'Not All Singing and Dancing: Padstow, Folk Festivals and Belonging' Ethnos 81 (4): 631-647 (published online 6 Feb 2015)

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Not All Singing and Dancing: Padstow, FolkFestivals and Belonging

Helen Cornish

To cite this article: Helen Cornish (2016) Not All Singing and Dancing: Padstow, Folk Festivalsand Belonging, Ethnos, 81:4, 631-647, DOI: 10.1080/00141844.2014.989871

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Not All Singing and Dancing: Padstow,Folk Festivals and Belonging

Helen CornishGoldsmiths, University of London, UK

abstract It is well established that while folk festivals appear to illustrate an ancient,bucolic past, they are contemporary markers of history and belonging. Cornish folkfestivals can provide a valuable illustration of this. The Padstow May Day celebration,the Obby Oss, epitomises this sense of timelessness and spontaneous celebration. Itattracts numerous tourists keen to join the spectacle of dancing and singing, and isseen by the Cornish tourist industry as the stellar event of the festival year. In contrast,Padstow’s mid-winter Mummers celebration is downplayed by county officials. Thisevent sees participants dance, drum and sing around the town, wearing black face-paint, with a repertoire that includes Minstrel ditties, while critical questions havebeen asked at regional and national levels. Both raise questions about the ways inwhich belonging is negotiated as a critical element in the Cornish festival landscape.

keywords Padstow, British festivals, folklore, localism, historicity

Introduction

Folk festivals have undergone a popular renaissance in Britain. Often ima-gined as steeped in oral tradition and localised customs, the origins ofthese events are believed to be lost in the mists of time, handed down

through densely localised populations. Largely, but not exclusively, rural,such festivals are seen to connect the modern world to the pre-industrial pastin ways that often favour a glossy Golden Age of village community engage-ment. These key features assert regional senses of belonging, and are deployedas valuable tools to promote heritage tourism. Events are seen to indicate sharedideas about authenticity and history through specific acts in particular places(Chhabra et al. 2003; Krom 2009). In practice, they work as significantmarkers of identity in contemporary worlds (Nadel Klein 1991; Duffy & Waitt

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2011). Today, continuity and tradition are played out in front of global audi-ences, towards re-situating the politics of place and belonging, as festivalsboth model and mirror social practice and meaning making.

Cornwall, often perceived as a marginalised British county, has seen a prolifer-ation of folk events. They form a valuable thread identifying notions of specifi-cally Celtic Cornishness, richly entrenched in folklore and rural heritage (Hale2006). Padstow, a small, predominantly white, harbour town on the northCornish coast, is home to the Obby Oss (Hobby Horse), one of the most cele-brated festivals across Cornwall (Figure 1) and by Padstonians as a key eventon the Cornish calendar. Crowds of tourists join residents as they play music,sing and dance with the Oss around the streets on the first of May (May Day).A recent county report identified it as ‘an important element of the Cornish cul-tural year’ heralding the coming summer (Saltern 2011: 21). The Padstow ParishPlan includes photographs of the Oss celebrations in their outline strategy fortown development, as an example of the town’s ‘culture and history’ (2007).The Plan includes other winter events: Christmas Carols and a rare mention ofthe Padstow Mummers Day, which takes place on Boxing Day and NewYear’s Day. This last event has proved controversial. Previously known asDarkie Day, it was renamed in 2005 after recurrent complaints and accusationsof racism since the 1970s, predominately between 1998 and 2005 (Cornish Guar-dian 2008). Attention was drawn to the participants’ practice of wearing blackface paint as they play music, sing and dance through the town (Figure 2).Unlike the Obby Oss, highly visible in county literature as a leading culturalevent, this procession is not included in regional publications, print or online.

Figure 1. Padstowresidents preparing for mid-winter festival. CopyrightSara Hannant

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When I attended in 2011, many residents referred to the earlier, emotive name.Some said they disliked being instructed by outsiders, while others claimed itwas inappropriate, their dancing and singing could not be defined as aMummers performance. For this reason I refer to the procession as DarkieDay/Mummers throughout.

