The Art of Borrowing: interpreting contemporary

WALKING THE OLD WAYS IN A NEW WORLD |

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ADAM ANCZYK

The Art of Borrowing: interpreting contemporary Pagans’ ritual fashion When this book was almost finished, I attended a Neopagan conference in San Francisco, where I was asked to clarify my commitments: “Are you one of us” and “Do you call yourself a Pagan?” were what they wanted to know. Ac‐ ademic audiences, on the other hand, usually asked me, “What did you wear?” or “Did you take your clothes off?” Sarah M. Pike, Earthly Bodies, Magical Selves, 2001, p. XVI

Let us imagine a journalist from a local newspaper who is commissioned to write an article about the rituals of two religious groups that are active in town. A professor from the local university informs the journalist that the two groups are a part of the broader modern Paganism category. This information prompts the editor in chief to insist the article is called “Our Town’s Modern Pagans” and sends the journalist to a meeting of one of the groups. The journalist does not know much about the faiths in ques‐ tion, possibly only as much as can be read on a smartphone while on the way to the meeting (the subject seems appropriate for the silly season, so we can presume research was not extensive). Since our journalist has little academic knowledge on the subject, and no time for long interviews with the Pagans themselves, we can easily imagine what will be the foundation of the image of the “modern Paganism,” that will make its way to the arti‐ cle: the impression. It will be the impression, the individual hermeneutics that will, through the journalistic medium, set off into the world (or at least the town in question) and form the image of “modern Paganism.”

184 | WALKING THE OLD WAYS IN A NEW WORLD We have chosen two random Neopagan groups for our thought experi‐ ment on purpose. Let us further suppose that one of the groups the jour‐ nalist visits are the members of the Slavic Native Faith, and the other are Eclectic Wiccans. Evoking the image of these two groups during festivities, we can ask ourselves the main question: how do these two groups differ from one another? And, subsequently, how will this visible difference in‐ fluence the perception of Neopaganism by our journalist? The image of “modern Pagans in our town” will depend on which group the journalist meets, and what impression it makes. What variables can influence this hypothetical impression? The time and place of the ritual, certainly – is it deep in the forest at midnight, or in a small flat at the 15th floor of a tower block, right after dinner? The ambiance – is it solemn, or casual, or feels constrained, or maybe humorous? The ritual wording, the objects used, the sound – is it music from a recording, or are the members singing their prayers as a choir, with live instruments? And, last but not least, what is the personal appearance of the participants? The personal appearance supplies information on social demographics of the group, and we can imagine how prone to stereotypization would a group be if it was homogeneous when it comes to, say, age (all participants looking under 30, or over 60), or gender (all participants are women). All these factors contributing to the impression (and there are more of them than cited above) come together to form the image of the lived religion – the image that a typical observer has access to, and, more importantly, the image that is used to construct a personal opinion about the movement. This essay is an attempt at taking a closer look (literally, since the visuals will be the subject) at one of the forms of expression of Neopagan religion and spirituality; an element that is very prominent during Neopagan meetings, and that surpasses the boundaries of the movements them‐ selves, since some Neopagan meetings are open to the public, and since photographs of such events can reach a very broad audience through, for instance, the Internet. This element is the fashion in the ritual attire. It will be an attempt at examining the ritual clothing of Neopagans from the point of view of an observer, both a casual observer that knows noth‐ ing about the movement, and a researcher in Neopagan movements. A


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perspective of an external observer, therefore, suggesting the etic ap‐ proach. This essay will try to answer two questions: 1.

What message is transmitted from the sender – the Neopagan practitioner(s) – to the receiver (observer)? The receiver of an impression does not have to be a person involved in the group's activities, it can be an outsider, and the outsider can be neutral, or they can hold values that are in opposition to a given group.

2.

What sources to modern Pagans use as inspiration for their ritual attire?

Given the multitude of Neopagan traditions and cultural contexts in which these questions can be asked, the thoughts and ideas presented below are, naturally, personal interpretations and observations of the author (with a small empiric component at the end), especially since scientific sources on the subject are sparse. They are mostly mentions of the matter in various works on modern Paganism (see, for instance, Magliocco 2001; Doyle White 2015). Our subject is also narrowed down to the modern Neopa‐ gans, whereas the matter is broader, taking into consideration religious and cultural traditions referring to pre‐Christian rites (for modern “Pa‐ gan” attire, see Fréger 2012). Fashion – the art of borrowing The term “fashion” is one of those terms that are understood mostly through intuitive cultural semantics. The old saying “no one knows what it is, but everyone knows what is meant” fits the phenomenon very well. In the case of terms that have collected so many meanings, the principle of cognitive economy, which allows individuals to find the common de‐ nominator in a communication situation, usually kicks in. Fashion has a dual character in the subject‐object relation, meaning that something can be fashionable and that fashion can be related to some‐ thing. This essay narrows the category down to visual art related to hu‐ man clothing (see Martin 1996). Fashion is not only researched by “prag‐ matic” fields such as design or visual arts, but also disciplines such as so‐ ciology, philosophy or psychology. Possibly, one of the newer disciplines

