Folk Lore Part 1

Folk Lore.

by James Napier.

PREFACE

The doctrine taught concerning Satan, his motives and influence in the beginning of this century, supplied the popular mind with reasons to account for almost all the evils, public and private, which befell society; and as the observed ills of life, real or imaginary, greatly outnumbered the observed good occurrences, the thought of Satan was more constantly before the people's mind than was the thought of G.o.d.

Practically, it might be said, and said with a very near approach to truth, that Satan, in popular estimation, was the greater of the two; but theoretically, the superiority of G.o.d was allowed, for Satan it was believed, was permitted by G.o.d to do what he did. It was commonly said, "Never speak evil of the Deil, for he has a long memory." This Satanic belief gave rise to a great amount of Folk Lore, and affected the whole social system. Historians who take no account of such beliefs, but regard them as trivialities, cannot but fail to represent faithfully the condition and action of the people. Folk Lore has thus an important historical bearing. Every age has had its own living Folk Lore, and, beside this, a residuum of waning lore, regarded as superst.i.tious, and so it is at the present day. When we speak of the Folk Lore of our grandfathers and great-grandfathers, we believe that we are speaking of beliefs which have past away, beliefs from which we ourselves are free; but if we consider the matter carefully we will find that in many respects our beliefs and practices, although somewhat modernized, are essentially little different from those of last century. Among the better educated cla.s.ses it may be said that much of the superst.i.tions of former times have pa.s.sed away, and as education is extended they will more and more become eradicated; but at present, in our rural districts especially, the old beliefs still linger in considerable force. Many think that the superst.i.tions of last century died with the century, but this is not so; and as these notions are curious and in many respects important historical factors, I have thought it worth while to jot down what of this Folk Lore has come under my observation during these last sixty years.

In this collection I do not profess to include all that may come under the head of Folk Lore, such, for example, as the reading of dreams and cups, spaeing fortunes by cards or other methods--that cla.s.s of superst.i.tions by which designing persons prey upon weak-minded people.

One princ.i.p.al object which I had in view in forming this collection, was that it might supply a nucleus for the further development of the subject. The instances which I have adduced belong to one locality, the West of Scotland, and chiefly the neighbourhood west of Glasgow, but different localities have different methods of formulating the same superst.i.tion. By comparison, by separation of the local accretion from the constant element, an approach to the original source and meaning of a superst.i.tion may be obtained.

I have hope that the Folk Lore Society, just inst.i.tuted, will consider such details and variations, and endeavour to trace their history and origin, and fearlessly give prominence to the still existing superst.i.tions, and exhibit their degrading influence on society.

FOLK LORE.

CHAPTER I.

_INTRODUCTORY._

The primary object of the following short treatise is to give an account of some of those superst.i.tions, now either dead or in their decadence, but which, within the memory of persons now living, had a vigorous existence, at least in the West of Scotland. A secondary object shall be to trace out, where I think I can discover ground for so doing, the origin of any particular superst.i.tion, and in pa.s.sing I may notice the duration in time and geographical distribution of some superst.i.tions.

