Comedy and satire are ubiquitous human traits and are used to great effect as entertainment but I'm extremely interested in the history of comedy/satire as an essential counterpoint to the human condition, specifically as a palatable way to highlight pressing issues.

I'd like to know more about cultures that recognised the necessity of a sacred clown as a balance to serious issues and a means of highlighting societal problems, such as the Lakota with their "heyoka", who seemed to be regarded more as religious figures than entertainment.

Is this a sacred clown a common cultural phenomenon?

(In contrast to someone such as Aristophenes who although serving the same function essentially, was first an entertainer and then a social commentator, as opposed to the other way around.)