A Brief History of Mythago
In 1997 an invitation was circulated throughout the local folk music and dance scene to see what interest there was in forming “a new, radically different, ritual dance team for West Sussex”. At a meeting on 3rd September that year it was agreed that the team would be a recognisably bedlam morris style team, differentiating ourselves with a mystical element whilst maintaining the exuberance and energy of the style. And thus Mythago was born.
The name Mythago was taken from the Mythago Wood fantasies by the late Robert Holdstock, where a Mythago is the material form taken by a character from old legends, myths or phobias.
We now describe ourselves as a masked dance team that seeks to illustrate the old tales of Britain, bringing to life the myths and legends of the remote pagan past and of the early Celtic and Saxon saints. Our repertoire consists of a number of major story/dance cycles, but we are equally happy to dance a range of standalone short pieces.
The costume is a development of the black-faced border morris tradition. The rag coats and masks contain a number of symbols relating to the beliefs of the remote past – the tree of life, sun and moon being the primary symbols. Using masks makes it far easier to introduce different characters into our stories with a quick change. The stories feature dragons, kings, witches, the four elements (earth, air, fire, water) and of course the Green Man.
The team started with about 12 members, and the numbers of musicians, dancers, singers and orators has fluctuated over the years. At times we have been down to around six members; but in 2015 we have some 25 members including a band of 10 musicians.
(Information provided by Mythago)
