Mari Lwyd
Encyclopedia
The Mari Lwyd also Y Fari Lwyd, is a Welsh
midwinter tradition, possibly to celebrate New Year
(see Calennig
), although it formerly took place over a period stretching from Christmas to late January. It is a form of visiting wassail
, a luck-bringing ritual in which a the participants accompany a person disguised as a horse from house to house (including pubs
) and sing at each door in the hope of gaining admittance and being rewarded with food and drink.
, the Mari Lwyd was once widespread throughout Wales
, but is now associated with the south and south-east of the country, in particular Glamorgan
and Gwent
. The rise of the chapel movement in Wales during the Industrial Revolution
started the demise of the tradition, as it had started to gain a reputation for drunkenness and the pagan connotations were being protested by the church. The influence of the church helped to change the form of the custom in some places, with Christmas carol
s being added to the singers' repertoire. The tradition started fading through the first half of the twentieth century and had pretty much become extinct during the Second World War. Nowadays, some folk associations in Llantrisant
, Llangynwyd
, Cowbridge
and elsewhere are trying to revive it.
's skull (sometimes made of wood, or when the custom is followed by children, cardboard) fixed to the end of a wooden pole; a white sheet is fastened to the back of the skull, concealing the pole and the person carrying the Mari. Two black cloth ears may be sewn onto the cloth. The eye sockets are often filled with green bottle-ends, or other coloured material. The lower jaw is sometimes spring-loaded, so that the Mari's 'operator' can snap it at passers-by or householders. Coloured ribbons are usually fixed to the skull and small bells attached to the reins (if any) by which the Mari is led.
The Mari party (five or six men or boys) often had coloured ribbons and rosettes attached to their clothes, and sometimes wore a broad sash around the waist. There was usually a "Leader", smartly dressed, who carried a staff or stick, or a whip, and sometimes other stock characters, such as the Merryman, who played music, and Punch and Judy
(both played by men) with blackened faces; often brightly dressed, Punch carried a long metal poker and Judy had a besom broom.
The custom used to begin at dusk and often lasted late into the night. Now it may start earlier in the day (as at Llangynwyd, where it begins at 2pm on New Year's Day).
During the ceremony, the skull is carried through the streets of the village by the party; they stand in front of every house to sing traditional songs. The singing sometimes consists of a rhyme contest (pwnco or pwngco) between the Mari party and the inhabitants of the house, who challenge each other with improvised verses (traditionally exchanged through the closed door); the contest could last for some time, until one side gave up. (At some places, such as Llantrisant, the pwnco was not used, or has been abandoned, and only the introductory verses were sung, followed by carols.) Punch and Judy, if present, were troublesome characters; Punch tapped on the ground in time to the music and rapped on the door with his poker. Judy would brush the ground, the house walls, even the windows, and would chase anyone unwise enough to get too close and brush them too. Traditionally, if the Mari side lost the contest, they would have to leave without being admitted to the house or pub, but this was probably a very rare occurrence, as the party's entry into the building brought good luck, so they would usually win (or be allowed to win). Alternatively, they might sing a verse begging admittance.
Once inside, the entertainment continued with the Mari running around neighing and snapping its jaws, creating havoc, frightening children and (perhaps even adults) while the Leader pretended to try to restrain it. The Merryman played music and entertained the householders. Punch and Judy, if present, also had parts to play: Punch would kiss the girls and be chased by Judy with her broom. At Nantgarw
, Punch would use his poker to rake out the grate, putting out the fire, unless a promise to leave it alone had previously been forced out of the Mari party during the pwnco. Judy also used her broom to "brush" the house floors, but sometimes scattered the ashes and made a mess (at Nantgarw this unruliness led to a Mari party being refused admittance to a house the following year, even though they were not the same people). Normally, though, the tomfoolery was lighthearted; the participants would be rewarded with cakes and ale, and sometimes received a gift of money as well. The visit concluded with a traditional farewell song.
