The Mummers
are one of a Kind

By William Kenny
Times Staff Writer

Within Philadelphia, there’s no mistaking what folks mean when they refer to the Mummers. The term is a definition for itself.
To us, Mummers are synonymous with New Year’s Day, wenches, feathers, sequins, banjo music, Two Street and playful irreverence.
But to the uninitiated, the concept of a Mummer is no more familiar than the opera is to your average truck driver. Back in 1995, Patricia Anne "Patty" Masters was one of the uninitiated.
That’s when the Virginia native paid a New Year’s visit to family in Northeast Philly. A graduate student in sociology at the time, what Masters saw on television stunned and captivated her. It was the annual Mummers Parade.
"The more I watched, I wanted to understand why these people were doing what they were doing," Masters recalled recently. "I became sort of mesmerized by the spectacle of it all."
That curiosity persisted for the next five years as she prepared her doctoral thesis at American University on the subject. Last week, Temple University Press released Masters’ thesis in book form.
The Philadelphia Mummers: Building Community Through Play examines the history, traditions and modern-day practices of Mummers largely from an academic perspective within the context of their unique "play community."
But the 232-page volume is not to be dismissed as a dry, technical document. On the contrary, Masters emphasized the anecdotal over the scientific in her writing, drawing upon archival research, dozens of interviews with leading figures in Mummery, countless visits to member clubs and firsthand accounts from the annual parades.
The author, now a term assistant professor at George Mason University and director of its undergraduate department of sociology and anthropology, even marched in the parade — twice — with the Golden Crown Fancy Brigade.
"The assumption is, when you’re doing something academic, that you’re separated from it," Masters said. "But I wanted to tell the Mummers’ story. I wanted them to be able to read it and recognize themselves. The challenge was embedding narrative sociology within their ‘life-world.’"
According to the author, the Mummers’ "life-world" or community is unique in that the common interest is not to accumulate wealth, to protect itself from an outside force, or merely to perpetuate itself. Rather, the motivation, the common bond, is pure fun.
That message came across early and often in her research. One of her primary inside advocates on the project was the late Bill "Curly" Conners, longtime member of the Ferko String Band and the archive keeper at the Mummers Museum.
"Early in my research, I was sitting with Bill and said, ‘Isn’t it great how you socialize new members?’" Masters said.
The author was thinking of how younger generations learn norms and expectations from the old, as well as the role that individual bands play in improving the quality of life in their neighborhoods and broader community.
"(Conners) said, ‘That’s not why we do it. We do it because it’s fun,’" Masters recalled.
Each year on New Year’s Day (or the following weekend if the weather forces postponement of the parade), Mummers in all four divisions — the Comics, Fancies, String Bands and Fancy Brigades — live out a fantasy. They can explore different identities and realize possibilities that may not be available to them in their often mundane daily lives.
Though Mummers now come from a vast array of professions, ethnic backgrounds and socioeconomic statuses, the parade at its heart is a working-class endeavor, born in 19th-century immigrant communities of South Philadelphia.
Perhaps for that reason, this tradition of play is closely reliant on many months and countless hours of work. In that, Masters finds the artistry of the Mummers.
"It’s really a contradiction to work so hard in order to play," she noted. "It’s a genuine folk art that’s unique in its cultural ties."
The first chapter in the book details the early history of the New Year’s shooters and roving performers, followed ultimately by the organization of the various independent troupes into a city-endorsed parade in 1901. Other chapters document the evolution of the contemporary parade, the roles of minorities and women in it, the first-person experience of "Going Up the Street," official and unofficial rituals of the Mummers, and the relationships among the club members, their families and their neighborhoods.
Masters discusses the fierce competition and rivalries among the clubs and divisions, as well as the mutual advocacy for one another. "They’re not angels, but they do work together most of the time. They do genuinely care for each other," the author said.
The Mummers Parade is often compared to more widely recognized celebrations in other parts of the world, such as Mardi Gras and Carnivale. But the Mummers’ commitment to independence sets them apart.
"Mardi Gras has always had corporate sponsors, but the Mummers Parade never had that," Masters said.
"From the moment the Mummers accepted the invitation (from the city) to become public performers, they became a little less independent. (Now) they rely on the city, but they don’t want the city to feel that it owns the parade." ••
"The Philadelphia Mummers: Building Community Through Play," by Patricia Anne Masters, is available for $22.95 from Temple University Press at www.temple.edu/tempress or by calling 1-800-621-2736.
Reporter William Kenny can be reached at 215-354-3031 or bkenny@phillynews.com