The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries Part 14

Owing to the very kindly a.s.sistance of Mr. E. H. Thomas, of Llangefni, who introduced me to the oldest inhabitants of his town, in their own homes and elsewhere, and then acted as interpreter whenever Welsh alone was spoken, I gleaned very clear evidence from that part of Central Anglesey. Seven witnesses, two of whom were women, ranging in age from seventy-two to eighty-nine years, were thus interviewed, and each of them stated that in their childhood the belief in the _Tylwyth Teg_ as a non-human race of good little people--by one witness compared to singing angels--was general. Mr. John Jones, the oldest of the seven, among much else, said in Welsh:--'I believe personally that the _Tylwyth Teg_ are still existing; but people can't see them. I have heard of two or three persons being together and one only having been able to see the _Tylwyth Teg_.'

TESTIMONY FROM TWO ANGLESEY CENTENARIANS

Perhaps nowhere else in Celtic lands could there be found as witnesses two sisters equal in age to Miss Mary Owen and Mrs. Betsy Thomas, in their hundred and third and hundredth year respectively (in 1909). They live a quiet life on their mountain-side farm overlooking the sea, in the beautiful country near Pentraeth, quite away from the rush and noise of the great world of commercial activity; and they speak only the tongue which their prehistoric Kimric ancestors spoke before Roman, or Saxon, or Norman came to Britain. Mr. W. Jones, of Plas Tinon, their neighbour, who knows English and Welsh well, acted as interpreter. The elder sister testified first:--

_'Tylwyth Teg's' Nature._--'There were many of the _Tylwyth Teg_ on the Llwydiarth Mountain above here, and round the Llwydiarth Lake where they used to dance; and whenever the prices at the Llangefni market were to be high they would chatter very much at night. They appeared only after dark; and all the good they ever did was singing and dancing. Ann Jones, whom I knew very well, used often to see the _Tylwyth Teg_ dancing and singing, but if she then went up to them they would disappear. She told me they are an invisible people, and very small.

Many others besides Ann Jones have seen the _Tylwyth Teg_ in these mountains, and have heard their music and song. The ordinary opinion was that the _Tylwyth Teg_ are a race of spirits. I believe in them as an invisible race of good little people.'

_Fairy Midwife and Magic Oil._--'The _Tylwyth Teg_ had a kind of magic oil, and I remember this story about it:--A farmer went to Llangefni to fetch a woman to nurse his wife about to become a mother, and he found one of the _Tylwyth Teg_, who came with him on the back of his horse.

Arrived at the farm-house, the fairy woman looked at the wife, and giving the farmer some oil told him to wash the baby in it as soon as it was born. Then the fairy woman disappeared. The farmer followed the advice, and what did he do in washing the baby but get some oil on one of his own eyes. Suddenly he could see the _Tylwyth Teg_, for the oil had given him the second-sight. Some time later the farmer was in Llangefni again, and saw the same fairy woman who had given him the oil.

"How is your wife getting on?" she asked him. "She is getting on very well," he replied. Then the fairy woman added, "Tell me with which eye you see me best." "With this one," he said, pointing to the eye he had rubbed with the oil. And the fairy woman put her stick in that eye, and the farmer never saw with it again.'[49]

_Seeing 'Tylwyth Teg'._--The younger sister's testimony is as follows:--'I saw one of the _Tylwyth Teg_ about sixty years ago, near the Tynymyndd Farm, as I was pa.s.sing by at night. He was like a little man. When I approached him he disappeared suddenly. I have heard about the dancing and singing of the _Tylwyth Teg_, but never have heard the music myself. The old people said the _Tylwyth Teg_ could appear and disappear when they liked; and I think as the old people did, that they are some sort of spirits.'

TESTIMONY FROM AN ANGLESEY SEERESS

At Pentraeth, Mr. Gwilyn Jones said to me:--'It always was and still is the opinion that the _Tylwyth Teg_ are a race of spirits. Some people think them small in size, but the one my mother saw was ordinary human size.' At this, I immediately asked Mr. Jones if his mother was still living, and he replying that she was, gave me her address in Llanfair.

