsmarts the judge.
As
regards judicial practices: casus emerge to have existed with a related theme (such
as the acquittal of a condemned prisoner at the gallows when a woman was willing
to marry him), but the conclusion tends to the fact that the neck-saving riddle
is not historic and that it refers to a reality wished for, or believed in,
based on the same mentality that once produced the legitimate judicial custom of
Halslösung. Apropos comparable riddle
tales, the neck-saving ones have a characteristic which I regard as essential
but which has been shed insufficient light on in earlier literature: the
transformation of violence into a judicial framework in which the riddle always
became life-saving. The transgression aspect remained, but rivalry and violence
were transformed. The solution of the riddle is always based on the riddler's
unique experiences, in which he takes action.
Although
story-tellers present the riddles as if the condemned prisoners have really had
such experiences within the judicial framework, they recontextualise ancient
material: the sources of the neck-riddle complex. A prototype of this is
Samson's "Out of the eater comes something to eat, out of the strong came
something sweet" (Judg. 14: 14), referring to the living bees in the lion's
carcass; the resemblance to the birds in the living-in-the dead riddle is clear.
The ILO-riddle remodels the motif of a queen's lover, usually a slave, who is
killed by her husband or son. The queen takes possession of the corpse, makes
various objects of it, then challenges her lover's murderer with a riddle. If he
guesses the solution correctly, she must die; if he fails he forfeits his
kingdom or dies. The Morning Spring riddle remodels the story of late antiquity
of the faithful daughter who saves the life of her imprisoned father by nursing
him. It is based on the reversal of generations. The riddle of the Unborn refers
to ancient stories which occur outside the judicial framework.
These
frequently interrelated sources can deepen our knowledge of riddles because they
explicitly portray an important characteristic of riddles: the bridging of
antitheses. Or, negatively formulated: in these exceptional folktales, the
natural and cultural order is harmed and a chaotic situation created. The
borderline between life and death fades, conflicts
between man and animal, male and female are neutralised, forbidden sexual
relations (between father and daughter, mother and son), adultery, and traces of
cannibalism come to light; the boundaries of the body fade away. Through the
centuries, the folktale has been guided into culturally acceptable channels. In
the sixth chapter I dicuss these sources more extensively.
Finally,
in chapter 7, I review the import of the judicial framework. More specifically,
I go into the question: what does transgression (characteristic of riddles) have
in common with the judicial frame? In the research tradition, the question of
the complicated relationship between riddle and frame has not been
satisfactorily solved. Recently, the suggestion has been to relate the
experiences described in the neck-saving riddles to the tradition of the
grotesque, in which transgressions are considered as moments of experiencing
freedom. However, this approach ignores the role of violence in the folktales
and cannot therefore shed light on the modernization of the folktale tradition
of the neck-saving riddle. René Girard's work has generated insights to better
formulate the complicated relationship between riddle and frame. Within his
theory, the transgressions in the folktales can be regarded as forms of
expression of a mimetic crisis, which develops when, in a society, rivalry has
increased. In the cultural-historical scenario which he sketches, such a crisis
is resolved by the pointing out and expulsion of a scapegoat, which results in
the smoothing of ruffled feathers. This thought links up with the observation
that riddles have a function in moments of crisis; the transgressions reflect
the crimes attributed to the scapegoat, to justify expulsion or murder. The
unique experiences riddled in the riddle tales, reflect the isolated position of
the riddler: the riddle can be regarded as a substitute for the sacrificial end
of a crisis.
The
development in the neck-saving riddle tales goes one step further: as stated
earlier, the violence in them has transcended into a judicial framework. This
leads to a channeling of violence which differs from the mere focusing on one
person who is no more guilty than the average member of his community. The
story-tellers in the neck-saving riddles, aim at the negation of
scapegoat-thinking and accompanying violence. Judge and condemned prisoner stand
opposite each other as equals, and this may lead to a more profound cultural
message in the tale. The condemned prisoners find themselves in a position
between death and life; basically, they have already been expelled; however,
they prove themselves to be superior by confronting the judge with knowledge of
a world 'beyond'. The knowledge of such experiences has been specifically
institutionalized in the office of judge, when he regards his position as
derived from that of the divine king, intended as a provisional sacrifice. Such
an interpretation is justified by drawing a parallel with accession rites as
reported in various cultures. Like the condemned prisoner, the judge has two
faces, which can lead to an interaction that leads to acquittal. The neck-saving
riddle tales are in keeping with the ideas in which capital punishment is
rejected as reprehensible.
> Michael Elias, "Neck-Riddles in Mimetic Theory", Contagion. Journal of Violence, Mimesis and Culture 2 (Spring): 189-202.
Bibliography in Dutch text
|
|