But, on the threshold of our inquiry, it may be of advantage to pause and endeavour to reach a mutual understanding of the precise meaning of the word Superst.i.tion--a word apparently, from the varied dictionary renderings given of it, difficult to define. However we may disagree in our definitions of the word, we all agree in regarding a superst.i.tious tone of mind as weak and foolish, and as no one desires to be regarded as weak-minded or foolish, we naturally repel from ourselves as best we can the odious imputation of being superst.i.tious. There are few who seek to know what superst.i.tion in its essence really is; most people are satisfied to frame an answer to suit their own case, and so it happens that we have a multiplicity of definitions for the word, many of which are devoid of scientific solidity, and others have not even the merit of intelligibility. A recent definition, extremely elastic, was propounded by a popular preacher in a lecture delivered before the Glasgow Young Men's Christian a.s.sociation and reported in the newspapers,--"Superst.i.tion is Scepticism," which may be legitimately paraphrased "Superst.i.tion is not believing what I believe." Although this definition may be very gratifying to the self pride of most of us, we must nevertheless reject it, and look for a more definite and instructive signification, and for this end we may very properly consult the meanings given in several standard dictionaries and lexicons, for in them we expect to find precision of statement, although in this instance I believe we shall be disappointed. Theophrastus, who lived several centuries before the Christian era, defines "Superst.i.tion" according to the translation given of his definition in the _Encyclopaedia Metropolitana_, as "A cowardly state of mind with respect to the supernatural," and supplies the following ill.u.s.tration: "The superst.i.tious man is one, who, having taken care to wash his hands and sprinkle himself in the temple, walks about during the day with a little laurel in his mouth, and if he meets a weasel on the road, dares not proceed on his way till some person has pa.s.sed, or till he has thrown three stones across the road."

Under "Superst.i.tion," in the _Encyclopaedia Metropolitana_, the following definitions are given:--

1st.--Excess of scruple or ceremony in matters of religion: idle worship: vain reverence: a superfluous, needless, or ill-governed devotion.

2nd.--Any religious observance contrary to, or not sanctioned by, Scripture or reason.

3rd.--All belief in supernatural agency, or in the influence of casual occurrences, or of natural phenomena on the destinies of man which has no foundation in Scripture, reason, or experience.

4th.--All attempts to influence the destiny of man by methods which have no Scriptural or rational connection with their object.

_Walker's Dictionary_:--

"Unnecessary fear or scruple in religion: religion without morality: false religion: reverence of beings not properly objects of reverence: over-nicety: exactness: too scrupulous."

_Chambers' Dictionary_:--

"A being excessive (in religion) over a thing as if in wonder or fear: excessive reverence or fear: excessive exactness in religious opinions and practice: false worship or religion: the belief in supernatural agency: belief in what is absurd without evidences: excessive religious belief."

These dictionary meanings do not, of course, attempt to decide what should be the one only scientifically correct significance of the term, but only supply the varying senses in which the word is used in literature and in common speech, but they suffice to show that it is used by different persons with different significations, each person apparently gauging first his own position, and defining superst.i.tion as something which cannot be brought to tell against himself.

After pondering over the various renderings, it occurred to me that the following definition would embrace the whole in a few words: _Religion founded on erroneous ideas of G.o.d._ But when I set this definition alongside the case of an otherwise intelligent man carrying in his trousers' pocket a raw potato as a protection against rheumatism, and alongside the case of another man carrying in his vest pocket a piece of brimstone to prevent him taking cramp in the stomach; and when I consider the case of ladies wearing earrings as a preventive against, or cure for, sore eyes; and, again, when I remembered a practice, very frequent a few years ago, of people wearing what were known as galvanic rings in the belief that these would prevent their suffering from rheumatism, I could not perceive any direct connection between such superst.i.tious practices and religion, and the construction of a new definition was rendered necessary. The following, I think, covers the whole ground: _Beliefs and practices founded upon erroneous ideas of G.o.d and nature._ With this meaning the term "Superst.i.tion" is employed in the following pages, and if the definition commend itself to the reader, it will at once become apparent that the only way by which freedom from superst.i.tion can be attained is to search Nature and Revelation for correct views of G.o.d and His methods of working. Notwithstanding our pretensions to a correct religious knowledge, a pure theology, and freedom from everything like superst.i.tion, it is strange yet true, that, if we except the formulated reply to the question in the Westminster Catechism, "What is G.o.d," scarcely two persons--perhaps no two persons--have exactly the same idea of G.o.d. We each worship a G.o.d of our own. In one of the late Douglas Jerrold's "Hedgehog Letters" he introduces two youths pa.s.sing St Giles' Church at a lonely hour, when the one addresses the other thus:--"The old book and the parson tell us that at the beginning G.o.d made man in his own image. We have now reversed this, and make G.o.d in our image." A sad truth, although not new; Saint Paul made a similar remark to the philosophic Athenians; but the remark applies not to this age or to Saint Paul's age alone--its applicability extends to every age and every people. As Goethe remarks, "Man never knows how anthropomorphic he is." Our minds instinctively seek an explanation of the cause or causes of the different phenomena constantly occurring around us, but instinct does not supply the solution. Only by patient watching and consideration can this be arrived at; but in former ages scientific methods of investigation were either not known, or not cared for, and so men were satisfied with merely guessing at the causes of natural phenomena, and these guesses were made from the standpoint of their own human pa.s.sionate intelligence.