So I went directly to interview Mr. Jones's mother, Mrs. Catherine Jones, and this is the story about the one of the _Tylwyth Teg_ she saw:--

_'Tylwyth Teg' Apparition._--'I was coming home at about half-past ten at night from Cemaes, on the path to Simdda Wen, where I was in service, when there appeared just before me a very pretty young lady of ordinary size. I had no fear, and when I came up to her put out my hand to touch her, but my hand and arm went right through her form. I could not understand this, and so tried to touch her repeatedly with the same result; there was no solid substance in the body, yet it remained beside me, and was as beautiful a young lady as I ever saw. When I reached the door of the house where I was to stop, she was still with me. Then I said "Good night" to her. No response being made, I asked, "Why do you not speak?" And at this she disappeared. Nothing happened afterwards, and I always put this beautiful young lady down as one of the _Tylwyth Teg_. There was much talk about my experience when I reported it, and the neighbours, like myself, thought I had seen one of the _Tylwyth Teg_. I was about twenty-four years old at the time of this incident.'[50]

TESTIMONY FROM A PROFESSOR OF WELSH

Just before crossing the Menai Straits I had the good fortune to meet, at his home in Llanfair, Mr. J. Morris Jones, M.A. (Oxon.), Professor of Welsh in the University College at Bangor, and he, speaking of the fairy-belief in Anglesey as he remembers it from boyhood days, said:--

_'Tylwyth Teg.'_--'In most of the tales I heard repeated when I was a boy, I am quite certain the implication was that the _Tylwyth Teg_ were a kind of spirit race having human characteristics, who could at will suddenly appear and suddenly disappear. They were generally supposed to live underground, and to come forth on moonlight nights, dressed in gaudy colours (chiefly in red), to dance in circles in gra.s.sy fields. I cannot remember having heard changeling stories here in the Island: I think the _Tylwyth Teg_ were generally looked upon as kind and good-natured, though revengeful if not well treated. And they were believed to have plenty of money at their command, which they could bestow on people whom they liked.'

EVIDENCE FROM NORTH CARNARVONSHIRE

Upon leaving Anglesey I undertook some investigation of the Welsh fairy-belief in the country between Bangor and Carnarvon. From the oldest Welsh people of Treborth I heard the same sort of folk-lore as we have recorded from Anglesey, except that prominence was given to a flourishing belief in _Bwganod_, goblins or bogies. But from Mr. T. T.

Davis Evans, of Port Dinorwic, I heard the following very unusual story based on facts, as he recalled it first hand:--

_Jones's Vision._--'William Jones, who some sixty years ago declared he had seen the _Tylwyth Teg_ in the Aberglaslyn Pa.s.s near Beddgelert, was publicly questioned about them in Bethel Chapel by Mr. Griffiths, the minister; and he explained before the congregation that the Lord had given him a special vision which enabled him to see the _Tylwyth Teg_, and that, therefore, he had seen them time after time as little men playing along the river in the Pa.s.s. The minister induced Jones to repeat the story many times, because it seemed to please the congregation very much; and the folks present looked upon Jones's vision as a most wonderful thing.'

EVIDENCE FROM SOUTH CARNARVONSHIRE

To Mr. E. D. Rowlands, head master of the schools at Afonwen, I am indebted for a summary of the fairy-belief in South Carnarvonshire:--

_'Tylwyth Teg.'_--'According to the belief in South Carnarvonshire, the _Tylwyth Teg_ were a small, very pretty people always dressed in white, and much given to dancing and singing in rings where gra.s.s grew. As a rule, they were visible only at night; though in the day-time, if a mother while hay-making was so unwise as to leave her babe alone in the field, the _Tylwyth Teg_ might take it and leave in its place a hunchback, or some deformed object like a child. At night, the _Tylwyth Teg_ would entice travellers to join their dance and then play all sorts of tricks on them.'[51]

_Fairy Cows and Fairy Lake-Women._--'Some of the _Tylwyth Teg_ lived in caves; others of them lived in lake-bottoms. There is a lake called Llyn y Morwynion, or "Lake of the Maidens", near Festiniog, where, as the story goes, a farmer one morning found in his field a number of very fine cows such as he had never seen before. Not knowing where they came from, he kept them a long time, when, as it happened, he committed some dishonest act and, as a result, women of the _Tylwyth Teg_ made their appearance in the pasture and, calling the cows by name, led the whole herd into the lake, and with them disappeared beneath its waters. The old people never could explain the nature of the _Tylwyth Teg_, but they always regarded them as a very mysterious race, and, according to this story of the cattle, as a supernatural race.'

