THE BURIAL OF THE WREN.—I inclose a version of the song of the wren, a
little different from the one printed in a recent number of the Journal.
The variant is contributed by a young Irishman from Skibbereen. But why
is the wren called the “king of all birds,” and what is the meaning of
the song?
_Mrs. Lucien Howe, Buffalo, N. Y._
The wren, the wren, the king of all birds,
St. Stephen’s day it was caught in the furze;
Although it is little, its family is great.
Cheer up my landlady and fill us a treat,
And if you fill it of the best,
In heaven I hope your soul will rest;
But if you fill it of the small,
It won’t agree with the wren boys at all.
Sing holly, sing ivy, sing ivy, sing holly,
To sing a bad Christmas is all but a folly.
On Christmas day I turned the spit,
I burned my fingers, I feel it yet;
Between the finger and the thumb,
There lies a big blister, as large as a plum.
I hunted my wren five miles or yon,
Through hedges, ditches, briars, and bushes I knocked him down.
So here he is, as you may see,
Upon the top of a holly-tree.
With a bunch of ribbons by its side,
And the Cork boys to be her guide.
Shake, shake, shake of the box,
All silver and no brass,
Up with the kettle and down with the pot,
Give us our answer, and let us begone.
Come now, mistress, shake your feathers,
Don’t you think that we are beggars;
We are the boys came here to play,
So give us our money and let us go away.
[As to our correspondent’s request for information, reference may be
made to the discussion of J. G. Frazer, in “The Golden Bough,” (Lond.
1890), ii. 140 f. The custom has been prevalent in France, as well as in
Great Britain and Ireland. In the Isle of Man, on Christmas Eve, the
wren was hunted, killed, and fastened on the top of a pole. It was then
carried from house to house, the bearers, meanwhile, chanting an appeal
similar to that above given, at the same time collecting money. The wren
was then laid on a bier and buried with much solemnity. The rite,
according to another account, is described as taking place on St.
Stephen’s Day (December 26th). The bird, in the latter case, was hung in
the centre of two crossing hoops, decorated with evergreen and ribbons.
In the song, reference is said to have been made to boiling and eating
the bird. The money collected appears to have been employed for a feast
at night. English and Irish usages were substantially identical.
As to the significance of the custom, it is only clear that it must have
been a survival of a sacred rite. Mr. Frazer gives Asiatic parallels,
but these are not very close, nor indeed are the accounts complete or
sufficient. His own conclusion is that the custom is the remains of a
pastoral sacrament, in which the animal god is killed and sacramentally
eaten. That the wren has in some degree a sacred character is made
probable by the superstitions relating to the bird. But the whole
subject is obscure.]
_W. W. N._
MODERN ADDITIONS TO INDIAN MYTHS, AND INDIAN THUNDER SUPERSTITIONS.—The
following remarks were made by the undersigned at the Annual Meeting,
1892:—
1. On Mr. W. W. Newell’s paper, entitled Examples of Forgery in
Folk-Lore: (_a_) Some of the myths obtained from the Omahas and Ponkas
bear marks of European origin, _e. g._, one of the Orphan who had a
magic sword and two magic dogs; rescued a chief’s daughter from a water
monster; cut off heads of monster, took the seven tongues home; black
man got heads, claimed chief’s daughter as wife; was detected and
killed; Orphan won chief’s daughter (Contra. to N. A. Ethnology, vol.
vi. pp. 108–131.) Some of the writer’s Omaha informants were French
half-bloods. (_b_) There have been modern additions made to myths. An
Omaha stated that he made up part of the myth of the Big Turtle who went
on the war-path. (_c_) When the writer was revising his material before
preparing his article on “Omaha Sociology,” he was furnished by one of
the tribe (a prominent ex-chief, now dead,) with several riddles, that
appeared in “Omaha Sociology” as genuine Omaha riddles. Not until 1888
did he learn by accident that the riddles in question were versions of
some that the children of his informant had read in “The Youth’s
Companion”(!) The informant was not a man to tell a wilful lie.
