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mercredi 18 janvier 2017
La reconstitution Napoléonienne, sujet d'étude anthropologique.
Nous avons eu le plaisir d'accueillir un étudiant en anthropologie chinois qui fait ses études en Irlande (Quen's university Belfast) et a consacré un mémoire à la reconstitution Napoléonienne. Le texte, en anglais est très intéressant.
A retenir: pas de reconstitueurs en train de prendre des photos ou de filmer sur les champs de bataille...ça l'a choqué et il a bien raison!
SCHOOL OF HISTORY, ANTHROPOLOGY, PHILOSOPHY AND POLITICS
ANTHROPOLOGY
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Student Number: 40164864
Module Title: Dissertation in Social Anthropology: Writing up Module Code: ANT3030
Tutor's Name: Fiona Magowan Word Count: 8035
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SCHOOL OF HISTORY, ANTHROPOLOGY, PHILOSOPHY AND POLITICS
QUEEN’S UNIVERSITY BELFAST
Waterloo Campaign Reenacted: Authenticity and Identity Construction
Student Number: 40164864
Dissertation in Social Anthropology: ANT 3030
Word Account: 8035
Dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment for the degree of BA in Social Anthropology
Date: 06/01/17
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements i
List of Figures ii
Abstract 1
Introduction 2
Chapter One: Reenactment as a form of Serious Leisure 7
Chapter Two: To Achieve Authenticity 16
Chapter Three: Identity Construction Among Reenactors 25
Conclusion 33
References 35
Acknowledgements
I would be ungrateful if I failed to thank all those who have contributed to the writing of this dissertation. During the past 2016, I met so many amazing people from different countries, different professions. With their selfless assistance, I can finally present this thesis to the university.
Firstly, I would like thank my supervisors: Dr Dominic Bryan, Dr Ioannis Tsioulakis as well as Prof Fiona Magowan and our teacher Evanthia Patsiaoura. Your help and guidance is the most important factor in building up this thesis. Without your advice and suggestions, the dissertation would simply not be founded.
Secondly, I must offer my gratitude to Mr Yves Guinhut, Mr Frank Samson, Captain Duncan and his fellow members of the 45e Infanterie Regiment de Ligne. Your enthusiasm and hospitality provided me with abundant ethnography materials. You led into the colourful world of reenactment and I would never forget the things I experienced with you.
Finally, special thanks to Ms Roseline Van der Voort and her family who took care of me for two weeks in Waterloo. Your kindness and hospitality made me feel at home when I was thousands of miles away from my parents.
List of Figures
Figure 1: Location of Ligny and Waterloo in Belgium (Source: Wikipidea) 8
Figure 2: Me holding a musket (Photo Credit: The author) 10
Figure 3: Peace at night (Photo Credit: The author) 14
Figure 4: Le Festin (Photo Credit: The author) 18
Figure 5: Women in the field (Photo Credit: The author) 22
Figure 6: The 45eme (Photo Credit: The author) 32
Abstract：
Historical Reenactment—an educational or entertainment activity in which people follow certain scripts to recreate aspects of a historical event or period—remains an under-researched area in anthropology. While there are a lot of studies on American Civil War reenactment, the study on another important part of its kind—Napoleonic reenactment—is relatively limited. This dissertation will look at the issue of identity construction amongst the Napoleonic reenactors. It will examine the theme of authenticity, looking at how the reenactors develop a sense of self both during the reenactment events and reality through performing in the battle and the bivouac. In order to look into this issue in detail, the dissertation will analyse how reenactors construct and maintain their identity through appearances and disclosures which include uniforms, dress, accessories, other props as well as the reenactors’ behaviours.
Introduction:
As a history lover, I am always fascinated by the great battles of the Napoleonic period. Among them, Waterloo, the battle that marked Napoleon’s downfall, remains the greatest fascination to me. After that great battle, books were written, paintings were drawn, memorials were built, all to commemorate this battle to which is often referred as “the birth of modern Europe” (Wootten, 2005; Johnson 1991). However, a new kind of commemoration—reenactment emerged since the 1980s and the Waterloo battle reenactment has become an annual event that takes place every year. Last year, which was the 200 hundred years’ anniversary of the battle, 6200 reenactors took part in the reenactment thus making it the largest in decades. The popularity of reenactment makes me wonder what the reenactors think of themselves and how they construct their identity. Thanks to my contacts in France and Belgium, I had the chance to investigate and even participate in the reenactment of the Waterloo Campaign.
Fought on June 18th 1815, the Battle of Waterloo is among one of the most famous battles in the world. About 200,000 men from at least eight nationalities were engaged in the campaign, making it the last great battle in Europe for the nearly 40 years. Its importance and popularity can be seen from one single English phrase— “meet one’s Waterloo” which describes one’s fatal defeat. The Battle of Waterloo is “emblematic of the enduring bifurcation in European memory” (Heinzen, 2014: 42). After this great battle, there emerged a huge number of written accounts on everything about this campaign. Over 140 places around the world were even named “Waterloo” to commemorate this battle. Although this battle is still a heated topic for historians to reflect on, other scholars also show interest in representing it in different ways. However, most studies on the Waterloo battle are about tourism and social memory (Seaton, 1999; Semmel, 2000; Heizen, 2014).
