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Hoodening (), also spelled Hodening and Oodening, is a folk custom found in Kent, a county in south-eastern England. The tradition entails the use of a wooden hobby horse known as a hooden horse which is mounted on a pole and carried by an individual hidden under a sackcloth. Historically, the tradition was restricted to the area of East Kent, although in the twentieth century it spread into neighbouring West Kent. It represents a regional variation of a "hooded animal" tradition that appears in various forms throughout the British Isles. As recorded from the eighteenth through to the early twentieth centuries, hoodening was a tradition performed at Christmas time by groups of farm labourers. They would form into teams to accompany the horse on its travels around the local area, and although the makeup of such groups varied, they typically included an individual to carry the horse, a leader, a man in female clothing known as a "Mollie", and several musicians. The team would then carry the hooden horse to local houses and shops, where they would expect payment for their appearance. Although this practice is extinct, in the present the hooden horse is incorporated into various Kentish Mummers plays and Morris dances which take place at different times of the year. The origins of the hoodening tradition, and the original derivation of the term "hooden", remain subject to academic debate. An early suggestion was that the term "hooden" was related to the pre-Christian god Woden, and that the tradition therefore originated with pre-Christian religious practices in the Early Medieval Kingdom of Kent, however this approach has not found support from historians or folklorists studying the tradition. Most scholars to have commented on the custom have thought it most likely that the term "hooden" relates to "hooded", a reference to the sackcloth worn by the individual carrying the horse. The earliest textual reference to the hoodening tradition comes from the first half of the eighteenth century. A number of scattered references to it appeared over the next century and a half, many of which considered it to be a declining tradition that had become extinct in many parts of Kent. Aware of this decline, in the early twentieth century the folklorist and historian Percy Maylam documented what survived of the tradition and traced its appearances in historical documents, publishing his findings as ''The Hooden Horse'' in 1909. Although deemed extinct at the time of the First World War, the custom was revived in an altered form during the mid-twentieth century, when the use of the hooden horse was incorporated into a number of modern Kentish folk traditions. ==Description== As is known from surviving sources, there was clear variation in the hoodening tradition but it was nevertheless "on the whole remarkably uniform". The hooden horse, which was at the centre of the tradition, was usually made out of a wooden horse's head affixed to a pole about four feet long, with a hinged jaw that was moved by a string. This horse was then carried aloft by an individual who was concealed beneath a dark cloth. As part of the hoodening custom, a team of "hoodeners", consisting of between four and eight men, would carry the horse through the streets. This team included the horse with a "hoodener" operating it, a "Groom", "Driver", or "Waggoner" who carried a whip and led the horse by a bridle, a "Jockey" who would attempt to mount the horse, a "Mollie" who was a man dressed as a woman, and one or two musicians. All of the men were farm labourers, usually being those who worked with horses. They performed the custom at Christmas time, and usually on Christmas Eve. The team would arrive at people's houses where they would sing a song before being admitted entry. Once inside, the horse pranced and gnashed its jaw, while the Jockey attempted to mount it, and the Mollie swept the floor with their broom while chasing any girls present. Sometimes they would sing further songs and carols at this point. Upon being presented with payment, the team would leave to repeat the process at another house. Hoodening was part of a wider "hooded animal" tradition that the folklorist E. C. Cawte identified as existing in different forms in various parts of Britain. Features common to these customs were the use of a hobby horse, the performance at Christmas time, a song or spoken statement requesting payment, and the use of a team who included a man dressed in women's clothing. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Hoodening」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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