Folk Lore by James Napier

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FOLK LORE

Or, Superstitious Beliefs in the West of Scotland within This Century

With an Appendix,

Shewing the Probable Relation of the Modern Festivals of Christmas, May
Day, St. John's Day, and Hallowe'en, to Ancient Sun and Fire Worship

by

JAMES NAPIER, F.R.S.E., F.C.S., &c.,

Author of _Manufacturing Art in Ancient Times_, _Notes and Reminiscences
of Partick_, &c., &c.

Paisley: Alex. Gardner.

1879

CONTENTS.

PREFACE, v.
Introduction, 1
Birth and Childhood, 29
Marriage, 43
Death, 56
Witchcraft, Second Sight, and the Black Art, 67
Charms and Counter Charms, 79
Divining, 105
Superstitions Relating to Animals, 111
Superstitions Concerning Plants, 122
Miscellaneous Superstitions, 132

APPENDIX.

Yule, Beltane, and Hallowe'en Festivals, 145
Yule, 149
Beltane, 161
Midsummer, 170
Hallowe'en, 175

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 God.
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 God was allowed, for Satan it was
believed, was permitted by God 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 superstitious, 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 classes it may be said that much of the superstitions of
former times have passed 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 superstitions 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 class of
superstitions by which designing persons prey upon weak-minded people.

One principal 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
superstition. By comparison, by separation of the local accretion from
the constant element, an approach to the original source and meaning of
a superstition may be obtained.

I have hope that the Folk Lore Society, just instituted, will consider
such details and variations, and endeavour to trace their history and
origin, and fearlessly give prominence to the still existing
superstitions, 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 superstitions, 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 superstition, and in passing I may notice the
duration in time and geographical distribution of some superstitions.
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 Superstition--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 superstitious
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 superstitious. There are few who seek
to know what superstition 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 Association and reported in the newspapers,--"Superstition
is Scepticism," which may be legitimately paraphrased "Superstition 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 "Superstition" 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 illustration: "The superstitious 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
passed, or till he has thrown three stones across the road."

Under "Superstition," 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 superstition 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 God._ 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
superstitious 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 God
and nature._ With this meaning the term "Superstition" 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
superstition can be attained is to search Nature and Revelation for
correct views of God and His methods of working. Notwithstanding our
pretensions to a correct religious knowledge, a pure theology, and
freedom from everything like superstition, it is strange yet true, that,
if we except the formulated reply to the question in the Westminster
Catechism, "What is God," scarcely two persons--perhaps no two
persons--have exactly the same idea of God. We each worship a God of our
own. In one of the late Douglas Jerrold's "Hedgehog Letters" he
introduces two youths passing 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 God made man in his own image. We have now
reversed this, and make God 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 passionate intelligence.
Alongside the intelligence everywhere observable in the operations of
nature they placed their own passionate 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 God 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 God 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
God. 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 superstitious 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 superstitious
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 Assyriologist, says:--

"Upwards of 2000 years B.C. the Babylonians had three great gods--_Anu_,
_Bel_, and _Hea_. These three leading deities formed members of twelve
gods, 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 Gods, Creator. Lord of the
city of Nipur.

3. Hea, Maker of fate, Lord of the deep, God 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 Gods, Lord of birth. Lord of the
city Babylon.

6. Vul, the strong God, Lord of canals 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 Gods, 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 God.

11. Belat, Wife of Bel, Mother of the great Gods. 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 gods, 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 classes of spirits or genii, some were evil and some good."

The gods of the Greeks were numbered by thousands, and this at a time
when--according to classical 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 appetites, passions, and affections.
Some of these were local deities, others provincial, others national,
and others again phenomenal: every human emotion, passion and affection,
every social circumstance, 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-gods were supposed to occupy the space
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 gods,
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 gods 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 gods, in whose hands were
the destinies of men.

