Herody – struktura i funkcje ludowego widowiska religijno- obrzędowego

Abstrakt

In this article the author analyses the Herody, a folk spectacle of a religious and ritual theme, in terms of its role and composition. Herody, as an example of a traditional form of caroling, is a performance based on the authenticity of screenplays that are composed of folk and religious elements taken from people’s own region or subregion. These spectacles originate from medieval Mysteries and were performed initially at a church and later they were moved to the public areas. The screenplay layout of Herody is usually the same. A regional variety appears on the level of the composition of scenes and in the choice of characters and stage props.

In the paper, the author provides a detailed presentation of selected scenes from Herody spectacle and the lines spoken by the characters, among whom there are, for example, King Herod, Soldiers, the Angel, the Death, the Devil, and the Jew. The author also underlines the religious and ritual role of this type of caroling and focuses on the fight between good and evil as well as on traditional rites performed when going caroling to a young and unmarried lady.

As a conclusion, the author expresses the view that the screenplay of a traditional Herody spectacle is an expression of allegories of moral and amoral values and behaviors that are very much alive in our society and are constantly clashing with each other. The rudimentary sacral and social elements that are included in the decorum of such spectacles have an important educational and ethical function in the dramatic and dynamic concept of the modern homo-viator – “man on the journey”.