Hi Sabina,
Yes, Donald Rawe and Doc Rowe are indeed two differnt
guys -- very confusing. I think Doc's true forename is
david, but nobody uses it. I've never met Rawe, who I
think is a local Cornish man. Doc Rowe has various
bases, notably London and Sheffield, but is always on
the move. He films and records folk events all over
England.
Jacqueline
--- Sabina Magliocco <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:
> Hi Amy,
>
> Thanks for writing, and sorry for the delay in
> replying; our semester is starting, so things are a
> bit hectic right now.
>
> I agree with you about the relatively recent nature
> of the maypole. According to Hutton's _Stations of
> the Sun_, this was basically a Victorian revival
> deal. Of course modern revivalists have themselves
> taken it up and given it an ancient pedigree, but it
> has never been terribly important in Padstow (unlike
> for example, in Helston.... but Helston's festival
> had quite a different history of revival and
> gentrification).
>
> Have you published anything (or can you direct me to
> sources) on the Cornish Revival interpretations of
> Padstow's festival, and on local (UK) Neo-Pagan
> views of it? We saw a number of people there who
> were clearly of that ilk, but we were so busy
> interviewing locals and following the osses that
> they disappeared before we could interview them.
> Day trippers. Also, do you happen to have a
> citation for Semmens' work?
>
> I haven't met Donald Rawe, unfortunately -- I'm
> assuming he is a different guy than Doc Rowe, also a
> local character who has tons of archival film and
> photos of the oss going back 100 years.
>
> All the best to you in all your endeavors,
> Sabina
>
> ---- Original message ----
> >Date: Fri, 20 Jan 2006 13:04:27 -0500
> >From: Amy Hale <[log in to unmask]>
> >Subject: Re: FYI--*Oss! Oss! Wee Oss!* Online
> >To: [log in to unmask]
> >
> > Thanks, Sabina! Yeah, I'm pretty happy. Maybe
> being
> > a redhead has something to do with it. The
> website
> > was just put up yesterday and I'm pretty pleased
> > with it. Sadly, I won't be at CSANA in March
> > because it conflicts with the International
> > Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts
> (basically
> > Sci Fi academics, I got into it through my
> Celtic
> > Cultural Studies co-editor, of all things).
> I'll be
> > doing a paper there on Transhumanist Art and I'm
> on
> > a fan fic panel, as well. I keep trying to hit
> the
> > UC Celtic conferences but there always seems to
> be a
> > conflict. The British ones seem easier for me
> to
> > get to at the moment.
> >
> > I'm glad you liked the book. It's always nice
> to
> > know that people have read it :) I'm glad to
> know
> > you are doing well too. Just the other day I
> packed
> > up the neat little coyote you brought back for
> me
> > for kitty watching duty all those years ago to
> take
> > to our new place.
> >
> > And just to get slightly back on topic, I'd
> agree
> > with Jacqueline that the maypole is a late
> addition.
> > I was thinking possibly late nineteenth century
> but
> > all my older Cornish folklore texts are packed
> for a
> > move, and I can't get to them. I don't think we
> have
> > definitive accounts of the Padstow Oss any
> earlier
> > than early nineteenth century anyway. It seems
> to be
> > a festival that has had a core aspect
> surrounding
> > the Oss and teaser, but the festival itself has
> > added many more features pretty consistently
> > (including of course the Blue Oss), which is why
> it
> > is so deliciously complex. It's always been in
> > motion. You can see a similar cultural layering
> at
> > Helston and also during Padstow's less popular
> and
> > more controversial event "Darkie Days".
> >
> > I thought Sabina's analysis was right on as
> well. Of
> > course there are other related aspects of the
> > festival in terms of how Pagans in Cornwall
> > interpret it and use it, the tension among those
> > groups and the "natives", how Cornish
> Revivalists
> > interpret the Oss, the Oss in Cornish festival
> > culture and a slew of tangentially relevant
> > analytical bits and bobs. These are probably
> more
> > relevant to the Cornish contexts of the
> festival,
> > although they have definitely contributed to the
> > Oss's wider status as a "Pagan Celtic Festival
> of
> > Great Antiquity". Jason Semmens just did a
> really
> > excellent and technical piece on the early
> history
> > of the Oss esentially rethinking a lot of
> popular
> > (and scholarly) assertions about its history
> which
> > I am looking forward to having a copy of. And
> I'm
> > sure that you've met Donald Rawe at this stage.
> If
> > not, you really should. He's quite a
> charatcter,
> > although as a prominent member of the Cornish
> > movement and (stubborn as an ox) he has his own
> > ideological perspective.
> >
> > Best,
> > Amy
> >
> > www.amyhale.weatherlight.com
> >
> > On 1/19/06, Sabina Magliocco <
> > [log in to unmask]> wrote:
> >
> > Hi Amy,
> >
> > The Berkeley oss dances at Live Oak Park on
> the
> > Saturday closest to May Day; I do not know of
> it
> > traveling elsewhere. However, one of the
> > inspirations for it was a Renfaire oss back in
> the
> > 1980s. The Berkeley oss is now 19 years old
> -- an
> > "ancient" tradition!
> >
> > Loved your website! It's great to see you
> happy
> > and doing well. I also enjoyed your co-edited
> > book _New Directions in Celtic Studies_. Will
> you
> > be at CSANA in LA in March?
> >
> > Best,
> > Sabina
> >
> > ---- Original message ----
> > >Date: Thu, 19 Jan 2006 20:37:06 -0500
> > >From: Amy Hale <[log in to unmask]>
> > >Subject: Re: FYI--*Oss! Oss! Wee Oss!* Online
> > >To: [log in to unmask]
> > >
> > > I haven't seen the Berkeley Oss, and it
> sounds
> > like
> > > an interesting display. I'd love to catch
> it
> > > sometime if I'm in the area. Out of
> > curiousity, do
> > > they take their Oss elsewhere? I recall
> > seeing a
> > > pretty good Oss at a Ren Faire outside
> L.A.
> > many
> > > years ago.
> > >
> > > Best,
> > > Amy
> > >
> > > www.amyhale.weatherlight.com
> > >
> > > On 1/19/06, Sabina Magliocco <
> > > [log in to unmask] > wrote:
> > >
> > > You're right, Amy; in Padstow the osses
> meet
> > at
> > > the maypole at 6:00 PM to exchange
> batons
> > and
>
=== message truncated ===
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