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H(a)untology

By Artyom Kolganov, Arthur Gouillart, Gaspard Bébié-Valérian

One of the local witch stories of Hasselt includes ‘the fish stone’, which was used for cutting fresh fish during city markets. While the good parts of the fish were sold, the bad ones were thrown onto a dirt heap that was visited by cats searching for food. Cats had a negative connotation as they were thought of as signalling the presence of witches, and they were therefore expelled from the market. ‘H(a)untology’ is a ritual that was performed in Hasselt to reverse this historical inequity and restore the reputation of the witches. The text presented here was developed for the ritual and was read aloud during the performance.

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H(a)untology

Hasselt has been associated historically with witches. One of the local witch stories concerns 'the fish stone', which was used for cutting fresh fish during city markets. While the good parts of the fish were sold, the bad ones were thrown onto a dirt heap that was visited by cats searching for food. Cats had a negative connotation as they were thought of as signalling the presence of witches, and they were therefore expelled from the market.

The ritual, which took place in the garden of the Municipal Museum, consisted in cutting fish on the fish stone, leaving the best part for stray cats. The ritual intended to reverse a historical inequity and to restore the reputation of the witches. Below is the text that accompanied the ritual and was read aloud during the performance.

1 stone
3 fish
3 knives

Visible and invisible forces

Potential cats

A spectre haunts Europe, A spectre hunts witches.

Capitalist sorcery doesn't need sorcerers. The logic of acquisition is the logic of extinction.

Using the knife,

then

We Cats

then

We Stones

then

We Fish

then

We Witches

then

On this stone, the authority of the market held the knife.

The knife slashed fishes. The knife separated lives. The knife wounded non-humans. The knife nourishes.

If all the fins are cut:

No more witches. Is that a question?

If successful:

Cats as the continuation of the witches. Is that a question?

Cats as signalling the presence of witches, really?

The market as a context, remnants of a context,
a history, a place.
The erosion of a stone,
the stone being eroded,
the burning of a witch,
witches being burnt.
The eviction of a cat,
cats being evicted
from the market.
The erosion of memory,
the burning of the past,
the removal of a minor narrative.
From the anus, cut alongside towards the fish tail.

Then

Marginal lives are being given marginal values.
Excluded cats are being given discarded resources.
Do they know they’ve been excluded?
I think they do.
Actually.

Then

both sides.

If successful,

Maintain the fish firmly on the head with your hand, pull and cut the fish going towards the tail.

Otherwise:

Let’s reassemble the past to get access to the present. Let’s infect the present with the past. An offering for reparation, an offering for contamination.

Void function fillet (side)

then

Hauntology is our ontology.

Then

While humans are able:

Wait until the cats arrive.

Hauntology is our ontology.

Otherwise:

To haunt is to hunt.

Wait until the rain stops.

Go away.