All Silver and No Brass: An Irish Christmas Mumming

by Henry Glassie

Book Overview

Irish Christmas mumming, the subject of this carefully researched and beautifully written book, is approached in Part I through the recollections of four old people of the hamlet of Ballymenone who recall the mumming from their youth. In Part II, the author examines the form and function of the mummers' play, showing that--contrary to the theories of some folklorists--it is not a truncated fragment of a much larger whole but a complete "presentational"...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0253304709
• ISBN13: 9780253304704
• Release Date: February 1983
• Publisher: Indiana University Press
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.1" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Mumming Revived

Mumming isn't solely the New Year's tradition that is performed in Philadelphia's streets. In Ireland, it involved masking, music making, storytelling, and folk drama as mummers visited neighbors in holiday celebrations. Henry Glassie's book is a study of the folklore and oral history of mumming within a small community in the border area of Ireland and Ulster. Although the mumming tradition had died out by the mid 20th century, current residents who remembered the mumming tradition describe what one might experience when celebrating a typical evening of the old tradition. The book is a highly readable and insightful study of Irish folklife, and a fine presentation of mumming's memory culture.