186 | WALKING THE OLD WAYS IN A NEW WORLD that straddles the humanities, social sciences and natural science reflec‐ tion – memetics – is a discipline that centers on fashion. Memetics studies “memes” – units of cultural transmission which, like genes, mainly aim to replicate. Clothing style, hair style, and keeping hair short or long are ex‐ amples of elementary replication patterns. Susan Blackmore declares me‐ metics as “fashion studies”, because it examines and analyses the trans‐ mission paths of cultural content (Blackmore 2000). Blackmore said evo‐ lution promoted the best copycats, whereas critics of some of her ideas, such as Liane Gabora, point out the creative character of culture (Gabora 1997), the individual creation of memes, or their expression – a good word to use, since it contains both the biological metaphor and the creative character of the process. Fashion can mean replication (I want to dress exactly the same way, or indeed I must, if I belong to a religious order or the army), but also creative bricolage, an amalgam of various styles (sometimes contradictory between them). Variance (a replicator trait) is, therefore, large in the case of memes (Wężowicz‐Ziółkowska 2008, p. 133). Memetics transports cognitive psychology findings into cultural studies: imitation and the ability to take the perspective of another per‐ son, understanding their intention, are the foundation of the human learn‐ ing process (Tomasello, 1999). The paradox of this transition is the cul‐ tural particularism, its dependence on context – some parts of clothing are welcomed, others are considered alien, or even sacrilegious. The meaning of fashion is thus tied to the system of meanings of a given culture, and at the same time can be considered nonsensical – devoid of meaning – within one culture. To use an example, the current fashion of abundant facial hair on men can be explained with socio‐psychological factors, with a reaction to the pre‐ vious, metrosexual trend, with image created by celebrities, or with mar‐ ket reasons – creating fashion in order to sell barber shop services, with counter‐culture movements (hipsters) being incorporated into the main‐ stream. However, this kind of analysis rarely poses the essentialist ques‐ tion: why? Why moustache? Memetics theory would say (simplifying), that moustache wants to survive. Fashion transmission can be said to use a cognitive mechanism that can be called illusory pragmatism. A child learns adaptational behaviors from the adults (and on its own) by gaining “trust” in certain life advice though understanding the intention of the teacher. Mother uses a stone to knock fruit down from a tree, and the child


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can eat. Father says not to leave shelter after dark because dangerous an‐ imals can eat the child. Disobedience can have dangerous consequences, resulting even in the subject’s death, which is – from the point of view of gene/meme transmission – very undesirable. Some cognitive content can be seen to “use” a similar mechanism, as described by Richard Dawkins (Dawkins 2006, p. 174): if my grandfather played his digeridoo to bring rain, I know what to do during drought. The process of transmitting some behavioral patterns and ideas would therefore be rooted in very old cog‐ nitive structures, in survival mechanisms. Fashion can also be strength‐ ened by understanding intention. Men wear moustaches to appear more attractive (this question and answer reveal the paradoxical nature of the transmission, given that it is, in fact, ignotum per ignotum). A moustache‐ less person recognizes the intention and considers becoming one of the moustached. At the same time, fashion presents itself as an innovation, in‐ troducing new (or returning, in the case of modern moustache fashion) content. What, then, when a strictly set convention is said to be a fashion? Can such conventional behaviors (as, for instance, ritual attire) be analysed as fash‐ ion, if fashion aims to be innovative and rituals aim to conserve and up‐ hold tradition?1 A good way to deal with this doubt is to distinguish be‐ tween clothing and attire. The distinction can be pragmatic – clothing is worn for utilitarian reasons while attire has a deeper aesthetic or sym‐ bolic meaning (Boucherr 1967, pp. 5‐6). Another distinction would be the fact that clothing is an array of individual pieces, while attire implies a co‐ herent whole, appropriate to a given cultural setting. Here, we approach the term “costume” – clothing that identifies, but also imitates. The line between them is blurred and depends on context: a cassock can be cloth‐ ing (what a catholic priest wears), attire (when performing rites) or a cos‐ tume (at a fancy dress party). Karolina Mirys‐Kijo, in her study of the in‐ fluences of Western culture on the clothes worn by contemporary Muslim women, points to a “characteristic” look being the distinguishing element, using the examples of evening dress, swimsuit, and a sailor’s uniform. The last example is interesting. It comprises a combination of color (white – navy blue – red), specific elements related to sailing (anchors, for in‐

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We can also say that fashion is an innovation that can lead to convention.

