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Turkey Rhubarb, Turkey Rhubarb, Turkey Rhubarb I
sell Click here to hear Mike O'Connor's version of the tune *
These
'Goose or Geese-dancers' paraded the streets and often behaved in
such an unruly manner that woman and children were afraid to
venture out. If the doors of the houses were not locked they would
enter uninvited and stay, playing all kinds of antics, until food
and drink and money was given them to go away. They became such a
terror to the respectable inhabitants of Penzance that the
Corporation put a stop to the celebrations in about 1880. Every
Christmas Eve notices were posted in conspicuous places in the
town, forbidding the appearance of any dancers in the streets over
the next 12 days, but they still kept up the tradition in St.
Ives. Guise-dancing celebrations must have deteriorated in style
since the beginning of the 19th century, as writers then spoke of
a time when all enjoyed the merrymaking. Robert Hunt in his
"Popular Romances of the West of England" published in
1870, tells us that... " this
(St Ives) is the only town in the country where the old Cornish
Christmas revelry is kept up with spirit. The Guise
dancing time is the twelve nights after Christmas. Guise dancing
in St Ives is no more nor less than a pantomimic representation or
bal masque on an extensive scale, the performers outnumbering
the audience." The
Turkey Rhubarb dance always marked the finale to the evening’s
proceedings, after which the exhausted participants at last gave
up and went home. This dance was also associated with the
Christmas Mummers play, where a concertina, sometimes referred to
as a 'cordial', would provide the music. The dancers performed in
heavy shoes fitted with scoots, metal pieces attached to the
soles. After
a lapse during the war years several attempts were made to revive
the custom in Cornish towns and villages and in some places it
made a comeback. The BBC recorded and broadcast extracts from
the 'Geese' dancers performance of Turkey Rhubarb in 1936 but
there is no trace of it in the archives made available to
researchers. Miss Helena Charles, who set up a school of
inter-Celtic dancing in Cornwall in 1949, provided further
corroboration of this dance as she was aware of it being used by
Paul and Madron W.I. as part of their Christmas Mummers play `St
George and the Turkish Knight` The
name `Turkey Rhubarb` is itself a delightful enigma. There might
obviously be some connection or confusion with the Turkish knight
in the Mummers Christmas play. However, Turkey Rhubarb was NOT the
common garden rhubarb, parts of which are highly toxic. It was
rather a Chinese herb, ‘Rheum Palmatum’. Apothecaries used its
root as a cure for diarrhoea, but its use can cause intense
cramping. Larger doses were employed as a laxative. Morton
Nance’s Cornish Dictionary gives ‘Tavol Turkey’ is an
alternative Cornish word for Rhubarb. Perhaps the antics of the
dancers were akin to the cramps effect on the body and someone
made the humorous [?] connection.
The
dance is in fact a form of mazurka, a polish peasant dance which
spread westwards across Europe during the late eighteenth century.
It seems to be found in most European dancing traditions and
dancers in Champagne, Holland, Brittany and Ireland have performed
recognisable variants. By far the closest to the Cornish is that
done on the West coast of Ireland variously called 'Father
Murphy’s Topcoat' or 'Patsy Heeny'. Although this is as Irish in
style as ours is Cornish the two dances are almost
interchangeable. * Now, where did I put they old net curtens ?
