ABSTRACT
In certain African kingship systems, rather than a jester playing the role of king, the king was required annually to play the fool. The dangers of such associations with the fool tradition degenerating into outright sacrilege are evident in the many ecclesiastical attempts at suppression. Jesus was a fool's Messiah, a donkey-deliverer, a jester to the political and ecclesiastical kingdoms of earth. Fools were also found in traveling shows and festivals, processions and country fairs, taverns and brothels. In democratic countries the role of court fool sometimes seems to be filled by cartoonists, comedians, and political satirists—though without the same direct access and influence. A common theme in the fool tradition is that all human beings are fools in their various ways, the stage fool and the social fool being only exemplars of a universal phenomenon. The jester is always about to bow the knee to earthly kingdoms, but never quite manages to go through with the motion.