Given the popularity of the battle, it is not surprising to find reenactors reenacting the great battle every year. This summer I was lucky enough to be in two of the reenactments. This thesis will largely focus on the role of the reenactors. The main theme of this dissertation will be authenticity and identity construction. The main question for this dissertation is “How does a Napoleonic reenactor construct his identity?”
Methodology and Ethics:
My fieldwork can be divided into two different parts—inside and outside the reenactment. Following the guidance for participant observation, which are getting into the location of whatever aspect of the human experience you wish to study; building rapport with the participants; and Spending enough time interacting to get the needed data (Guest, Namely and Mitchell, 2013: 76-77), I immersed myself into the field, into the reenactment I wish to study. Dressing up as one of the soldiers, I was accepted as a member of one company and spent the whole reenacting period with them. I watched everything, spoke to whoever can speak English and conducted semi-structured or non-structured interviews. Notes were not taken while interviewing and observing and all the written work was done on the night when the event was over. I was able to be in two of the reenactment taken place in June 2016. First was reenactment of the battle of Ligny, which was held on June 4th and 5th. In this reenactment I became a member of the French Napoleonic army and joined the 45eme Regiment d'Infanterie de Ligne. The second one was held two weeks later on June 18th and 19th to commemorate the struggle for Hougoumont, which was part of the battle of Waterloo. I didn’t participate in the latter one, and solely entered the field as an observer and researcher.
When out of the reenactment, I mainly conducted structured and semi-structured interviews. One frustrating limitation of my fieldwork was that I couldn’t speak French. That means I could only interview or speak to those who masters English, and for that reason I lost some great interview opportunities. However, most of the reenactors were quite friendly and showed great hospitality, making my fieldwork both rich and enjoyable. Interviews were conducted both in Dinard (France) and Belgium. The number of interviews was not much, only around 5. There were no one-one interview and all of them were group interviews.
All my research informants were told and made aware of the nature and purpose of my fieldwork. The method of video recording and photographing was also used only when the participant agreed. All of my informants were asked whether they would like to keep anonymous or have their names revealed, which is a procedure described as vital both by the AAA and ASA Ethics Code, the names of all those who are not willing to reveal will not appear in this dissertation. I also promised to give my dissertation for all those who want to read it since the AAA Ethics Code also requires the research result should be accessible.
Focus of this thesis
The topic of reenactment can be studied and viewed through different scopes such as commemoration, history construction, and problems of history accuracy and legitimacy. However, my dissertation will mainly focus on the themes of serious leisure, authenticity and identity construction. Compared to traditional written history to record and official memorialisation, reenactment is a somewhat new-born method of presenting history and social remembering. Contrasting to its relatively high popularity, there hasn’t been much academic study on reenactments from an anthropological perspective.
Most of the existing research accessing reenactment through this scope is based on America Civil War reenactment, which will be used as an important reference. Scholars have already looked at the issue about identity construction and performance in the American case. Scholars like Strauss focused on the historical costumes and uniforms. Hunt (2007) noted that reenactment of the American Civil War is a way to rebuilt masculine identity, which highlighted the gender identity construction in reenactment. Miller (1997, 1998) was one of the early ones who attempt to understand the symbolic nature of Civil War reenactor dress. Strauss (2001) went further on his way in concluding that Civil War reenacting was ritualized behaviour, period dress was a key feature of the ritual, and analysis of dress authenticity was useful for exploring the underlying motivations of participants. In a later study (Strauss, 2002), different levels of authenticity in uniforms and other props are used to define the reenactors. Turner (1990) recognized reenactment as a form of public expression, serving as a remarkable arena for self-expression and creativity. West (2014) and Hunter (1991, 2006) even argued that these kinds of reenactments have political significance.
In my dissertation, I will try to find out whether the America Civil War case is also applicable to the Napoleonic one. In the first chapter, I will concentrate on my experience in reenactments and argue that this kind of activity is a form of “serious leisure.” The topic of authenticity will be accessed in the second chapter using Strauss mode on the American case. In the third chapter I will look at how reenactors construct their identity through their efforts. I intend to give a more objective picture of the reenactors that is different from public assumptions.
Chapter One: Reenactment as a form of Serious Leisure
Chai: During all the reenactments are you paid to do so or it is for free?
Frank: No, always for free.
Guinhut: It costs a lot of money but it brings nothing. Just for pleasure.
Frank: Yes. But it is important for me because I want to be totally free. It is not a work.
--Quote from an interview
On June 4th and 5th 2016, around two hundred reenactors gathered in Ligny, a tiny town in Belgium where Napoleon confronted the Prussians on June 16th 1815, to reenact the emperor’s last victory against the allies. On the first day, bivouac was set up, drill was conducted, and the battle was fought. Reenactors from different cultural backgrounds, different social class participated in the event. Of course, the event also attracted many visitors and tourists to the site. On the second day, the “army” paraded across the city from General Gérard centre - Battle of Ligny Museum to the city centre. In the afternoon, the tents were packed and reenactors parted ways—just like a different kind of holiday. This is the typical routine of a Napoleonic reenactment.