Dee Brotherton's efforts to revive the ancient Guizing' tradition at Christmas are fully supported by St Ives OCS and in 2009 the dance was performed once again. However, these days many doors to the cottages at 'Downalong' will remain firmly locked, but that will not bother those joining in the celebrations. For more information on Mike O Connor and to buy the CD click here
For more information on the Cornish music & dance go here
This is another tradition which has been revived in the West of Cornwall as part of the Penzance Montol Festival. (see our links page for details.) Nick-a-Nan-Night
The
following observations may, perhaps, help Mr. C. to arrive at the
conclusion I have reached, viz., that the Mari Lwyd and the
Nick-a-nan-night have a common origin. The Mari Lwyd is one of the
sports called sacred or religious, introduced under the highest
papal authority in the middle ages. The name of the custom
sufficiently and unanswerably indicates its popish origin, Mari
Lwyd, or "Y fari Lwyd," literally meaning "the
blessed Mary." It is a curious fact that the ancient Britons
used terms signifying colour, to indicate a certain states of
happiness or misery - thus, Duw Gwyn, i.e. white God, meaning the
blessed God; Gwynfyd, i.e., white world, meaning happiness; and
there is one instance in the writings of an old bard, wherein God
is called Duw Lwyd, literally grey God, meaning the venerable God.
The Mari, or Mary, Lwyd, is an ambulant drama, and a distorted
remnant of some old Christmas mystery of the nativity. This,
[......gn?] there is no direct evidence in the Welsh history of
its truth, appears undeniable from the oral traditions respecting
it, and the nature of the exhibition, as it always commences on
Christmas-eve. The dramatis personae are as follows:- Mary Lwyd -
The Pen-ceffyl- the Conductor - Musicians, &c., Mary Lwyd is a
female character, represented by a lad dressed up in woman's
attire in a grotesque style, who dances and capers about to the
music, and by his odd appearance never fails to occasion great
amusement. The Pen-ceffyl (which signifies horse's head) is a man
dressed up as nearly resembling a horse as he can, or rather the
fore-part of that animal, the hind-part being omitted for
convenience. The man's body forms the brisket of the horse, whilst
he has attached to his shoulders a horse's head and neck finely
carved, and in many cases a real horse's head. This is covered
with canvass, and made so as to contain the man's arms, by which
he is enabled to move about the head in imitation of the action of
a horse; and generally the performer enacts his part very
cleverly. By candle-light, the general period of exhibition, it
has a very ghostly appearance, and produces no small dismay
amongst juvenile spectators. Attached to the head of the horse is
a halter, held by another man, fantastically dressed, who leads
the horse, and is continually reining him in to prevent his doing
mischief, though sometimes the horse is very docile, and manages
to make himself very amusing. This assemblage goes about from
house to house, the object being, in addition to amusement, to get
beer to drink, and to collect money. The rhymes sung on the
occasion are generally sung in the Welsh tongue, but their literal
meaning is to this effect:- The party - standing outside the door
put one of their body forward to recite the challenge, or verses
addressed to the inmates, and which they are to answer and excel,
or the Mari Lwyd procession have a legitimate right to enter. The
rhymes are rude enough, but go on to be-praise the master and
mistress of the house for hospitality, and cite many good
instances of the generosity of their accosters, and of the Welsh
family in general, as incentives to the inmates to be profuse in
their liberality on this occasion. They cite the customs of old,
and wind up by saying or singing that if they are permitted to
enter, "We will sing you a good song, This Christmas, this
Christmas…" The responses - and they are but seldom made - must be in reply to the few arguments the invading party have advanced, and must nullify all they have said; and thus instances have been known where a clever and intelligent native may fairly keep the Mari Lwyd out to all intents and purposes. All this is, by some intelligent persons with whom I have conversed on the subject, supposed to be the remains of the old mumming common at Christmas, and that it was originally intended - in the days of papal mystery - to represent the scene in the stable at Bethlehem; Mari Lwyd being the Virgin Mary; the Pen-ceffyl, the horses in the stable; and the man who leads the horse being Joseph. It will be seen by what I have written, that there is little reason to think my first opinion was correct, viz., that it was a druidical observance; and if the few observations I have hastily thrown together, be of any service to the talented author of the paper which gave rise to this correspondence, it will be a high gratification to. Sir, Your obedient servant, J. MARSHALL SCOTT, Newport, South Wales, January 16, 1843.
This is another tradition which has been revived in the West of Cornwall as part of the Penzance Montol Festival. (see our links page for details.)
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