The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #155810 Message #3669146
Posted By: Steve Gardham
14-Oct-14 - 05:11 PM
Thread Name: Black-faced Morris dancers
Subject: RE: Black-faced Morris dancers
I'm sure that will be right GUEST. Other forms of disguise were wearing masks that covered the face. In some cases the disguise was to give an air of mystery, to make local lads look more exotic if they couldn't be identified, in some cases to make them look frightening/threatening. It may well be that the links to the Minstrels where they exist were an add on, i.e., the blacking up preceded the Minstrel boom, but was utilised when it happened, just as the mummers teams incorporated more contemporary characters as time went on.