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The Rochdale Coconut Dance

Jack-in-the-Green track 16

On Easter Saturday, on the streets of Bacup in Lancashire, you can see one of the most exotic and bizarre of English traditions. The Britannia Coconut Dancers - known locally as ‘Nutters’ - wear white skirt and turban, knee breeches, stockings and clogs, and blacken their faces. As they dance through the streets of the town to the accompaniment of a brass band they strike together the ‘coconuts’ - small round blocks of wood strapped to their knees, waist and hands. Similar teams once existed in other Lancashire mill towns, but the tune played here is all that remains of the Rochdale tradition.

Although I've not sought out the article myself, the following information was included in an article by Anne Gilchrist entitled ' The Lancashire Rush-Cart and Morris-Dance' in the Journal of the English Folk Dance Society, 1927:

Dr Henry Brierly, a native of Rochdale, sends me the tune of a 'Coco-nut Dance' which accompanied the Rochdale rush-cart in the 'fifties [i.e. the 1850s]. The dancers held half a coco-nut shell in each hand, a half-shell also being strapped to each knee, and clapped the shells rhythmically to this unvarying tune, played by the band. The dance was stationary, but according to his recollection the coco-nut dancers preceded the drawing-team of young men, 'prancing' in the procession. The tune has a general resemblance to Mr Cecil Sharp's traditional versions of 'Country Gardens' and 'Hunt the Squirrel'. I have seen no other record of this dance.

In common with pretty much everyone else on the folk scene, we play the tune "wrong". This is how it should go:

Rochdale Coconut Dance, from JEFDS 1927, Gilchrist,A. 'The Lancashire Rush-Cart and Morris-Dance'

Preceded by Mayer's Song, followed by Three around Three