Alongside the intelligence everywhere observable in the operations of nature they placed their own pa.s.sionate humanity, they projected themselves into the universe and anthropomorphised nature. Thus came men to regard natural phenomena as manifestations of supernatural agency; as expressions of the wrath or pleasure of good or evil genii, and although in our day we have made great advances in our knowledge of natural phenomena, the majority of men still regard the ways of providence from a false standpoint, a standpoint erected in the interests of ecclesiasticism. Churchmanship acts as a distorting medium, twisting and displacing things out of their natural relations, and although this influence was stronger in the past than it is now, still there remains a considerable residuum of the old influence among us yet.

For example, we are not yet rid of the belief that G.o.d has set apart times, places, and duties as specially sacred, that what is not only sinless but a moral obligation at certain times and places becomes sinful at other times and places. Ecclesiastical influence thus familiarises us with the distinctions of secular and sacred, and we hear frequent mention made of our duties to G.o.d and our duties to man, of our religious duties and our worldly duties, and we frequently hear religion spoken of as something readily distinguishable from business. But not only are these things separated by name from one another, they are often regarded as opposites, having no fellowship together. Hence has arisen in many minds a slavish fear of performing at certain times and in certain places the ordinary duties of life, lest by so doing they anger G.o.d. In certain conditions of society such belief, erroneous though it be, may have served a useful purpose in restraining, and thereby so far elevating a rude people, just as now we may see many among ourselves restrained from evil, and influenced to the practice of good, by beliefs which, to the enlightened among us, are palpable absurdities.

Before reviewing the superst.i.tious beliefs and practices of our immediate forefathers, we may, I think, profitably occupy a short time in gaining some general idea of the prominent features of ancient Pagan religions, for without doubt much of the mythology and superst.i.tious practice of our forefathers had a Pagan origin. I shall not attempt any exhaustive treatise on this subject, for the task is beyond me, but a slight notice of ancient theology may not here be irrelevant. The late George Smith, the eminent a.s.syriologist, says:--

"Upwards of 2000 years B.C. the Babylonians had three great G.o.ds--_Anu_, _Bel_, and _Hea_. These three leading deities formed members of twelve G.o.ds, also called great. These were--

1. Anu, King of Angels and Spirits. Lord of the city Eresh.

2. Bel, Lord of the world, Father of the G.o.ds, Creator. Lord of the city of Nipur.

3. Hea, Maker of fate, Lord of the deep, G.o.d of wisdom and knowledge.

Lord of the city of Eridu.

4. Sin, Lord of crowns, Maker of brightness. Lord of the city Urr.

5. Merodash, Just Prince of the G.o.ds, Lord of birth. Lord of the city Babylon.

6. Vul, the strong G.o.d, Lord of ca.n.a.ls and atmosphere. Lord of the city Mura.

7. Shama, Judge of heaven and earth, Director of all. Lord of the cities of Larsa and Sippara.

8. Ninip, Warrior of the warriors of the G.o.ds, Destroyer of wicked.

Lord of the city Nipur.