Literature on the Padstow festivals tends to group each one with similar eventselsewhere: the Obby Oss with an array of Hobby Horse festivals, particularly insouth-west Britain (Alford 1967; Semmens 2005), and Darkie Day/Mummers toother British examples of white participants blackening their faces (Davey 2006).These might help claims that folkloric tropes are persistent and authentic, but donot help illuminate how both events are positioned as specifically Padstonian,within a Cornish regional frame. An analysis across Padstow festivals enablesan exploration of folk festivals beyond what is acted or experienced during theevent. I do not claim to provide definitive explanations of either festival, butto re-situate in wider political discussions. My discussion draws on publicsources; anthropological analyses of festivals speak beyond thick ethnographicdescription. My approach makes it possible to take the multiplicity of voicesinto account (policy-makers, media, spectators and participants). From this per-spective, folk festivals reveal complex and overlapping relations of belonging,place and time. First, I describe the two festivals to help situate the activities.

Festival 1: Dancing in the MayThe Maypole has been raised, the town garlanded with flowers and bunting

and Padstow residents gather in the town square on the eve of May Day to

Figure 2. May DayOriginal Red Oss and teaser.Copyright Sara Hannant

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softly sing the Night Song, in preparation for the riotous day ahead. In themorning, around 10.30, the ‘Old Oss’ (the ‘Original’ Red Oss) erupts from theGolden Lion Inn to parade, sing and dance around the town; at 11 a.m. the‘Blue Ribbon’ Oss1 bursts from the Padstow Institute to sing the same songalong a different route (this Oss was introduced by the nineteenth-centuryMethodist Temperance Society to challenge the habitual inebriation found atthe festival, although neither Oss society identifies as teetotal today). Thesenearly identical Obby Osses do not look like the familiar stick Hobby Horse,but are ‘made of a wooden hoop, six feet in diameter, covered in sail clothdown to the ground and topped with a fearsome mask’ (Quirky Traveller2011), but is ‘unmistakably a horse-and-rider’ (Spooner 1958: 34), differentiatedby decorative detail, the Blue Ribbon Oss’s beard. Both are accompanied by a‘Teazer’, a dancer who wields a decorated club to taunt the Oss into lively pran-cing, followed by a convoy of Old Padstow Mayers. Popular mythologysuggests a sacred connection between participants and place: the Oss societiesare made up of old Padstow resident families, although Padstonians from acrossthe world return home to participate. Wearing white clothes and a headscarf orneckerchief (red or blue depending on the Oss), their black hats adorned withflowers, playing the accordion and drums, both groups of Mayers repeatedlyperform the Day Song as they parade around the harbour town. The balladhas numerous verses, and its chorus echoes around the town:

Unite and unite and let us all unite,For Summer is a-come unto day,And wither we are going we will all unite,In the merry morning of May.

Beyond the Mayers, residents echo the clothing of the two Oss Societies tomark their town membership, as they accompany the Oss and its entourage,singing and dancing through the town. Residents are joined by up to 30,000

visitors who relish the carnival atmosphere, lively singing and dancing (VisitCornwall 2013). The Obby Osses and their entourages parade twice againduring the afternoon, with a finale at the Maypole in the town centre. TheOsses are returned to their stables as it gets dark, although the celebrants con-tinue into the night.

The carnival is a highlight in the Cornish tourist calendar, and has beendescribed as the ‘oldest living folk festival in Europe’ (Acorn Archive 2012).Like many British folklore festivals, its origins are unknown, although some

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claim that it can be traced to antiquity and pre-Christian traditions (PadstowObby Oss 2011), or the fourteenth century (Spooner 1958). The dedicatedwebsite states that:

the custom that has been carried out by Padstonians over centuries has not beenallowed to die out. The exact origins of the tradition is unknown (sic), but likeother festivals during spring it is thought to be connected with the ancient Celtic fes-tival of Beltane. (Padstow Obby Oss 2011)

Folklorists and historians suggest that the earliest documentary record is 1813, oreven 1803 (Cawte 1978 in Rowe 1994; Hutton 1996: 82). Accounts variouslyexplain that the Oss is a ‘St George and the Dragon’ tale (Mudcat 2013), or a’rainmaker’ to enchant crops out of the ground, or to scare off the French(‘Obby ‘Oss Day 2012). It is suggested that young maidens caught under theOss’s skirts will be pregnant within a year (Padstow May Day 2013). Connec-tions are made to other hobby horse festivals in south-west Britain (Kille 1999

