Phantasms of the nation and models of community in view of the rituals of Polish secret organizations in the 19ᵗh century

Abstract

The main topic of this article is the role and functions of ritual in Polish secret organizations in the 19ᵗh century. The programs and activities of clandestine associations, which the previous studies have usually viewed through the prism of political and conspiratorial activities, are interpreted in reference to the theory of ritual studies, which allows a slightly different distribution of accents. I take into account new categories of sources, such as rituals, records of rituals and ceremonies of member acceptance, which in historiographical studies served illustrative functions at best. The perspective of ritual studies also offers us a glimpse into the private world of members of secret societies and reveals a whole range of affective experiences to contemporary audiences. I use the concept of phantasm following the researchers of Polish Romanticism, but combine it with the theory of affective societies, where the emotional component plays a primary role. Within this theoretical framework, I present the key concepts of community and nationality framed by the allegorical dimension of the phantasm from the point of view of the organization of secret societies. Features of ritualism are outlined through several examples, which, in my opinion, indicate the potential of research that considers the ritual side of the activity of clandestine societies.