*Ø* Blogmanac | An ancient reindeer dance in England
Wakes Monday, the first Monday after September 4
The Abbots Bromley Horn, or Antler Dance
Originally this was danced during the Yuletide on Twelfth Day (January 6) at Abbots Bromley, Staffordshire, England. Now the Abbots Bromley Horn is danced on the first Monday after September 4, the date having been moved in the 18th Century. Six male dancers hold white and brown-painted (formerly red and white) genuine reindeer antlers on wooden poles. The antlers were obtained from reindeer that were castrated, or domesticated during the eleventh century. As reindeer were extinct in the British Isles by then, and we know of no domesticated herds, the antlers were possibly of Scandinavian origin.
The dancers hold the antlers to their heads as they dance. They go round neighbouring farms before the event (a distance of about 16 kilometres, or ten miles), which is possibly left over from a more ancient fertility dance. At the end of the day, the antlers are returned to the church. The Horn Dancers comprise six ‘Deer-men’, a Fool, Hobby Horse, Bowman and Maid Marion, performing their dance to music provided by a melodian player
This ancient rite is held two weeks before the Equinox. The Abbots Bromley Horn Dance is similar to the Yakut dance of Russiaand certain dances of Finno-Ugranian tribes, and it might have originally been a Scandinavian/Viking ritual dedicated to Frey, god of fertility and Lord of the Light Elves of Alfheim. In the Celtic world of the Iron Age, the Horned One is most commonly called Cernunnos, the Stag Lord, the Horned One, and this custom might hark back to the pre-first century CE times when his cult was widespread.
“One of the antlers (which are never allowed to leave the parish) has been carbon dated to the 11th century and at Star Carr in Yorkshire Mesolithic antler "frontlets" dated to 7600 BC have been found which have been attributed to ritual use or to use in hunting as a sort of disguise. However, the origins of the dance may be much older - perhaps as a Stone Age hunting ritual or possibly connected with reindeer migrations occurring in the Upper Palaeolithic.” Source
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Wakes Monday, the first Monday after September 4
The Abbots Bromley Horn, or Antler Dance
Originally this was danced during the Yuletide on Twelfth Day (January 6) at Abbots Bromley, Staffordshire, England. Now the Abbots Bromley Horn is danced on the first Monday after September 4, the date having been moved in the 18th Century. Six male dancers hold white and brown-painted (formerly red and white) genuine reindeer antlers on wooden poles. The antlers were obtained from reindeer that were castrated, or domesticated during the eleventh century. As reindeer were extinct in the British Isles by then, and we know of no domesticated herds, the antlers were possibly of Scandinavian origin.
The dancers hold the antlers to their heads as they dance. They go round neighbouring farms before the event (a distance of about 16 kilometres, or ten miles), which is possibly left over from a more ancient fertility dance. At the end of the day, the antlers are returned to the church. The Horn Dancers comprise six ‘Deer-men’, a Fool, Hobby Horse, Bowman and Maid Marion, performing their dance to music provided by a melodian player
This ancient rite is held two weeks before the Equinox. The Abbots Bromley Horn Dance is similar to the Yakut dance of Russiaand certain dances of Finno-Ugranian tribes, and it might have originally been a Scandinavian/Viking ritual dedicated to Frey, god of fertility and Lord of the Light Elves of Alfheim. In the Celtic world of the Iron Age, the Horned One is most commonly called Cernunnos, the Stag Lord, the Horned One, and this custom might hark back to the pre-first century CE times when his cult was widespread.
“One of the antlers (which are never allowed to leave the parish) has been carbon dated to the 11th century and at Star Carr in Yorkshire Mesolithic antler "frontlets" dated to 7600 BC have been found which have been attributed to ritual use or to use in hunting as a sort of disguise. However, the origins of the dance may be much older - perhaps as a Stone Age hunting ritual or possibly connected with reindeer migrations occurring in the Upper Palaeolithic.” Source
Pip Wilson's articles are available for your publication, on application. Further details
Receive similar items free each day with a free subscription to Wilson's Almanac ezine. Send a blank email
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