EVIDENCE FROM MERIONETHSHIRE

Mr. Louis Foster Edwards, of Harlech, recalling the memories of many years ago, offers the following evidence:--

_Scythe-Blades and Fairies._--'In an old inn on the other side of Harlech there was to be an entertainment, and, as usual on such occasions, the dancing would not cease until morning. I noticed, before the guests had all arrived, that the landlady was putting scythe-blades edge upwards up into the large chimney, and, wondering why it was, asked her. She told me that the fairies might come before the entertainment was over, and that if the blades were turned edge upwards it would prevent the fairies from troubling the party, for they would be unable to pa.s.s the blades without being cut.'

_'Tylwyth Teg' and their World._--'There was an idea that the _Tylwyth Teg_ lived by plundering at night. It was thought, too, that if anything went wrong with cows or horses the _Tylwyth Teg_ were to blame. As a race, the _Tylwyth Teg_ were described as having the power of invisibility; and it was believed they could disappear like a spirit while one happened to be observing them. The world in which they lived was a world quite unlike ours, and mortals taken to it by them were changed in nature. The way a mortal might be taken by the _Tylwyth Teg_ was by being attracted into their dance. If they thus took you away, it would be according to our time for twelve months, though to you the time would seem no more than a night.'

FAIRY TRIBES IN MONTGOMERYSHIRE

From Mr. D. Davies-Williams, who outlined for me the Montgomeryshire belief in the _Tylwyth Teg_ as he has known it intimately, I learned that this is essentially the same as elsewhere in North and Central Wales. He summed up the matter by saying:--

_Belief in Tylwyth Teg._--'It was the opinion that the _Tylwyth Teg_ were a real race of invisible or spiritual beings living in an invisible world of their own. The belief in the _Tylwyth Teg_ was quite general fifty or sixty years ago, and as sincere as any religious belief is now.'

Our next witness is the Rev. Josiah Jones, minister of the Congregational Church of Machynlleth; and, after a lifetime's experience in Montgomeryshire, he gives this testimony:--

_A Deacon's Vision._--'A deacon in my church, John Evans, declared that he had seen the _Tylwyth Teg_ dancing in the day-time, within two miles from here, and he pointed out the very spot where they appeared. This was some twenty years ago. I think, however, that he saw only certain reflections and shadows, because it was a hot and brilliant day.'

_Folk-Beliefs in General._--'As I recall the belief, the old people considered the _Tylwyth Teg_ as living beings halfway between something material and spiritual, who were rarely seen. When I was a boy there was very much said, too, about corpse-candles and phantom funerals, and especially about the _Bwganod_, plural of _Bwgan_, meaning a sprite, ghost, hobgoblin, or spectre. The _Bwganod_ were supposed to appear at dusk, in various forms, animal and human; and grown-up people as well as children had great fear of them.'

_A Minister's Opinion._--'Ultimately there is a substance of truth in the fairy-belief, but it is wrongly accounted for in the folk-lore: I once asked Samuel Roberts, of Llanbrynmair, who was quite a noted Welsh scholar, what he thought of the _Tylwyth Teg_, of hobgoblins, spirits, and so forth; and he said that he believed such things existed, and that G.o.d allowed them to appear in times of great ignorance to convince people of the existence of an invisible world.'

IN CARDIGANSHIRE; AND A FOLK-LORIST'S TESTIMONY

No one of our witnesses from Central Wales is more intimately acquainted with the living folk-beliefs than Mr. J. Ceredig Davies, of Llanilar, a village about six miles from Aberystwyth; for Mr. Davies has spent many years in collecting folk-lore in Central and South Wales. He has interviewed the oldest and most intelligent of the old people, and while I write this he has in the press a work ent.i.tled _The Folk-Lore of Mid and West Wales_. Mr. Davies very kindly gave me the following outline of the most prominent traits in the Welsh fairy-belief according to his own investigations:--

_'Tylwyth Teg.'_--'The _Tylwyth Teg_ were considered a very small people, fond of dancing, especially on moonlight nights. They often came to houses after the family were abed; and if milk was left for them, they would leave money in return; but if not treated kindly they were revengeful. The changeling idea was common: the mother coming home would find an ugly changeling in the cradle. Sometimes the mother would consult the _Dynion Hysbys_, or "Wise Men" as to how to get her babe back. As a rule, treating the fairy babe roughly and then throwing it into a river would cause the fairy who made the change to appear and restore the real child in return for the changeling.'

_'Tylwyth Teg' Marriage Contracts._--'Occasionally a young man would see the _Tylwyth Teg_ dancing, and, being drawn into the dance, would be taken by them and married to one of their women. There is usually some condition in the marriage contract which becomes broken, and, as a result, the fairy wife disappears--usually into a lake. The marriage contract specifies either that the husband must never touch his fairy wife with iron, or else never beat or strike her three times. Sometimes when fairy wives thus disappear, they take with them into the lake their fairy cattle and all their household property.'

