History: Black Sheep Border Morris dancers

There are over a dozen different styles and types of Morris dancing from all over the United Kingdom.

Border Morris Dances are from the English side of the Welsh borders - Herefordshire, Shropshire and Worcestershire constituted a Welsh Border Tradition. Historically there are a few descriptions of women dancing in the area, but these are all very early. Before the start of the twentieth century all of the descriptions of border morris are of groups, solely of men, but contemporary morris dance sides vary.  There are some female-only and male-only groups as well as some mixed groups. The Black  originally began as a male-only group, but soon became a mixed group.

Notation about border Morris dancing goes back to the 1480s... much of the tradition and history is ‘lost in the mists of time.’ Some morris groups repeat and re-enact only the traditional dances. The Black Sheep perform traditional dances but also keep the tradition alive by creating new dances based on old dance forms.

Traditionally each morris dancer would create their own dance outfit, using rags, old clothes, eccentric additions and bells. Many contemporary dance sides choose one look or ‘uniform’ for the group.  Each of the Black kits, (or costume,) is unique and created by its owner. Over time each morris dancer tends to add to their costumes (particularly to the hats). Feathers, bells, tokens, new rags, and buttons are common items of adornment.

 The leader of the Black Sheep is called the Squire.

The sticks we use are usually holly wood.

About the black face

In recent years, the black face has created some controversy, particularly in North America. The usual explanation for the black face is that it is for "disguise," the sooted out face (perhaps inspired by coal miners) to take on a ‘trickster role’ enabling them to act outside of normal social boundaries.

Whatever the theory, there is certainly no evidence that modern border sides attach any racial significance to the blacking of their faces. Some groups use additional colours as part of their disguises. The Black Sheep tend to stick to basic black… most of the time. Stage make up, powder and cork charcoal are used.

Textbook history:

The term 'Border Morris' was probably first used by Dr E C Cawte in his article in the EFDSS Journal, "The Morris Dances of Shropshire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire". Today the term normally describes dances of a particular style, rather than just those which originated in the area. The dances are boisterous and energetic; primarily stick dances, relying to a great extent on the impact of the performance. The dancers may cover their faces with coloured make-up and the costumes are often decorated with many ribbons or strips of material, known as rags or tatters.

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Alternate Histories of Morris dance

According to the "Uncyclopedia" at http://uncyclopedia.org/wiki/Morris_dancing...

"Despite popular opinion, morris dancing was actually invented by the Moors. After years of limited success with conventional conflict, the Moors launched a covert campaign to destroy Christian Europe through this insidious, frightening, and terrifyingly effective battle plan.

After years of research and planning the Moors invented the most ridiculous dance conceivable, and distributed it to their enemies via suicidal martyrs. However, their plan backfired due to the lack of style in Europe at that time. The Christians of Europe thought the dance was in fact cool, and proceeded to adopt it as a cultural pastime. Ironically, this innocuous failure proved devastating to the morale of the Moors, and was a major factor in their eventual defeat.

Over the centuries the realization that morris dancing was not cool slowly prevailed. By the 16th century it has died out on the continent. However, a contingent of eccentric, sadistic, pipe-smoking, bearded dads carried on the tradition in parts of Britain (especially Wales) to the present day. Publically practitioners of morris dancing claim it to be a way of embarrassing their teen-aged daughters at social events. But historical studies have shown that they are in fact aroused by bells and handkerchiefs for some unknown and disturbing reason.

It is only in the last two centuries that the dance has taken on its violent streak, mainly because of the constant taunting that the dancers were forced to endure by the general public."

In response, another unknown source adds historical "evidence" to the burning of hanky-wavers by the Inquisition!...

"As the erstwhile owner, back in the mists of time, of a 1953 Morris Minor, I believe that this theory of Moorish Morris origins makes sense. Only a suicidal driver would drive a Morris Minor; suicide appears to be a favourite Moorish preoccupation; therefore Moors invented, or at least helped to promulgate, Morris Dancing.
As obvious as this is, I would like to take the theory one step further: it is a well-known fact that many early Morris Dancers were burnt at the stake by the Inquisition on suspicion of being Moorish sympathizers. These 'Cotswold' Morris Dancers were all hankie-wavers, and were burnt using their hankies to fuel the flames. Sticks make better flames than hankies, but it is a matter of historical record (Doucet, Jones & Grant 1998 ' Early Medieval Inquisition Fuels') that STICKS WERE NOT USED in these inquisitional Morris fires, only hankies. The Holy Roman Church was feeling fairly infallible at the time, indeed was about to declare itself officially infallible, and it is now accepted by a majority of scholars that the Church-sanctioned use of hankies, but not sticks, in burnings at the stake, was a clear indication that stick-using Border Morris Dancers were not considered Moorish sympathizers, and that therefore Border Morris, unlike the satanic'Cotswold' Morris, was NOT invented by the Moors."