Abbots Bromley Horn Dance

Whatonwhen ^

[blam]

Abbots Bromley Horn Dance

When:10 Sep 2007 (annual)Where:St Nicholas
ChurchCost:Free
Opening Hours:Starts 7.45am; dance continues from 8am-8pm

The Abbots Bromley Horn Dance is one of the oldest ritual dances still performed in England. Ostensibly held to commemorate the acquisition of hunting rights by the villagers of Abbots Bromley to the nearby Needwood Forest, the dance consists of six men carrying sets of reindeer horns around the surrounding villages.

The horned men are accompanied on their travels by a hobby horse, a fool, a Robin-Hood figure (who carries a bow and arrow) and a Maid Marion. At 7.45am they turn up to collect the horns (which are over 1000 years old) from St Nicholas' Church. At 8am the dancers set off, taking an entire day to dance their 20-mile circuitous route, visiting every house and farm in the area to bestow their goodwill.

Anthopologists have argued that these dances, which mimic a bowman killing a reindeer, were performed as a ritual to ensure a successful hunt. It is interesting to note that the Bushmen of the Kalahari also have ritual dances which mime a warrior killing its prey, while the cave paintings of Lascaux, France, which date to Paleolithic times 20,000 years ago, depict men wearing antler head-dresses being stalked by bowmen.

So the Abbots Bromley Horn Dance may be a lot more ancient than presumed. As for the hobby horse, (the word "hobby" originally meant "little" or "mock"), it is a fertility symbol common in dances of the 17th century, which can still be found today.

[blam]

GGG Ping.

[blam]

Stag and Earth Mother: Pagan Beliefs in Ancient Britain

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Blam. Are reindeer still in Britain? Fallow deer were, last I knew (and I'd not thought about this for decades before you sent the mail). (':

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[blam]

Apparently

[SunkenCiv]

:’) We have those in Michigan, but they’re kept in pens and trotted out (literally) around the Xmas season.

[pankot]

Come on! That had to be a Monty Python re-union, n’est pas?

[norton]

"Come on! That had to be a Monty Python re-union, n’est pas?"

That was my first thought.

Second thought was that the author ignored practically every American Indian tribe or nation on record - I sat in on [non-tourist] deer dances in the Sixties.

Third thought was that a bunch of Brits running loose with deer horns just sounds ....

[CholeraJoe]

Well, that link just reinforces my belief that Harry Potter is the DEVIL.

[JohnnyZ]

Look, if you have antlers, the natural thing for a man to do is run around with them on his head. Especially if he's been drinking.

It just shows that human nature is unchanging.

[curmudgeonII]

Looks like a bunch of horny guys prancing around.

[SunkenCiv]

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