Border Morris
Encyclopedia
The term Border Morris refers to a collection of individual local dances from villages along the English side of the Wales
-England
border in the counties of Herefordshire
, Worcestershire
and Shropshire
. They are part of the Morris dance
tradition.
This was usually a village dance done in winter for fun and a bit of money. Dances exist for from three to twelve dancers. The dance depends on the numbers available, as at Brimfield. The dances collected from a particular place sometimes differ quite markedly between informants, as at White Ladies Aston
, reflecting the flexibility from year to year. Sometimes a gang would only have one dance, sometimes two, or as at Malvern
and Pershore
an indeterminate set of figures. The common features are the rather short sticks and sometimes a stick and handkerchief version of the same dance, also usually a high single step akin to the local country dance step. Such detail as starting foot rules and phrase endings are notable for their apparent absence. Some of these village sides blackened their faces - thought to be for reasons of disguise. There is no record of any sides dancing together. A few – both Upton-upon-Severn dances for example – matched the complexity of Cotswolds
Morris, but many – e.g. Bromsberrow Heath – had a stark simplicity of one figure and one chorus repeated forever. Details of the collected dances can be found in Roy Dommett
's collected notes, referenced below.
Tradition, say. But the idea struck a chord.
So since the 1960s and with further collecting in the 1970s by people like Dave Jones (late of Silurian Morris (founded 1969) and later the Not For Joes) and Keith Francis (of Silurian Morris) a distinctive "Border Morris" style has grown. The tradition is characterised by black faces, tattered shirts or coats, lots of stick-clashing and a big band traditionally comprising melodeons, fiddle
, concertina
, triangle and tambourines, although now often also feature a tuba or sousaphone, flute or oboe. Samples of the border sound can be found here.
Under the guidance of Dave Jones and Keith Francis, Silurian Border Morris sought to interpret the collected dance material, preserving as much of the traditional styles and features as can be deduced. By contrast, in 1975, John Kirkpatrick created a new border tradition with the Shropshire Bedlams, which seeks to capture the spirit of the border sides, but not recreate any specific tradition or dance. Their dances feature much "whooping" and this has become characteristic amongst many other border sides. Perhaps in keeping with the original tradition, the Original Welsh Border Morris (founded 1973) meet only once a year, at Christmas, and dance the traditional dances of Herefordshire and Worcestershire. With many of the newer sides, the dances have often become complex, involving many invented and evolved steps, figures and choruses.
to appear "in disguise, either by mask or by blackened face".
Another theory is that the black face tradition derives from earlier forms of the dance involving a Moroccan king and his followers (which links into the theory that the word "morris" is derived from moorish or moresco
). There is recorded evidence from 1688 of payments in Shrewsbury
of 10 shillings to Ye Bedlam Morris and 2 shillings for Ye King of Morroco http://www.americanmorrisnews.org/pastissues/april2005v25n1/current_issue/gordonashmanv25n1bordermorrisrootsandrevival.html.
There are even earlier recordings of a black-face morris tradition in Europe. Carved figures from 1480 in Munich, Germany show "moriscan dancers" with black faces and bells and evidence from France includes the quote from Arbeau circa 1580 which stated "In fashionable society when I was young, a small boy, his face daubed with black and his forehead swathed in a white or yellow handkerchief, would make an appearance after supper. He wore leggings covered with little bells and performed a morris". However, there is too little recorded evidence to prove or disprove any linkage to the dances on the English Welsh borders.
More recently, some people have postulated that the black face tradition was linked to the much later introduction of the American minstrel show
s into Victorian England in the late 1830s http://richardsmusicandmore.blogspot.com/2008/08/morris-dancers-or-minstrel-show.html. However, there is no direct evidence of this nor any explanation for why rural border morris dancers would choose to adapt their traditional folk dances to partially dress like the minstrel performers, but not adopt the whole costume or any other element of the show. By the early 20th century, border morris dancing was referred to colloquially by some as "nigger
dancing" or "going niggering" http://www.opread.force9.co.uk/RoyDommet/BorderNotes/collectedmorris.htm#collectedmorrishttp://dspace.dial.pipex.com/town/avenue/pd49/morris/notes/helm/cawte57.htm. Some view this as direct evidence of the link with minstrel shows http://www.americanmorrisnews.org/pastissues/dec2005v25n4/current_issue/rhettkrausev25n4morrisdancingandamerica.html: others regard this as nothing more than an obvious description of an older black-face tradition using the terminology and culture of the times.
Whatever the theory, there is certainly no evidence that modern border sides attach any racial significance to the blacking of their faces and most choose to accept the explanation of "disguise" for the tradition. Despite that, a few recent sides have chosen to paint their faces in colours other than black to avoid controversy.
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
-England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
border in the counties of Herefordshire
Herefordshire
Herefordshire is a historic and ceremonial county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire" NUTS 2 region. It also forms a unitary district known as the...