In "those parts of Wales" (Roberts was probably referring to Pembrokeshire
), on All Hallows' Eve
, a horse's head was made of canvas, stuffed with hay and painted. Mounted on a hay fork, the prongs of which were covered in leather to represent the horse's ears, the fork was manipulated by someone under the canvas "who guides the movements of the head as he wishes." Roberts (1897) says the custom is called Bwca Llwyd has been translated as "grey bogy".
Another description published in 1919 by H.W. Evans of a similarly constructed animal, extant at Solva
in Pembrokeshire c.1840, is quoted by Cawte with a reproduction of Evans' drawing of the creature. It had gloves for ears and buttons for its eyes. Evans described it as "the Mari Lwyd of our district" but Cawte, who had no other records of the name or custom in Pembrokeshire, felt that he used the term Mari Lwyd "merely to indicate an animal disguise." Since the publication of Cawte's book, however, more records of Mari Lwyd have come to light.
(in Ceredigion
, well outside the Mari Lwyd's traditional area) organised "The World's Largest Mari Lwyd" for the Millennium celebrations in 2000.
A Mari Lwyd performance can be seen every December at the St Fagans National History Museum
.
A mixture of the Mari Lwyd and Wassail customs occurs in the border town of Chepstow
, South Wales, every January. A band of English Wassailers meet with the local Welsh Border Morris
Side, The Widders, on the bridge in Chepstow. They greet each other and exchange flags in a gesture of friendship and unity and celebrate the occasion with dance and song before performing the "pwnco" on the steps of Chepstow Museum.
Culture of Wales
Wales has a distinctive culture including its own language, customs, holidays and music.Wales is primarily represented by the symbol of the red Welsh Dragon, but other national emblems include the leek and daffodil. The Welsh words for leeks and daffodils Wales has a distinctive culture including...
midwinter tradition, possibly to celebrate New Year
New Year
The New Year is the day that marks the time of the beginning of a new calendar year, and is the day on which the year count of the specific calendar used is incremented. For many cultures, the event is celebrated in some manner....
(see Calennig
Calennig
Calennig is a Welsh word meaning "New Year celebration/gift," though literally translates to "the first day of the month," deriving from the Latin word kalends. The English word "Calendar" also has its root in this word.-Celebrations in Cardiff:...
), although it formerly took place over a period stretching from Christmas to late January. It is a form of visiting wassail
Wassail
The word Wassail refers to several related traditions; first and foremost wassailing is an ancient southern English tradition that is performed with the intention of ensuring a good crop of cider apples for the next year's harvest...
, a luck-bringing ritual in which a the participants accompany a person disguised as a horse from house to house (including pubs
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
) and sing at each door in the hope of gaining admittance and being rewarded with food and drink.
Background
Perhaps deriving from an ancient rite for the Celtic goddess RhiannonRhiannon
Rhiannon is a prominent figure in Welsh mythology, mother to the Demetian hero Pryderi and wife to Pwyll . She is probably a reflex of the Celtic Great Queen goddess Rigantona and may also be associated with the horse goddess Epona.She appears in both the first and third branches of the Mabinogi...
, the Mari Lwyd was once widespread throughout Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, but is now associated with the south and south-east of the country, in particular Glamorgan
Glamorgan
Glamorgan or Glamorganshire is one of the thirteen historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. It was originally an early medieval kingdom of varying boundaries known as Glywysing until taken over by the Normans as a lordship. Glamorgan is latterly represented by the three...
and Gwent
Gwent (county)
Gwent is a preserved county and a former local government county in south-east Wales. It was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, and was named after the ancient Kingdom of Gwent....