[1931]; Semmens 2005; An Daras 2013); Padstow museum claims that it inspiredthe Horse festival at Minehead, Devon (Padstow Museum 2012). Links are madeto the Duk Dak dancers of New Guinea, drawing on a globalised folk trope(Thurstan 1997 [1912]; Leigh 2011). For most participants and spectators, docu-mentary evidence is less important than the general sense of the past, asreported in the Padstow Echo:

Another May Day has arrived. Shaped by countless generations of Padstonians fromtime ‘immemorial’. Where did it all come from? What is it all about? You could say‘just enjoy it me ansum’ and be right. Does it really matter? The important thing is to‘keep er gain’. Part of the magic of this day lies in the fact that after centuries of adap-tation its origins have become obscure. (2000)

The experience is what counts, and the opportunity to celebrate the arrival ofsummer.

Festival 2: Dancing in ControversyIn mid-winter, the same Old Padstow residents meet for another festival, on

Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. Again, they bring out their accordions anddrums, but this time, they are not divided into two societies nor met byexcited visitors. There is little official information; neither Cornwall CountyCouncil or the Tourist Board publicise the event via information centres andwebsites. However, a vibrant online presence (blogs, Facebook, Twitter and

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YouTube) reveals police files and Freedom of Information Requests uploadedto public websites along with press reports. Forums reveal passionate debates,mostly between people who have not attended the festival, but want to sharetheir opinions on the politics of ‘blacking up’ in rural Britain.

The parade is annually reported by the Cornish press, but those involvedhope they avoid the attention of the national media. Participants blackentheir faces as they dress up in ‘old-time’ clothing, waistcoats, top hats, head-scarves and long dresses to parade around the town visiting the numerousharbour pubs. The repertoire of songs include those popularised by nine-teenth-century Minstrel players, such as ‘She’ll be Coming Round the Moun-tain’ or ‘Yankee Doodle’; at least one song contains lyrics considered racist.While participants’ explanations were framed alongside other Cornish andBritish folk festivals that employ face-paint, explanations for their black facesincluded references to miners, coal fires, passing slave ships, possibly ship-wrecked, slaves dancing through the town or nineteenth-century Minstrelsy.These are all recounted in the Cornish press, with supportive comments byPadstow MP Dan Rogerson, local historian John Buckingham, and Cornishmusicologist Merv Davey (Gibbs 1998; Holloway 2006).

Padstonians have received high-profile attention around the practice ofdonning black face-paint. Daeshner’s impassioned account strongly accusesresidents of racism (Daeshner 2005), as does a student film supported byChannel 4 in 2004 (Bruce-Konauh 2005). Both feel that participants shouldtake greater responsibility in a multicultural world. In 1998, the CornishCouncil for Racial Equality and MP Bernie Grant’s attention led to questionsasked in Parliament. MP Diane Abbott tabled an Early Day Motion in 2005;at this point, it was filmed by the Cornish Police, concerned that the highpublic profile would attract attendance by the right-wing organisation, theNational Front. This resulted in the police request to change the name fromDarkie Day to Padstow Mummers, along with instructions to self-regulate cos-tumes and lyrics (refrain from afro wigs and offensive language) (de Bruxelles2005). Between 1998 and 2005, the procession featured regularly in the nationalmedia: discussion proliferated across editorials, readers’ letters and onlineforums where global audiences provided criticism and support, including thewriter and race campaigner Darcus Howe, who publically supported Padsto-nians (Frost & Gorman 1998; Howe 1998; Milton 2008).

Outside Padstow in the wider Cornish community, some see it as a marker ofcultural individuality and independence, while others consider it a rather embar-rassing, naive, practice. Beyond Cornwall, criticisms are countered by defensive

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online forums where critical comments are considered evidence of the ‘nannystate’ and overzealous political correctness (Mudcat 2013), although to therelief of participants supportive spectators do not flock to the town. Participantsput up a spirited defence, situating their practice as a conventional folk festivalor a traditional Mummers performance, and as such, non-political. Critics aredecried as uninformed city folk ignorant of rural customs and historic traditions.

