ANCIENT 0 - MODERN 1
For over 150 years, the Britannia Coco-nut Morris Dancers of Bacup in Lancashire have been performing their traditional 12-hour Easter Saturday ritual of dancing through seven miles of the town. It`s an extraordinary event - at once bizarre, quirky, colourful, unique and wonderful. The all male troup was formed as the Tunstead Mill Nutters in 1857 and they passed the tradition on to workers at the Britannia Mill in the 1920s. So it`s a long standing feature of English folklore, although probably originating from the Moors who settled in Cornwall in the 17th century, became tin miners and then moved to the quarries and mines of Lancashire. This lineage may be confirmed by the fact that similar dances are performed in Provence - le Danse des Coco.
The name Coco-nuts refers to the wooden nuts worn on their knees, waists and wrists, made from the tops of bobbins, and are used as as a percussion accompaniment by the dancers who wear white turbans, red and white skirts, white hose and black clogs and the whole event, including the dance and the dress, tells a story and forms an important role in maintaining the traditions of English folk dance and custom. But perhaps the most striking feature to modern eyes is that the faces of the dancers are blackened, either to reflect the origin of the dance or to ward off evil spirits.
In recent months, however, the Britannia Coco-nutters have encountered problems. First there was the issue of road closure orders and traffic management which could cost the group £1,000 and now we have our old friends Health and Safety, apparently requiring voluteers to go on a traffic safety course. It seems that Lancashire County Council cannot or will not fund the £600 cost of the course which they say must be met by the Nutters. "They will have to apply for the road to be closed under the Road Traffic Regulation Act and to provide appropriately trained stewards," a Council spokesman said.
A couple of things are interesting here. First, the event raises funds for local charities - last year it raised £600, coincidentally the same amount as the Council wants for its `safety course.` And then, whilst it naturally goes unsaid, one is left to wonder whether this sudden upsurge of bureaucratic interest is as much to do with the political correctness of our times as a slavish adherence to health and safety and obscure regulation. It all sounds like another example of ancient tradition being overwhelmed by the absurdities of the modern day and it is at best regrettable and at worst outrageous.
Here`s what we might be missing:-
The name Coco-nuts refers to the wooden nuts worn on their knees, waists and wrists, made from the tops of bobbins, and are used as as a percussion accompaniment by the dancers who wear white turbans, red and white skirts, white hose and black clogs and the whole event, including the dance and the dress, tells a story and forms an important role in maintaining the traditions of English folk dance and custom. But perhaps the most striking feature to modern eyes is that the faces of the dancers are blackened, either to reflect the origin of the dance or to ward off evil spirits.
In recent months, however, the Britannia Coco-nutters have encountered problems. First there was the issue of road closure orders and traffic management which could cost the group £1,000 and now we have our old friends Health and Safety, apparently requiring voluteers to go on a traffic safety course. It seems that Lancashire County Council cannot or will not fund the £600 cost of the course which they say must be met by the Nutters. "They will have to apply for the road to be closed under the Road Traffic Regulation Act and to provide appropriately trained stewards," a Council spokesman said.
A couple of things are interesting here. First, the event raises funds for local charities - last year it raised £600, coincidentally the same amount as the Council wants for its `safety course.` And then, whilst it naturally goes unsaid, one is left to wonder whether this sudden upsurge of bureaucratic interest is as much to do with the political correctness of our times as a slavish adherence to health and safety and obscure regulation. It all sounds like another example of ancient tradition being overwhelmed by the absurdities of the modern day and it is at best regrettable and at worst outrageous.
Here`s what we might be missing:-
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