Despite facing heavy criticism, a traditional dance group known for blacking up their faces pressed on with their customary Easter weekend march. The Britannia Coconut Dancers took to the streets in Bacup, Lancs. , last Saturday (19/4), refusing to yield to the demands that they abandon their practice of blacking up.

Affectionately termed 'nutters', the group adorn their outfits with coconuts and engage in dances led by a 'whipper in' who lashes the air around them. Tracing back to the 19th century, these performers argue that their darkened visages pay homage to the historical coal mining roots of the town they represent.

Gavin McNulty, now 40 year old Group secretary who became a member at a tender age of 26, explains: "The whipper-in when we're dancing on the streets dances around us with the whip." He further clarifies, noting, "He's whipping away the evil spirits from the dance area, because they're fertility dances."

McNulty delves into the significance of their appearance saying, "The face guising is all about disguise from the evil spirits, that's the pagan side of it." He elaborates, "Obviously, the coconuts on the knees and stuff we used as protection down the mines, and part of the blacking is that connotation of the mining as well."

The father of three, employed by a company manufacturing home delivery vehicles, claims this tradition bears great importance to the tight-knit community with roughly 15,000 residents. He adds, "It's part of the town's heritage from the coal mining side of it. It's one of the busiest days of the year for the valley." The event is renowned for drawing global crowds eager to experience and partake in the festivities. However, the celebration's supposed 'pagan' roots are subject to debate.

Dance history expert Professor Theresa Buckland, writing in the 1990s and 2000s, suggested that the tradition, which emerged in the late 19th century, might actually stem from 'nineteenth-century blackface minstrelsy.' This form of entertainment, which perpetuated derogatory stereotypes of black individuals as unintelligent and indolent, originated in the early 1800s in America and swept through England from the 1840s onwards. Another widespread practice was "n*****ing", involving white individuals donning blackface to perform songs and play instruments.

An 1896 article from the Rossendale Free Press described an incident where a coconut dancer, inebriated and arrested at Easter, faced criticism from an Alderman who commented that 'amateur n*****ing' clearly did not suit him. Nonetheless, Professor Buckland recognises that pinpointing the exact beginnings of Bacup's custom is "complicated and now irretrievable", with no concrete evidence directly linking it to the offensive performances.

In a significant move in 2021, the local group parted ways with the Joint Morris Organisations, which oversees approximately 800 dance teams, following its declaration that full face black or other skin tone makeup should be phased out. Group secretary Gavin remarked: "[Professor Buckland] did a full dissertation on it and they could only find similarities, they couldn't actually link between the two. That dissertation was done with the consent of the team on hopefully finding the true origins."

Despite considering changes over the years, the troupe unanimously decided to persist with 'blacking up,' a practice central to their identity. Team secretary Gavin proclaimed, "I think if you lost that identity of the team, you wouldn't have a team. It's just as simple as that."

He continued fervently: "For me, personally, and as secretary of the team, it's about maintaining and upholding the tradition in its true form, and not cowering to a certain narrative in the sense of what they believe should be right. The team and the people in the team evolve, and we evolve with time and with times, but the tradition is the one true thing that keeps us all there and what should remain as the tradition. We'll learn by our history and historical facts. You can't change that, but you move with the times and make sure it's adapted to that."

He highlighted the irreplaceable nature of certain traditions within the team: "But the certain part of that team that can't be changed and that is part of the history and the origin, that's what binds the team and that's what binds the tradition." Gavin concluded passionately, asserting the fragility of their shared customs: "You take one bit away and it all falls."