I got hit in the teeth at England's oldest ritual

0:00 There were signs as I drove into Abbots Bromley saying there

0:03 might be delays on the roads thanks to “Horn Dance Day”.

0:06 There was still mist on the ground as the sun

0:08 rose and I parked up in rural Staffordshire.

0:11 More than a dozen videos into this series, it does feel a little odd that I

0:15 haven’t yet talked about any Weird English Traditions.

0:18 So, those signs felt like a good omen.

0:21 (background chatter) It’s busy in the village already.

0:28 It’s only 7:30 in the morning.

0:30 And my instructions are:

0:32 go to the church and look for the people in the costumes.

0:37 There were already lots of people there.

0:39 I didn’t have any special access here: this was a public event,

0:41 with lots of people inside and outside the church,

0:44 and there were two types of people in there:

0:46 folks from the village and the surrounding area who clearly all knew each other,

0:51 and a lot of… Tourists is the wrong word.

0:55 There were definitely tourists, and I’ll talk about them later.

0:57 But mostly, the outsiders were people like me with cameras,

1:00 here to broadcast, not to save memories for themselves.

1:04 The man with the jingling bells is Terry, the jester, we’ll talk to him later.

1:08 In the meantime, the folks in costume are taking the antlers off the wall.

1:12 Look, there’s a lot that I’m gonna need to explain later.

1:15 If I talk about it all now,

1:16 we’ll be in the church for most of this video and it’ll be really dull.

1:19 But in nearly every shot here, you’ll see someone with a camera,

1:22 maybe a small GoPro, maybe a 360 camera on a very long stick...

1:26 longer than mine, but never mind.

1:28 Or maybe it’ll be some odd hybrid camera which appeared

1:31 to take physical film plates while also having a modern flash attached?

1:34 I wish I’d asked him about that.

1:36 Or it’ll be a full professional camera,

1:37 either someone from the local newspaper or an agency stringer who’s come

1:40 along to get some footage that they might be able to sell.

1:43 And all of us with cameras are...

1:46 awkwardly jostling for position,

1:48 not wanting to interfere with proceedings but also

1:50 not wanting anyone else’s camera in our shot.

1:53 With the antlers down, everyone in costume ready,

1:55 and all the photographers off at the side,

1:57 the vicar welcomed everyone and led a short prayer.

2:00 Bless all who visit this parish today.

2:03 Give them joy in their hearts and surround them with your loving care.

2:08 And bring them safely to their journey’s end.

2:11 Amen.

2:12 (audience mutters “amen”) For anyone who’s used

2:14 to more vocal religious worship, don’t worry,

2:16 the gentle mutter of “amen” at the end there was normal,

2:20 actually it was positively enthusiastic by most Church of England standards.

2:24 Anyway, up went the antlers,

2:25 and also the hobby-horse, and everyone headed outside.

2:28 Everybody ready?

2:29 ’Cos we’ve got to stop the traffic.

2:31 -Are we ready?

2:32 -Yep.

2:32 And we were off.

2:34 (accordions playing ‘A Hundred Pipers’,

2:35 triangle chiming) The oldest village tradition in England

2:42 sets out and immediately a taxi decides to turn

2:44 around and go the other way because

2:46 the high street’s gonna be blocked for a while.

2:48 The Abbots Bromley Horn Dance has three phases:

2:51 first, walking down the street in a line.

2:54 -Morning Jill, you all right?

2:55 -Morning Jill!

2:56 You all right?

2:56 Morning, you all right?

2:57 (music continues) And as this happens,

2:59 the locals take pictures from their doors, or follow along.

3:02 Whoa!

3:03 Second: stepping back and forth, back and forth,

3:06 in what seemed like a very simple routine but which,

3:09 I would find out later, was much more difficult than it looked.

3:12 And third: parading around in a circle or a couple of small circles.

3:16 (music continues) Eventually,

3:21 they turned off the main road and started a route through the village,

3:25 because this is not a single early morning dance.

3:28 I don’t think I appreciated quite what

3:31 a physical challenge this actually is for them.

3:34 Because, like, I’m running around with a camera,

3:35 as are so many other people around here.

3:37 Oh, it’s okay, it’s been about 15 minutes.

3:40 They’re going to be walking with those all day.

3:43 They’re going to be playing accordion all day.

3:45 Like, they’re not finished until 5pm, 6pm, something like that.