Like the May Day festival, the historical origins of the Darkie Day/Mummersgathering are not easily traced through the documentary record. Unlike the ObbyOss, where ambiguous histories are part of its appeal, the history of the winterparade has been under scrutiny, as participants and their supporters seek tojustify their practices through the legitimising power of heritage and community.Folkloric traditions of mid-winter festivities under disguise (‘guising’) are wellestablished in British folklore (Roud 2008), and such events are known to havetaken place in Padstow (Davey 2006). Touring Minstrel troops are known tohave visited Padstow in the 1920s and 1930s; the town museum displaysposters and shows archive photographs of Padstow residents dressed in Minstrelcostumes. Questions about historical legitimacy and racism tend to dominatepublic discussions about the history and practice of the Darkie Day/Mummersprocession.

Darkie Day/Mummers provokes discussions about tensions between ruraland urban ideologies, and the dynamics of traditional customs. The samedebates are not visible around the Obby Oss parade, where officials, partici-pants, spectators and the media converge to celebrate the arrival of summerin seemingly unproblematic ways as a Padstonian carnival whose meaning isshared across Cornwall.

Contextualising the Festival?Both Padstow events are part of late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century

revitalisations of folklore and folk festivals, repositioned as evidence of continu-ity with earlier times, alongside claims for Cornish political autonomy. On thesurface, these seem very different events, but share critical factors. Both festivalscan be described as intimately localised, with deeply specific meanings for par-ticipants, and enmeshed in political networks at local, regional and nationallevels. Scholarly interpretations no longer position festivals as pristine recepta-cles that convey static practices and beliefs between generations. Folk festivalshave often escaped such scrutiny, although there are notable exceptions such asSmith’s analysis of rural festivals amongst Scottish border towns (1993). Instead,research tends to probe the archives for longevity and authenticity (Rawe 1971;

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Buckland 1990), although useful discussions explore the instability of the past,and relations between folk festivals, tourist experiences and belonging(Bendix 1989; Wood 1997).

Picard and Robinson note that context is crucial when exploring festivaldynamics (2006). Cornish folk often reminded me of the need to see Padstowfestivals in context, although this tended to refer to a loosely self-referentialtruth experienced by participants, which would define the festival by what par-ticipants do and feel. However, context is not singular and unified, but depen-dent on who is looking, talking and telling, as well as doing. Festivals do not justhappen in the experience of the moment, but are politically, economically andculturally located, and have the potential to assert local and national identities(Kirshenblatt-Gimblett 1988; Bendix 1989). They also take place in globally med-iatised contexts. These Padstow festivals are situated, discussed and experiencedin highly literate and globally mediatised ways, a central factor to how they areperceived and represented. These include media reports and newspaper letters,police reports, documentaries and archive film footage, Internet forums andsocial networking sites. Both festivals have seen a proliferation of amateurfootage posted online. These emphasise the highly localised flavour of folk fes-tivals, while simultaneously opening out to global audiences and commentators,as they are recorded, revisited and made permanently available.

The Obby Oss has long attracted folklorists, writers, and film makers inter-ested in performance, spectacle and experience (e.g. Hobby Oss 1930; PadstowHobby Hoss 1932; Oss Oss Wee Oss 1953; Alford 1968; Rawe 1971; Rowe 1994;Jones 1999; Semmens 2005; Hannant 2011; Fowler 2013; Tre Project 2013).Anthropologist Patrick Laviolette describes how he began his Cornish field-work at this event, symbolic of new beginnings as well as a key event forCornish identity (2011). Discussions of Darkie Day/Mummers, on the otherhand, pivot on tensions between cosmopolitan liberals and parochial rural com-munities as they compete over accusations of racist behaviour (Daeshner 2005),as do infrequent mentions in academic circles (Davey 2006; Chakraborti 2009).Against these criticisms, Padstonians are keen to assert their lack of racist inten-tions. It is notable that while other British folk festivals are claimed as points ofreference, explanations for the black face-paint repeatedly draw on racialisednarratives that suggest careless racism, such as minstrels, slavery ships orMoorish sailors (Pieterse 1995). Such discussions tend to rely on definitions ofrace as any non-white category (Back & Solomos 2000), and is compoundedby assumptions that racism can only be recognised by a limited group of wit-nesses (in this case, black people in Padstow). It has been claimed that

