MUMMERS AND
MASKS
is a one hour
Documentary
Christmas
Special that
explores the
ancient, wild,
wonderful, pagan
Christmas of
mummers. A
fascinating
tradition that
still survives
in the old world
and the new.
The Christmas
behind the
Christmas we
know.
The story of
mummers is the
story of masks.
The cult of
disguise. There
are some who
argue that the
custom dates
back to Roman
Saturnalia,
others believe
it goes all the
way back to the
cave!
Certainly, the
concealment of
one's indentity
behind a mask
speaks to the
wildest and most
ancient blood in
our being.
Mummering has
survived in
Newfoundland for
five centuries.
In 1861,
mummering was
officially
banned. Yet
even now in the
smaller outport
communities,
nobody worries
about a bit of
mud on the
carpet, and men
still disguise
themselves as
women and women
disguise
themselves as
men, and tramp
from house to
house, dancing
and drinking and
acting the
fool. In St.
John's, mummers
gate-crash house
parties and
perform a
revival of an
ancient mummers
play. With
swordfights and
much mayhem, it
was common right
across
Newfoundland up
until mummering
was outlawed.
MUMMERS
AND MASKS
traces the root
of these ancient
mid-winter
customs, that
came over to the
New World with
the first
settlers, back
to their
source. In
County Fermanagh,
Ulster, mummers
perform an
ancient
community drama
with striking
similarities to
the Newfoundland
revival. The
Ulster mummers
conceal
themselves
from head-to-toe
in woven straw.
In the 1970's,
the practice of
mummers roaming
the country and
invading houses
wearing masks,
virtually
disappeared as
sectarian
violence took
root. Today,
however, the
Christmas
mummers are seen
as helping to
heal the
sectarian strife
which has torn
apart
communities. In
Dingle, in
southern
Ireland, the
mummers are
known as wren
boys, and once
upon a time
cavorted around
with a dead wren
tied to a holly
branch. The
root of mumming
is all about
fertility and
assisting the
re-birth of the
sun. In
Minehead,
England, the
local hobby
horse (a close
relative to the
hobby horse that
came over with
Sir Humphrey
Gilbert when he
planted the
British flag in
St. John's in
1583) not only
assists with the
fertility of the
land, it is also
called upon to
assist with the
fertility of
humans. We are
talking sex!
Filmed in a
lively verite
style,
incorporating
rare archival
footage,
MUMMERS AND
MASKS revels
in all the
raucous fun and
music to be
found in
Newfoundland, in
Ireland and
England over the
12 days of
Christmas, and
also in
Philadelphia,
where our
cameras filmed
10,000 mummers
parading through
the streets on
New Year's Day,
in a garish,
gaudy, Superbowl-style
Mummers
extravaganza.
Tracing the
very DNA of
human community
entertainment at
Christmastime;
our guides are
the colourful
practitioners
themselves: the
storytellers,
musicians and
mummers behind
the masks.