188 | WALKING THE OLD WAYS IN A NEW WORLD stance), pattern (stripes), and it demonstrates the difference between at‐ tire and costume: “a woman dressed for work in red or navy blue trousers will not be seen as wearing a costume, she will be dressed in nautical style.” (Mirys‐Kijo, 2015, p. 27) The situation has certain mimetism about it, and the ideas expressed here would have to be supplemented by lin‐ guistic considerations, namely on the difference between “dressing” and “dressing up.” The mimetic character of “dressing up” would point to an attempt at accepting the identity, at identifying with the cultural message of the clothing, imitating those who wear such clothing. It also implies something out of the ordinary, festive. Research on the matter would en‐ tail examining the meaning ascribed to clothing, the feelings it evokes, un‐ derstanding context etc. Fashion is, in fact, the art of borrowing. Specific elements are borrowed from various cultural sources, sometimes creatively transformed. In this context, ritual attire of Neopagans is much closer to fashion than it would seem possible for a religious movement, which would intuitively seem gov‐ erned by convention. Ritual attire of Neopagans can reflect the nature of Ne‐ opaganism in general, since the rituals, their structure, form, and contents are just as much an effect of creative bricolage of various elements using various sources of inspiration, as the ritual attire that is worn for them.2 Nevertheless, religion gravitates towards convention. It is therefore a task worthy of a detective to reach the sources of inspiration (or convention), in other words, to answer the question whether there are any rules oper‐ ating in this borrowing process. Using the idea of fashion as the art of bor‐ rowing, we would like to show which rental service do Neopagans use. These prove to be several various addresses. Our analysis will also broach the subject of the formal side of the communication, using the visual stud‐ ies’ methodology (Harvey, 2011) and, consequently, potential effect of the presented image on society (this will be supplemented by short empirical research). We will see that, perhaps, scholars such as Ethan Doyle White, who point out the recent diversification of Neopaganism and question the use of the term to describe such a varied religious current, are perhaps right (Doyle White, 2016). One of the signs of this diversification is the

The subject of “theological correctness” in Neopagan movements is discussed in the intro‐ duction to this book, co‐authored by Joanna Malita‐Król.

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fashion in ritual attire, which makes it obvious even to the layman observ‐ ers that they are observing the festivities of very varied groups. Inspiration and borrowing Esotericism A part (if not a majority) of Neopagan movements can trace its history to the Western esotericism tradition (Hutton, 1995). If we include various types of Wicca in the broad category of modern/contemporary Paganism, then we may conclude that the history of Wicca among other Pagan de‐ nominations, is tied the most to Western esotericism (Pearson, 2002). Modern Druidry, both European (The Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids, for instance) and American (Ár nDraíocht Féin) has strong links to eso‐ teric traditions through the founders of these organizations, such as Ross Nichols, Philipp Carr‐Gomm or Isaac Bonewits, who all had experience with various esoteric groups (Anczyk, 2014). Esoteric influences appear in Germanic traditions as well, having made their way there through a fas‐ cination with folklore and the history of Germanic movements (Arioso‐ phy, Armanism), and the presence of magical practices (such as rune magic) among their inspirations. It would seem that esotericism had the smallest influence on those movements that underline their ethnicity and locality (Poland, Lithuania, Greece) and see Neopaganism, or rather native faith, as a form of reconstruction (the Neopaganism of Estonia stands out here, since its beliefs are similar to esoteric doctrines in character). In Poland, the influence of esotericism is mostly visible in the work of Lech Emfazy Stefański, esotericist and the founder of the Native Polish Church (Rodzimy Kościół Polski, RKP). The RKP doctrine states that a deity can manifest in various forms, but worshipping it in the local, native form is the most advantageous – in this case, therefore, the Slavic form (Ciecieląg, 2016, p. 176; “Rodzimy Kościół Polski,” 2017). This would seem to be an indication, given that universalist doctrines are present in esotericism, and some esoteric movements claim to transcend religion and belief, as stated in the motto of the Theosophical Society – “There is no Religion higher than Truth.” Such universalist thinking is not the way of native faith

190 | WALKING THE OLD WAYS IN A NEW WORLD movements, which usually stress their separate‐ness, their need for a spe‐ cific cultural identity, and their close relation of religion and ethnos. This theoretical discrepancy may be one of the reasons for the lack of interest that the members of the native faiths show towards esoteric movements, and consequently of the smaller influence of Western esotericism on their spirituality, including ritual clothing.

Fig. 1. Esoteric inspirations – Wiccans perform a ceremony, Illinois USA (press materials)

There is no such thing as an uniform, canonical “esoteric attire,” because there really is no such thing as esotericism as a whole – there are only specific groups that derive from the Western esoteric tradition. Clothing used in esoteric traditions, apart from being important in celebrations, festivities and mystery ceremonies, has a certain “working” character, with mages or wizards, or witches, using specific clothing when they work. Artistic tradition has a whole array of answers to the question “what does a wizard/witch look like?”. A Westerner will be familiar with stereotypical representations of wizards and witches, stereotypes that are present in Terry Pratchett’s writing, for example, in the form of a (slightly ridiculed) hypostasis, reflected by his wizards of the Unseen University and the