, Worcestershire
Worcestershire
Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...
and Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
. They are part of the Morris dance
Morris dance
Morris dance is a form of English folk dance usually accompanied by music. It is based on rhythmic stepping and the execution of choreographed figures by a group of dancers. Implements such as sticks, swords, handkerchiefs and bells may also be wielded by the dancers...
tradition.
History
White Ladies Aston
White Ladies Aston is a village in Worcestershire, England, United Kingdom, and also lends its name to the Civil Parish in which the village is located.- History & amenities :The parish is bound to the east by the Bow Brook...
, reflecting the flexibility from year to year. Sometimes a gang would only have one dance, sometimes two, or as at Malvern
Malvern, Worcestershire
Malvern is a town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, governed by Malvern Town Council. As of the 2001 census it has a population of 28,749, and includes the historical settlement and commercial centre of Great Malvern on the steep eastern flank of the Malvern Hills, and the former...
and Pershore
Pershore
Pershore is a market town in Worcestershire, England, on the banks of the River Avon. Pershore is in the Wychavon district and is part of the West Worcestershire parliamentary constituency. At the 2001 census the population was 7,304...
an indeterminate set of figures. The common features are the rather short sticks and sometimes a stick and handkerchief version of the same dance, also usually a high single step akin to the local country dance step. Such detail as starting foot rules and phrase endings are notable for their apparent absence. Some of these village sides blackened their faces - thought to be for reasons of disguise. There is no record of any sides dancing together. A few – both Upton-upon-Severn dances for example – matched the complexity of Cotswolds
Cotswolds
The Cotswolds are a range of hills in west-central England, sometimes called the Heart of England, an area across and long. The area has been designated as the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty...
Morris, but many – e.g. Bromsberrow Heath – had a stark simplicity of one figure and one chorus repeated forever. Details of the collected dances can be found in Roy Dommett
Roy Dommett
Roy Dommett CBE is a retired engineer and rocket scientist, and formerly the United Kingdom's Chief Missile Scientist, who for many years led the United Kingdom's research and development of both nuclear rockets and space rockets for the delivery of satellites to orbit...
's collected notes, referenced below.
Border Morris revival
In the 1960s, E. C. Cawte, the folklorist, proposed that these dances from the English side of the Welsh borders - Herefordshire, Shropshire and Worcestershire - constituted a Welsh Border Tradition (see notes under external resources below). Some would disagree that a "tradition" existed in the same sense as a LongboroughLongborough
Longborough is a village and civil parish north of the market town of Stow on the Wold, Gloucestershire.The village is about east of the A424, around west of the Fosse Way and is on the Heart of England Way....
Tradition, say. But the idea struck a chord.
So since the 1960s and with further collecting in the 1970s by people like Dave Jones (late of Silurian Morris (founded 1969) and later the Not For Joes) and Keith Francis (of Silurian Morris) a distinctive "Border Morris" style has grown. The tradition is characterised by black faces, tattered shirts or coats, lots of stick-clashing and a big band traditionally comprising melodeons, fiddle
Fiddle
The term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
, concertina
Concertina
A concertina is a free-reed musical instrument, like the various accordions and the harmonica. It has a bellows and buttons typically on both ends of it. When pressed, the buttons travel in the same direction as the bellows, unlike accordion buttons which travel perpendicularly to it...
, triangle and tambourines, although now often also feature a tuba or sousaphone, flute or oboe. Samples of the border sound can be found here.
Under the guidance of Dave Jones and Keith Francis, Silurian Border Morris sought to interpret the collected dance material, preserving as much of the traditional styles and features as can be deduced. By contrast, in 1975, John Kirkpatrick created a new border tradition with the Shropshire Bedlams, which seeks to capture the spirit of the border sides, but not recreate any specific tradition or dance. Their dances feature much "whooping" and this has become characteristic amongst many other border sides. Perhaps in keeping with the original tradition, the Original Welsh Border Morris (founded 1973) meet only once a year, at Christmas, and dance the traditional dances of Herefordshire and Worcestershire. With many of the newer sides, the dances have often become complex, involving many invented and evolved steps, figures and choruses.
Black Face
In recent years, the black face has created some controversy, particularly in North America. The usual explanation for the black face is that it is for "disguise", and that during the hard winters of the 17-18th Century out of work labourers and builders sought to anonymously supplement their income by a bit of dancing and begging. The use of the black face as a form of disguise is certainly well established in early 18th century England - so much so, that in 1723 it became a capital offence under the Waltham "Black Act"Black Act
The Black Act , was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain passed in 1723 during the reign King George I of Great Britain in response to the Waltham deer poachers and a group of bandits known as the "Wokingham Blacks". It made it a felony to appear armed in a park or warren, or to hunt or steal...
to appear "in disguise, either by mask or by blackened face".
