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Feb. 18th, 2009 10:44 amChapter Six of Nameless has been posted! Christopher returns to Chicago, some travelers return to Low Ferry, and Lucas sells his wares.
After Chapter Five there was a lot of interest in the Straw Bear, which was really cool. I picked it up from a lecture at a conference I went to on masks in performance; the Straw Bear was a tradition in Whittlesea, England, prior to the twentieth century. Though in intent it was mostly the same, in process it was very much different from Low Ferry's -- in Whittlesea the Bear went from door to door and did dances for money. It "died out" when it was outlawed as a form of extortionate begging in the early 20th century, but has since been revived as a folk festival and tourist attraction. You can see some film footage of the Straw Bear 2009 festival here:
The Straw Bear Dancing
Two Morris-style dances having nothing to do with the Straw Bear but still awesome:
a Broom Dance and
a Stick Dance.
There's also a Straw Bear in Germany, in Waldurn, and some various Straw Creature traditions in Denmark and Sweden, if I recall right. I think in fact I may have drawn more from the Waldurn Straw Bear than from Whittlesea's. Unfortunately it's been about three years since I checked my notes on the subject, and the internet's a bit thin regarding these things. I may dive into JStor later today and see what they know.
( Other Issues from Ch5 )
After Chapter Five there was a lot of interest in the Straw Bear, which was really cool. I picked it up from a lecture at a conference I went to on masks in performance; the Straw Bear was a tradition in Whittlesea, England, prior to the twentieth century. Though in intent it was mostly the same, in process it was very much different from Low Ferry's -- in Whittlesea the Bear went from door to door and did dances for money. It "died out" when it was outlawed as a form of extortionate begging in the early 20th century, but has since been revived as a folk festival and tourist attraction. You can see some film footage of the Straw Bear 2009 festival here:
The Straw Bear Dancing
Two Morris-style dances having nothing to do with the Straw Bear but still awesome:
a Broom Dance and
a Stick Dance.
There's also a Straw Bear in Germany, in Waldurn, and some various Straw Creature traditions in Denmark and Sweden, if I recall right. I think in fact I may have drawn more from the Waldurn Straw Bear than from Whittlesea's. Unfortunately it's been about three years since I checked my notes on the subject, and the internet's a bit thin regarding these things. I may dive into JStor later today and see what they know.
( Other Issues from Ch5 )
