AntiMorris & RTFM FAQ

• What, exactly is the "AntiMorris"?
• Are "AntiMorris", "Dark Morris", and "Other Morris" all the same thing?
• How long has this been going on?
• Does anybody else do it?
• Why do you do it?
• When do you perform it?
• Where do you perform?
• What do the dancers wear?
• Does Terry Pratchett know about it?  What does he think of it?
• What happens at the end of the performance?
• Are there other related activities that happen that evening?

About the AntiMorris

What, exactly, is the "AntiMorris"?

"AntiMorris" is our term for the other morris dance that Terry Pratchett describes in Reaper Man.  You can read the relevant quotations here.

Are "AntiMorris", "Dark Morris", and "Other Morris" all the same thing?

Yes.  In Reaper Man, Terry Pratchett referred to it merely as the "other" morris, and when Ravenswood Morris started dancing it in 1999, we decided to call it "AntiMorris".  More recently, Pratchett has begun calling it "Dark Morris".  Ravenswood Morris has switched to referring to it as "Dark Morris", but RTFM prefers to stick with "AntiMorris". 

History

How long has this been going on?

Ravenswood Morris, of Chicago, started doing it in October 1999.  This is the earliest instance known to us of a group dancing the AntiMorris -- aside, of course, from the Lancre dancers mentioned in Reaper Man.  Recently Traditional Fictional Morris (RTFM) was formed in 2001, when a trio of former Ravenswood Morris dancers moved to Boston and wanted to continue the tradition.  They recruited a sufficiency of additional personnel, and the dancing goes on.

Other AntiMorris Dancers

Does anybody else do it?

Other AntiMorris-dancing teams we know about include Ravenswood Morris (of Chicago, IL), White Rats Morris (of San Francisco, CA), Snowbelt Morris (of Rochester, NY), and Snag Morris (a mysterious group based somewhere in the UK).  We have also run across a website for the Lancre Morris Men, and would love to learn more about their observance of this tradition.  If you dance AntiMorris, or know of anyone who does, the AntiMorris webring would love to know about it.

Why

Why do you do it?

Because we're Terry Pratchett fans.  Because it's a silly thing to do.  Because we think balance in the world might be a good thing.  Because you don't have to get up so early to dance at dusk.  Because the sun might not go down if we don't.  Because it's become traditional for us to do so.  Or, in Terry Pratchett's own words, "To kill the trees and make the frost flowers bloom".

When

When do you perform it?

On October 31, starting just before sunset.  We meet at around 5:00PM and begin dancing at about 5:35PM.  The dancing continues until slightly after sunset, which is at about 5:39PM local time.
Note that, prior to 2007's change in Daylight Saving Time, sunset and our dancing were both one hour earlier according to local clocks.

Where

Where do you perform?

Since 2002, RTFM has always danced the AntiMorris at the Somerville Community Growing Center, 22 Vinal Ave., Somerville, MA.

Kit

What do the dancers wear?

RTFM's official kit (costume) is black shirt & trousers, mottled gray double baldrics, white bell pads with black octiron sound-absorbing bells, black hankies, white shoes, and a hat that's not part of a morris kit for another side.

Terry Pratchett's Response

Does Terry Pratchett know about this?  What does he think of it?

Oh yes, he knows about it.  He definitely approves, and is quite amused by it.  He is also, apparently, slightly creeped out.

At The End of the Performance

If it's a silent dance, are people supposed to clap at the end?

Audience members can do whatever they want, but a "tradition" has sprung up of clapping silently (with the hands not quite making contact).

What else happens after the dancing is done?

When the final dance ends, the dancers lead a silent procession through the labyrinth.  Feel free to join in, just please maintain silence.  After emerging from the labyrinth, the dancers of RTFM will quietly disperse, not to be seen again until next year.  However, as with that other dance that's done in the springtime, if you do happen to see one of the dancers afterwards, it's also traditional to buy beer for them.

Are there other related activities that happen that evening?

Yes!  After the AntiMorris, the evening's festivities are far from over, because very shortly thereafter The Paper Bag Mummers (PBM) convene just outside the gates of the growing center and perform a short play.  This performance marks the starting point of PBM's annual Oxford Street Souling Tour, in which the group processes from the growing center to the far end of nearby Oxford Street, performing a traditional soul-caking play wherever they find an audience along the way.