The Dance of the Reindeer Antlers
Every September, dancers in an English village carry ancient reindeer antlers through the fields. The antlers are about a thousand years old, from an animal that never lived in England.
What was reported
In the village of Abbots Bromley, Staffordshire, a strange dance is performed every September. Six men carry sets of large antlers mounted on wooden heads, and dance across the parish with a fool, a hobby horse, a man dressed as a woman, a boy with a bow and arrow, and a musician.
The dance lasts all day, travelling about 16 kilometres through the village and surrounding farms. The antlers are kept in the church for the rest of the year.
Explanations offered
Carbon dating showed one of the antlers to be about a thousand years old, from reindeer, which had long died out in Britain, so they may have been imported from Scandinavia. The dance's origins are unknown, and it's one of the oldest surviving folk customs in England.
- When
- Danced every September; antlers about 1,000 years old
- Where
- Abbots Bromley, Staffordshire, England, UK
- Witnesses
- Villagers and visitors
- Status
- Folk custom
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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