British folk traditions

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There are many strange and unusual folk customs in the UK, some with very deep roots, others surprisingly modern. We'll be collecting them all here.

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Unleash the Burryman! Britain's weirdest folk rituals (www.theguardian.com)

submitted 1 year ago by Emperor to c/britishfolktraditions

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We've previously mentioned Doc Rowe and his impressive archive of records and here's an.earlier article looking at a few of.the weirdest customs he's catalogued:

Rowe, now 74, has almost certainly attended and documented more folk rituals than anyone else alive. He maps out his year according to calendar customs: by the time you read this, he’ll be in Padstow for the town’s Obby Oss festival, which takes place on May Day. It’s his 57th visit.

NRowe’s trove is the subject of a new exhibition, Lore and the Living Archive, opening shortly in Rochdale. Three young artists have created work in response to his collection and this will be displayed alongside his own film footage and stills. “People often think of these traditions as being rather twee,” he says. “Little girls in white dancing round maypoles. But they are very far from that.”

To prove the point, we asked him to describe five of the most memorable …

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[–] autotldr@lemmings.world 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

This is the best summary I could come up with:

Doc Rowe is looking remarkably fresh for a man who has just been for a 10-hour hike around the Lancashire town of Bacup with the Britannia Coconut Dancers.

He maps out his year according to calendar customs: by the time you read this, he’ll be in Padstow for the town’s Obby Oss festival, which takes place on May Day.

I’ve known landlords to be held horizontally over the front edge of the sway, with their feet only just touching the lintel of the pub’s doorframe, stretching for the hood.

Then they pour in paraffin and set it alight, rolling it backwards and forwards until it’s nicely ablaze – at which point locals pick them up, put them on their shoulders, and run through the streets as flames flicker out the back.

Up top, he wears a balaclava-type hood, also covered in burrs, with space left for his eyes so he can see, and his mouth so he can drink whisky through a straw.

The day begins with a parade through the streets with the three barrels, accompanied by a band and a large hare pie, which the local vicar blesses.

The original article contains 1,452 words, the summary contains 190 words. Saved 87%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!

[–] Emperor 1 points 1 year ago

That's odd - it hasn't been asked to work this community.