The Real Cornish Online Magazine - Cornish Story

EventsGwav Winter 2010Gwav Winter 2010Eventsfolklorist, James Madison Carpenter, was givena script for the Padstow Mummers play by theMagor family in 1933. Another of his informantswas Robert Morton Nance whose father couldremember being scared by the dragon in the play asa child, circa 1845. Local historian John Buckinghamrecalls having his face blacked with cork as a child inthe 1940s and being sent to sing songs such as “OldDaddy Fox” and “Begone From the Window” for hisgrandmother. These songs were also stronglySt.Ives Guize Dancersassociated with guizing traditions elsewhere inCornwall.Today the Padstow Mummers consists of aprocession through the town stopping off at variouspubs for a blast of music, song and refreshment. Itis very much influenced by the May Day traditionin that a tremendous wall of sound is produced byranks of drums and accordions.The St Ives guize dancers have taken many differentforms over the years but have a continuity that goesback a long way. It ran into some criticism in theearly 1900s when a correspondent in the local pressobserved:“I learn with greatest satisfaction that the worthyMayor of St Ives, Mr Edward Hain … ……………. hasprohibited Gees Dancing for the year 1900. In thisI feel he has the support of every man and womanhaving any pretensions to moral refinement in theparish.”The fact that critics saw it as necessary torepeatedly condemn the guizers over the next fewyears is testimony to the traditions very survival andpopularity! At one stage the guizers moved theirtheatre of activity to St Ives Feast at the beginningof February but it has since returned to Christmas aswell.Penzance has recently revived a guizing traditionPenzance Guizersthat survived in the area until well into livingmemory and was actually recorded and broadcastedas the Madron guizers play by the BBC in 1935.These guizers featured a dance called “TurkeyRhubarb” which brought audience and guizerstogether as a finale to their performance.The name “Turkey Rhubarb” will probably continueto exercise folklore theorists for some time to comeas it was a dialect word for laxative! It makes anintriguing name for a band, however, and it is theTurkey Rhubarb Band that now leads the Guizers forthe Montol – Midwinter festival in Penzance.As the images show, a feature of guising is thecostume, a disguize in the form of a mask, a veil ora blackened face together with exotic attire that iscolourful, mock posh or simply dark and brooding.Once in costume you become the “other” thatnormal life will not permit. Guizing in one form oranother has been a living tradition in Cornwall forseveral hundred years and looks like it will continuefor a few more yet.A Different View of MontolBy Amy DennisAs Montol, a Penzance festival celebrating theancient Cornish traditions of Christmas andMidwinter draws closer, I speak to festival chairmanSimon Reed, to find out the history behind theevent.Montol was started recently in 2007 by Simon and3 others, who wanted to provide Penzance with apublic celebration of Midwinter and Christmas.Simon explains, “Prior to the early 20th century,the Guise dancers paraded around the streets ofPenzance in huge numbers. It would have lookedvery much like an Italian carnival.“In 1831, at the height of the Guise dance tradition,there were literally thousands on the streets alldressed in brightly coloured clothes, ribbons, largehats, gentleman's hand me downs, and they wouldperform dances, plays, and other music for theirown entertainment, and for the small number ofspectators whom they almost always outnumbered.“In Penzance on December 21st, we’ll celebrate themain event, Montol Eve, where we try and recreatethis atmosphere.“The parades of lanterns, masks and Guisecostumes will be led by the Turkey Rhubarb Band, arag tag group of disguised musicians who play in adark and foreboding style.”The beacon is lit by The Lord of Misrule, who is, inthe context of Montol, the leader of the maskedGuisers during the festival.The Lord of Misrule has a special costume andmask made for the occasion, disguising the wearercompletely.Montol has had 3 Lords of Misrule to date, 2 ladiesand one man. Other than lighting the beacon, theLord of Misrule leads the processions and takes partin the ceremonies.Anyone can be considered for the honour of Lordof Misrule, as long as you are dressed in full MontolCostume and mask, by presenting yourself to theMaster of Revels at 5.45pm on the evening ofMontol Eve at St John's Hall steps.If you select a red bean, you will have the honour ofserving as lead Guiser for the night’s celebrations.To take part you must not be a serving member of alocal authority, an MP or a member of the house oflords.Montol Eve will start in Penzance at 6pm, withthe ‘Rivers of Fire’ processions in the town’s mainstreets, followed by the lighting of the beacon and aspecially composed dance and music session at theIron Age settlement, Lescudjack Hill Fort.From 8pm, Chapel Street will be closed to all trafficand entertainment can be found on the streets,in the pubs and elsewhere. The Penzance Guiserswill weave pub to pub performing traditional musicand dance for the entertainment of the people ofPenzance.Towards the end of the night is the Burningthe ‘Mock’ or Yule Log, an old Cornish customrepresenting the end of the old year and thebeginning of the new.The tradition is to mark the Mock with a stick manrepresenting Old Father Time or the Christ Child,symbols of new beginnings and redemption.Despite the festival’s recent conception, Montol willopen your eyes to the heritage and traditions of ourcounty.The Montol Festival runs from December 16th untilDecember 21st, with full programme details to beuploaded to their website in the near future. http://www.montol.co.uk/.62 Cornish Story MagazineCornish Story Magazine 63