. The rise of the chapel movement in Wales during the Industrial Revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
started the demise of the tradition, as it had started to gain a reputation for drunkenness and the pagan connotations were being protested by the church. The influence of the church helped to change the form of the custom in some places, with Christmas carol
Christmas carol
A Christmas carol is a carol whose lyrics are on the theme of Christmas or the winter season in general and which are traditionally sung in the period before Christmas.-History:...
s being added to the singers' repertoire. The tradition started fading through the first half of the twentieth century and had pretty much become extinct during the Second World War. Nowadays, some folk associations in Llantrisant
Llantrisant
Llantrisant is a town in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf in Wales, within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, Wales, lying on the River Ely and the Afon Clun. The town's name translates as The Parish of the Three Saints. The three saints in question are St Illtyd, St Gwynno and St...
, Llangynwyd
Llangynwyd
Llangynwyd is a village 2 miles to the south of Maesteg, in the county borough of Bridgend, Wales. It was part of the medieval cwmwd of Tir Iarll.- History and amenities :The 2001 census gave the population as 2,843...
, Cowbridge
Cowbridge
Cowbridge is a market town in the Vale of Glamorgan in Wales, approximately west of Cardiff. Cowbridge is twinned with Clisson in the Loire-Atlantique department in northwestern France.-Roman times:...
and elsewhere are trying to revive it.
Description
The Mari Lwyd consists of a mareHorse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
's skull (sometimes made of wood, or when the custom is followed by children, cardboard) fixed to the end of a wooden pole; a white sheet is fastened to the back of the skull, concealing the pole and the person carrying the Mari. Two black cloth ears may be sewn onto the cloth. The eye sockets are often filled with green bottle-ends, or other coloured material. The lower jaw is sometimes spring-loaded, so that the Mari's 'operator' can snap it at passers-by or householders. Coloured ribbons are usually fixed to the skull and small bells attached to the reins (if any) by which the Mari is led.
The Mari party (five or six men or boys) often had coloured ribbons and rosettes attached to their clothes, and sometimes wore a broad sash around the waist. There was usually a "Leader", smartly dressed, who carried a staff or stick, or a whip, and sometimes other stock characters, such as the Merryman, who played music, and Punch and Judy
Punch and Judy
Punch and Judy is a traditional, popular puppet show featuring the characters of Mr. Punch and his wife, Judy. The performance consists of a sequence of short scenes, each depicting an interaction between two characters, most typically the anarchic Punch and one other character...
(both played by men) with blackened faces; often brightly dressed, Punch carried a long metal poker and Judy had a besom broom.
The custom used to begin at dusk and often lasted late into the night. Now it may start earlier in the day (as at Llangynwyd, where it begins at 2pm on New Year's Day).
During the ceremony, the skull is carried through the streets of the village by the party; they stand in front of every house to sing traditional songs. The singing sometimes consists of a rhyme contest (pwnco or pwngco) between the Mari party and the inhabitants of the house, who challenge each other with improvised verses (traditionally exchanged through the closed door); the contest could last for some time, until one side gave up. (At some places, such as Llantrisant, the pwnco was not used, or has been abandoned, and only the introductory verses were sung, followed by carols.) Punch and Judy, if present, were troublesome characters; Punch tapped on the ground in time to the music and rapped on the door with his poker. Judy would brush the ground, the house walls, even the windows, and would chase anyone unwise enough to get too close and brush them too. Traditionally, if the Mari side lost the contest, they would have to leave without being admitted to the house or pub, but this was probably a very rare occurrence, as the party's entry into the building brought good luck, so they would usually win (or be allowed to win). Alternatively, they might sing a verse begging admittance.
Once inside, the entertainment continued with the Mari running around neighing and snapping its jaws, creating havoc, frightening children and (perhaps even adults) while the Leader pretended to try to restrain it. The Merryman played music and entertained the householders. Punch and Judy, if present, also had parts to play: Punch would kiss the girls and be chased by Judy with her broom. At Nantgarw
Nantgarw
Nantgarw is a village in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, near Cardiff.From an electoral and administrative perspective Nantgarw falls within the ward of Taffs Well, a village some 2.5 miles south, but historically fell within the boundaries of Caerphilly, which is a major town...
