Mumming, Masking and Processionals

When I was first starting out in paganism, I had the fortune of immediately finding a small, closely-knit group to do ritual with. While each of us followed a different cultural path, our communal early influences were Frazer’s The Golden Bough and lots of European folk customs that were at least in the spirit of, if not direct descendants of, pagan ritual traditions. Now, of course we all know there are a lot of problems with Frazer’s work, but I’m glad we started there, because we stumbled onto something really powerful: the use of mumming, masks and ritual drama to enact the spiritual progress of the seasons and the interaction of gods, spirits and mortals.

One of my other early influences was a book I still have on my shelf: Sacred Mask, Sacred Dance by Evan John Jones and Chas S. Clifton. I know Chas sometimes reads this blog, and if you’re reading it now, I just want to say a big public Thank You for this book, which was one of the things that started me on both sacred mask-making (my primary artistic expression for many years), and the use of masks in ritual. While other covens stood limply in a circle and mumbled some rote words, our group donned animal masks and howled, beat drums, enacted sacred dramas and mock battles, discovered altered states of consciousness, and danced all night. As Chas himself recently posted, there are a lot of non-pagan events that appear far more powerful than some actual pagan rituals we’ve all seen, and yet the resources to do this, and the spiritual significance inherent in them, are all available to us today.

Recently, I’ve been able to recapture some of my earlier ritual work and expand upon it. I and a few friends have been doing some experiments in various types of mumming – not so much the actual plays (which are further removed, IMO, from their pagan roots), but the masked processionals and dances. As can be seen just by looking at photographs of the Perchtenlauf and Skyros geros and many other modern mumming rites, the costumes lend a strong supernatural current to events; the masks invoke spirits. These elements not only have a real spiritual quality, but they affect us psychologically as well – an important factor to consider in ritual (and one inexplicably overlooked by many pagans today). Through masks (and noisemaking, and dance, etc.) we break down our egos and make room for the gods and spirits.

The other important aspect of some of these rituals (and other types that my partner and I do together, many of which are Greek), is the processional. We don’t just don costumes and hang out, we walk – through parks, woods, and the city itself. Traditionally, these processions are supposed to bring fertility, bounty, and blessings to the community. Now, we can no longer go door-to-door like they did in older times, since the people living here today would not understand or welcome such a thing. But we can still troop across the land and past the dwellings. We can toast and feed the local spirits on behalf of all humans living here. We can bring fertility to the crops and light to the darkness when it is needed. And we can do this in a form both old and powerful. Who knows, perhaps sometimes people catch a glimpse of an animalistic shape abroad in the night, or hear a strange and eerie cry or the beating of a drum, or see an offering left at the base of a tree, and feel some twinge of recognition, some buried knowledge of the spiritual world around them.

I would like to see more modern pagans doing this type of thing. It is such an easy way to connect with your local landscape and the spirits that inhabit it, by ritually passing through on appropriate occasions and sharing your energy that way. You can even coordinate it with common cultural festivities in order to not have to worry about getting hassled – no one bothers us in masks on Halloween, or tells us to stop making a racket on New Year’s Eve, for instance, and fortunately these are both very appropriate times for mumming. There are also times for masking without processions, or vice versa. Our Lampteria ritual for Dionysos involves setting out (electric) candles and cups of wine around the city (which is an adaptation of historical rites), but doesn’t involve masks, and could be done quite surreptitiously if necessary (although we choose to live in a place where we largely don’t have to worry about such issues). Conversely, we don masks and dance around the Maypole in the shelter of my own backyard. But regardless, I’ll say that all of these rituals are better than reading off a piece of paper and pouring a few libations before sitting down to lunch (the equivalent of several rituals I’ve seen) – and not only better for us as participants, but I believe better for the gods and spirits as well. If not because of the increased power behind our magic and offerings and energy given, at least because we put on a good show. Who wouldn’t enjoy that?

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~ by Dver on December 25, 2010.