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because the sole black Padstow family is not offended, it cannot be racist (Frost& Gorman 1998; Gibbs 1998; Howe 1998). However, a focus solely on theemotionally charged category of race distracts from how both festivals areshaped by, and respond to, highly politicised notions of belonging and place.In Smith’s analysis of complaints against golliwog costumes worn in Borderparades, external criticisms are perceived as the greatest threat to the stabilityof the town (1993). Similar discussions are found around the inclusion ofBlack Peter in the Netherlands St Nicholas parades. Tensions between pan-European and national politics echo those found in Padstow between town,region and nation, and the debates are examined across national and inter-national media on an annual basis (Helsloot 2012, 2013)2. The dynamic claimsto local and regional identities produced through and reflected by thePadstow festivals are worth unpacking further.

Between the Region, the Town and the NationHistorically, Cornwall has a problematic relationship with English and British

governance, it is politically marginalised and economically impoverished.Cornish struggles towards regional autonomy are downplayed in the widerBritish imagination (Sandford 2006). Second home ownership and insider-outsider relations indicate political and economic stress in Padstow as elsewherein Cornwall. The success of Rick Stein’s fish restaurant is seen as a double edgedboon to the town. The revitalisation of Celtic politics from the nineteenthcentury provided cultural possibilities about autonomy that continued to gaincurrency, culminating in the classification of Cornish as an ethnic minority inApril 2014. Policy discourses assert a specific Cornish history drawn through mar-ginality and distance from metropolitan centres (Cornwall County Council 2000;Penrose 2011). Claims to a specific cultural distinctiveness provide a core theme tothe development of a broad cultural tourism, a significant element in the Cornisheconomy (Hale 2001), and the deployment of festivals as tourist attractions.Regionalism might imply homogeneity through shared attributes, but anincreased politicised emphasis on localism helps to forge links to town andvillage as well as county, articulating highly localised senses of belonging.Renewed interest in Cornish folklore, and folk festivals such as the Obby Oss,helps to position a specific notion of Cornishness (while the Darkie Day/Mummers is considered a risk to tourist incomes).

Padstow shares a keen sense of Cornishness, and Cornish language slogansdecorate the shirts worn by blue and red Oss Mayers today. However, theParish Plan also asserts a fervent sense of town distinctiveness:

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Through all its long history, Padstow has been a tightly knit community with a tre-mendous sense of belonging. The people of Padstow have justly been proud of itslong history and important customs. Padstow May Day is well known nationallyand internationally. The carols sung at Christmas in the streets and PadstowMummers Day form part of its living tradition. (Padstow Parish Plan 2007: 1)

The festivals help provide distinctiveness from Cornwall, as well as England andBritain, but it is not straightforward. The Cornish police reports, available onlineafter a Freedom of Information request in 2009, reveal concerns that Padstow’sgeographical and cultural insularity does not mitigate criticisms from policy-makers and other commentators (WhatDoTheyKnow? 2010).

When I attended Darkie Day/Mummers in 2011, participants were kind andwelcoming; they were animated by celebrating with family and friends returnedhome for the holiday period. It was repeatedly asserted that it is not motivatedby racism, and has nothing to do with race, some citing miners’ dust or coal ashas the source for black faces. However, I was also told tales of passing slaveships, Cornish ‘guising’ traditions, Minstrel performance and examples of theCornish flag (a white cross on a black background) as face-paint (Calstock2013). Other British festivals where blackened faces are found were mentioned,such as Border Morris sides or the Lancashire Bacup Coconut Dancers, or greenface-paint used in revitalised May Day and Jack-in-the-Green events. CornishMummers performances were recalled that include ritualised dressing up,singing and dancing.

