Guise Dancing
Encyclopedia
Twelfth Night (holiday)
Twelfth Night is a festival in some branches of Christianity marking the coming of the Epiphany and concluding the Twelve Days of Christmas.It is defined by the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary as "the evening of the fifth of January, preceding Twelfth Day, the eve of the Epiphany, formerly the...
(traditionally also Plough Monday
Plough Monday
Plough Monday is the traditional start of the English agricultural year. While local practices may vary, Plough Monday is generally the first Monday after Twelfth Day , 6 January. References to Plough Monday date back to the late 15th century...
, and some parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
feasts) in Cornwall
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...
, UK. The principal activities associated with guise dancing are the performance of a 'traditional' Christmas plays such as Duffy and the Bucca or St George and the Turkish Knight and traditional Cornish dance, music and song. The performers were dressed in a disguise to hide their identity allowing them to perform in an outlandish or mischievous manner in the hope of receiving payment of food or money.
Historical description
Cornish people
The Cornish are a people associated with Cornwall, a county and Duchy in the south-west of the United Kingdom that is seen in some respects as distinct from England, having more in common with the other Celtic parts of the United Kingdom such as Wales, as well as with other Celtic nations in Europe...
antiquarian M. A. Courtney
Margaret Ann Courtney
Margaret Ann Courtney was an author resident in Penzance, Cornwall, UK in the late 19th century. M. A. Courtney is best known for her book Cornish feasts and folklore , first published in 1890...
who reported that the practice had been largely eliminated by 1890 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...
due to a decline in the traditional nature of the celebrations and a rise in anti-social behaviour, the practice however could be found in St Ives, Newlyn
Newlyn
Newlyn is a town and fishing port in southwest Cornwall, England, United Kingdom.Newlyn forms a conurbation with the neighbouring town of Penzance and is part of Penzance civil parish...
and Mousehole
Mousehole
Mousehole is a village and fishing port in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated approximately 2½ miles south of Penzance on the shore of Mount's Bay.The village is in the civil parish of Penzance...
St Ives finally ceasing in the 1970s . Mummer's Day
Mummer's Day
Mummer's Day, or "Darkie Day" as it is sometimes known, is an ancient Cornish midwinter celebration that occurs every year on Boxing Day and New Year's Day in Padstow, Cornwall...
in Padstow
Padstow
Padstow 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...
is considered by many to be the last form of traditional Guise dancing left, but is distinguished by the use of different music and the lack of masks, which are replaced by blackened faces.
Masks are the most notable feature of Guise dancers both historic and modern with "Bal masqué" being a common type of mask on display, animal masks, and plainer masks also present.
William Bottrell in his book Traditions and Hearthside Stories of West Cornwall (1870–80) describes in detail the guise dancers in Penzance, including their traditional costume.
Modern Guise dancing
There has been a rise in interest Guise Dancing in Cornwall in recent years with new groups adopting the practice throughout Cornwall. The most notable being the Turkey Rhubarb band in Penzance, The St Ives Guisers and Pyba. The Turkey Rhubarb band and Pyba both regularly appear with 'Obby 'Osses, Penglaz and Pengyn respectively, both of which are the "Skull and pole" variety. Penglaz of course being most famous for its appearances at the Golowan festivalGolowan Festival
Golowan is the Cornish language word for the Midsummer celebrations in Cornwall, UK: widespread prior to the late 19th century and most popular in the Penwith area and in particular Penzance and Newlyn...
in late June accompanied by the Golowan band.
Modern guise dancing can be divided into roughly three types of activities, firstly, large processional "carnival" parades which hundreds or even thousands take part, secondly smaller more intimate performances in public houses and the like and thirdly, bands of Christmas players who perform the Christmas plays described above. Many of the tunes now performed as part of Guise dancing are taken from the canon of Cornish traditional tunes and dances collected in the 1970s and 1980s by Merv and Alison Davy and others.
Most modern Guisers dress in "mock posh" costume or hand me downs decorated with ribbons and tatters. Masks of all types with the exclusion of modern fancy dress masks and the like are common.
Guise dancing is practised as part of the St Ives feast celebrations and forms the main part of the Montol Festival
Montol Festival
The Montol Festival is an annual heritage, arts and community festival in Penzance, Cornwall held between the 16th and 22nd of December each year. The festival is a revival or reinterpretation of many of the traditional Cornish midwinter customs & Christmas traditions formerly practiced in and...
in Penzance.
BBC recording
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
made a recording of the plays and music associated with Guise dancing however this recording has subsequently been lost. Performances associated with this practice include 'St George and the Turkish Knight' and 'Duffy and Devil.' Each performance allegedly ended with the 'Turkey Rhubarb
Turkey rhubarb
Rheum palmatum, commonly called Turkey rhubarb, Chinese rhubarb, Indian rhubarb, Russian rhubarb or rhubarb root , is a highly regarded medicinal plant, known for its health benefits.-Description:The species ““R. tanguticum”” and ““R...
' dance, the origins of the name of this dance are not known but may relate to the herb of the same name.
Furthermore, there is considerable similarity between guise dancing and the Hal an Tow celebrated in Helston
Helston
Helston is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated at the northern end of the Lizard Peninsula approximately 12 miles east of Penzance and nine miles southwest of Falmouth. Helston is the most southerly town in the UK and is around further south than...
during the Furry Dance
Furry Dance
The Furry Dance, also known as The Flora , takes place in Helston, Cornwall, and is one of the oldest British customs still practised today...
some believing that it was actually part of the Guise dance tradition or a later import from "English May Games".
See also
- Montol FestivalMontol FestivalThe Montol Festival is an annual heritage, arts and community festival in Penzance, Cornwall held between the 16th and 22nd of December each year. The festival is a revival or reinterpretation of many of the traditional Cornish midwinter customs & Christmas traditions formerly practiced in and...
- Tom Bawcock's Eve
- Golowan
- Furry DanceFurry DanceThe Furry Dance, also known as The Flora , takes place in Helston, Cornwall, and is one of the oldest British customs still practised today...
- AllantideAllantideAllantide is a Cornish festival that was traditionally celebrated on 31 October elsewhere known as Hallowe'en. The festival itself seems to have pre-Christian origins similar to most celebrations on this date, however in Cornwall it was popularly linked to St Allen or Arlan a little known Cornish...
- West Cornwall May Day celebrationsWest Cornwall May Day CelebrationsThe West Cornwall May Day celebrations are an example of folk practices found in the western part of Cornwall, United Kingdom, associated with the coming of spring. The celebration of May Day is a common motif throughout Europe and beyond. In Cornwall there are a number of notable examples of this...