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witches of Lancre. Pop culture knows other iterations of this image – wiz‐ ards of Hogwarts, or pictures used in fantasy literature and video games. The majority of these representations uses long robes, capes, hats (or other extraordinary headgear), amulets and occult symbols, talismans, rings. The attire of a wizard or witch creates an atmosphere of mystery and mysticism. Examining the ritual attire of Wiccans, we can see that some of them can be included in the “wizardly” category, and thus meeting people wearing such clothes may give rise to associations with esotericism, but also vari‐ ous pop culture references (such as the aforementioned Hogwarts). Vari‐ ous ritual paraphernalia used by modern Wiccans (described by Joanna Malita‐Król in her study published in this book) can strengthen this asso‐ ciation. The symbolism (the pentagram, for instance) and clothes used in some Wiccan ceremonies can suggest to a potential observer that the group in question is esoteric in character (even if it invokes Pagan deities during rituals, since Aleister Crowley also raised his arms to Pan, Isis or Horus). Ceremonies performed in such circumstances may lead the ob‐ server's mind into the world of magic and spells, also through the effect of the attire. The recognition function of clothing is also in evidence here: “the members of one and the same group recognise one another by a sim‐ ilar, to a certain extent, appearance.” (König, 1979, pp. 110‐111). The mes‐ sage sent by the ritual attire – attire similar to that used in esoteric groups or on pop culture imagery – is an information that we are in contact with a similar phenomenon. Given that pop culture imagery will be easier and more frequently accessible for the casual observer, they can come to the conclusion that “I have met mages/wizards.” Noticing the “Pagan element” in a ritual event will therefore require more knowledge and context. It should also be noted that some esoteric movements take the idea of rec‐ ognizing the members by attire (at least in the ritual context) literally, and use uniforms. This is not the norm, as König writes: “full uniformization is very rare” (König 1979, p. 112). Uniformization is a phenomenon more of‐ ten found in to use Goffman’s terminology) “total institutions” – armies, re‐ ligious orders, hospitals, some schools. Uniforms, for an esoteric group, are effective in strengthening the group identity, in tying the community to‐ gether, and thus in tying the members closer with the group’s ideas. They also make it easier to represent hierarchy, and we should remember that

192 | WALKING THE OLD WAYS IN A NEW WORLD some magical orders and lodges are heavily hierarchic, with established lev‐ els of initiation. Some signs of uniformization can be found among druidic organizations, with the most vivid example being The Ancient Order of Dru‐ ids and Gorsedd, the meetings of Welsh Druids. Some color‐coding is also present in the ritual attire of the OBOD, where the Bards are expected to wear blue, the ovates – green, and the Druids white (Anczyk, 2014). A pro‐ ject of a Druidic denomination – the American Ár nDraíocht Féin – is ex‐ pected to entail some extent of spiritual standardization, and it does seem to be reflected in clothing. Looking at photographs taken at various events and rituals organized by that group, we see that while clothes are chosen somewhat liberally and pluralism is the norm, there is nevertheless a group of outfits (especially those of priests) which use similar elements – long, white robes decorated with Celtic ornamentation such as knotwork (em‐ broidery, decorative twills etc.) and – sometimes – with ADF logo, occasion‐ ally also a stole, mostly used by the celebrant.

Fig. 2. OBOD Druids as portrayed in Wikimedia Commons


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An analysis of Neopagan ritual attire can, therefore, be included in the broader research on the extent of “esotericization” of the new religious movements, with special attention paid to historical context of a given out‐ fit appearing in a given organization. An analysis could also establish which Neopagan movements do not use the visual heritage of the Western esoteric tradition, or use it sparsely, referring to other sources for their ritual fashion instead. Historical reconstructionism The question of reconstructing and re‐enacting the practices, beliefs, mo‐ res and functioning of old religions is the subject of many works in litera‐ ture, especially among scholars who research Neopaganism and native faiths in countries where these ideas are strong (Poland, Lithuania, Russia, Ukraine) (Simpson & Aitamurto, 2013). Typologies of Neopagan move‐ ments (which are as many as there are scholars, as typologies are wont to be) often distinguish reconstructive Neopaganism or Ethno‐Paganism, which advocates a return to the Old Ways, often literally, through re‐en‐ actment. These returns are not easy, as archaeological and linguistic re‐ search shows, due to marked lack of data. Ideas are difficult to dig up from underground and were not placed in a clay pot among other votive offer‐ ings beside the jarl’s body. They are difficult to read from the puzzling ar‐ rangements of megalithic structures, figurative representations or bar‐ rows, barely visible shapes in dense undergrowth.3 The discovery of writ‐ ing led to a better link between ideas and material culture, hence the rich sources on the religious life of Ancient Greeks, Romans, or Chinese poly‐ theists. However, reconstructionism is especially popular among the movements whose pre‐Christian inspirations are the non‐literate cultures (Simpson, 2012). Reconstructive movements also rarely use call them‐ selves Pagan or Neopagan, preferring to use such terms as native faith, ethnic faith, rodnoverie, or other specific names such as dodekatheism, hellenismos (Job, 2012), vedism, Pravoslavs (Aitamurto, 2016) and simi‐ lar, contesting the term “Paganism” as formed by Christian culture. This is

Anyone who has ever visited Early Medieval barrows, in Southern Poland for instance, knows the feeling very well, because they probably played a round of a game called “Find the Barrow.” Without proper archaeological training, burial mounds are really difficult to distin‐ guish from just mounds.