3:50 Also, there’s quite a few car drivers somewhat confused.

3:54 Like most English towns and villages,

3:56 you can track the architecture getting more and more

3:58 modern as you head away from the centre.

4:00 Also, let me explain that triangle that’s very loud in all of the footage.

4:04 The Horn Dance has a cast of characters.

4:06 Along with the dancers and the musicians,

4:08 there’s the jester, Terry, who’s in charge.

4:10 There’s the hobby-horse.

4:11 There’s the kid with the bow and arrow,

4:13 which she’s usually blank-firing in rhythm as percussion,

4:15 it’s just very quiet compared to everything else.

4:17 There’s Maid Marian, that’s the man in blue and yellow.

4:20 And there’s the kid with the triangle.

4:21 Because that’s a very young kid, I think they got swapped out at various points,

4:25 because the level of triangle skill seemed

4:28 to change quite a lot as we went along, both in timing and enthusiasm.

4:33 After 45 minutes or so of parading around the parish,

4:37 they made it to their first pit stop.

4:39 (applause) There were bacon rolls and drinks,

4:45 and even occasional tots of what I think was

4:47 brandy or whisky being given to the folks in costume.

4:49 There were still a few folks with cameras watching on, although

4:51 a lot of the press photographers had got their shots

4:53 and moved on, and some of the villagers had gone

4:55 to get ready for work or to take their kids to school.

4:58 And everyone moved out of the way for the bin lorry.

5:01 While they were stopped, I had a chat with Terry, the jester.

5:04 How long have you been doing this?

5:06 This will be my 46th year.

5:08 46th year, so did you start out as the kid on the triangle?

5:12 Or has it been...

5:14 -No, I started out by going to a fête

5:18 where the dancers were and the jester didn’t turn up.

5:22 -Right!

5:23 -Luckily, they’d got the clothes...

5:25 -Yep.

5:25 -...so, I ended up doing the jester and I’ve done it ever since.

5:30 And the history of this is a mystery, apparently.

5:33 (laughter) Yeah, it’s a mystery.

5:35 Nobody really knows what it’s all about.

5:37 I mean, there’s one story that says it’s a celebrational dance,

5:41 ’cos it’s just after the harvest was got in from the farmers.

5:44 And then other people say it’s a fertility dance.

5:48 Right.

5:49 Like when you see the horns going backwards and forwards,

5:52 it represents two male stags when they’re fighting...

5:55 -Right.

5:56 -...at rutting time.

5:58 And then the circles as we do.

6:01 But that’s all a guess, presumably?

6:03 There’s no written, definite thing.

6:07 All we’re interested in, we’ll make sure it keeps going, like.

6:10 The dance used to be on Christmas many, many years ago,

6:13 and at some point it switched to Wakes Monday,

6:16 which is a holiday date that seems to change by English region and it

6:19 would be far too much of a tangent to explore that right now.

6:21 And all the history of that has been lost.

6:25 That’s the mystery of the dance.

6:27 That’s why we think we’re so popular.

6:29 As you can see this morning, I mean… Yeah!

6:31 I mean, there’s been a steady attrition of the press photographers,

6:34 who presumably like me, turn up for the start and then

6:37 decide… because you’re finishing at what, eight tonight?

6:39 -Yeah.

6:40 -So how far are you gonna be walking?

6:41 I mean, you’re talking about 12,

6:44 13 miles of like… They finish...that’s the dancers, not me.

6:49 -Yeah.

6:49 (laughs) Oh, yeah, because they’re going to go round and round, aren’t they?

6:52 I’m too old for that!

6:53 (laughs) So, they’re all walking a half marathon with heavy antlers on.

6:57 Why are they doing it?

6:59 Because that’s what happens every year.

7:01 The first written record that includes the antlers is from the 17th century,

7:04 in The Natural History of Staffordshire.

7:07 I don’t have a physical copy of the book,

7:08 even modern reprints cost hundreds of pounds.

7:11 But in there, it says that the village has,

7:13 “a sort of sport called the Hobby-Horse

7:16 Dance,” which included the dancer on the horse,

7:18 along with “six others, carrying on their shoulders as many reindeers’ heads”.

7:23 It’s clearly an earlier version of this, with lots of things in common,

7:27 but what stood out to me, and maybe this is just a non-expert’s misreading,

7:31 but it looks like a fundraising event.

7:34 The record talks of a pot, held by the chiefs of the town, with cakes and ale.

