the clowns have a punitive and policing function in ceremonial matters and through their license in speech and song a somewhat similar function in domestic matters

ridicule is one of their strongest weapons

they are always liminalities, living in “spirit forests” or “spirit houses”, associated with the afterlife, death and disease, alternate states of consciousness, anti-nature, and forces of chaos (especially lightning)

the clowns are aesthetically and figuratively liminoid; their narratives are constructed of boundaries, contrasts and discontinuities

they nearly all have a structured, ritual theater with archetypal, representative characters

they all provide some therapeutic function for their respective tribes, either in the form of healing, exorcism, dispute mediation or cathartic humor

the clowns will often practice the simulated or real consumption of human and animal ordure (urine and feces)

they engage in performative ur-orgies or masquerades that are sometimes dangerous or destructive

the clowns almost always possess phallic symbols, or engage in phallic gestures (many Tricksters are phallic beings, such as Loki or the American Indian Wakdjunkaga

animal sacrifice is practiced, using dogs or goats, which some theorize are sublimations of human sacrifice

they are often associated with ecstatic states; urine is swallowed, dogs are torn to shreds, mice have their heads bitten off by clowns in ecstatic frenzy

fantastical ritual masks are often used, horns and black & white patterning are incredibly common (alternatively, many other decidedly “clownish” attributes are present, such as long noses, wild, bushy hair and dressing in rags)

they possess the four recurring traits widely shared by clowns, specifically in North America: 1) duality, 2) a relation to otherness, 3) exaggerated bodily desires, and 4) poverty

they engage in activities associated with clowning: acrobatics, pantomime, capering, tumbling, ventriloquism, mockery, mimicry, juggling, physical comedy of all sorts

they are powerful organizations, to be feared and respected

they are cryptic, fraternal societies that require initiation and violently protect their secrets

Many will be surprised such a thing as a “clown cult” even exists, let alone that it is a nearly universal tradition in small-scale societies throughout the world. The practice of ritual clown theater is nearly as critical in tribal life as a “midwife” or a “medicine man”. Many of the more outlandish ritual masks to which Westerners have been exposed have come from clown cults, usually presented without context, or generically as “shamanic”.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5239960&forum_id=2#45528705)