Figure 1: Location of Ligny and Waterloo in Belgium (Source: Wikipidea)
However, not everyone is happy with this kind of activity. When interviewing the public who are not involved in reenactment, many expressed their concerns about the motivations of the reenactors. Some of my interviewees hold a sceptical view towards by referring to the reenactors as “crazy” and “childish”, and reenactment is “a waste of time and money”. Indeed, being a reenactor requires huge amounts of time and money in order to fill the role. Therefore, it is perhaps not the best option for just some “child game”. They also noted that reenactment is just another kind of entertainment, definitely not a good way to replicate history and reenactors are just playing in the field. Museums and documentaries were preferred if one wants to know about history. They don’t know what the reenactors are doing unless they make some research before going. Some local people even complained about the troubles such as noise and traffic reenactment brought them.
What I discovered in the field when spending time with the reenactors is that although many of them acknowledged that reenactment is their hobby and they are doing it for fun, they are still very serious about what they are doing in the field. I would argue that reenactment is more like “serious leisure”.
Reenactment in Ligny and Waterloo: June 2016
During the summer of 2016, I was lucky enough to participate in two reenactment held in Belgium, namely Ligny and Hougoumont, both as a participant observer and a researcher. Since I just did interviews in the second one and its relatively small scale, I want to focus on my first reenactment in Ligny in which I participated as a fellow reenactor.
In Ligny the reenactment was held at fields around General Gérard centre, a museum to commemorate the battle. I had the privilege to live inside the field as one of the French soldiers. Hundreds of tents, mobile toilets, shops and stables were set up for the reenactment. As for me, I dressed up as a Cuirassier (in their off-combat outfit), hoping to find someone I could talk to.
Being unable to speak French limited my choice of interviewees. Luckily, I was aided by members of The 45e Infanterie Regiment de Ligne (The 45eme) , a group of British reenacting as part of the French army. They warmly welcomed me as their “new recruit”. During the morning, the soldiers prepared the gunpowder, which would be used in the afternoon drill. As lunch time approached, food was prepared in the 19th century style. Fire came out from the burning wood. The cookers were either pottery or iron products. The bowls and cups were all made of wood, pottery or tin. Bread, sausage and bacon and vegetable soup were served for us.
In the afternoon, we went for a drill. My attempt of joining the drill failed as the effort to find a free musket was not successful. As a result, I just stood by the edge of the field and watched. With the drums beating the soldiers paced swiftly. The number of artillery and cavalry, which was just 4 cannons and 5 horsemen, was significantly smaller than the infantry. That was when I heard the cannon fire for the first time in my life. It was so loud that I found my ears ringing. After we returned, one of the fellows offered me his musket, taught me how it functioned and asked me to try. The musket was so heavy that my arms started trembling after ten seconds. I started to realize how hard it was and what training it needed to be a reenactor.
The actual reenactment of the battle lasted barely a little bit longer than an hour. Approximately 200 French soldiers confronted just around 20 Prussians. I found the fact that there were constant voice-over and reenactors took out cameras for photos quite un appropriate for the scene. Music was played, orders were given, and “Vive l’empereur!” was shouted. Smoke, gunshots and blades could be seen across the field. Gradually, the Prussians were pushed back and defeated. The size of the battle was so small that I wondered whether it can actually replicate what had happened here 200 years ago.
When the battle was over, we went together for some beer. The atmosphere was cosy and casual. People shared stories with each other. Laughter filled the whole museum. When night fell, we sat around the table, had a great chat and drank a little wine. There were few people using modern techs like mobile phones but the number was small. Most of them didn’t not use anything modern. There were only candles and kerosene lamps lighting us.
The only thing left to do for the following day was a parade through Ligny. I was offered a musket so that I could march alongside the soldiers. Since I didn’t possess the skills and manoeuvre needed, I abandoned the chance and stayed behind them. The parade through the town was a unique experience for me though it took a lot of time waiting and gathering all the soldiers in line. The parade lasted about an hour. Wherever we went we could find passionate residents taking photos, cheering and looking out of the window.
Reenactment may seem like a kind of leisure. People gather in weekends (June 4th, 5th, 18th, 19th were Saturdays and Sundays) and have a different kind of party. On Monday morning all of them will go back to their normal life either for work or study. However, what I found in reenactment is far more than entertainment. I think the term “serious leisure” brought up by Stebbins can best describe what the reenactors think what they are doing.
Serious Leisure
Serious leisure is the term given to describe activities which involve “significant personal effort based on specially acquired knowledge, training, experience, or skill, and, indeed, all four at times” (Stebbins, 2009: 766). This term might cause confusion due to its familiarity with work. However, despite the complex connections between the two concepts, Stebbins separates the term from career. Though some of the reenactors do have professional backgrounds as they have a career in a related field such as tourism and uniform manufacturing, most reenactors do not develop their skills through formal education on related areas and in work places.
