14 Aug 2014

MORRIS DANCERS

Letter : M

Throughout history, the Morris seems to have been common. It was imported from village festivities into popular entertainment after the invention of the court masque by Henry VIII. The word Morris apparently derived from “morisco,” meaning “Moorish.” Cecil Sharp, whose collecting of Morris dances preserved many from extinction, suggested that it might have arisen from the dancers’ blacking their faces as part of the necessary ritual disguise.

While I was in Eastbourne we went to a  Lammas festival, a festival of the wheat harvest, and of course watched the Morris dancers.



Their faces were painted in black






After their dancing performance, people joined in and all danced together.



This one looked quite impressive !

It was a lot of fun !

Jenny Matlock
more participants at Jenny Matlock's Alphabet Thursday
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13 comments:

  1. Hilary Melton-Butcher14 Aug 2014, 12:11:00

    Hi Gattina .. it looked fun and am glad you posted the photos ... cheers Hilary

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  2. EG CameraGirl14 Aug 2014, 17:01:00

    So interesting, Gattina. I had no idea the word Morris may have originated with the word Moors. I can see that a few Morris dancers still blacken their faces.

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  3. carol l mckenna14 Aug 2014, 17:05:00

    Fascinating post of the Morris Dancers for M and great shots ~

    artmusedog and carol (A Creative Harbor)

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  4. Rocky Mountain Woman14 Aug 2014, 19:41:00

    Interesting. What a fun tradition...

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  5. Loree14 Aug 2014, 20:57:00

    Morris dancing is still a popular tradition in England. I have never seen a Morris dance. It looks interesting.

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  6. peppylady (Dora)14 Aug 2014, 21:55:00

    I went to Lammas but had to drive 2 hours.

    Coffee is on

    ReplyDelete
  7. Pam Beers.14 Aug 2014, 22:00:00

    What fun! I'd love to see this as an adult, but I think it would be kinda scary as a child. Love the photos.

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  8. Fun6014 Aug 2014, 23:09:00

    It looked like a lot of fun. Hope you enjoyed a dance yourself.

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  9. Su-sieee! Mac15 Aug 2014, 07:58:00

    Very interesting post. Morris from Moors. I wouldn't have guessed that one.

    Take 25 to Hollister

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  10. Betty15 Aug 2014, 21:01:00

    Interesting. I've never heard of them.

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  11. 21 Wits15 Aug 2014, 23:19:00

    Wow, this is so cool!

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  12. Lmkazmierczak16 Aug 2014, 18:39:00

    Fascinating post...had not heard of the Morris traditions♪ http://lauriekazmierczak.com/mini-moon/

    ReplyDelete
  13. Jenny19 Aug 2014, 21:00:00

    Wow. What a marvelous post for the letter M.

    I love learning from you!

    You are a wonderful teacher!

    Thanks for a fun and interesting link for the letter M.

    A+

    ReplyDelete

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