“Mumming Meets Drumming: Re-contextualizing Performance for Peace in Northern Ireland”
Caroline Tatem & John McDowell
Abstract
In this paper, I discuss the recent merging of two Irish traditional performances, the house-visiting tradition of mumming and the competitive tradition of Lambeg drumming, in the Shared Education Program in Northern Ireland. While the traditional tunes and rhymes performed by the professional mummers, the Armagh Rhymers, tend to be associated with Irish Catholic culture, the Lambeg drum is typically associated with Protestantism and particularly with the private fraternal Orange Order. I use participant observation and draw on several performance studies articles to argue that the process of folklorization made it possible for the Armagh Rhymers to perform in the unprecedentedly political setting of an Orange Lodge. By establishing themselves as a professional and international performance group, rather than amateur local actors as mummers traditionally are, the group was invited by the county council to take part in its initiative of developing children’s cross-community education with a focus on honoring Orange Order heritage. The emphasis on Orange heritage in this year’s project encouraged the Portadown Orange Lodge to open their doors to the Armagh Rhymers and Lambeg drum educator, Billy Hill to engage children of local Catholic and Protestant schools in 6 weeks of ritual drama involving the Lambeg drum. I draw on studies that discuss narrative in ritual drama and mythic storytelling, as well as in soothing social tensions in a political context. I examine the formal similarities in the rhyming and drumming traditions, and consider the project’s effectiveness in building friendly relations between the children, adults, and communities involved.