According to Stebbins, serious leisure is “systematic pursuit of an amateur, hobbyist, or volunteer activity sufficiently substantial, interesting, and fulfilling for the participant to find a (leisure) career there acquiring and expressing a combination of its special skills, knowledge, and experience.”(Stebbins, 2009: 764) Historical reenactment, which can be defined as “an ethnographic performance which interprets the past and adds to the collective memory of modern society in an educative way” (Robinson, 2015: 592), meets the definition of “serious leisure”. In order to get involved in reenactment, reenactors must spend much time, money and effort. The activities are completely voluntary and not professional. To further illustrate the term “serious leisure”, Stebbins introduced 6 qualities of “serious leisure”: 1. occasional need to persevere; 2. finding a career in the serious leisure role; 3. significant personal effort based on specially acquired knowledge, training, experience, or skill, and, indeed, all four at times; 4. Several durable benefits such as self-development, self-enrichment, self-expression, regeneration or renewal of self, feelings of accomplishment, enhancement of self-image, social interaction and belongingness, and lasting physical products of the activity and self-gratification; 5. unique ethos that grows up around each instance of it; 6. participants in serious leisure tend to identify strongly with their chosen pursuits (Stebbins, 2009: 765-766).
Reenactment meets these 6 qualities. A reenactor must occasionally participate in the events organized to maintain his involvement in the game. According to the website of the 45eme , there were 13 events from February to October in the year of 2016. Events are held once or twice a month. Strauss also argued that reenactment is a cultural phenomenon whose participants give over their time and resources to maintain their involvement (Strauss, 2001: 147). If the reenactors want to be a part of this and maintain his role, the participation in most events is necessary. Reenactors must research a lot and spend much time and money to dress up properly, which includes appropriate uniform, weapons, drills and many other factors. A high-quality complete uniform of an ordinary infantry is not cheap, the price for cavalry gear is even higher. However, the acquirement of dress is not enough, one must come to the drill for training and get used to camping life without modern technologies.
One important feature of reenactment which helps it fit in the category of “leisure” is that the reenactors are never paid. Reenactments are organized by different organizations, sometimes by an association or even the government. Certain amount of money is paid to reenacting groups but most of the money goes to preparation for events and not a single penny was distributed to reenactors. The prices for reenactment uniforms and props are quite high. The alternative to make your own uniform is not pleasant either, one reenactor told me she spent two months making her own infantry jacket, let alone the time it took to research and the money for the materials. Once you have the material, constant drills are needed to prepare you for the action.
Though stressful, reenactors have the opportunity to enjoy escaping from the normal stressful life, as well as the friendship and companionship from fellow reenactors. One reenactor I met was an Australian reenactor aged 73, he travelled all the way from Australia just to respond to the invitation from friends he made in Europe during the past events. In the evening, reenactors gathered together in the light of candles and oil lamps, singing and drinking freely. Laughter and relaxation indicated the happiness and leisure they enjoyed.
Reenactment events are held several times a year and the size of the events varies very much. Some events only have a handful of reenactors while others such as the Gettysburg reenactment in 2013 and the Waterloo reenactment in 2015 got 12,000 and 6,200 reenactors involved respectively. Jackson divided the activities into two categories: the public show where re-enactors and their campsites are display pieces with activities designed to entertain and educate the (often paying) public, and the private or immersion camp, where groups retreat to the forest for several days and attempt to immerse themselves in history and authenticity: wearing period clothes, eating period food, sleeping in period tents and undertaking period activities (Robinson, 2015: 593). I have already argued that reenactment is a kind of ‘serious leisure’. In order to be serious, reenactors are supposed to give an authentic impression in many different ways no matter which category of reenactment they undertake. As Strauss argued “impressions are created through donning period dress, emulating period behaviour, and brandishing period accoutrements and weaponry” (Strauss, 2003: 150). In the next chapter I would like to step into the topic of authenticity using the approaches Strauss adopted to assess reenactment and investigate how reenactors achieve authenticity.
Chapter Two: To Achieve Authenticity
“And the cockade also. Napoleon has a special succession of colour. It is white blue and red. The usual colour during Napoleonic period is blue red white and now the colours are blue white and red. So it is different. People who don’t know they use the present colours. They never use the succession during the Empire. It is not very important. The succession is not a very important thing but it makes a difference. Because you say ‘this is not important that is not important’ and in the end you looks like nothing.”
--Mr. Yves Guinhut
Authenticity is the key factor in reenactment events. All the reenactors I encountered attached great importance to the term. When doing my research, I found the mode Strauss used to assess the importance of authenticity very helpful. According to Strauss, “The quest for authenticity in both appearance and demeanour is a core value of reenactors.” (Strauss, 2001: 145) Though Strauss’s research was based on American Civil War reenactment, I find it useful when looking at the European Napoleonic War case.
What Strauss found are as follows: 1. Acquisition and glorification of reproduction period material culture was one of the central binding elements; 2. Careful adherence to historical practices in both appearance and behavioural deportment was another dominant theme that emerged; 3. Complexity in reenactor motivations was evidenced; 4. The quest for authenticity stratified the hobby (Strauss, 2001: 149-150). I find the first three arguments are also applicable to the Napoleonic reenactment case while I would like to change the last one to “The awareness of unable to achieve complete authenticity.”
