On May Day out comes a rather strange and somewhat frighteningcreature with a mask and circular black framed cape, gyrating its way through the village.
It is of course the Obby Oss.
There are several traditions such as this in Cornwall, but Padstow's is the most famous, beginning at the Golden Lion Inn at midnight with songs, and by dawn the pretty little fishing village is decorated with foliage, flowers and flags. During the morning the Obby Oss arrives, he dances, turning and swirling his cape as he moves through the villages tiny streets. Drums are banged and accordions played and all are led by what are known as Teasers who walk ahead, aiding the Oss as it tries to catch young maidens.
youtu.be/OiWTkMbAqRE
Of the two Padstow Osses Blue Ribbon is the more recent, it was supposedly supported by members of the Temperance Movement who were trying to discourage the use of alcohol but after the Great War it was renamed the Peace Oss.
The origins of this Cornish tradition dates back to the Beltane festival which celebrates the coming of summer or the Celtic worship of horse deities. It has been suggested that it may be related to the tradition of the Grey Mare in South Wales. Obby Osses are one of many ritual beasts and monsters found in English folk traditions, in addition to Padstow’s Obby Oss there was a tradition in West Penwith of a similar creature called Pengwyn and another named Penglas, meaning grey/blue head, which was probably a horse’s skull that is usually associated with other festive occasions such as the midsummer fire festival Golowan, celebrated in Penzance, which has quite recently been revived. There is mention of a Oss in the Cornish language play Beunans Meriasek, about the life of a saint from the Cornish town of Camborne and the Oss is a companion or follower.