On May 1 over 40 villages throughout England greeted the month with traditional May dancing, an ancient tradition to celebrate the coming of spring that has survived centuries over centuries. Catherine Rose investigates its origin and meaning in part 1 of her feature, which will be followed up with a report of the events at this year’s May Day in her village in Bedfordshire in our June issue
May Day is centuries old, probably beginning with the Roman festival Floralia. In Celtic England it was known as Beltane, a pagan rite that celebrated the coming of spring.
During medieval and Tudor times, May Day was a holiday with great merry-making. Villagers would spend the night in the woods, rising early to go ‘a-maying’ for baskets of wildflowers and spring boughs to decorate their homes. A young girl would be chosen as May Queen, often with a May King, representing fertility. (‘Maiden’ originates from the same root as ‘May’, meaning ‘young’.) Crowned with hawthorn or May blossom, they would preside over festivities including feasting (gingerbread and white wine flavoured with woodruff were popular), games, ‘mummers’ (plays), and dancing which has always been at the centre of May celebrations.
Morris and local folk dances would take place around a tree, usually a hawthorn that had been felled, stripped and brought into the centre of the village. Once erected, it was wound with garlands and sometimes painted. These were the early ribbon-less maypoles.
Banned by parliament in 1644 as immoral, May Day re-emerged after the Restoration in 1660. But it is philanthropist John Ruskin who is credited with introducing the May Day we know today, bringing over the familiar striped maypole with ribbons from southern Europe in the 1890s. By the 20th century, maypole dancing using ribbon plaiting had become established and was being taught to children in rural schools. It is still taught in many schools and can be seen in the Royal Ballet’s La Fille mal Gardée.
Some poles have fixed ribbons; others have one or two revolving rings with ribbons attached. Dances are modified accordingly. Dancers hold a ribbon at the end with their outer hand while the inner hand, nearest the pole, directs the ribbon from further up. They skip or gallop around each other making a woven pattern along the length of the pole, which is then reversed so that the ribbons can be unwound again.
It is said that the best number of maypole dancers is an even one of between eight and 20. Well known ribbon-plaiting dances include Grand Chain, a popular dance where partners face each other and on the beat, weave in and out; and Barber’s Pole, where girls make one whole revolution around the pole while the boys stand still and vice versa. These dances form a plait against the pole.
Other dances form a plait away from the pole.
In Gypsy’s Tent, girls dance once around their partner, moving on to each subsequent boy until a ‘tent’ is formed with the ribbons. Another is Spiders Web, a difficult dance that begins in a similar way to Gypsy’s Tent but misses out and then returns to every other boy, forming a ‘web’ around the pole. Jacob’s Ladder makes two ‘ladders’ down the pole, and Pyramid is a variation of this, forming four ladders.
Younger children usually dance around the pole without using ribbons. Simple examples are the circle dance Shoemaker, of Scandinavian origin, and Cumberland Square. All dances are based around steps that include skipping and galloping in rectangles, squares and circles, and usually involve partnering. There is a lot of emphasis on listening to the music for the rhythm of the dance and for phrasing the figures.
Morris dancers still traditionally perform on May Day and many aspects of old English Morris survive. Those not disguised as characters such as the hobbyhorse dress in white shirts with coloured bands or ‘baldricks’ across their chests, their ankles decorated with small ribbons and bells, and their hats decked with flowers. They dance around the site of the maypole waving white handkerchiefs and often clash sticks or short staves. They have a leaping linear style that is not dependent on the maypole itself. Music is traditionally provided by accordion or concertina and sometimes whistle-pipes, often accompanied by a small drum. Singing of May Day songs features strongly.
Fortunately, many of the old English country and folk dances have been recorded over the centuries, for example John Playford’s The English Dancing Master which dates from 1651. Cecil Sharp worked hard to research and notate Morris and country dancing in the early 20th century, forming the English Folk Dance and Song Society which helps keep these old dances alive today. Along with some Morris dances, one of the oldest maypole dances still performed is the 17th century Goddesses.
Although thought of as an English custom, May festivals take place in other countries such as Sweden, Switzerland and France. The Germans celebrate it as Walpurgis and the Hawaiians as Lei Day. In Italy maypoles are known as ‘alberi della cucagna — trees from the land of milk and honey’.
Approximately 40 villages in the UK today still have a permanent maypole used to celebrate May Day although there is a lot of interest in teaching the old dances and many schools have their own temporary maypole.
Photographs courtesy of Rene Welch of the English Folk Dance and Song Society, Cecil Sharp House, London NW1, [t] 020 7485 2206.