9. Nergal, Giant King of war. Lord of the city Cutha.

10. Nusku, Holder of the Golden Sceptre, the lofty G.o.d.

11. Belat, Wife of Bel, Mother of the great G.o.ds. Lady of the city Nipur.

12. Ishtar, Eldest of Heaven and Earth, Raising the face of warriors.

"Below these deities there were a large body of G.o.ds, forming the bulk of the Pantheon; and below these were arranged the Igege or angels of heaven; and the anunaki or angels of earth; below these again came curious cla.s.ses of spirits or genii, some were evil and some good."

The G.o.ds of the Greeks were numbered by thousands, and this at a time when--according to cla.s.sical scholars--the arts and sciences were at their highest point of development in that nation. Their religion was of the grossest nature. Whatever conception they may have had of a first cause--a most high Creator of heaven and earth--it is evident they did not believe he took anything to do directly with man or the phenomena of nature; but that these were under the immediate control of deputy-deities or of a conclave of divinities, who possessed both divine and human attributes--having human appet.i.tes, pa.s.sions, and affections.

Some of these were local deities, others provincial, others national, and others again phenomenal: every human emotion, pa.s.sion and affection, every social circ.u.mstance, public or private, was under the control or guardianship of one or more of these divinities, who claimed from men suitable honour and worship, the omission of which honour and worship was considered to be not only offensive to the divinities, but as likely to be followed by punishment. The vengeance of the deities was thought to be avertable by the performance of certain propitiatory deeds, or by offering certain sacrifices. The kind of sacrifice required had relation to the particular department over which the divinity was supposed to be guardian; and these deeds and sacrifices were in many cases most gross and offensive to morality. The phenomena of nature, being under the direction of one or more divinities, every aspect of nature was regarded as an expression of anger or pleasure on the part of the divinities.

Thunder, lightning, eclipses, comets, drought, floods, storms--anything strange or terrible, the cause of which was not understood, was ascribed to the wrath of some divinity; and men hastened to propitiate, as best they might, the divinities who were supposed to be scourging or threatening them. These deputy-G.o.ds were supposed to occupy the s.p.a.ce between the earth and moon, and, being almost numberless and invisible, their worshippers held them in the same dread as if they possessed the attribute of omniscience.

For the purpose of guiding men in their relations towards these G.o.ds, there existed a large body of men whose office it was to understand the divinities, their natures and attributes, and direct men in their religious duties. This body of men acted as mediums between the G.o.ds and the people, and not only were they held in high esteem as priests, but frequently they attained great power in the State. Often this priestly incorporation had greater influence and control than the civil power; nor is this to be wondered at, when we remember that they were supposed to be in direct communication with the holy G.o.ds, in whose hands were the destinies of men.

The sun, the giver and vivifier of all life, was the primary G.o.d of antiquity, being worshipped by a.s.syrians, Chaldeans, Phoenicians, and Hebrews under the name of Baal or Bell, and by other nations under other names. The priests of Baal always held a high position in the State. As the sun was his image or symbol in heaven, so fire was his symbol on earth, and hence all offerings made to Baal were burned or made to pa.s.s through the fire, or were presented before the sun. Wherever, in the worship of any nation, we find the fire element, we may at once suspect that there we have a survival of ancient sun-worship.

The moon was regarded as a female deity, consort of the sun or Baal, and was worshipped by the Jews under the name of Ashtoreth, or Astarte. Her worship was of the most sensual description. The worship of sun and moon formed one system, the priests of the one being also priests of the other.

Apart from the priestly incorporation of which we have spoken, there was another cla.s.s of men who a.s.sumed knowledge of supernatural phenomena.

These were known as astrologers or star-gazers, wizards, magicians, witches, sooth-sayers. By the practice of certain arts and repet.i.tion of certain formula, these pretended to divine and foretell events both of a public and private nature. They were believed in by the ma.s.s of people, and were consulted on all sorts of matters. By both the civil and ecclesiastical authorities their practices and pretensions were sometimes condemned, and themselves forbidden to exercise their peculiar gifts, but nevertheless the people continued to believe in them and consult them. Their pretensions were considerable, extending even to raising and consulting the spirits of the dead.