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From: "Rockne H. Johnson" <>
Subject: Re: [OEL] Hokey Pokey/Cokey ?
Date: Sun, 25 Mar 2001 10:38:25 -1000
In-Reply-To: <003901c0b547$991b9100$cde4fc3e@norman-lee>


Just when we thought that the dust had settled, my London-born wife,
unwilling to accept my version of the truth, went to
<http://www.peterborough.net/lifestyle/articles/whydowesay.asp>;
and found the following:

Why do we sing the Hokey-Cokey?

Hmm...... well ....back in 17th century Puritan England anything 'popish'
or Roman Catholic was viewed with great suspicion and open to, at best,
ridicule. The Hokey-Cokey, with its song and actions, is a mimicry of the
Roman Catholic Mass. In those days the priest faced the altar (not the
people) and performed several actions as he consecrated the bread and wine
at Holy Communion. The words of the service were in Latin. You put your
left arm in ......etc was ridiculing the priest as he lifted his arms
heavenward during the rite. You do the Hokey- Cokey and you turn
around............ was when the priest turned to face the congregation with
the host (consecrated bread) to offer it to them.

Ooooh, the Hokey-Cokey......... hokey-cokey is a corruption of the Latin
words of consecration - Hoc est corpus: 'This is my body' (Note: many of
the strange words and phrases of our language are corruptions of other
languages introduced to our country over the years and few were educated
enough to speak or understand Latin). Knees bend, arm stretch,
ra-ra-ra....... knees bend is a ridicule of the genuflection (a kind of
religious curtsey to the altar) of the priest, arm stretch is when he holds
up his hands at the point of consecration in the service, and ra-ra-ra is
just a mimicry of the Latin words and prayers they didn't understand.

Today, many people do not know the origin of the song/dance and just do it
for fun, especially to teach children co-ordination (and their right from
their left). Today, in England, the Roman Catholic Mass is said in English
and is so similar to the Holy Communion of the Church of England that,
sometimes, if you didn't know what church you were in.........

Rock

At 05:20 PM 3/25/01 +0100, Norman Lee wrote:
>Dear All
>
>Thank you a lot for all the contributions you made to answer my questions.
>It sounds to me as if they all have a piece of the pie. As far as it being
>composed or recorded at the end of the 1940s, I have to tell you that I was
>singing it in 1945 in the year the war ended and the old[?] lady who was
>alongside of me, teaching me the words and actions, knew it very well. The
>anti Catholic version sounds possible too and perhaps the song evolved into
>one that could be produced as a record.
>...
>Thanks again.
>
>Audrey (Stockport, Cheshire, UK - grandchildren near Warrington)

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