~Mums...The Word on "Mummers"~

When I met my husband 18 years ago,I became involved with learning about his ancestral homeland_ Ireland.He served as   President of the Ft.Worth Irish Association.I was delegated to help write the Newsletter.My kind of fun!!_I researched various aspects of the Irish Culture and participated in many community functions i.e. Annual N.Tx.Irish Festival,Celtic Heritage Festival,etc._as a Tea vendor with my business "Let's Talk Tea". I acquired then and to this day..."The Celtic Spirit".

Among the many traditions of the Celts_"Mumming" is one that dates back to pre-Christain,pre-Celtic,even early Bronze Age(4 thousand years ago!). To be sure, a "Mummer" is a person who wears a mask or fantastic costume while merrymaking or taking part in pantomime during any festive season_especially Christmas and Spring.

"The Book of Secrets" certified double-platinum in USA.Has sold more than 4 million copies Worldwide! AWESOMENESS!

Recently, I added the above CD/DVD combination to my collection of all things "Loreena McKennitt". I consider her my "Kindred Spirit".Her music/video takes one on a Soul searching journey.

The manner in which her music infuses the poetry and traditions of centuries pass of many cultures in _
Keats,Shakespeare,Sufism,Paganism,Religion,Christianity,Islamic_stirs the mind,body and soul.It is like unlocking the Secrets to the Universe_a wee vision of the Spirits that inhabit the World.Polish the mirror of your Soul...keep an open mind and learn! 

The Mummer's Dance seen here is a song on the CD/DVD:

"The mummers would arrive at the door at night or at the end of the day, they would knock and their Captain (as the leader of a troupe is called) would shout or sing out a request for permission to enter. As soon as such permission was granted the troupe entered the house and the performance commenced. They might not always be invited into a house as there would be times when it might be inappropriate to have a performance in a house, e.g. if children were asleep, or a sick person present, or if there had been a recent death in the family, or something else of such nature. The important point here is that what instigated the performance was not the payment of money - the buying of a ticket - but rather the audience, the people in whose house the performance would be given, saying "Yes, come in and give your performance". So the exchange of money was not the vital instigating moment for the performance - "The important moment is when the host gives permission to enter. That response is crucial because people generally had no idea who these mummers were, they only knew that they belonged to the local community". So folk drama is about consolidating the values of the community, about reproducing the local community and allowing it to continue. Therefore it has a political as well as social value.
Source: http://www.mustrad.org.uk/articles/drama.htm#mumm

This form of "Irish Folk Drama" includes not only Mummers _but The Wrenboys,The Strawboys and The Whiteboys Connection as you will learn from the above source.Folk drama is the oldest surviving form of theatrics.

Ancient pagan rituals for good luck and fertility from the gods included many festivals,dancing,animal disguises and feasting.
Mumming shows began as miming performances and eventually grew to become more. The term mummers derives from the Middle English word mum which means silent. Words were finally added, but the original stories were often partially lost through translation and retelling of the story. It is also believed that these plays were performed around the end of the year and during the harvesting season because it was intended to be a celebration of the death of the year and its coming again in Spring.

In modern day_Mummers' Plays_there is a central incident of a killing and the restoring of life.The principal characters are a Hero,his chief opponent,the Fool,a quack Doctor who provides a cure to the patient_restoration of Life!

But wait_there's the ever popular Annual Mummers Parade in Philadelphia.Pa. & other cities held each New Year's Day believed to be the oldest folk festival in the United States.Here's a couple of colorful participants!

 

                                                            "The Holy Rollers"


And...The Mummers Museum in Philadelphia

The fact that "Mumming" traditions still exist today_says much about passing rituals onward_generation after generation,etc.With the Rites of Spring,Ostara,Spring Equinox upon us...I find it fitting to share a wee bit of Celtic tradition with you.I love the way Loreena McKennitt uses the "Book of Secrets" to explore this ritual....bring this Celtic Soul into your Life via her music.

 ~Until next time,
"Blessed Be & Bright Blessings"~

***The Black Irish...NOT what you think***

"Mora na maidine dhuit"...Top of the Morning To You! After Blogging the Black History Month Series on Creoles_I thought why not start the Green Month off with a little color!

I AM NOT _as I once was told_ A Black Irish! However,my other half is an Irish-American!We are both History Buffs_learning early on that the saga of African-Americans and Irish-Americans lives in America was not a pretty picture. In fact,in a cartoon drawing by H.Strickland Constable in "Ireland from One or Two Neglected Points of View"(1899) depicts similar physical features of both.

The fact is the term "Black Irish" is an ambiguous term!Traditionalist maintain the term to be in accordance with a dark-haired phenotype of Irish descent.Dark hair,brown eyes,medium skin tone OR dark hair,blue or green eyes and fair skin tone are physical attributes of the so called "Black Irish". It was interesting to learn that most people of Irish descent have dark hair_not so much darker skin complexion.

I've always admired the brilliant "Red Heads"often associated with the Irish.You will find in my Blog Archives(Oct.6,2011_"ROODHARIGENDAG (RED HEAD DAY)"_what fun that must be surrounded by Red-Heads! I confess my friends and I refer to ourselves as RED-HEADS_we love Red Wines! In Ireland,the hair colour is predominately brown with only 10% having auburn or red hair.Ulster(Northern Ireland) has the highest frequency of redheads.Which does NOT compute with the fact that my husband's family comes from County Cork in Munster(South-West)! My late Mother-in-law had curly red hair!

Irish History tells of the many invasions which included:Celts,Vikings,Normans,English,Scottish
and Spanish.Each of these immigrant groups had their own physical characteristics.Consider the Vikings were often referred to as the "dark invaders or black foreigners",Normans of French origin were black-haired people,the Spanish settlers had dark features .Irish emigrants who settled in the West Indies and those that arrived in America were given this as a derogatory name_"Black Irish". Today genetic studies suggest migrations from Prehistoric Iberia "may" be viewed as the primary source for physical attributes. Which ever direction people from the past came from_when they settled in Ireland_the pot got mixed!

YES, there are Black people in Ireland,especially in Dublin.Many came in the 18th Century as servants of wealthy families.There were other Africans in Ireland that were not slaves..i.e Olaudah Equiano,lived in Belfast and was a Writer.Black slavery was rare in Ireland at this date, although the legal position remained unclear until a judgement in England in 1772, the "SOMERSETT'S CASE".
Lord Mansfield declared slavery as,"it's so odious, that nothing can be suffered to support it".

Meet Lori Moore, a student from Belfast,Northern Ireland who was crowned Miss Northern Ireland 2010.She represented the country at Miss World 2010 being placed in the top 25. Lori is the first woman of black heritage to be crowned Miss Northern Ireland.Moore represented the United Kingdom in Miss International in 2011.

Next time a person calls me a  Black Irish..guess I'll just have to Educate them! Let's have some fun this month celebrating "The Beautiful Emerald Isle".

                                  ~A Little Irish Humor~
Saloonkeeper_Here,you haven't paid for that whiskey you ordered.

Irishman_What's that you say?

Saloonkeeper__I said you haven't paid for that whiskey you ordered!!!!!

Irishman_Did you pay for it?

Saloonkeeper_Of course I did!

Irishman_Well,then,what's the good of both of us paying for it?

                          ~Agus cuid eile an lae dhuit fein~.
                                                   And the rest of the day to yourself.