Morris dancers - # 126
This is another sight, rare in Richmond, that I was lucky to catch a couple of weeks ago: Morris Dancers outside a pub on Richmond Green.
Don't laugh! This is very English, ancient, going back to pagan times, celebrating many ritual formalities from a time when man was in closer touch with the earth. Therefore it's important to keep it alive.
Two troupes were gathered. The Green and White are more usual; the "Black Faces and Red Coats" are less usual and look more sinister but very impressive, and had a different dancing style, though of course typical. No doubt they represented a different "force of nature".
Here you can see a typically decorated hat, snapped through the pub window.
The pictures are not very "artistic" or technically well executed - I was running low on battery and it was more important to capture an event that is now rarely seen around London and the suburbs.
Click on the photos to enlarge - it's worth it.
I can't seem to leave comments here as when I click on comments I get a tuny page and only a part of it is shown. I think you must have tavs selected and not new window. Or something. I can't see what I am typing. It might also be Firefox but it doesn't do it on all blogs, just your blog and a few others.
ReplyDelete-------
Today, I published a nest photograph and some details about its construction; and a link to some dead birds with an explanation. Oh; and thanks for coming to my blog and leaving comments. I do appreciate it.
Abraham Lincoln
Brookville Daily Photo
My Photography
I went to a (hippie) wedding upstate NY where the Morris Dances were the main entertainment (no black faces, mind you!).
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed the barbershop addition - did you notice that the barber was in dire need of a haircut himself ;-)
Funnily enough I've just come back from northern France where they had a cabaret of a French version of a Morris dancer and fabulous it was too. I've seen a great group from East Anglia too at a dog show. You see folk dancers (with many similarities) all over the world.
ReplyDeleteNo problems posting, Chuckeroon, although yesterday I had problems with one (can't remember which city now but I had to type the funny letters six times before it accepted them - kept telling me I'd typed them incorrectly and I hadn't. One time I had this problem with Abraham's blog. It'll probably clear itself.
I returned to check it out a second time after your visit to my blog. And lo, it opened properly. In fact the whole page opened. I have no idea what happened. Maybe I should have rebooted earlier.
ReplyDelete-------
Today, I published a nest photograph and some details about its construction; and a link to some dead birds with an explanation. Oh; and thanks for coming to my blog and leaving comments. I do appreciate it.
Abraham Lincoln
Brookville Daily Photo
My Photography
Morris has nothing to do with the car I suppose? I beleive it must be related to "moorish"? No ladies allowed? Related to old pub traditions?
ReplyDeleteThanks for answer and link given in a comment on my blog. It's interesting how you can be pushed to research and learning, when blogging. For me, that's the best part.
ReplyDeletePeter makes a good point, however one of the things I find frustrating is the difficulty of following threads when sometimes they leap back and forward between blogs, and sometimes stay in the originating posts.
ReplyDeleteBack to Morrismen - they are usually good ale-men as well from my recollection
The only Morris I knew were Austin Morris...! Thank you, Chuck, for your report!
ReplyDeleteHave a look at this Google link where we find that Morris dancing may not be as "ancient and pagan" as I had always been lead to believe:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&aq=t&ie=UTF-8&rls=RNWE,RNWE:2006-02,RNWE:en&q=morris+dancing+history