Montol Festival
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The Montol Festival is an annual arts and community festival in Penzance, Cornwall held between the 14th and 22nd of December each year. The festival is a revival or reinterpretation of many of the traditional Cornish midwinter traditions & Christmas traditions formerly practiced in and around the Penzance area and is organised by the same team as the modern Golowan Festival.
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[edit] Origin of the word Montol
Edward Lhuyd in his 1700 MSS of vocabulary the Cornish language states that Montol means Winter Solstice[1]. however he later translates the word as balance (in latin Trutina[2], in Kernewek Kemmyn, Mantol). The organisers of the festival use both interpretations of the word, primarilly the festival is a celebration of the Cornish midwinter and a balance to the Midsummer Golowan celebrations.
[edit] Revived customs
At the very core of the festival are several of the revived customs of the West Cornwall area including, Penglaz the Penzance 'Obby 'Oss, described by many antiquarians as being present at the midwinter celebrations in Penzance at the turn of the 18th century as well as the St John the Baptist celebrations at Midsummer, Guise dancing, the Cornish candle dance and the performance of traditional mummers plays such as St George and the Turkish Knight. Cornish Christmas carols also feature heavily during the festivities.
[edit] Historical basis for revived customs
The historical basis for many of the customs described above are taken from the texts of notable Cornish antiquarians. AK Hamilton Jenkin in his book Cornish homes and customs describes the festival of 1831 as "like an Italian carnival" and further noted that "everyone including the rich and the great came masked and disguised on to the streets".
A detailed description of the Penzance Guise dancers is given by William Bottrell in his book Traditions and hearthside stories of West Cornwall,
| “ | "During the early part of the last century the costume of the guise dancers often consisted of such antique finery as would now raise envy in the heart of a collector..The Chief glory of the men lay in their cocked hats which were surmounted with plumes and decked with streamers and ribbons, The girls were no less magnificently attired with steeple crowned hats, stiff bodied gowns, bag skirts or trains and ruffles hanging from their elbows ." | ” |
[edit] Community events
During the festival there are a series of workshops dedicated to the making of Lanterns which are used in a large lantern parade on 21 December in Penzance Town Centre followed by the lighting of a beacon at Lescudjack Hill Fort one of the most ancient sites in the Penzance parish.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Origin of the word Montol from the Teer Ha Tavaz website (archived version)
- Official website of the Montol festival
- Montol factfile from the Cornishman Newspaper