Focus on Material Culture
Like Strauss, Hall (1994) also found that “attention to details of dress ... are more often than not prized and painstakingly researched by the typical “(p. 7). Among all the material requirements to be a good reenactor, proper dress and uniform are the most important ones. All reenacting groups give strict and detailed guidance to their new comers on how to dress up properly. Mr Frank Samson who has reenacted as Napoleon for more than 10 years and Mr Yves Guinhut who is specialised in uniform making, are extremely strict in the details:
Chai: What do you think it is the most important part you should learn if you want to be in a reenactment?
Frank: The details.
Guinhut: What is important is to respect all the details. If one part is wrong the whole part will be wrong. So you have to take care of everything.
Frank: When I went to the events I will look at all my officers’ uniforms and correct them. It must be perfect.
Guinhut: It can’t be mixed up with other things. Normally it must be perfect. You cannot use part in 1804 when doing a 1814 event for instance, it is totally different. If you are a grenadier you can’t wear the clothes of a hussar, it must be extremely as it was.
Frank: If you are not a general you can open one button of the shirt. For colonel it is forbidden and a marshal can open two buttons.
Attention to details and authenticity was raised by every reenactor I met. In fact, nearly all the reenactors I encountered put these two words on the top of the list. The fact also indicated that reenactors are under pressure to maintain authenticity. When entering the field in Ligny, one of the 45eme members told me that “your uniform is too clean, you don’t look like us.” By stressing the point of being “dirty”, he made a point of being authentic in the field since soldiers in the battlefield wouldn’t have the time to clean their uniform. Being “dirty” would gave a proper impression.
Adherence to Historical Behaviour
However, just being authentic in looks is not enough. One must also act and behave as it should be in the selected history period. Historical practice ranged from the appearance of a uniform and how it was worn, to methods of cooking, camping, drilling, combat tactics, and management of weaponry (Strauss, 2001: 149). When in the field, a reenactor must emerge as “a man from history”. To fulfil the role requires much effort. Usage of modern technology is strictly forbidden in reenactment.
According to my experience in the field, electronic devices are kept away from public views and a reenactor can only use them in his or her own tent when necessary. Drilling and training are perhaps the most crucial part in reenactments of battles. The company must follow the rule dating back to Napoleonic times and obey the given orders strictly. Because I lack the necessary training in march, my request to join the band in their parade through the city was turned down. Cooking was also conducted in 19th century style. Woods were chopped to lit fire, iron pots were used to cook, and wooden bowls, spoons were used to eat. In the night, the soldiers would gather together as Napoleonic times to sing La Marseillaise and Chant du Départ . The shout of “Vive l’Empereur!” could be heard all night long, making one really thought he was a man living in 200 years ago. In order to perform Napoleon better, Mr Samson learned and replicated Napoleon’s behaviour such as throwing his hats on the floor and smash it when angry. He also learned a little bit Corsican and horse-riding just to reenact as an “authentic Napoleon” in the field.
Different Motivations
Motivations of different people engaging in reenactment vary like what Strauss found in the American Civil War case. Some scholars viewed Civil War reenactment as a way to reconstruct and persevere Southern heritage (Blight, 2001; Foner, 1988; Belk and Costa, 1998) Given the sensitive political issues involved in the Civil War, these claims are only applicable to Civil War but not Napoleonic War. In Strauss’s case study of American Civil War reenactment, four motivations were concluded: a) love of Civil War era history; b) an opportunity to play a role “larger than life”; c) social bonding; and d) a chance to express fealty to southern cultural heritage. (Strauss, 2001: 150) Some similar motivations were found in the Napoleonic reenactment while others were not. What I discovered can be similarly put into four categories close to Strauss: a) love of Napoleonic era history; b) an opportunity to escape from normal life; c) social bonding and d) seeking ancestor’s heritage.
The 45eme is quite a unique company since it is a British group but its members reenact as Napoleonic French soldiers. When asked why they wanted to be part of the French Army not the British one, many stated the reason as their love for Napoleonic era. In fact, the founder of the company created it because of his interest in Napoleonic France. I remember one said that: “King George was a mad and poor man but Napoleon was a military genius!” The admiration for Napoleon and personal interests are the most common motivations I discovered in joining the Napoleonic French side. When asked why they wanted to do reenactment, many stated that it was a chance to get away from the dull routine life. The word “escape” was used and stressed almost by every single reenactor. Another member from the 45eme said that: “I can forget about everything. I can leave my mobiles behind. I feel like a free man.” Similarly, In the Gazette, Lake (1998) described reenacting as an outlet for frustrations with quotidian life, which was supported by other researches (Allred, 1996; Hall, 1994; Handler & Saxton, 1988; Turner, 1990).
