Kulo, Captain

Culo is a participant in the Venice Carnival and the result of carnivalization . We can say that Kulo practically did not need to be invented, it was only necessary to outline his forms, since carnival culture implies the replacement of all concepts with opposite ones, for example, his buttocks become a representation of the Kulo character instead of a face. The Renaissance Carnival of Venice was no longer just a medieval carnival , but a more complex cultural phenomenon, just like Francois Rabelais ’s novel “Gargantua and Pantagruel” was no longer a direct product of carnival culture , but an intentional carnivalization of narrative . Kulo is also an act of intentional carnivalization according to Bakhtin with a number of some postmodern complications. Initially, the narrative of the carnival implies opposition to the tragic and the epic . Despite this, Kulo combines the tragic and mythical , almost ancient Antiquity , the formation of a character with his carnival being and stories of his adventures. Thus, we can say that Kulo is a postmodern character, a trickster , whose origins can be found in the culture of different eras and which can be given many different interpretations.

Kulo’s form is extremely important for the manifestation of carnivalization through images. Kulo’s form is ambivalent , its buttocks are in many respects similar in meaning to the two-faced Janus , this is the initial dichotomy of the universe, which most clearly manifests itself during the carnival . It is also worth noting that the shape of the buttocks and the modern image of the heart sign are extremely similar. Narratively, Culo is a character with a good heart who tries to help everyone, loves his city and is actively involved in the glorification of the Republic of Venice . But his very essence pushes him to different adventures , which creates a tragic and at the same time parody discrepancy between the inner world of Kulo and his external appearance, which, nevertheless, is also a replica of his big and kind heart.

Captain Culo's Biography

The Early Years of Captain Culo

Captain Culo in his original human form was born either in the 14th century , or in the 15th century in the Venetian Republic . The inaccuracy of dating his birth allows Kulo to be a very versatile character with different interpretations and storylines, since different historical eras of his birth affect his fate in different ways. Culo begins his career with service in the Venetian Navy, over time he reaches the rank of captain.

Naval battle

Venice during the Renaissance and the Early New Age is actively involved in various military clashes. During one naval battle, presumably with the fleet of the Ottoman Empire , Captain Kulo was killed and cut into many parts. The only remaining part of the body was his buttocks, which the faithful sailors delivered back to the lagoon.

Events during the Venice Carnival

The remains of Captain Culo were delivered to Venice on the eve of the next carnival . A monument was made for his tombstone as a tribute to the Captain. It was during the funeral that the Captain comes to life in his new form and becomes the new hero of the Republic of Venice .

The Adventures of Captain Kulo

After the beginning of life in a new body, Culo begins to actively participate in the life of Venice , becoming its carnival patron and protecting her from various troubles and dangers. Kulo is involved both in political intrigues and in the daily life of the city. Sometimes he enters into negotiations with the Turkish Sultan , and sometimes he helps a simple Venetian howl out of the lagoon , howling Kulo, because of his streamlined forms, was a good swimmer. From here, by the way, the idea of ​​a lifebuoy is taken, although the shape of the circle appeared later in the rationalization era of the 19th century . A similar story suggests that Lord Byron’s swim through the Bosphorus was only an attempt to repeat Kulo’s former feat. Over time, Coulomb becomes the idol of the Venetians, but he dislikes the city ​​council , which fears competition for power and sees a possible usurper in Culo. For this reason, Coulomb, following many Italians, will sail to America to return to Venice and reappear on its streets during the carnival.

Captain Culo and historical figures

Kulo was familiar with everyone whose names are preserved in history. If only a slight hillyness of some event or phenomenon appears on a flat time map, there is no doubt that Kulo was behind it. Kulo was acquainted with Casanova and took part in his adventures. Also, various literary characters, such as Othello and Desdemona , were friends and confidants of Kulo. Participating in the political intrigues of his time, Kulo made acquaintances with the Sultans, and with Emperor Charles V himself . Famous Venetian artists communicated with Culo, the colorful forms in the paintings owe their existence not only to the ancient heritage , but also to Captain Culo.

Captain Kulo and the Inquisition

The Inquisition began to fight Culo and his deeds, destroying data about him and sources that contained information about this Venetian.

Captain Culo and the Jesuits

The Inquisition was not able to completely destroy the information about Kulo, the Jesuits continued to fight with it through its extensive network. They continued to fight Kulo even after he sailed for America . It is in this that a large number of Jesuits in the New World are connected.

Due to changes in Kulo’s device, his language apparatus was also modified, which affected the phonetics of his language, and also led to the emergence of qualitatively new concepts and words. The basis of the Kulo language is Italian and Venetian languages ​​with a lagoon dialect. The pronunciation has undergone major changes, many whistling sounds have appeared, forced alliteration gives special expression to the Kulo language. If we talk about stylistic figures, then Kulo often uses anaphora .

Kulo as a character has many receptions in culture and in art.

You can start with the ancient Priapus , which is too aggressive a symbol, in contrast to the truly Renaissance Kulo. Captain Kulo is a character whose reception can be found in the High Middle Ages , and in the Renaissance , and in the Enlightenment . Images of characters close in morphology to Kulo can be found in both Bosch and Brueghel . Some references to the image of the pendant can be found in the literature. Francois Rabelais novel “Gargantua and Pantagruel” vaguely resembles a narrative about Culo, but with the difference that Culo, being a carnival character and a trickster , also has a wonderful character and kind heart. Kulo as a character also overcomes the literary game of symbols, and, unlike, for example, N.V. Gogol’s “Nose” , appears in his true image.

Kulo is not only a character in carnival culture and narrative carnivalization , but also a postmodern character in modern culture. Culo could be either a character in a postmodern novel in the style of Umberto Eco , or a hero of a children's comic book , or a hero of a rogue novel of the 16th century. In this character, the pseudo-historicity and the possibility of intellectual games echoes his direct, but non-aggressive sexuality, since Kulo is a buttock, but at the same time he is a character with a male gender identity. It should be noted that Kulo also represents pure sexuality , that is, the idea of sexuality, since it is the essence of the buttocks as a sexual object and subject of fetishization. A fetish that is not an object of opportunity becomes a symbol of itself, which can be observed on the subject of various phallic symbols in different cultures. This presence of the meaning of oneself is extremely important, it forms a vicious circle of postmodern hypertext. Thus, Kulo is hyperpersonality, which is literally itself (Kulo is equal to itself) in its being, and it incorporates all its possible incarnations and cultural interpretations.

1. Averintsev S. S. Bakhtin, laughter, Christian culture // M. M. Bakhtin as a philosopher. - M .: Nauka, 1992;
2. Bakhtin M. M. The work of Francois Rabelais and the folk culture of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. - M.: Fiction, 1990;
3. Gogol N. The Tale. Plays. Dead Souls. - M.: Fiction, 1975. - 653 p.
4. Bakhtin M. M. The work of Francois Rabelais and the folk culture of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. - M.: Fiction, 1965. - 527 p.

• http://www.carnevale.venezia.it/
• https://www.pryamaya.ru/l_ballo_del_ulo_18
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dm7A4bJ8LFo