7:39 And “all people who had any kindness

7:41 for the Institution of the Sport” would give

7:44 a little bit of money towards church repairs and the poor people of the town,

7:47 which is still happening.

7:49 I didn’t get any footage of it on the day ’cos I didn’t think it was important,

7:52 but there was a collection going round as they passed by each street,

7:54 and I bought a t-shirt, because I felt like I should support them a little.

7:59 And there are plenty of places across the UK

8:01 that do something similar to this, whether it’s

8:03 the local rotary club having Santa touring round

8:06 in a sleigh at Christmas or some other charity parade.

8:09 To be clear, actual folklore scholars do not know where or when this came from.

8:14 Wild reindeer have been extinct in Britain for centuries.

8:17 The antlers have been carbon-dated to somewhere

8:19 around the 11th or 12th century, so, about a millennium old,

8:23 but that doesn’t mean they’ve been in the village that long.

8:25 There’s a decent chance that they were imported from Scandinavia,

8:28 although why and how they ended up in a Staffordshire village, no idea.

8:32 This paper with the carbon dating has thirty-seven

8:35 citations and none of them have any actual explanation.

8:38 Its conclusion is basically, “We don’t know”.

8:40 I did find a photo dated 1899,

8:43 and the metadata there says that the Horn Dance “celebrates

8:45 the granting of the Charter of the Forest by King Henry III”.

8:49 That’s a law that restored some rights to commoners.

8:51 But that idea seems to come from the notes

8:54 in a Victorian-era book of pictures by documentarian,

8:56 Sir Benjamin Stone, and the language in there

8:58 seems to imply that the writer just… decided that?

9:02 It says that the dance “clearly

9:04 indicates its original object” and that “clearly,

9:06 therefore, the primary intent “was to assert certain rights” about hunting.

9:10 That seems to have as much evidence behind it

9:12 as my idea about it being a charity parade.

9:15 We all interpret what we see through our own lens.

9:18 Anyway, they let some of the spectators have a quick go,

9:21 they continued along country roads,

9:22 picking up more and more people, performing in someone’s front garden.

9:25 You can see there’s fewer cameras out now,

9:27 it’s more locals and some enthusiastic folklore tourists.

9:30 The sun started to get higher in the sky and it got warm as we kept walking.

9:33 There was also a performance at a country house for the local

9:36 dignitaries where the riffraff like me must stay outside the boundaries.

9:40 (music continues) As we moved through quieter country lanes,

9:43 the discipline of the dance wasn’t held to quite such strict standards:

9:47 often they were just out for a walk while holding some horns,

9:49 although cars were still getting stuck behind the big crowd.

9:53 -Oh, that car timed it wrong, didn’t he?

9:55 -Yeah.

9:55 The music occasionally got a little less traditional, too.

9:58 (‘Dam Busters March’ playing on accordions) (crowd applauding) Did

10:10 I hear the Dam Busters drop in there briefly?

10:13 You’ll hear all sorts of things depending on his mood.

10:16 (laughter) Anything from Nelly the Elephant… (laughter) Yes, I slipped up there.

10:21 I didn’t mean to play that this early in the day!

10:23 And then, at the next pit stop,

10:25 they called for more spectators to have a go, so I volunteered.

10:29 That turned out to be slightly painful,

10:31 and I’ll explain the reason for that in a moment.

10:33 I’ve been on the road in Japan for a couple of weeks,

10:36 and all my mobile data has been going through one of Saily’s eSIMs.

10:40 I can report that it’s worked really well.

10:42 the data speeds are fast, the network coverage is wide and I don’t have

10:46 to pay the ridiculous roaming charges from my regular provider.

10:49 I’ve had no problems.

10:50 So if you’re travelling soon,

10:52 download Saily now, while you’re watching this video.

10:54 Then when you set off, it’ll be ready.

10:56 Buy a pass just before you take off for your destination,

10:59 and your phone will work right after you land,

11:02 you take it out of airplane mode, and it finds the local cell service.

11:05 And that way you don’t have to pay however

11:07 much your home network wants from you for roaming.

11:09 Saily has plans for countries around the world,

11:11 or for whole regions, or even the Ultra plan that I’m using,

11:14 which means your phone just works in more than a hundred countries,

11:18 along with giving you passes for airport lounges and fast-track security.