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194 | WALKING THE OLD WAYS IN A NEW WORLD methodologically problematic: adopting the emic perspective, research‐ ers would have to name these separately from the ones identifying as con‐ temporary Paganism. Reconstruction is based on relics of material culture, historical sources, such as medieval chronicles, and assumed vestiges in folklore. Material culture is, therefore, one of the most important sources of inspiration and means of expression for being a rodnoverist. Contact with material cul‐ ture, as a recipient (for instance visiting sites considered sacred), but also creator (creating rituals, organizing new sacred space) is what native faiths are interested in. Clothing is definitely a part of material culture, and a visible sign of religious adherence and identity. Historical tradition can thus be a source of inspiration for the way members of a religion dress, taking into account the reconstruction paradigm. Historical re‐enactment is a phenomenon broader than Neopaganism, it involves people not iden‐ tifying with any specific religious tradition, and may refer to other periods than the Antiquity or the Early Middle Ages. (Zagórska, 2004). It under‐ lines the importance of recreating the material culture, often in minute detail 4 (though social mores or historical events are reconstructed as well), using historical sources, folklore and scientific research (experi‐ mental archaeology should be mentioned here). Polish Native Faith followers are often linked to historical re‐enactment groups, using the re‐enactor’s achievements in material culture recon‐ struction, which is amateurish in theory but can be professional in prac‐ tice. Ritual or festival attire can thus be inspired, or simply adopted, from reconstruction movements. These types of outfits differ visibly by gender: unisex fashion is rare (as a ritual robe can be), traditional dresses, skirts and trousers are common. Priests or celebrants can differ by attire, using ornaments or accessories that signal their function, and clothes them‐ selves can defy the norm (such as long robes worn by men, not trousers). Ancient Greek and Roman reconstruction has access to more sources on how the priests looked (such the Roman capite velato when performing sacrifices). In non‐literate cultures, it is often assumed that a burial was of a prominent person (perhaps a priest), a statuette can depict a person praying, and historical sources can sometimes mention the appearance of

4 Which may lead to the question of reconstructionism “authenticity” and can sometimes cause re‐enactment communities to express a “more‐historically‐accurate‐than‐thou” attitude.


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a priest (such as Saxo Grammaticus describing the long hair and beards of the priests in Arkona, Jaromarsburg). One last element of the attire inspired by historical re‐enactment should be mentioned in this analysis. If there is no established standard, clothes may depend on individual preferences. Indeed, new religious movements based on reconstruction can sometimes offer their members more free‐ dom in ritual image than magic orders or para‐Masonic organizations in‐ spired by Paganism. To use a somewhat humorous example, the members of The Ancient Order of Druids were obliged to wear false beards during ceremonies, somewhat resembling the depiction of a druid in Britannia Antiqua Illustrata (Sames, 1676, p. 101). Folklore The next source of inspiration for Neopagan ritual attire – folklore – has some similarities to historical reconstruction. In Neopagan communities, folk culture is often seen as the one that resisted Christianization the long‐ est, and can thus be a source of “cultural relics.” Folk costume inspirations are interesting, often seen as original and unique due to their anachro‐ nism. This anachronism is seen favorably by the Neopagans, since it fits the idea of returning to the Old Ways. Folklore inspirations are present in many Neopagan practices, and in clothing they are visible in Central, East‐ ern and Northern Europe. Fascination with folklore is one of the roots of Neopaganism, such as the romanticized idea of a return to a simple life, the pre‐Christian folkways. The case is different in the USA, where folklore is conceptualized differently. Possibly, American Neopagans may be inspired by folklore indirectly, through Native American traditions or religions such as Voodoo or Santeria, as seen on Neopagan festivals (Pike, 2001). Another visible inspiration is (neo)Shamanism, both for reconstructionist movements and for New Spir‐ ituality movements in Europe and USA. These inspirations take various forms, from straight imitation of clothes worn in shamanistic cultures, to modern reiterations in New Spirituality and New Age forms.

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Fig. 3. Romuvan ceremony (Lithuania, Wikimedia Commons)

References to folk costumes are especially marked in ritual attire of Cen‐ tral‐ and Eastern European Neopagans. In some cases, a casual observer could have trouble in distinguishing between a Neopagan ritual and a farming festival, such as Dożynki. Folklore inspirations are visible, for in‐ stance, in the Lithuanian Romuva, the founder of which, Jonas Trinkūnas, was a folklorist (Strmiska & Dundzila, 2005). Including folk style outfits and songs in rituals reduces, in a way, the counter‐culture element of Ne‐ opaganism – it is easier to consider these groups as continuators of ethnic traditions than, say, a group of witches or Druids in Egyptian headgear. Interpreting the Neopagan ritual fashion, we could say that the folk‐in‐ spired costumes are closest to a cultural convention. Imitating ethnicity is a way of saying: we are similar, we belong to a similar or even the same cultural order. In other words, a situation where a casual observer mis‐ takes a Neopagan ritual for a meeting of Women’s Rural Institute is a case of cultural adaptationism. One could expect this to make a group more so‐ cially acceptable, and this may be true – in 2013, Jonas Trinkūnas men‐ tioned above was awarded the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas by the president of Lithuania (one of the highest state honors of the country) for his contributions to cultivating Lithuanian traditions.