Events where participants blacken their faces are often explained as a form ofhistorical resistance against the dominant elites, providing anonymity as revel-lers engage in riotous, spontaneous carnival; this has become part of the estab-lished idea of rural festivals (Duffy & Waitt 2011). Musicologist Merv Daveypoints out that the haphazard parading, singing and dancing, ‘old-style’ cloth-ing, and the blackened faces are all identifiable Cornish Mummers practicesas part of a generic tradition of ‘guising’, albeit influenced by Minstrelsy(2006, 2011). He encourages us to imagine the procession as one of a series ofregional folklore events. According to Davey, deep Cornish customs arevisible for those who understand the nuances of folkloric histories, claimingthat accusations of racism perpetuate ignorance and misunderstandings. Henotes that the Cornish tartan amongst the brightly striped and black waistcoatsworn by the musicians makes overt claims to Cornish nationalism, and that therepertoire of songs consist of ordinary community tunes. Together, these worktowards downplaying locally specific elements in favour of connection with

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Cornish folkloric practices, while implying that all festivals are vehicles todisplay cultural distinctiveness (see also Leal 2015). In this analysis, DarkieDay/Mummers and the Obby Oss are regional festivals, rather than expressionsof highly localised belonging to Padstow. Nevertheless, while he urges specta-tors to understand the innocent motivations of participants, Davey expressessome concern that Padstonians leave themselves vulnerable to misunderstand-ing from outsiders (2011: 443).

Simon Reed, folkloric writer, similarly suggests the festival’s deep Cornishorigins are obscured by the recent adoption of alien practices. He is critical ofsuggested links between Mummers and ‘guising’ performances, arguing thatunlike Mummers performances, this procession has no narrative. Reed prefersto see deep roots in Cornish ‘guising’ traditions, with Minstrel dress an earlytwentieth-century trend that no longer resonates with modern British sensibil-ities. He suggests that Padstonians could ‘return to their true Cornish roots, andadopt the tunes and disguise practices of the Guisers as their forefathers wouldhave done’ (Reed 2009: 64). He suggests that the adoption of traditional songsand costumes would re-situate the festival in a revivalist Cornish festival calen-dar, prove more authentic and avert critical accusations from outsiders. WhilePadstonians do not criticise the parade publically, some Cornish residentsfrom outside Padstow implied that while they felt obliged to support thetown, they are embarrassed, and feel it makes Cornwall appear unenlightenedand backwards, regardless of tradition or motivations. For both Davey andReed, the festival is incorporated within Cornwall, the region, rather than thetown, Padstow, as they emphasise its collective and experiential dimensions.

From Cornwall to Padstow: Creativity at the FestivalThat Padstow is an out-of-the-way Cornish harbour town contributes to a

sense of both events as timeless and unchanging. Narratives and practicesassociated with Obby Oss and Darkie Da/Mummers are more variable thanmight be assumed. A glance at archival footage of both events providesobvious indications of change. Today, the Obby Oss sees a greater number ofparticipants wearing the white clothes that indicate belonging to the town, amarked distinction from early reports that these clothes are for the Mayersonly. Despite arguments that the parade is a rite of passage for Padstow men(Fowler 2013; The Tre Project 2013), there are examples of women seizing theTeazer stick to encourage the Oss to dance since the 1980s. In turn, DarkieDay/Mummers archives show residents with well-defined black face-paintthat included white paint around the eyes and mouths, in the manner of Min-

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strel costumes. More recent images see a more haphazard approach to paintingthat maps claims that face painting approximates historical ‘guising’ throughdaubing coal or wood ash to disguise their faces. Davey remarks that thenumbers attending Darkie Day/Mummers fluctuate, but that numbersincreased when the event was perceived as threatened by outsiders. He notesthat many participants do not dress up or blacken their faces at all, but joinin for the drinking, singing, and friendship as a key town event (2006); certainly,one resident told me that he no longer ‘blacked up’, as he disliked the greasyface-paint that has replaced burnt cork, but still looked forward to the generaldrunken get-together.

Participants’ commentaries also vary over time, and can be contradictory.Accounts reveal a distinct shift towards acknowledging the influence of Min-strels on the Darkie Day/Mummers procession over the last 20 years.However, many Padstonians continue to relate tales of passing slave ships,with some curious justifications. For example, that the festival demonstrates ahistory of anti-slavery protests, or as Padstow had no direct involvement inthe slave trade, they now bear the brunt of exploitative English slave histories.This is also used to justify the Minstrelsy influence: Padstow did not invent thesongs, dances and costumes, but merely picked up a trend that swept throughNorth America and Britain. These arguments reinforce residents’ emphasis onthe event as a specifically local response to external factors. Participants aremore concerned with defending traditions they feel assert their differencefrom Cornishness, as well as British or Englishness, regardless of accusationsof racism or offensive behaviour. Defence of Padstow is paramount, beyondclaims of Cornish distinctiveness. Other competing claims to region andtown can be identified through the songs. While Davey claims that the minstrelsongs heard at Darkie Day/Mummers are ordinary ‘community songs’ fromwider folkloric traditions, Old Padstow residents disagree. One described herchildren’s surprise when they learned that the songs were internationallyknown, written elsewhere, unlike the Padstow Carols or the May Day Songwhere the songs belong to the town.