, Punch would use his poker to rake out the grate, putting out the fire, unless a promise to leave it alone had previously been forced out of the Mari party during the pwnco. Judy also used her broom to "brush" the house floors, but sometimes scattered the ashes and made a mess (at Nantgarw this unruliness led to a Mari party being refused admittance to a house the following year, even though they were not the same people). Normally, though, the tomfoolery was lighthearted; the participants would be rewarded with cakes and ale, and sometimes received a gift of money as well. The visit concluded with a traditional farewell song.
Bwca Llwyd
In Ritual Animal Disguise (1978), E.C. Cawte mentions a close relative of the Mari Lwyd, described by W. Roberts in an article in 1897.In "those parts of Wales" (Roberts was probably referring to Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire is a county in the south west of Wales. It borders Carmarthenshire to the east and Ceredigion to the north east. The county town is Haverfordwest where Pembrokeshire County Council is headquartered....
), on All Hallows' Eve
Halloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
, a horse's head was made of canvas, stuffed with hay and painted. Mounted on a hay fork, the prongs of which were covered in leather to represent the horse's ears, the fork was manipulated by someone under the canvas "who guides the movements of the head as he wishes." Roberts (1897) says the custom is called Bwca Llwyd has been translated as "grey bogy".
Another description published in 1919 by H.W. Evans of a similarly constructed animal, extant at Solva
Solva
Solva is a village and community in Pembrokeshire, Wales, UK.-Location:Solva lies on the north side of St Bride's Bay, in North Pembrokeshire in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park and on the Pembrokeshire Coast Path. It lies on a deep ravine at the mouth of the River Solva. In the ravine is...
in Pembrokeshire c.1840, is quoted by Cawte with a reproduction of Evans' drawing of the creature. It had gloves for ears and buttons for its eyes. Evans described it as "the Mari Lwyd of our district" but Cawte, who had no other records of the name or custom in Pembrokeshire, felt that he used the term Mari Lwyd "merely to indicate an animal disguise." Since the publication of Cawte's book, however, more records of Mari Lwyd have come to light.
Modern Mari Lwyd celebrations
The Mari Lwyd has become associated with a resurgent awareness of Welsh folk culture. For example, the town council of AberystwythAberystwyth
Aberystwyth is a historic market town, administrative centre and holiday resort within Ceredigion, Wales. Often colloquially known as Aber, it is located at the confluence of the rivers Ystwyth and Rheidol....
(in Ceredigion
Ceredigion
Ceredigion is a county and former kingdom in mid-west Wales. As Cardiganshire , it was created in 1282, and was reconstituted as a county under that name in 1996, reverting to Ceredigion a day later...
, well outside the Mari Lwyd's traditional area) organised "The World's Largest Mari Lwyd" for the Millennium celebrations in 2000.
A Mari Lwyd performance can be seen every December at the St Fagans National History Museum
St Fagans National History Museum
St Fagans National History Museum , commonly referred to as St Fagans after the village where it is located, is an open-air museum in Cardiff chronicling the historical lifestyle, culture and architecture of the Welsh people...
.
A mixture of the Mari Lwyd and Wassail customs occurs in the border town of Chepstow
Chepstow
Chepstow is a town in Monmouthshire, Wales, adjoining the border with Gloucestershire, England. It is located on the River Wye, close to its confluence with the River Severn, and close to the western end of the Severn Bridge on the M48 motorway...
, South Wales, every January. A band of English Wassailers meet with the local Welsh Border Morris
Morris dance
Morris dance is a form of English folk dance usually accompanied by music. It is based on rhythmic stepping and the execution of choreographed figures by a group of dancers. Implements such as sticks, swords, handkerchiefs and bells may also be wielded by the dancers...
Side, The Widders, on the bridge in Chepstow. They greet each other and exchange flags in a gesture of friendship and unity and celebrate the occasion with dance and song before performing the "pwnco" on the steps of Chepstow Museum.
