Montol Traditions
Montol is the Cornish word for the Midwinter Solstice according to Edward Lhuyd in his1700 MSS Vocabulary.
The Christmas traditions of the people of Cornwall are vast and rich and have contributed to many of the Christmas and midwinter customs practised worldwide.
They traditions range from:
The Midwinter Obby Oss - Penglaz who came out with the dancers and mummers of the town with a band of followers wearing Venetian style carnival masks and black clothes or "Tatters" ie coloured tattered rags attached to black clothe. Some wore the skin and horns of cattle . The wearing of sprigs of Mistletoe, Ivy, Holly and Yew tree were also part of the celebrations. All participants in Montol will be encouraged to disguise themselves in some way and be masked (Ie a domino eye mask). or mask in the Venetian style or wear tatters .
The Singing of Cornish Carols - Collected by famous folklorists like Davies Gilbert Cornish carols have been described by some as Cornwall's gift to the world. Thomas Merrit, another Cornish carol legend composed many unique carols that are still popular today. What is a little known fact is that most of the traditional carols of Christmas were collected in Cornwall when Christmas was largely uncelebrated outside Cornwall and Yorkshire, Christmas being popularised by Charles Dickens after the publication of A Christmas Carol. For more information about Cornish Carols click here.
The Lighting of the Midwinter "Mock" or Cornish Yule Log - The Mock was a log burned in the family home or at community occasions. A stick man was chalked on the Mock as a symbol of the death of the new year and the birth of the new. Traditionally the Mock was made of ash wood and was in some parts of Cornwall and Devon called an "Ashen Faggot". All the bark was removed from the Mock . In the revived Montol festival we will be burning the Mock outside in our beacon fires (Tan - Cornish Language) for the whole community to share in the experience.
The Candle Dance - A circle dance and cousin of the Serpent dance seen at Golowan. Candles were placed in a basket of sand and young people would dance around them - Many observers commented on the similarity between the candle dance and the Golowan serpent dance in the sense they were both "fire" dances used to sanctify the solstice.
The Guise Dancers - Strangely dressed performers who travelled throughout the town - going door to door celebrating the topsy turvy and the spirit of misrule, the gatecrashing of parties and "testing of the ale" were also traditions associated with Guising or "Geesing". All participants in Montol will be encouraged to disguise themselves in some way and be masked (Ie a domino eye mask). or mask in the Venetian style or wear tatters in the same style as the Guise dancers. Read here an original description of the Geese Dancers in St Ives.
The Guise Dance Plays - Short comedy plays performed by the Guise Dancers with names like Duffy and the Devil and St George and the Turkish Knight. The most popular Europe wide being St George and the Turkish Knight.
All of these traditions form part of the Montol festival.