The significance of the Obby Oss on the Cornish tourist calendar subsumeslocal distinctiveness under the wider mantle of Cornish folklore as officials, par-ticipants and spectators alike share their ideas about its meaning and practice. Iwas told that the loud, boisterous march through the Old Town reclaims tra-ditional territories against an influx of tourists and incomers. The PadstowSchool exhibition in May 2013 helped to affirm a sense of belonging byshowing archive footage alongside schoolchildren’s drawings and stories

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(Cornish Guardian 2013). Across the twentieth century, tourists have been bothencouraged and deterred from attending, but warnings that townsfolk do notwelcome visitors add to the appeal of a highly localised folk festival in adistant place (see also Ange 2015), while folklore collectors are blamed for cat-apulting the event into the public eye in the early twentieth century. In contrast,one resident remarked that ‘Darkie Day really belongs to Old Padstow’; its con-tinued controversy ensures that it is not also appropriated as a regional symbol.

Making Padstow Through the FestivalRepetition carries its own reward; Darkie Day/Mummers has been enacted

in this way for decades which leads supporters to claim that it has a validity inits own terms. Spurred by increased political localism, participants claim legiti-macy because this is ‘what Padstow does’ as a creative response to outside influ-ences, whether Cornish guising and Mummers, British folklore, national orinternational socio-political structures or global entertainment. The seeminglyuncontested Obby Oss similarly carries the sense of belonging through rep-etition. While the history of the Obby Oss is presented as lost in the mists oftime, it has been well documented since folklorists took notice in the earlytwentieth century. There have been recurrent concerns that traditional practicesare lost (Banks 1938)3; it is more noticeable that shifting practices do not seem toundermine the assertion that it is timeless and unchanging. For example, therelatively recent appearance of the Blue Ribbon Oss does not appear to contra-dict claims to authenticity, and new practices become absorbed into the antici-pated festival landscape. Rawe reported in the 1970s that the new habit ofrehearsing the May Day song the night before irritates the town centre residents(1971: 2), but is now considered integral. The digital and textual records becomea means by which the festival can be reproduced on an annual basis, whichraises different questions about how the event is experienced by residents.

The winter parade illustrates some of the heterogeneity of heritage andbelonging expressed through festivals and performance. The complexities ofbelonging generated by the Obby Oss are flattened by the complementaryapproaches from participants, policy-makers, media, spectators and others.Tense discussions about the origins and intentions of Darkie Day/Mummersfocus on participants’ motivations. These emotional and politicized debatesalso expose claims to Padstow as distinct from British, English and Cornish.Neither festival is timeless nor are they static, and both engage critically withCornish regionalism and localism, where belonging to Padstow is privilegedby participants and residents. Such discussion across the events illuminates

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how festivals are situated and interpreted in terms of multiple notions of history,political identities and belonging, beyond the highly localised and emotionalexperiences of participants.

AcknowledgementsThanks to Nicola Frost, participants at the Anthropology Revisits the Festival work-shop at SOAS, 2011, Amy Hale, and Barbara Santi for their comments. I am gratefulto Sara Hannant for generously providing photographs, and to Padstonians for theirfriendly welcome.

Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes1. Also known as the Peace Oss following the First World War.2. Helsloot’s discussion of his changing perspective on accusations of racism around

Black Peter between his publications provides insights into this emotional territory.3. A curious example is the description of a peripheral character the ‘man-woman’ in

Bank’s report (1932). In Oss Tales, residents explain that the ‘May Day Lady’ wasdropped because of associations with homosexuality, although recent footage docu-ments his return, showing a man wearing a dress dancing around the edges of theparade, although whether this is endorsed by the Oss Societies is not clear (2007).

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