Another theory is that the black face tradition derives from earlier forms of the dance involving a Moroccan king and his followers (which links into the theory that the word "morris" is derived from moorish or moresco
Morisco
Moriscos or Mouriscos , meaning "Moorish", were the converted Christian inhabitants of Spain and Portugal of Muslim heritage. Over time the term was used in a pejorative sense applied to those nominal Catholics who were suspected of secretly practicing Islam.-Demographics:By the beginning of the...
). There is recorded evidence from 1688 of payments in Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is a civil parish home to some 70,000 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council...
of 10 shillings to Ye Bedlam Morris and 2 shillings for Ye King of Morroco http://www.americanmorrisnews.org/pastissues/april2005v25n1/current_issue/gordonashmanv25n1bordermorrisrootsandrevival.html.
There are even earlier recordings of a black-face morris tradition in Europe. Carved figures from 1480 in Munich, Germany show "moriscan dancers" with black faces and bells and evidence from France includes the quote from Arbeau circa 1580 which stated "In fashionable society when I was young, a small boy, his face daubed with black and his forehead swathed in a white or yellow handkerchief, would make an appearance after supper. He wore leggings covered with little bells and performed a morris". However, there is too little recorded evidence to prove or disprove any linkage to the dances on the English Welsh borders.
More recently, some people have postulated that the black face tradition was linked to the much later introduction of the American minstrel show
Minstrel show
The minstrel show, or minstrelsy, was an American entertainment consisting of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music, performed by white people in blackface or, especially after the Civil War, black people in blackface....
s into Victorian England in the late 1830s http://richardsmusicandmore.blogspot.com/2008/08/morris-dancers-or-minstrel-show.html. However, there is no direct evidence of this nor any explanation for why rural border morris dancers would choose to adapt their traditional folk dances to partially dress like the minstrel performers, but not adopt the whole costume or any other element of the show. By the early 20th century, border morris dancing was referred to colloquially by some as "nigger
Nigger
Nigger is a noun in the English language, most notable for its usage in a pejorative context to refer to black people , and also as an informal slang term, among other contexts. It is a common ethnic slur...
dancing" or "going niggering" http://www.opread.force9.co.uk/RoyDommet/BorderNotes/collectedmorris.htm#collectedmorrishttp://dspace.dial.pipex.com/town/avenue/pd49/morris/notes/helm/cawte57.htm. Some view this as direct evidence of the link with minstrel shows http://www.americanmorrisnews.org/pastissues/dec2005v25n4/current_issue/rhettkrausev25n4morrisdancingandamerica.html: others regard this as nothing more than an obvious description of an older black-face tradition using the terminology and culture of the times.
Whatever the theory, there is certainly no evidence that modern border sides attach any racial significance to the blacking of their faces and most choose to accept the explanation of "disguise" for the tradition. Despite that, a few recent sides have chosen to paint their faces in colours other than black to avoid controversy.
Other black-face traditions
Unrelated black-face English dance traditions can be found within the UK.- Britannia Coco-nut Dancers of BacupBacupBacup is a town within the Rossendale borough of Lancashire, England. It is located amongst the South Pennines, along Lancashire's eastern boundary with West Yorkshire. The town sits within a rural setting in the Forest of Rossendale, amongst the steep-sided upper-Irwell Valley, through which the...
- Molly danceMolly danceMolly dancing is a form of English Morris dance, traditionally done by out of work ploughboys in midwinter in the 19th century.-History:Molly dancing has been recorded in many parts of the English Midlands and East Anglia. It died out finally in the 1930s, the last dancers seen dancing in Little...
of the East MidlandsEast MidlandsThe East Midlands is one of the regions of England, consisting of most of the eastern half of the traditional region of the Midlands. It encompasses the combined area of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Northamptonshire and most of Lincolnshire...
and East AngliaEast AngliaEast Anglia is a traditional name for a region of eastern England, named after an ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the Kingdom of the East Angles. The Angles took their name from their homeland Angeln, in northern Germany. East Anglia initially consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk, but upon the marriage of...
. - Darkie day at PadstowPadstowPadstow is a town, civil parish and fishing port on the north coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town is situated on the west bank of the River Camel estuary approximately five miles northwest of Wadebridge, ten miles northwest of Bodmin and ten miles northeast of Newquay...
on Boxing day
External links
- Source Material for the Border Morris Tradition, Roy Dommett
- Border Morris: Roots & Revival, Gordon Ashman
- Visit to Herefordshire and Worcestershire, May 1957. E.C. Cawte
- History of Border Morris
- Breinton Morris's take on Border Morris
- The Pershore Morris (pdf)
- German carvings from 1480 showing "moriscan dancers" including black faces
- Home page of the Silurian Border Morrismen
- Mike Miller's Border Morris Notes