The Keepers of Tradition: Clown Societies in the Casas Grandes and Puebloan Worlds

Often simply characterized as buffoons, Puebloan clowns are complex beings with integral relations to governance, katsina ritualism, medicine societies, and the agricultural cycle. Archaeological, ethnohistorical, and ethnological data from the U.S. Southwest and northwest Mexico indicate that clown societies among the Casas Grandes culture centered in Chihuahua, Mexico, were present during the Medio Period (AD 1200–1450) and may have influenced the development of Puebloan clown societies. As avatars of Sun Youth, clowns may have formed an integral part of Casas Grandes governance.