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On the subject of folklore inspirations, an interesting encounter happened to the author of this article, showing the power of an impression made by clothing. The author had given a series of introductory lectures on Neop‐ aganism at the Radboud University in Nijmegen, Netherlands, in early Spring 2016. Two of the students were young Muslim women, habitually wearing hijabs. Judging by their facial expressions and reactions to the lec‐ tures, being introduced to the practices of modern Pagans, polytheists and magicians, was something of a cultural shock for them (possibly because polytheism is a form of heresy in Islam, idolatry or shirk). During the lec‐ ture on rodnoverie, the students watched a music video of the Lithuanian Neopagan music group Kūlgrinda, with a choir led by Inija Trinkūnienė in ritual attire, including the characteristic headcloth. The two Muslim stu‐ dents were very interested, asking questions about the outfits worn by women in the video. It would seem that this “Pagan hijab” worn by Romuvan women changed the students’ attitude towards the idea of con‐ temporary Paganism, as they participated in further lectures with lively interest. Perhaps this was the power of headgear, as described in Terry Pratchett’s novels: “hats were important. They weren’t just clothing. Hats defined the head. They defined who you were (…). Every trade, every craft had its hat. That’s why kings had hats. Take the crown off a king and all you had was someone good at having a weak chin and waving to people. Hats had power. Hats were important.” (Pratchett, 2002, pp. 223‐224). Carnivalism The name for the next category of style in attire of contemporary Pagans was slow to come. Initially, it was to refer to New Age movements, or cur‐ rent New Spirituality movements. Eventually, however, a term was cho‐ sen that abandoned these references in favor of underlining the aesthetic impression directly. The term “carnivalism” reflects the ambiance of some Neopagan meetings, festivals or camps (those examined by S. M. Pike, for instance). It comprises both the festive, holiday meaning, as well as the ludic aspect, the idea of overturning the existing cultural order. A carnival attire can be a costume, imitating a different role (including mythological creatures), it is also unique, extraordinary. Imitations of the spiritual world and carnival elements are present in Neopagan attire when they

198 | WALKING THE OLD WAYS IN A NEW WORLD dress up as forest creatures, gods and goddesses, or use a style that imi‐ tates them. This is done more often during ceremonies of the mystery type (as well as performative ceremonies, where performance can be seen as an event combining the traits of ceremony and theatre, Grimes 2012). The inclusive culture of Neopagan festivals and meetings is expressed in cloth‐ ing, which is also an expression of the creative energy of some partici‐ pants. This creative aspect, the fashion bricolage that syncretizes various traditions, and the freedom with which they are chosen, is a form of ex‐ pression of the values of individual Neopagans. Many Neopagan ceremo‐ nies are permeated by this individualist approach, the diversity of ap‐ proaches to the idea of ritual attire. The author of this essay saw, during his participative observation studies, a plethora of possibilities: “authen‐ tically authentic” historical outfits, a dress “borrowed from Mum,” a wiz‐ ardly robe, a yarmulke, a habit and scapular akin to the Cistercian order, or ceremonies without any thought put into attire at all. This echoes the impression of Sabrina Magliocco, describing a Neopagan meeting in San Francisco (The Reclaiming Tradition, Spiral Dance): “Some are wearing fanciful costumes: feathered or leather masks, ornate clothing that looks medieval or tribal, or traditional black witches’ garb; others simply wear street clothes against the chill.” (Magliocco 2004, p. 122). We should also remember that Neopagans do not practice in a void, but in a specific cultural context – the Western cultural context, as the believers’ demographic data shows. They are, therefore, also immersed in the West‐ ern pop culture and may consciously (or not) use the depictions currently heavily used by pop culture (fantasy movies, historical fiction TV series5) when choosing their style. This can result in a sort of feedback loop of cul‐ tural content (Anczyk, 2014, p. 285), wherein Neopagans use (some of) the pop culture imagery and at the same time shape the popular percep‐ tion of Neopaganism though their own image. This is related to the “dou‐ ble affiliation” of some Neopaganism practitioners, for instance those who at the same time participate in historical re‐enactment, are interested in folklore or belong to fantasy fandoms. They can include the imagery pre‐ sent in their hobbies in their spiritual or religious practice, and this may be reflected in ritual attire. If a given movement allows for personal

The influence of widely available popculture sources can also supersede the more “tradi‐ tional” and “classical” ideas that the audience may have formed.

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choices in ritual attire, the principle of carnivalism may come into force and sources of inspiration may be chosen freely and accordingly to indi‐ vidual preferences to express personal identity. As Kathryn Rountree says, “Special clothing and jewellery enhance and embellish this private performance of identity.” (2016, p. 48). No ritual attire and actually no attire (ritual nudity) The last easily identified source of inspiration for Neopagan ritual attire is the broad category of modernity and the current fashions, because some religious ceremonies celebrated by people identifying as Neopagans are performed in clothing that could be described as “ordinary.” The main content of these events is the ritual character and the presence of the par‐ ticipants, while the scenery and costumes are of secondary importance and do not have to be specially stylized at all. The important thing is the involvement of the participants, fitting for a given ritual. A casual observer may therefore classify these meetings as non‐religious in character. The Neopagan character of a meeting would in such cases be reflected by the words spoken, the symbolism, the people gathered there: the impression is created not by the form (scenery, clothes) but by the contents. Thus, the meeting may or may not be classified as Neopagan, depending on the com‐ petences and knowledge of the observer. It should also be mentioned that people not wearing any special attire often participate in a Neopagan cer‐ emony (sometimes among others who do wear ritual attire). These may be people who want to express their distance towards the movement (for instance those who sympathize, but are not fully converted), or their per‐ sonal opinions: an individual practitioner may consider their “everyday” clothes to be their ritual attire as well, or finds the presence of an identi‐ fying symbol (such as, for instance, a pentagram necklace, amulet or badge) enough to fulfil ritual attire criteria.