Some stated that one thing important about reenactment was to meet friends in the field. In fact, a strong sense of belonging was attached to the company. Symbols such as flags were carefully protected. Some were introduced to the group by friends and reenactments become some sort of friend gathering activities. While for most women, the reason why they joined reenactment group was that their husbands did so. Sometimes kids were seen in the field and several reenactors turned the event into a family camping trip. Some reenactors viewed the hobby as a way of seeking ancestors’ heritage. One 45eme member’s half French identity was part of his reason to join the French army. Another French who reenacted as a surgeon because his ancestor was serving the as the same role in Napoleon’s army.
We Can Never Be Them
The striving for “authentic verisimilitude” is central to reenactors (Robinson, 2015: 595). While all the reenactors acknowledge the importance of authenticity, they also know that to achieve complete authenticity is not possible. The term authenticity is used with several different meanings.
Here it is interesting to investigate the role of women in reenactment. Though women were actually a part of the Napoleonic army as Cantinière or Vivandière , the number of female soldiers in the European armies at that time was probably 0. However, I discovered several female soldier reenactors participated in the battle. Though in the American Civil War reenactment women who perform as combat roles are not treated kindly (Turner, 1990), I didn’t see any disrespect towards the women in my fieldwork. Reenactors accepted women soldiers as one of their own kind. The criteria of authenticity seem alter when it comes to certain perspectives, such as female combatant and family participant. In Ligny battle reenactment most women reenacted as cooks, tailors and stable tenders. Several women reenacted as soldiers and joined the combat as men did. There were several families camping with babies and they could hardly find any reference to justify their appearance in the field. All these didn’t help to shape an authentic history event. Their presence was tolerated and they didn’t seem to affect reenactors’ pursuit for authenticity. The question is: can we achieve authenticity?
Gapps referred to authenticity as “authentic verisimilitude” that “Authenticity is not used by reenactors as a term for an original idea or mentality, it is a reference for a perceived proximity to an original” (Gapps, 2003: 67). Similarly, Umberto Eco (1986) suggested that the very nature of reproducing something means it can never be truly authentic. Turner further indicated that “The first is the problem of authenticity, which has a number of elements. While it is possible to reconstruct the general patterns of events and practical activity in reenacting, it is very difficult to exactly duplicate them.” (Turner, 1989: 56) The size of Ligny reenactment was quite small with just some 200 reenactors. The Hougoumont one was even smaller. When comparing to the Waterloo event last year, many said that they prefer the Waterloo one. One said that Ligny was too boring since the scale was too small, and they just manoeuvred and shot. While in Waterloo they had several thousand reenactors, it was more real. However, the Battle of Waterloo involved 200,000 soldiers. But the one in 2015 only had 6,200 reenactors. Turner’s (1989) concerns about intensity, anachronism and subjectivity are all applicable to the Napoleonic reenactment. Reenactors do not use real bullets and they cannot be “killed” or “injured” in the battle. Though the use of modern technology is strictly forbidden, in the heat of the battle people (both soldiers and Cantinières) still took out cameras to take photos, which should have been a strictly forbidden act during the event.
Even if a reenactor could get everything externally right, there would still be a level of self-consciousness present. In Crang’s words, “the participants know that they are only producing interpretations of what might have been there.” (Crang, 1996: 418) Though reenactors might achieve historical authenticity and legitimacy, the participants know that ultimately their participation is illusory and does not transcend time. Nichols made the point that reenactors “know very well that the effort must fail.” (2008: 75) Here is a more frankly quote: “We can never be Them.” (Cited by Cook, 2004:489)
Chapter Three: Identity Construction Among Reenactors
Though I have argued in the former chapter that an absolute authentic reproduction of history is not possible and reenactors acknowledge the fact as well, they are still trying hard to achieve that impossible goal. I believe this is the effort to construct a reenactor’s identity. Identity construction has always been a heated topic in anthropology and sociology. Researchers have frequently used symbolic interaction theory as a framework to study how identity is constructed, communicated, and negotiated. Goffman (1959) suggested that an individual’s identity was created through the continual development of sense of self. Society is a stage for an individual to conduct his or her role and it was from there that the sense of self arose.
From what I saw and experienced in the field, I would argue that on the stage of reenactment, authenticity plays an important role in reenactors’ identity construction of “a man from history” and the reason to pursue authenticity is to recreate the past as a lived context, which is central to reenactment experience. Victor Turner’s theory on communitas will be used to assess a reenactor’s collective identity.
Man from the Past
As Strauss (2003) stated that: “For the construction of identity, appearance and discourse are the primary forms of communication occurring between senders and receivers. Appearance is communicated by non-verbal symbols, such as gestures, grooming and clothing, whereas discourse is verbal symbolism.” (2003: 150) In my research, I also find the identity construction amongst reenactors is created through appearance and disclosure. Appearance was created from stage props such as dress or hairstyle, whereas manner consisted of elements including behaviour, gestures, content of discourse, and style of speech (Strauss, 2003: 150). To give a proper historical impression to the public, the reenactors must make great effort and emerge as an “authentic” person from the past.
