The Game/Play Aspect of Mythology: Dressing Up and the Specifics of Clothing

Abstract

This article analyses and compares two related phenomena, namely, game/play and mythology in the aspect of using special clothing in corresponding activities. Special attention is paid to the practical side of mythology, i.e. its implementation within the framework of rituals and other religious practices. In this paper, dressing up (special role of costume and other attributes) is considered as a procedure characteristic of both game/play and religious action. As a result, the author comes to the following conclusions. Firstly, the game/play process seeks the demonstrative, while religious practice, to create mystery. Secondly, game/play adjusts for and relies on modernity and fashion, which is not typical of mythology. Thirdly, in cult practice, clothing presents the absolute, while in the game/play it is an attribute of the concrete. Fourthly, the aspect of the “illusory” in the game/play indicates the absence of a real presence, while in religious practice it indicates the actual presence of the Other. Fifthly, the process of recognition is different in the game/play and ritual actions: the product of the former is an image of the real, while religious practice, including when wearing special clothes, is characterized
by the presentation of the real presence (existence). Sixthly, brightness, presentability and exoticism are important components of a successful game/play process, while for cult practice the opposite is true. Seventhly, special clothes in the game/play and in mythology have different sociofunctional marking.