200 | WALKING THE OLD WAYS IN A NEW WORLD

Fig. 4. Samhain Wiccan Ritual, DC, USA (Nagle, 2012)

Ritual nudity is also a part of the Neopaganism history, especially if we include Wicca among Neopagan movements. Philip Carr‐Gomm describes the various aspects of nudity (including ritual nudity) in Neopagan con‐ text, the sources of inspiration for it, and the cultural complexity of the relationship between Neopaganism and the nudist movement, exhaust‐ ively, in his book A Brief History of Nakedness (Polish edition: Carr‐Gomm, 2010).6 Carr‐Gomm is the leader of the largest Druidic organization in the UK, The Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids, and his book points to classical and oriental sources of inspiration for ritual nudity (the term “sky‐clad”, dressed in the sky, is a supposed reference to Digambara Jainism), the in‐ volvement of Gerald Gardner and Ross Nichols in nudism (see Hutton, 2001), and the history of nudist ideas in Neopagan movements (Carr‐ Gomm, 2010, pp. 27‐55). Lack of clothing – ritual nudity – does not only suggest sexuality (the most common association with nudity), but spirit‐ uality as well, since nudity in a ritualistic, exceptional context can be a symbolic return to the primal state, and thus to (neo) Paganism: its affir‐ mation of the corporeal, the material, the temporal, the mundane, but also its transmission of that which is material and mundane into the sphere of the sacred.

6

So far his only work published in Polish language.


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Instead of a conclusion: reception of Neopagan ritual attire, a survey On the 28th of March 2017, a group of researchers formed by students of the Jagiellonian University of Kraków and the author of this article (in four teams of two) conducted a street survey on the main square of the city of Kraków, Poland. For three hours, the teams asked passers‐by about their associations with the clothes seen on presented photographs (the se‐ quence was: showing the picture, asking to identify the group, asking to describe associations caused by the clothes presented, showing the next picture). The final questions were about the age and nationality of the re‐ spondents. The goal of the inquiry was to find out what is the impression the clothes of contemporary Pagan make on others. Due to its character (street survey), this research is an appendix of sorts to the contents of this article, an empirical bonus illustrating the impression made by the attires worn by Neopagans, and not a detailed study of the problem – something that should be performed in the future, observing all methodological de‐ tails. The driving idea of this survey was primarily curiosity as to “what will everyone say” about ritual attire worn by contemporary Pagans. The photographs were chosen to illustrate various types of Neopagan at‐ tire and thus elicit various associations. Picture 1 presented the Lithua‐ nian group Romuva (historical and folkloric inspirations), picture 2 mod‐ ern Druids (uniformed robes), picture 3 American Eclectic Wiccans during a ceremony (casual clothes) and picture 4 a school of magic tied to Wicca (esoteric inspirations) – all these are featured in this article as well. Table 1 describes the research sample: 62 people who agreed to partici‐ pate. They were mostly young and female (58% were women). The city of Kraków is an important tourist attraction and Spring brings visitors from all over Europe and the world, which is also reflected in our sample, 29% of the respondents of which were foreigners.

202 | WALKING THE OLD WAYS IN A NEW WORLD Age

Gender

Nationality

17 – 70 year old

Female: 36 (58%)

Polish: 44 (71%)

Foreign: 18 (29%)*

average: 29.6

Male: 26 (42%)

*Including:

median: 24.5

French: 4 English: 3 Azerbaijani: 2 Irish: 2 Mexican: 2 Norwegian: 2 Dutch: 1 Italian: 1 Ukrainian: 1 Table 1: sample data (n = 62)

Most respondents did not recognize the groups shown on the photos (Table 2). Recognition rate reached 10% on average, with picture 1 reaching the highest rate – 21% of the respondents declared they recognize the group on the picture (and only five of those recognized the group as Pagans or rod‐ noverists). Correct recognition was even less frequent, with only a few re‐ spondents surely and correctly identifying the groups on the photographs. More interesting observations can be made, however, by examining the as‐ sociations the clothes elicited in the respondent's answers (Table 3). Romuvan Ceremony Contemporary Dru‐ (picture no. 3) ids

Wiccans – no attire Wiccans – school of (picture no.4) magic (picture no.1)

(picture no. 2) Recognized: 13 *

Recognized: 5 *

Recognized: 8 *

Recognized: 3*

Not recognized: 48

Not recognized: 57

Not recognized: 54

Not recognized: 59


203

*Including recogni‐ tion as:




Slavs: 6

Druids: 2

Americans: 6

New

Rodnoverists: 3

Wiccans: 2

Emigrants: 1

Pagans: 2

Franciscans: 1

Protestants: 1

religious ment: 1

Orthodox tians: 1

move‐

Cult: 1

Chris‐

Wiccans: 1

Historical re‐enactment: 1 Table 2: declared recognition of the groups seen on the photographs (n = 62) Romuvan Ceremony Contemporary Druids (picture no. 3) (picture no. 2)

Wiccans – no attire (pic‐ Wiccans – school of ture no.4) magic (picture no.1)

Associations

Associations

Associations

Associations

with ethnicity:

with ethnicity:

with ethnicity:

with general ambiance:

Slavs: 19

Shepherds: 7

Americans: 14

Dark: 11

Folklore, ethnicity: 15

Górale

Gothic: 4

(Polish highlanders): 6

Associations

Harry Potter: 6

Associations

Rural: 5

with clothing style:

