THE GAME OF _SALLY WATERS_
The game of _Sally Waters_ calls for further comment. In this game, as
already mentioned, the players stand in a circle, boy and girl
alternately choose a partner, while the friends stand around and chant
the verses. In these lies the interest of the game. For these words in
the fifty variations collected by Mrs. Gomme, all give expression to the
same sequence of ideas. There is the call to Sally to go through the
ceremony of sprinkling the pan or watering the can. This is followed by
a chorus that urges that a choice be made. When this is made and sealed
by joining hands, or by kneeling, or by a kiss, the chorus utters wishes
for a prosperous union. Similar traits appear in the games known as
_Pretty Little Girl of Mine_, _The Lady of the Mountain_, and _Kiss in
the Ring_, which, in a less pronounced form, give expression to the same
ideas.
The verses used in playing _Sally Waters_ in Dorsetshire are among the
most meaningful, and stand as follows:--
Sally, Sally Waters, sprinkle in the pan,
Rise, Sally; rise, Sally, and choose a young man;
Choose [_or_ bow] to the east, choose [_or_ bow] to the west
[_Or_ choose for the best one, choose for the worst one],
Choose the pretty girl [_or_ young man] that you love best.
And now you're married, I wish you joy,
First a girl and then a boy;
Seven years after son and daughter,
And now young people, jump over the water. (1894, Nr. 1.)
These verses and the fact that _Sally Waters_ is related to the Cushion
Dance that is danced at weddings, render it probable that _Sally Waters_
originated in a marriage celebration of heathen times. The formula in
the Dorsetshire version of the game concludes with a direction to the
young couple to "jump over the water." In the Somersetshire version the
direction is "kiss each other and come out of the water" (1894, No. 3);
in the Shropshire variation, "kiss and shake hands and come out" (1894,
No. 14); in the London variation, "kiss before you go out of the water."
(Appendix.)
Dipping was an accepted ceremonial during heathen times, which recovered
or revealed a person's true identity as in the case of Tam Linn, or of
the suspected witch who was thrown into the water. Dipping constituted
part of definite celebrations. For the ceremonial of "dipping" formed
part of the May-Day festival as it was kept in Northampton, while in
Cornwall the saying is current: "The first of May is dipping day" (1876,
p. 235). May-Day was a great day for contracting matrimonial alliances
in the heathen past, and is at present avoided because of its riotous
associations.
Judging from the verses used in playing Sally Waters, the union between
the parties was contracted conditionally for seven years only. Seven
years are definitely mentioned in sixteen out of fifty variations of the
game. The same period is mentioned also in fourteen out of the
twenty-five variations of the verses used in playing _Pretty Little Girl
of Mine_, and in three out of seven variations of the verses used in
playing _The Lady on the Mountain_.
Mrs. Gomme, in discussing the game of Sally Waters, cites various
expressions which show that the marriage vow is still popularly looked
upon as binding for a certain period only, sometimes for seven years
(1894, II, 177). I find this corroborated by remarks I have gleaned from
country-folk. Thus a woman whose husband had gone from her, after seven
years felt justified in looking upon him as dead, and had the bell
tolled for his funeral.
Time-reckoning by seven years goes far back in history, and is still the
rule in many legal arrangements. Seven years of plenty succeeded seven
years of famine in Egypt. Once in seven years the fairies rode out to
claim their due. Some festivities happened only once in seven years. The
curious custom of _bumping_, that is, of two persons taking up by the
arms any persons whom they met, and swinging them to and fro, was
observed on Ganging Day (29 September) once in seven years at Bishop's
Stortford (1876, p. 380). At Bradford also a septennial festival was
kept in honour of Jason and the Golden Fleece and St. Blaize on 3
February (1876, p. 60). Similarly a dance known as the Metzgersprung
was danced at Munich once in seven years to keep off the plague (Bo., p.
44).
The mention of seven years in the marriage game may indicate that the
marriage was broken off after seven years if the stipulated conditions
failed to be fulfilled. These conditions were that the children born of
the union should include one of either sex. Mrs. Gomme, in connection
with this stipulation, remarks that a marriage is still popularly
reckoned incomplete from which there is not male and female offspring.
She also points out that the expression "choose for the best, choose for
the worst" of the marriage game, is related to the words "for better,
for worse" of the vernacular portion of the English marriage service.
The expressions "worst and best," or "wisest and best," occur in
thirteen out of the fifty versions of words; instead of these, "choose
east and choose west" occur in twenty-two out of the fifty versions
(1894, II, 168). It is difficult to decide which is the more primitive
form of the verse; I fancy the latter.
The ceremony of choosing was led up to by _sprinkling the pan_, which is
mentioned in twenty-one out of fifty variations of the game; _watering
the can_ stands in twelve others. The pan was specially associated with
women as housekeepers, and, together with the cradle, is mentioned as
one of the first essentials in setting up house in the game of
_Wallflowers_.[36]
[36] Gomme, loc. cit.: _Wallflowers_:--
Mister Moffit is a very good man,
He came to the door with a hat in his hand,
He pulled up his cloak and showed me the ring;
To-morrow, to-morrow the wedding begins.
First he bought a frying pan, then he bought the cradle,
And then one day the baby was born. Rock, rock the cradle.
(No. 32.)