For some reenactors, their uniforms were more than just historical artefacts but something that interwoven with their personal identity. Some reenactors spent months on making their own uniforms. I have talked to several reenactors who made their own clothing. Instead of complaining about the hard work it took to make it, they were more keen on sharing the pleasure it brought with me. I could see proud faces and laughter when they introduced their handmade objects to me. Apart from uniforms, there were other pieces that could be made at home. In Waterloo, I met an English soldier who painted his own drum. It was a rainy day but his drum was protected well from the unfriendly weather. For them, the objects they obtained is far more than just necessities needed to be accepted in the field. Rather, it has become part of their personal identity. My findings suggested that reenactors developed a strong personal attachment to the identity embodied through uniforms and other stage props. As Turner argued: “For some, the objects of reenactment become deeply treasured emblems of identity……embedded in the sense of themselves as creative individuals.” (Turner, 1990: 127)
Of course, identity of a reenactor is not only constructed by the material he acquires. Another important factor in building up identity is through disclosures including both verbal and non-verbal ones. The most evident verbal disclosure is the language. Although reenactment participants are from all over Europe, the “official languages” of the confronting armies are their mother tones. The 45eme is a British reenactment group on the French side but the orders given by the captain was in French. That means all the members have to know at least a little French to be more “authentic” French soldiers. The using of the language is thus part of their identity as part of the French army. After Mr Frank Samson retired from his reenactment life as Napoleon, people don’t speak highly of his successors (one Belgian and one American) because of their strong accent in French speaking, which does not fit in the identity as Napoleon.
Non-verbal disclosures are much easier to observe since most of the time the reenactors don’t talk in public. Apart from clothing, non-verbal disclosures mainly refer to behaviours. To fit in one’s historical identity, the corresponding behaviours are also needed. This can best be seen from my interview with the former Napoleon:
Chai: During the ten years, what did you do to make yourself more like Napoleon?
Frank: I learned to ride a horse. Before that I never got on a horse. I learned a little Corsican language. …… I learned some Corsican and how Napoleon behaved. I learned the same way of moving like him. And I read a lot of books about the First Empire.
……
Frank: When I am hungry I (wave hands in the air) ‘AHHHHH’. When I am angry, I took off my hat and throw it on the floor and smash it.
By learning Napoleon’s behaviour, Mr Samson became more and more fit in his identity as Napoleon, the Corsican born French Emperor. He even followed Napoleon’s lifeline in reenactment. He started in 2005, travelled and “fought” as Napoleon did for a decade and finally stopped after Waterloo right before Napoleon’s exile to St. Helena ten years later. The identity of Napoleon is constructed through his copying Napoleon’s behaviour and life line. If he wanted to continue it would just be “unauthentic”!
As Turner argued that: “The best reenactors can do is strive for an iconic identity between their activities and those of the time period, an identity most possible in the more routine empirical aspects of the hobby, such as cooking and clothing. When reenactors approach that identity with materials and actions that are in some ontological sense "the same" as the original, to the point where they can back up their representation with documentary evidence, they claim their portrayal is authentic.” (Turner, 1989: 56) Authenticity in this sense becomes the guiding aesthetic for reenactors in the creation of their possible world (Handler 1988:243).
Two Different Worlds
It is interesting to investigate the worlds reenactors create. For them, the interaction and tensions between a ‘historical self’ and a ‘present self’ is unavoidable. As Turner stated: “Reenactments set up two interesting frames of ‘reality’, one shaped by the contemporary ongoing present, and one generated by the records of history and reconstituted through the objects, actions, and space” (Turner, 1990: 125-126)
The “historical self” emerges as the reenactment become so convincing that the reenactors undergo a unique experience of losing oneself in the history. I experienced the sense of “historical self” when participating the reenactment in Ligny. At night, people gathered together in the camp enjoy each other’s company. With candles and dim lights lighting us, bottles of wine passing around, jokes and stories being told, songs being sung. Normally I don’t drink alcohol, but I found it hard to resist under such circumstances. I nearly lost myself in the Napoleonic night. On the following day, I followed the army paraded through the city. Marching on the beatings of drums, listening to the military music playing, surrounded by the soldiers, being so close to Napoleon and Marshal Ney, I couldn’t help but let the sense of a soldier took me. Reenactors told me what it was like in Waterloo 2015, I could only imagine being in a reenactment like that scale. The howling horses and cannons, thundering muskets and shouts must have been a unique experience for the reenactors involved. Mr Samson told me that when they reenacted Napoleon’s coronation, some “soldiers” even actually cried on the scene. There is something, a kind of experience and knowledge, that can only be gained through living through. No one ever experienced the same thing to be sure but the perfection of the world in reenacting allows participants to occasionally be in the same position as those who fought long ago (Turner, 1990: 126). This kind of experience transforms reenactors into someone else—the “historical self”. This identity, what Turner called “play identity”, can sometimes obscure the “real” identity. The reenactors became a “creative individual freely engaging in a personally meaningful activity.” (Turner, 1990: 126)
Development of self-occurred as individuals fashioned themselves like characters in a theatrical production. Reenactors, as Turner (1990) argued, stage their historical impressions in a quasi-theatrical manner. Schechner (2002) further discussed what performance is and its function. According to Schechner, “to perform” means being, doing, showing doing, explaining showing doing (2002, 22). While performances mark identities, bend time, reshape and adorn the body and tell stories. Schechner argued that “Restored behaviour is the key process of every kind of performing.” (2002:28) Restored behaviour is “me behaving someone else”. If we can define reenactment as a form of performance, we can find that what the reenactors are doing is exactly “restored behaviour”.