Magical:5

with history:

Normal/casual: 16

Associations

Middle ages: 13

Modern: 15

with religion:

General historicism: 6

Historical

Associations

Associations

Cult: 14

re‐enactment: 3

with religion:

with profession:

Christianity: 9

Volunteers: 6

Satanism: 9

Associations

Christianity: 12

Tourists: 4

Occultism: 6

with religion:

Monks/religious or‐ Training/classes: 4 der/ cassocks/habits: 11

Religious (in general): 6

204 | WALKING THE OLD WAYS IN A NEW WORLD Ritual, ceremony: 6

Fraternity: 1

Associations

Cassock/habit: 5

Old religion/tradition: 5 Pilgrims: 6

with religion:

Religious order: 4

Rodnoverie: 3

Society: 5

Christianity: 5

Wicca: 1

Wayfarers: 4

Table 3: associations elicited by the clothes seen on the photographs – important catego‐ ries (number indicates the number of people who indicated the category).

This qualitative analysis of responses offers several interesting conclu‐ sions. The Picture 1, showing a ritual performed by the Romuva seemed the most “Pagan” to the respondents, if we consider “Pagan” to mean a mixture of ethnicity, folklore, historical attires and a religious situation. Nineteen respondents (31%) associated the picture with general Slavic ethnicity (all indicating this aspect were Polish), and fifteen have classed the clothes worn by Romuva as folk or ethnic. The second definite associ‐ ation was the historicism: the clothes were seen as belonging to a different time, most often the Middle Ages. The situation shown on the picture did bring into mind a religious ceremony (and it indeed was; 10% of our re‐ spondents indicated that aspect), but it was the “ethnicity” and “histori‐ cism” ideas that came to the fore. It could be concluded, therefore, that in the case of our respondents, the reception of that particular message was the closest to its intention. The other photographs elicited more varied responses. The picture show‐ ing the modern Druids made the respondents think mostly of Christianity and folklore. The associations with pilgrims, wayfarers or shepherds and highlanders were possibly caused by the wooden staves held by the Dru‐ ids on the picture. Interestingly, people seem to have examined more than clothes (despite the question concentrating on that), and concentrate on the other paraphernalia (such as the staves of the modern Druids, water canisters seen on picture 3 or statuettes on picture 4), as one is wont to do when faced with something unknown – searching for familiar elements that can be identified and are compatible with existing cognitive content. For these reasons, picture 2 did not serve its purpose very well, making the respondents think of pilgrims, shepherds (symbolism of a wooden staff) or even (two persons asked) of Janosik, the popular Polish TV series from 1974 which remains a strong influence on pop culture, and which centered on the adventures of a Polish highlander outlaw. Nevertheless,


205

the respondents did remark on the attire seen on the picture, mostly say‐ ing they made them think of monks’ cassocks, Christianity in general (19%) or specifically Franciscan friars (two respondents). Picture 3 was rather treacherous in that respect, because it showed a reli‐ gious group (Eclectic Wiccans from the USA) in a religious situation, but in casual, everyday clothes. This was the aspect that most of the respond‐ ents picked up on, interpreting the everyday clothes of the people in the picture to be on par with the situation, and labelled the people accordingly (thus deciding that the picture showed volunteers, tourists, or partici‐ pants of some training course). Only 10% of the respondents associated the clothes seen on the picture with a religious situation. The reception of the picture might have changed if it were made differently, for instance showing the people standing in a circle, a specific pose or making unusual gestures, possibly showing particular props. This type of ritual attire – no ritual attire – made the respondents think of a mundane situation. Inter‐ estingly, they were quite correct in indicating the cultural origins – 14 re‐ spondents (22%) stating the picture shows USA citizens. Picture 4 caused the most emotional reactions, definitely acting upon the imagination of the respondents (three stating the picture is “scary,” four expressing negative emotions towards it, and eleven calling it “dark”). Re‐ ligious and magical interpretations were the most common, with the main association being that of a cult (22%). Despite this picture being the only one to cause negative associations when describing the attire and ambi‐ ance (dark, gothic, magic), the interpretations were not uniform. Nine re‐ spondents (14%) associated the picture with Satanism, but another nine with Christianity, comparing the attire with religious habits of Christian friars and nuns or soutanes. One British respondent even decided the pic‐ ture showed Muslims, possibly associating the black ritual robe with a niqab. This example highlights the undergoing mental process: faced with the unknown, the cultural content ‐ amassed by the viewer and constantly updated 7 – supplies suggestions. And pop culture definitely influences that database, as demonstrated by six respondents (9.6%) stating their first association with picture 4 being “Harry Potter” or “Hogwarts.”

7 Once the respondents gave their answers, they were informed what groups did the pic‐ tures actually show.

206 | WALKING THE OLD WAYS IN A NEW WORLD The results of the mini‐survey shown above indicate that the entirety of the scene (outfits, equipment) can influence the perception of a given Ne‐ opagan group. Depending on the clothes and the associations these clothes elicit, the social reception and classification of the group (as cul‐ turally conforming or counter‐cultural) can change. Returning to the local journalist, the hero of our initial thought experiment, we might ask: What’s your impression?


207

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