14 DAY TRIAL // The local council of the town of Bacup, Lancashire in the UK decided to end a historical tradition of local dancing over safety issues concerning not the dancers but the people admiring them. The fact that the spectators were standing on the street to watch the dancers perform caused the council to raise some safety issues.
The Morris dancers known under the name of Britannia Coconutters have been banned from performing their 156-year traditional dance after photographs taken at the last event showed people watching while standing on the street. The council believes the tradition must come to an end because of the safety issues regarding the spectators.
The members of Britannia Coconutters have been performing in the same spot for the last 156 years wearing traditional red and white kilts and clogs and colorful turbans.
The blacked-up members of the group perform 12 hours of dances at 20 pubs in Bacup, every Easter Saturday according to The Telegraph.
The county council expressed their concerns and advised the group to limit its performance to the pavement because having people standing in the street is dangerous.
The show cannot be performed in those limits as it implies a boundary dance that goes from Britannia through Bacup and Stacksteads to the border with Waterfoot.
For last year's performance, the road had to be closed and the group was almost fined. “Our tradition is a huge source of income and pride for the people of this town and the people in charge don't understand. They don't want us on the highway at all,” Mr. EarnShaw, the band's treasurer said in an interview with The Telegraph.
The tradition of the black painted faces is believed to come from pagan or medieval customs used to chase away bad spirits.
The Britannia Coconutters, also known as the Nutters, perform around 40 times a year and their ages start from the youngest, 43, to their oldest member who is 76 years old and has been dancing for almost 56 years.