Other former Welsh horse customs
E.C. Cawte (1978) mentions three other separate Welsh customs involving horses' skulls or "horseplay", all described by W. Roberts in 1897.- Giving a skull
- In north Wales on the first of MayMay DayMay Day on May 1 is an ancient northern hemisphere spring festival and usually a public holiday; it is also a traditional spring holiday in many cultures....
the skull of a donkeyDonkeyThe donkey or ass, Equus africanus asinus, is a domesticated member of the Equidae or horse family. The wild ancestor of the donkey is the African Wild Ass, E...
or horse was put over a woman's door instead of a bunch of flowers to show disapproval.
- Charivari
- A traditional punishment for infidelity or marital violence, the charivariCharivariCharivari is the term for a French folk custom in which the community gave a noisy, discordant mock serenade, also pounding on pots and pans, at the home of newlyweds. The loud, public ritual evolved to a form of social coercion, for instance, to force an as-yet-unmarried couple to wed...
involved a noisy parade in which the offending party or parties, or effigies representing them, were carried through the streets of the village or town where they lived. In Wales (and parts of WessexWessexThe Kingdom of Wessex or Kingdom of the West Saxons was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the West Saxons, in South West England, from the 6th century, until the emergence of a united English state in the 10th century, under the Wessex dynasty. It was to be an earldom after Canute the Great's conquest...
) the party was accompanied by a horse's head, sometimes with horns on (horns were a traditional sign of the cuckoldCuckoldCuckold is a historically derogatory term for a man who has an unfaithful wife. The word, which has been in recorded use since the 13th century, derives from the cuckoo bird, some varieties of which lay their eggs in other birds' nests...
). This was not a seasonal custom; it would be carried out as required to express the community's disapproval.
- Mynwenta or pynwenta
- A horse's head, prepared as for the Mari Lwyd, was part of a spring festival in PembrokeshirePembrokeshirePembrokeshire is a county in the south west of Wales. It borders Carmarthenshire to the east and Ceredigion to the north east. The county town is Haverfordwest where Pembrokeshire County Council is headquartered....
, known around 1820. Young men and women gathered at a mill for a night's entertainment with "dialogues and every kind of merriment".
Recordings
- Folktrax Recordings by Peter KennedyPeter KennedyPeter Kennedy may refer to:* Peter Kennedy * Peter Douglas Kennedy, folklorist and folk musician* Peter Kennedy of The Kennedys* Peter Kennedy...
and others during the 1940s and 1950s http://www.folktrax-archive.org/menus/subjects_mno.htm - The Folk Songs of Britain, Vol. 9 Songs of Ceremony TOPIC 12-T-197, Topic RecordsTopic RecordsTopic Records is a British folk music label, which played a major role in the second British folk revival. It began as an offshoot of the Workers' Music Association in 1939, making it the oldest independent record label in the world.-History:...
1971, includes Peter Kennedy's recording of the Mari Lwyd at Llangynyd, 1956 (with David Thomas, David Jenkins & Thomas Jenkins & group) - The Celfyddydau Mari Artshttp://www.folkwales.org.uk/mari.html sound archive includes a recording of Cynwyd Evans and Cwmni Caerdydd made at the Old House on New Year's Day, 1996
- The Mari Lwyd (a traditional version), "Hyn", Carreg LafarCarreg LafarCarreg Lafar is a traditional Welsh band.It was formed in Cardiff in 1994 with Antwn Owen Hicks, James Rourke, Rhian Evan Jones, Linda Owen Jones and Simon O'Shea. Carreg Lafar literally means a "speaking stone", or "echo stone"....
(1998) - The Mari Lwyd (a modern song by Hugh Lupton evoking the custom and its links with other traditions), sung by Chris WoodChris Wood (folk musician)Chris Wood is an English folk musician and composer who plays fiddle, viola and guitar, and sings. He is an ardent enthusiast for traditional English dance music , including Morris and other rituals and ceremonies, but his repertoire also includes much French folk music and traditional Québécois...
on "Ghosts" by the English Acoustic Collective (2000?), RUF Records RUFCD09; also on "Albion – an anthology" (2009), Navigator Records NAVIGATOR29