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Homer Sykes
Britannia Coconut Dancers, Bacup, Lancashire, England
[Country Customs]
1972
Gelatin silver print
Provided by the artist - Homer Sykes
© Homer Sykes
LL/22689
Originally, married men who worked at the Royal Britannia Cotton Mill in Bacup used to perform the Coconut Dances around the town boundaries on Good Friday and Easter Saturday. Again, the origins are obscure; the dancers have blackened faces and wear white caps, black breeches, red and white barrel skirts and black decorated clogs. Some researchers believe they have a Moorish genesis. The coconut dance is a series of jumps and leaps, and at the end of each phase the "coconuts" are struck together with a smooth circular movement of the arm in such a way as to produce a curious rippling sound. Their name derives from the hard wooden discs, the tops of cotton bobbins, which are attached in three places: just above the knees, to their hands and to the waist.
This photograph was included in the book by Homer Sykes "Once a Year: Some Traditional British Customs" (Gordon Faser, 1977)
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