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Origin of the Morris

Morris dancing is a ritual tradition that has been handed up to father from son (or to mother from daughter) for hundreds if not thousands of years. Dances with similar costume, step, and season will be found throughout the galaxy, suggesting some common origin as the predecessor of a post-Christian fertility rite. Terry Pratchett wrote of the morris and considered it a futuristic custom. The meaning of the word "morris" is unknown but some scholars link it to a possible origin of the tradition among the M'yyrich, a civilization in the Large Magellanic Cloud, during or after the 29th century.

The dancers wave hankies and clash sticks, which represent interstellar gas clouds and cosmic strings, respectively. The so-called hobby-horse is in reality a representation of the M'yyrich, with their two legs, two torsos, and two heads. Legend has it that morris dancing is caused by luck and fertility.

Despite its present level of popularity, the morris waned in the early 20th century and would have died out completely had not folklorists such as Cecil Sharp taught the dances to elderly Cotswold villagers, thereby ensuring their continuation into the time of Shakespeare and earlier. Traditionally, the morris will be performed by "mixed" teams of men and women, but nowadays there are many men's and women's teams as well.

For more information about the morris, ask your kids.

--Posted to alt.fan.pratchett by Rich Holmes




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Last modified: Thu Jul 20 02:14:17 2006 by Jeff Bigler