The notorious Aughakillymaude Mummers will be performing their pagan rites on the Mall this July as the culmination of a four-month cultural blitz showcasing Northern Ireland's changing culture.

Not only will the seven-strong crew of masked mummers be performing their age-old hero combat drama - symbolising life, death and rebirth - but they will also introduce American audiences to a host of traditional arts, as well as the ancient game of skittles.

The group will demonstrate their traditional talents as part of a huge contingent of Northern Ireland people displaying their culture as part of the Smithsonian FolkLife Festival.

Although the mumming play dates back to mediaeval times, the use of evergreen and the revival of the fallen hero by the black doctor hark back even further to pagan days, according to Jim Ledwith of the Fermanagh group. Generations of Irish country children have been terrified by the appearance of the sinister straw figures reciting rhymes at their homes in the dead of winter, he said.

"By bringing the mumming play to the house, it was the annual bringing of luck to the house and in return the mummers were plied with drink - and that is when the whole riotous behaviour started. The main trick was to nick some food out of the house," Jim said.

"This unbroken cord from ancestral times has never gone, despite clerical condemnation."

During World War Two, mummers had to apply for licences to be able to continue performing around farmsteads after dark, and special permits were needed in border areas during the troubles, he said.

But following the revival of the group, the Fermanagh mummers are finding their performances are increasingly sought after to bless special occasions such as emigrant wakes and housewarmings. "It has survived TV and now people increasingly want the mummers to perform at weddings," Jim said.

The Aughakillymaude group is sending its most talented mummers to Washington to display a host of traditional skills - clog dancing, singing, clap dancing, brush dancing and set dancing.

Meanwhile, American audiences will be called on to join the set dancing and the skittles, an ancient game played in the border counties of Fermanagh, north Cavan and south Down.

"Mumming is not a stage act - it's something on the level where you can pull in people to join in," Jim said.