_'Tylwyth Teg' Habitations._--'The _Tylwyth Teg_ were generally looked upon as an immortal race. In Cardiganshire they lived underground; in Carmarthenshire in lakes; and in Pembrokeshire along the sea-coast on enchanted islands amid the Irish Sea. I have heard of sailors upon seeing such islands trying to reach them; but when approached, the islands always disappeared. From a certain spot in Pembrokeshire, it is said that by standing on a turf taken from the yard of St. David's Cathedral, one may see the enchanted islands.'[52]

_'Tylwyth Teg' as Spirits of Druids._--'By many of the old people the _Tylwyth Teg_ were cla.s.sed with spirits. They were not looked upon as mortal at all. Many of the Welsh looked upon the _Tylwyth Teg_ or fairies as the spirits of Druids dead before the time of Christ, who being too good to be cast into h.e.l.l were allowed to wander freely about on earth.'

TESTIMONY FROM A WELSHMAN NINETY-FOUR YEARS OLD

At Pontrhydfendigaid, a village about two miles from the railway-station called Strata Florida, I had the good fortune to meet Mr. John Jones, ninety-four years old, yet of strong physique, and able to write his name without eye-gla.s.ses. Both Mr. J. H. Davies, Registrar of the University College of Aberystwyth, and Mr. J. Ceredig Davies, the eminent folk-lorist of Llanilar, referred me to Mr. John Jones as one of the most remarkable of living Welshmen who could tell about the olden times from first-hand knowledge. Mr. John Jones speaks very little English, and Mr. John Rees, of the Council School, acted as our interpreter. This is the testimony:--

_Pygmy-sized 'Tylwyth Teg'._--'I was born and bred where there was tradition that the _Tylwyth Teg_ lived in holes in the hills, and that none of these _Tylwyth Teg_ was taller than three to four feet. It was a common idea that many of the _Tylwyth Teg_, forming in a ring, would dance and sing out on the mountain-sides, or on the plain, and that if children should meet with them at such a time they would lose their way and never get out of the ring. If the _Tylwyth Teg_ fancied any particular child they would always keep that child, taking off its clothes and putting them on one of their own children, which was then left in its place. They took only boys, never girls.'

_Human-sized 'Tylwyth Teg'._--'A special sort of _Tylwyth Teg_ used to come out of lakes and dance, and their fine looks enticed young men to follow them back into the lakes, and there marry one of them. If the husband wished to leave the lake he had to go without his fairy wife.

This sort of _Tylwyth Teg_ were as big as ordinary people; and they were often seen riding out of the lakes and back again on horses.'

_'Tylwyth Teg' as Spirits of Prehistoric Race._--'My grandfather told me that he was once in a certain field and heard singing in the air, and thought it spirits singing. Soon afterwards he and his brother in digging dikes in that field dug into a big hole, which they entered and followed to the end. There they found a place full of human bones and urns, and naturally decided on account of the singing that the bones and urns were of the _Tylwyth Teg_.'[53]

_A Boy's Visit to the 'Tylwyth Teg's' King._--'About eighty years ago, at Tynylone, my grandfather told me this story: "A boy ten years old was often whipped and cruelly treated by his schoolmaster because he could not say his lessons very well. So one day he ran away from school and went to a river-side, where some little folk came to him and asked why he was crying. He told them the master had punished him; and on hearing this they said, 'Oh! if you will stay with us it will not be necessary for you to go to school. We will keep you as long as you like.' Then they took him under the water and over the water into a cave underground, which opened into a great palace where the _Tylwyth Teg_ were playing games with golden b.a.l.l.s, in rings like those in which they dance and sing. The boy had been taken to the king's family, and he began to play with the king's sons. After he had been there in the palace in the full enjoyment of all its pleasures he wished very much to return to his mother and show her the golden ball which the _Tylwyth Teg_ gave him. And so he took the ball in his pocket and hurried through the cave the way he had come; but at the end of it and by the river two of the _Tylwyth Teg_ met him, and taking the ball away from him they pushed him into the water, and through the water he found his way home.

He told his mother how he had been away for a fortnight, as he thought, but she told him it had been for two years. Though the boy often tried to find the way back to the _Tylwyth Teg_ he never could. Finally, he went back to school, and became a most wonderful scholar and parson."'[54]