Oh dear, I grovel, I grovel! I checked through the
Padstow chapter itself, didn't think to go on to the
final chapter!
Your mention of climb-to-the-top maypoles remninds me
that when I was in Hungary in May four years ago I saw
several such in remote villages, very rough and
home-made. They were tall slender trunks stripped of
branches except for two or three little ones at the
very top, which had a strip of cloth, or a bottle, or
a cola can hanging from them. The guide told me lads
compte to climbb them and hang something from the top.
It was about mid-may, so I asked when they get taken
dowm. 'Oh, they fall when wind blows' said he.
I was in a coach with a Dracula Society tour, so
couldn't stop to explore local traditions.
jacqueline
--- Sabina Magliocco <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:
> I have Cawte here before me. The illustration on p.
> 211 is a 1913 reproduction of an engraving dated
> 1835; the original is now missing. The drawing
> shows the oss in a slightly different form than its
> current one: possibly oblong instead of round, with
> a convex top (rather than flat), and the man who
> carries the oss wears a conical hat, rather than the
> full mask with peaked head covering of more recent
> osses. The oss is accompanied by a fife and drum
> (these were standard in many European folk festivals
> and celebrations during the 18th and 19th
> centuries), and two men in the picture are firing
> pistols into the air.
>
> There is a maypole in the background, but it looks
> more like what we call in Italian "l'albero di
> Cuccagna:" there are prizes or flags on top, and the
> point is to get to the top first and claim the
> prize. These, too, were standard in many European
> folk festivals before 1900. There seem to be two
> men trying to climb it. Whatever it is, it's not
> the "dancing-around-the-maypole-weaving ribbons"
> type of maypole that is part of the Berkeley NROOGD
> celebration.
>
> BB,
> Sabina
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ---- Original message ----
> >Date: Tue, 24 Jan 2006 19:00:34 -0500
> >From: Amy Hale <[log in to unmask]>
> >Subject: Re: FYI--*Oss! Oss! Wee Oss!* Online
> >To: [log in to unmask]
> >
> > Jason tells me that the reproduction in question
> is
> > in Cawte is on page 211 and that the
> illustration is
> > dated c.1835. Now he also says that this is
> > reproduced in Rawe and this may be the source of
> the
> > date of the illustration. As I mentioned, all
> of my
> > books are currently packed so I can't look at
> these
> > to verify. Of course, I'd be interested in
> knowing
> > the dates if this turns out to be incorrect.
> >
> > Best,
> > Amy
> >
> > On 1/24/06, jacqueline simpson
> > <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> >
> > > Amy Hale wrote:
> > > >
> > > > There seems to be an illustration of a
> maypole
> > > associated with Padstow
> > > > from 1835 in Cawte's Ritual Animal
> > Disguise. It
> > > clearly hasn't been
> > > > integrated into the Oss bit, but it looks
> like
> > its
> > > been part of the
> > > > May festivities in Padstow for quite
> sometime.
> > > >
> >
> > I'm puzzled. As far as I can see the Padstow
> > illustrations in Cawte's 'Ritual animal
> Disguise'
> > are
> > modern photos, taken in the '70s. Cawte does
> > mention a
> > maypole as part of the current celebrations as
> he
> > had
> > witnessed them himself (p. 158), and he does
> > conclude
> > that the Horse is independent of the May Day
> > features,
> > and that the latter would be the older (p.
> 166).
> > But I
> > don't see the specific date 1835.
> >
> > Jacqueline
> >
> >
>
___________________________________________________________
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> Sabina Magliocco
> Associate Professor
> Department of Anthropology
> California State University
> 18111 Nordhoff St.
> Northridge, CA 91330-8244
>
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