Thank you Azizi for your information about the relevant African beliefs.

With respect, Ruth, you do not seem to be getting what I see as being the crux of the matter.

THere is as yet no conclusive proof that blacking up was not and never has been racist. It is of course very hard to prove a negative.

But also although there are some indications that at some stages blacking up might (that's not "did", it's "might") have reflected the depiction of "nigger minstrels", no-one has yet provided proof that that was the origin (and therefore the traditional aspect of) "blacking up".

It is quite puzzling to me to think that if John Kirkpatrick invented border morris he would have incorporated in it a racist habit. If he didn't invent it then we are looking further back in time.

If he did invent it, it now looks to me as if he adopted some Anglian molly moves. Surely it is also so that Anglian molly does have a blackface tradition that, if it was "degenerate" by Sharp's time, is likely to predate "nigger minstrel" shows.

If that is the case, then there would seem to be a plausible timeline from a non-racist origin of blackface dance to present border morris.

Conversely, if there is a guised border tradition then the indications above in this thread are that other coloured guisings existed, so the proponents of the theory that blackface border is racist should be able to show a change from other colours to blackface during theminstrel period.

By way of contrast, research should (if border blackface is traditional) show a border blackface tradition before the "nigger mistrel" period.



There was a rock soundman in Nottingham I once much admired for his repartee. He was aquiline of feature and could easily have been assumed to be descended from the Indian continent. In fact his parents were I think one carribean and one white english. One day a thug was most unpleasant, calling him a "fucking paki". He got the reply "I'm not a fucking paki, I'm a fucking nigger and you're a fucking idiot".