Turner (1989) suggested the mimetic iconic nature of reenacting is crucial to this process. A reenactor puts him or herself inside a figurative identity and a figurative world. In a flexible manner, a reenactor becomes a different I; flexible, because there is a constant slippage between this figurative identity and normal identity (1989:59) Similarly, Strauss recognises that re-enactment brings people into a world of hyper-reality where the re-enactor is able to achieve the ultimate goal of the re-enactor, a kind of suspension of belief (2001: 147), a state to which Strauss refers as authentic experience. However, in order to get this authentic experience, the individual reenactor himself must emerge as an authentic soldier in the field first.
Communitas
Another argument worth mentioning is Victor Turner’s communitas. According to Turner, communitas is “society as an unstructured or rudimentarily structured and relatively undifferentiated comitatus, community, or even communion of equal individuals who submit together to the general authority of ritual elders” (Turner, 1986: 96) We can probably indicate that communitas is something emerges when social hierarchy disappears and everybody engage with each other as equals and thus boundaries between individuals vanished. It could be argued that activities like reenactment is a perfect situation for communitas to develop. During reenactment events, people from different social classes gathered and have fun together. I encountered civil servants, lawyers, teachers, doctors, police commissioners and people from nearly every occupation. When people put on their uniforms, hold their muskets, march together to the field, the everyday distinction between each other disappears and brings everyone onto an equal level. This allows the whole of the community to share a common experience, usually through a rite of passage.
However, communitas in reenactment is largely based on the company one belongs to. The company members are the closest in the field and the share of common experience is stronger than other reenactors. It could be argued that the company is where the strongest sense of belonging lies. In Ligny reenactment, certain rule was made for the companies that if one member was found drunk in the field the whole company would be expelled. Just a few hours after my joining the 45eme, I already developed a strong sense of belonging to the company and in turn friendship and comradeship was offered to me. When I was bumped into by a drunken French soldier, two members from the 45eme stood out and demanded an apology from the drunken guy. I would argue that though aspects of communitas can be seen in reenactment, the connections between different groups of reenactors are still very weak. The loyalty of an individual reenactor belongs to the company. The identity of a soldier from a certain company is constructed though the things and events they experience together.
Conclusion
During the summer of 2016, I had the most amazing experience like none before in my life. I met ‘Napoleon’ and had a chat with him as well as a visit to a museum of uniforms in Dinard. I slept in a tent under the rainy sky tens of thousands of miles from my home and participated in reenactment I have dreamed for so long. I met friends from Britain, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Serbia and Australia. On the night when they presented me the wine, I felt myself accepted by the company. Though my unexpected stay with the 45eme was quite short, I believe our friendship will last long. Never have I been through such a colourful experience. I still remember every single day I spent in France and Belgium clearly. My experience in the reenactment gave me an insight on what a reenactment was like and how the reenactors view themselves. With the help of my gate-keepers, I achieved far more than I could expect before going to the field. I begin to see reenactment through a different lens which is quite different from what the public assumes. The things I saw, the songs I heard, the atmosphere I felt shaped this dissertation on how reenactors construct their identities.
This dissertation has shown what reenactment life is like and how to be a good reenactor. Though reenactment is a kind of “leisure”, to actually enjoy it is not easy. This thesis demonstrated how and why reenactors pursue authenticity. Although their effort is doomed to failure, they are still trying hard to achieve that impossible aim. Significant amounts of time are needed to be accepted as a reenactor. However, unlike popular public assumptions, they are not crazy people with a lot free time, they are not silly individuals with much spare money, they are not childish persons live in their dreams. Instead, they are just normal people like everyone else who seek break between stressful works and friends’ companionship in this fast pace world.
There are three topics in my dissertation: serious leisure, authenticity, and identity construction. Through my experience in the field, I have argued that authenticity is the key point in reenactment. Authenticity is presented and embodied through reenactors’ effort in getting proper impression on their appearances and behaviours. Authentic material culture from past as well as historical behaviours are the main factors in shaping an authentic reenactment experience. Authenticity is in turn the basic factor in reenactors’ identity construction. The authentic disclosures contribute to the creation of a different world, a world in which reenactors find themselves in the position of those who lived and fought centuries ago. The ‘historical self’ is what the reenactors seek and experience during events. The relatively-equal atmosphere as well as shared experience during events leads to communitas in reenactments that strengthens the tie between each individual and their sense of belonging to the company to which they belong.
This is the ‘serious leisure’ I demonstrated in my thesis. Tiring, demanding, sometimes annoying a task as it maybe, it is also a funny, relaxing and friendly activity that tens of thousands of reenactors commit themselves to.
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Rubriques : • On parle de nous
