The Theater of Death. About the spectacular-theatrical character collective hunts

Abstract

The article of Sara Kruszona entitled The Theater of Death treats the spectacular-theatrical character of collective hunts. The author puts forward the thesis that these hunts can be read as a form of a spectacle. The starting point for consideration was the article Customs and hunting ceremonies in collective hunts, derived from the website of the Hunting Signals Group, “Hagard”. This text is a kind of a scenario of hunting ceremonies taking place during collective hunts. By quoting its fragments in his text on the Theater of Death, the author proves the thesis about the pageantry of hunting rituals. Events which take place during hunting, their organization and arrangement, whose important aspects include tradition and ritual character, interpreted as a kind of spectacle. It was similar to the ancient venatio. The author also refers to the ancient roots of performances with the participation of hunters, i.e. venatio, described by Miroslaw Kocur in his book entitled The Roots of the Theater. A particularly important argument for the possibility of considering hunting as a form of a show is the hunters’ awareness of role–playing and audience presence. This can be understood by guests invited to the hunt as well as opponents of hunting, or as a community focused on their activity and ready to criticize it. The awareness of the presence of spectators determines the obvious awareness of playing whether the hunters perform a specific social function in the spectacle called hunting. The finale of this performance, played according to a strictly defined scenario and with strictly assigned roles, is pokot. The author draws attention to the fact that the system of animal bodies and all activities related to them resemble a specific form of a spectacle – anatomical theater.