2. Remarks on Miss Alger’s papers, one being, Survival of Fire-sacrifice
among Indians in Maine: (_a_) When the first thunder is heard in the
spring the Thunder Being is invoked by the Omaha and Ponka Indians. In
the case of the former people, the Black Bear people go to the
mysterious war tent of the Elk people, whom they assist in the
invocation of the Thunder Being, whom they call “Grandfather.” When the
Black Bear people of the Ponka tribe invoke the Thunder Being on such an
occasion, they say, “Ho, Grandfather, by your brandishing (your club)
you are frightening us, your grandchildren, who are here. Depart on
high.” (_b_) The chief of one of the two Kansas war gentes, Pa-ha^n-le
ga-qli, gave the writer a copy of his mystic war chart, saying that in
the middle should appear a representation of fire, but he dared not make
it unless he had fasted and prayed for several days, lest he should be
struck by lightning. (_c_) No respectable Omaha girl dare walk alone.
She must go with another girl, when not accompanied by her mother or
some other near relation. Any man, not a near kinsman, who spoke to
young girls that he chanced to meet, was sure to be punished. (_d_) With
reference to the worm killed by the Thunder, compare the Dakota belief
as to the conflicts that have occurred between the Unkteqi or Water
powers (the Waktceqi of the Winnebago) and the Wa-ki^nya^n (“Flying
Ones”) or Thunder Beings. These water powers (the males) are supposed to
dwell in rivers, while the females inhabit streams that exist beneath
the hills. (_e_) The legend of the Moose Woman resembles two Omaha
myths: In that of the Chief’s Son and the Snake Woman, the latter person
warns her husband against courting another woman; when he does so, she
disappears. In the story of the Man who had for his wives a Buffalo
Woman and a Corn Woman, the Man pursues his fleeing Buffalo wife and her
son; when he reaches a river, he takes a magic plume from his hair,
blows on it, and, as it is wafted across the river, he becomes the
plume, reaches the other bank, overtakes his wife and son, and finally
recovers them. (See “Popular Science Monthly,” September, 1893.)
_J. Owen Dorsey._
WRITING TO THE RATS.—A member of my family remembers a case of writing
to the rats. It occurred in Lunenburg, Mass., perhaps fifty years ago.
One day a neighbor of my grandfather’s came in and triumphantly
announced that at last she was going to be free of the rats; she had
written to them. Her letter was as follows: “If you don’t leave this
house, I’ll get a cat.” It seems to me as amusing, in its way, as that
of the Maine man. It might be called a telegram to the rats, for these
were exactly her words. The proclamation was posted up, I believe, in
the cellar.
_H. D. Rolfe._
CONCORD, MASS., _June, 1893_.
ITALIAN FOLK-LORE SOCIETY.—In a private letter, Professor A. de
Gubernatis states that by the month of November he expects to secure the
five hundred subscribers necessary for the execution of his project of
an Italian folk-lore society. In Calabria, Apulia, and Sardinia,
especially, his appeal has been responded to. Her Majesty Queen
Marguerita has particularly interested herself in these researches; and
the minister of public instruction has issued a circular which
recommends to professors and teachers the study of popular traditions.
The society is to issue a journal, entitled “Rivista delle tradizioni
popolari italiano,” and also a series of volumes, to be known as
“Biblioteca del folk-lore italiano.” The annual subscription will be
twelve lire ($2.40); members will be permitted to obtain volumes of the
“biblioteca” at a reduction of fifty per cent. Local directors will be
appointed in the various districts of Italy; every three years a
congress, entitled “Congresso Nationale dei Folkloristi italiani,” will
be held with a view of discussing questions which relate to Italian
folk-lore. Subscriptions should be sent to Angelo de Gubernatis,
Presidente Onorario, Professore nell’ Università di Roma, Rome, Italy.