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There are two major branches to the tradition of the Mummers Play: Firstly the folk tradition of troupes of mummers performing street theatre and
secondly the more formal Christian Mystery Plays.
Mummers' Plays
The Mummers Play is performed throughout the British Isles in
different forms and, in England, is often associated with the Morris dance. It is a highly symbolic
enactment of religious significance.
Themes include: Saint George and the Dragon, Saint George and the Persian Knight (alternatively Turkish Knight), Old Father Abraham (alternatively Father Christmas), Robin
Hood, etc.
There is sometimes a horse character such as the Padstow hobby-horse in Cornwall or the Minehead Obby Oss in Somerset.
The plays generally involve a battle representing good against evil and usually feature a doctor who has a magic potion which is able to resuscitate the slain. Thus the plays contain the archetypes: duality and resurrection.
The performers are masked.
The term "mummer" is usually believed to come from the Middle
English word "mum" which means "silent" (the plays were originally silent pantomimes), though some people have suggested a connection with mommo the Greek word for mask.
The origins of the plays are believed to be Pagan though very much Christianised in more recent centuries. Some people have even read traces of human
sacrifice into them! This was part of an ongoing process ever since the first Christian missionaries arrived in the British Isles. The Christianisation of Britain and Ireland didn't always proceed
by scorning the existing Celtic and Saxon
traditions, but often by converting those traditions into Christian versions. The same pattern of converting existing forms to
Christian ones was followed all over Europe. Thus the pagan festival of rebirth at the Winter Solstice became Christmas and the festival representing the death of old forms became All Hallows
Eve (Halloween).
Curiously enough, Philadelphia has its own tradition of mummers marching on New Year's Day;
they dress in elaborate costumes--often in drag--while the skits are sometimes based on current events.
Christian Mystery Plays
The Christianisation of the folk tradition did not cause the
village and street performances to cease, but rather creates a second branch of the same tree. The church-sponsored cycles of
mystery plays dramatised stories from the Bible for public enjoyment and learning. These include the Passion Play, which retold the story of the Crucifixion.
The province of Newfoundland, Canada, has a two-hundred-year long tradition of Mummering between Christmas and Jan. 6. In
complete disquise the Mummers go from house to house to entertain and socialize. Often men dress as outsized women, but no one is
supposed to be recognizable.
Mystery Plays
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