Judging from the game of _Sally Waters_ as played in Bucks, a "mother"
actually presided at the game, who directed her daughters to sprinkle
the pan, and their being included among those from whom a choice was
made, depended on their successfully doing so. To the words of the game
as played in Bucks, I have added in brackets an indication how the words
were probably distributed:--
(Half chorus): Sally, Sally Walker, sprinkled in the pan.
(Other half): What did she sprinkle for?
(Answer): For a young man.
(Mother): Sprinkle, sprinkle daughter, and you shall have a cow.
(Daughter): I cannot sprinkle, mother, because I don't know how.
(Mother): Sprinkle, daughter, sprinkle, and you shall have a man.
(Daughter): I cannot sprinkle, mother, but I'll do the best I can.
(Chorus): Pick and choose, but don't you pick me,
Pick the fairest you can see.
(Man): The fairest that I can see is.... Come to me!
(1894, No. 23.)
This is followed by the usual marriage formula.
A similar dialogue is included amongst the Nursery Rhymes of Halliwell,
in which the daughter is directed to whistle, a word which formerly
conveyed the idea of uttering imprecations in a low voice, and which was
condemned in a woman since it marked her out for a witch. The verse
stands as follows:--
Whistle daughter, whistle, whistle for a cradle.
I cannot whistle, mammy, 'deed I am not able.
Whistle daughter, whistle, whistle for a cow,
I cannot whistle, mammy, 'deed I know not how.
Whistle, daughter, whistle, whistle for a man,
I cannot whistle, mammy; whew! Yes, I believe I can.
(1846, p. 219.)[37]
[37] Cf.
A whistling woman and a crowing hen
Are neither fit for God or man. (1892, p. 506.)
Also:
Une femme qui siffle et une poule qui crie
Porte malheur dans la maison.
If the words used in playing _Sally Waters_ are analysed, it will be
seen that the name Sally occurs in forty-four out of fifty variations,
and that in twenty-four variations the name is associated with water. It
is combined with water especially in the south and the south-west of
England. Away from this district we have the name Sally Walker, in
Shropshire, Bucks, Yorkshire, Scotland, and Ireland; the name Sally
Salter in Yorkshire and Lincoln; the names Sally Sander in Penzance,
Polly Sanders in Liverpool, and so forth. Obviously, Sally Waters is the
oldest form of the name. This view is accepted by Mrs. Gomme, who was,
however, at a loss to account for the wide use of the name Sally Waters.
But, in classing the variations of words of the game according to the
reasonableness of their contents, she placed foremost as most meaningful
the verses that hailed from Dorsetshire, Somerset, and Devonshire, where
the form Sally Waters is in use. It is to this district, therefore, that
we must turn for the origin of the game of _Sally Waters_.
On turning to the history of the British past in these districts, we
find that the Romans when they came to Bath found this spot far famed
for its waters. The name by which they knew the place was _Aquæ Solis_,
but the word _Solis_ did not stand for the sun as a male divinity, but
for _Sul_, the presiding female divinity of the place. For the Roman
temple built at Bath was dedicated to the goddess Sulis-Minerva, and the
name Sul, both with and without the name of Minerva, occurs among the
noted inscriptions.[38] It was a common practice with the Romans to
couple the name of one of their own divinities with that of a local
divinity, and Minerva, in her capacity of a healing goddess, was here
associated with Sul, the female divinity of the waters. On the façade of
the temple a medallion is represented. Inside it is the head of a
goddess with her hair tied together over her forehead, and a crescent
moon is behind her. The moon is an emblem which is not associated with
Minerva elsewhere, and the head on the medallion must therefore
represent Sul. Sul was the presiding divinity at Bath, and an altar was
also discovered which was dedicated to the Sulevæ.
[38] Scarth, H. M., _Aquæ Solis, Notices on Roman Bath_, 1864, pp.
16 ff., 22 ff., etc.
A similar altar has been discovered at Nismes, which is dedicated to
_Suliviæ Idennicæ Minervæ_. Scarth, in his history of Roman Bath, cites
Mr. Roach Smith on these Sulevæ, who "appear to have been sylphs, the
tutelary divinities of rivers, fountains, hills, roads, villages and
other localities against whom were especially directed in the fifth and
subsequent centuries the anathemas of Christian councils, missionaries,
and princes."[39] Taking this evidence into consideration, is it
far-fetched to suggest that Sally Waters of the traditional marriage
game, which, in its most meaningful form, is still played in the
districts surrounding Bath, may be related to Sul of the waters of Bath,
and to her followers, or ministrants, the Sulevæ?
[39] _Ibid._, p. 53.
We know nothing further of Sul as far as our islands are concerned. But
in Central France a female impersonation of the sun is still called upon
as _La Soule_, and St. Solange, patron saint of Berry, who is
represented with a light over her forehead, is looked upon as heir to
her in the pantheon of Christian saints. Sulis also was a place-name in
Brittany during Roman times, situated somewhere between Auray and
Quimper. It seems probable that the site is identical with that of the
present St. Anne d'Auray, famous for its holy waters, which are still
sought in pilgrimage from far and near. The enormous stone basin into
which pilgrims are dipped, remains its most curious feature.
In Scandinavian nursery lore we also come across a _Fru Sole_, the
mother of many daughters, who sat in heaven, and across _Fru Soletopp_,
who distributed gifts. These names may be related to Sul of the waters
of Bath, or to Sally of our game, or to both. However this may be, the
wide distribution of the game known as _Sally Waters_, and its peculiar
connection with the south-west of England, induce the belief that there
is some relation between Sally of the game, and Sul, the divinity of the
waters.