The sun, the giver and vivifier of all life, was the primary god of
antiquity, being worshipped by Assyrians, 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 pass
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 class of men who assumed knowledge of supernatural phenomena.
These were known as astrologers or star-gazers, wizards, magicians,
witches, sooth-sayers. By the practice of certain arts and repetition of
certain formula, these pretended to divine and foretell events both of a
public and private nature. They were believed in by the mass 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.

This leads me to notice the ancient belief concerning the souls of the
departed. By almost all nations, Jews and Gentiles, there was a
prevailing belief that at death the souls of good men were taken
possession of by good spirits and carried to Paradise, but the souls of
wicked men were left to wander in the space between the earth and moon,
or consigned to Hades, or Unseen World. These wandering spirits were in
the habit of haunting the living, especially their relations, so that
the living were surrounded on every side by the spirits of their wicked
ancestors, who were always at hand tempting them to evil. However, there
were means by which these ghosts might be exorcised. A formula for
expelling wicked spirits is given by Ovid in Book V. of the Fasti:--

"In the dread silence of midnight, upon the eighth day of May, the
votary rises from his couch barefooted, and snapping his fingers as a
sure preventative against meeting any ghost during his subsequent
operations, thrice washing his hands in spring water, he places nine
black beans in his mouth, and walks out. These he throws behind him one
by one, carefully guarding against the least glance backwards, and at
each cast he says, 'With these beans I ransom myself and mine.' The
spirits of his ancestors follow him and gather the beans as they fall.
Then, performing another ablution as he enters his house, he clashes
cymbals of brass, or rather some household utensil of that metal,
entreating the spirits to quit his roof. He then repeats nine times
these words, 'Avaunt ye ancestral manes.' After this he looks behind,
and is free for one year."

Some nations in addition to a personal formula for laying the ghosts of
departed relatives, had a national ritual for ghost-laying, a public
feast in honour of departed spirits. Such a feast is still held in
China, and also in Burmah. In 1875 the following placard was posted
throughout the district of Rangoon, proclaiming a feast of forty-nine
days by order of the Emperor of China:--

"There will this year be scarcity of rice and plenty of sickness. Evil
spirits will descend to examine and inquire into the sickness. If people
do not believe this, many will die in September and October. Should any
people call on you at midnight, do not answer; it is not a human being
that calls, but an evil spirit. Do not be wicked, but be good."

But I do not propose to write a treatise on Pagan theology, nor do I
propose to trace in historical detail the progress through which
Christian and Pagan beliefs have in process of time become assimilated,
when I have occasion, I may notice these things. I intend, as I said at
the beginning, to deal with superstition, no matter from what source it
may have arisen, recognising superstition to be as already
defined--beliefs and practices founded upon erroneous ideas of God and
the laws of nature. In many things, I believe, we are yet too
superstitious, and our popular theology, instead of aiding to destroy
these erroneous beliefs, aids them in maintaining their vitality.
Orthodox Christians believe in a general and also in a special
providence; the ancients, on the other hand, believed that all events
were under the control and direction of separate and special divinities,
so that when praying for certain results, they addressed the divinity
having control over that phenomenon or circumstance by which they were
affected, and when their desires were gratified, they expressed their
thankfulness by offerings to that divinity. If their desires were not
granted, they regarded that circumstance as a token of displeasure on
the part of that divinity, and besought the aid of their priests and
sooth-sayers to discover the reason of his anger, and offered sacrifices
and peace offerings. Now, orthodox Christians in the same circumstances
pray to God for special and personal blessings, and when they are
granted, they feel grateful, and sometimes express their gratitude. A
common method of expressing this gratitude is by giving something to the
church. Thus we find in our church records entries like the following:--

From ---- ----, As a thank-offering for the recovery L S. D.
of a dear child. -------
" ---- ----, Peace-offering for reconciliation with
an old friend. -------
" ---- ----, Offering for the preservation of a
friend going abroad. -------
" ---- ----, Thank-offering for a fortunate transaction
in business. -------

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