11:21 You can download Saily right now using the QR code on screen,

11:24 or the link in the description,

11:25 and remember to use the code TOMSCOTT at checkout for an extra discount.

11:30 With most of the crew taking a break,

11:32 I volunteered to be one of the civilians having a go.

11:35 So I handed my camera to someone, and picked up some antlers.

11:38 -One hand there.

11:40 -Yeah.

11:40 -And then, so this hand down.

11:42 -Use that hand and balance it up here.

11:43 However’s comfier.

11:44 -Yeah.

11:45 Right.

11:45 If…okay, yep.

11:47 This… It’s heavier and both much less balanced than I thought it was.

11:51 This could be an 800+ year old set of antlers here...

11:55 Oh, easily, yeah.

11:56 That I’m just holding with one hand and my shoulders.

11:57 Yeah, you’ll be fine.

11:59 Thanks!

11:59 (laughs) No pressure.

12:01 No pressure.

12:02 That’s…that’s stable.

12:03 I’ve got that, okay.

12:06 At least I hope I’ve got that.

12:08 -Has anyone told you what to do yet?

12:10 -No.

12:10 -Okay, good.

12:11 -No.

12:12 -Good.

12:12 Same here.

12:12 -I’m very nervous...

12:13 -Same!

12:13 -...that something’s gonna break off.

12:15 Oh, apparently you’re holding the one they’ve carbon dated to the 12th century.

12:18 Oh, my God.

12:19 I think I’m holding the littlest one.

12:21 -Yes, that is the lightest one.

12:23 -That’s why you’ve given it to me.

12:24 -This is unfortunately the heaviest one.

12:25 -The delicate girly.

12:27 -(laughter) -Alright.

12:28 -Get between us.

12:29 -And I’ll follow you.

12:30 -Yep.

12:30 What about when we’re doing the back-and-forth thing?

12:32 Do I just...?

12:33 Ah, it’ll make sense as we go.

12:34 (laughter) Okay!

12:36 -You’ll work it out.

12:37 Right!

12:38 (music starts) There is one thing I’m worried

12:54 about as I’m showing this off to the world.

12:56 There are plenty of British traditions that have

12:58 come close to ruin thanks to the internet.

13:00 The annual cheese rolling at Cooper’s Hill used to be a tiny local event like

13:04 this, but back in 2010 a rush

13:06 of publicity meant it was cancelled due to overcrowding, and it nearly died out.

13:10 The Lewes Bonfire is now so overcrowded that they urge the public not to attend,

13:15 trains don’t stop at the local stations, roads are closed.

13:18 The Horn Dance is a little protected

13:20 against all that: there’s less fire and spectacle,

13:23 and it’s a gentle, all-day event held on a Monday.

13:26 But you saw how many cameras there were, mine included,

13:28 all of us jostling to try and make

13:30 it look like there weren’t as many cameras there, because that’s less authentic.

13:35 I do have a duty of care to the places I visit.

13:38 Anyway, here’s where I get hit in the teeth.

13:40 The real trick is how close can you get together...

13:42 It’s fine, we got it, we got it!

13:44 (laughter) -Without getting dizzy of course.

13:46 -(laughter) Already dizzy, already dizzy.

13:50 -Oof!

13:51 -Careful.

13:52 -Oh, my...

13:53 -Well, that hit me in the teeth, so… My concerns,

13:56 in order: first, do I still have all my teeth?

13:59 Yes.

13:59 Second, are the horns okay?

14:01 Yes, they’ve survived centuries, and they’re horns.

14:04 They’re literally made by deer to get clashed together.

14:07 Third, did I get that on camera?

14:09 Yes, I did.

14:11 Oof!

14:11 But the dance must go on, even if holding

14:14 the camera out made me look like the worst of vloggers.

14:19 Mornin’.

14:20 And you’ll notice that when we cross over,

14:22 the experts have learnt to duck their antlers down

14:25 to avoid having the exact sort of collision that I had.

14:29 (cheering, applause) (music stops) -Yeah, thank you so, so much.

14:39 -No problem, mate.

14:40 -That is so kind of you.

14:41 -I’ve got hold of it.

14:43 Whoo!

14:44 (laughter) -Survived, did it?

14:46 -Well, I clashed antlers with someone...

14:48 -I’m intrigued to see that, actually.

14:50 -So am I.

14:57 Next time, or right now on Nebula:

15:01 I help wind and fire 22 tonnes of mediaeval destruction.