Serpent dance
Encyclopedia
The Serpent dance is a traditional Cornish
dance associated with the Midsummer
festival of Golowan and Cornish cultural events such as Noze looan
. detailed description of the Golowan serpent dance form An Daras the Cornish culture website.
Below is a description of the dance as performed in the Golowan fire festival in Penzance
in the 19th Century from J S Courtney's 'Guide to Penzance and it's neighbourhood' (1845)
"The proceedings finished by the boys and girls from the quay, whose torches had by this time expired, dancing in a long line hand-in-hand through the streets, in and out and sometimes over the now low burning tar-barrels, crying out, "An eye, an eye". At this shout the top couple held up their arms and beginning with the last the others ran under them thus reversing their position."
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
dance associated with the Midsummer
Midsummer
Midsummer may simply refer to the period of time centered upon the summer solstice, but more often refers to specific European celebrations that accompany the actual solstice, or that take place on a day between June 21 and June 24, and the preceding evening. The exact dates vary between different...
festival of Golowan and Cornish cultural events such as Noze looan
Noze looan
Noze looan is a style of Cornish-Celtic dance, and associated music and events similar to the Breton Fest Noz. Noze Looan is late Cornish for "happy night" ....
. detailed description of the Golowan serpent dance form An Daras the Cornish culture website.
Below is a description of the dance as performed in the Golowan fire festival in Penzance
Penzance
Penzance is a town, civil parish, and port in Cornwall, England, in the United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is approximately 75 miles west of Plymouth and 300 miles west-southwest of London...
in the 19th Century from J S Courtney's 'Guide to Penzance and it's neighbourhood' (1845)
"The proceedings finished by the boys and girls from the quay, whose torches had by this time expired, dancing in a long line hand-in-hand through the streets, in and out and sometimes over the now low burning tar-barrels, crying out, "An eye, an eye". At this shout the top couple held up their arms and beginning with the last the others ran under them thus reversing their position."