circle games. They are, in fact, developments of these earlier forms.
Thus the "Fox and Goose" and "Hen and Chickens" type is played
practically in line form, and belongs to the contest group, while the
"Witch" type is probably representative of the circle form. But they
have assumed a dramatic character of a very definite shape. This, as
will be seen later on, is of considerable importance in the evidence of
the ancient origin of games; but I will only point out here that this
group has allowed the dramatic element to have full scope, with the
result that a pure dialogue has been evolved, while custom and usage has
to some extent been pushed in the background.
The next group is the arch form of game. This I divide into two
kinds--those ending in circle or dance form, and those ending with a
contest between two leaders. Of this first form there are several
examples. "London Bridge" (i. pp. 333-50) is possibly the most
interesting. Two players form the arch, all the others follow in single
file. The words of the story are sung while all the players run under or
through the arch. The players are all caught in turn in the arch, and
then stand aside; their part is finished. In some cases the game begins
by all forming a circle, and the verses are sung while the circle dances
round. The arch is then formed, and all run through it in single file,
and are caught in turn by being imprisoned between the lowered arms.
Also, we find the circle-dancing following the arch ceremony. In my
account of this game (vol. i. pp. 341-50), I have drawn attention to the
incident of a prisoner being taken as indicative of the widespread
custom known as the foundation sacrifice, because of the suggested
difficulty of getting the bridge to stand when the prisoner is taken. I
have given a few instances of the custom, and the tradition that the
stones of London Bridge were bespattered with the blood of little
children, and that the mortar was tempered with the blood of beasts. In
stories where a victim is offered as a foundation-sacrifice, the victim,
often a prisoner, is sometimes forced to enter a hole or cavity left on
purpose in the building, which is then walled or built up, enclosing the
victim. In some, recourse to lottery is had; in others, as at Siam,
mentioned by Tylor (_Primitive Culture_, i. 97), it was customary, when
a new city gate was being erected, for a number of officers to lie in
wait and seize the first four or eight persons who happened to pass by,
and who were then buried alive under the gate-posts. After these customs
of human sacrifice had ceased to be enforced, animals were slaughtered
instead; and later still the ceremony would be performed, as a ceremony,
by the incident being gone through, the person or animal seized upon
being allowed to escape the extreme penalty by paying a money or other
forfeit; and it may be this later stage which is represented in the
game. The dancing in circle form, which belongs, I think, to the
original method of play, shows us a ceremony in which people of one
place are concerned, and would supersede an older line form of game, if
there were one, when the custom showed a real victim being taken from
outsiders by force, who would resist the demand. The circle dance would
follow as the completion of the ceremony. The "line" form would also be
the first portion of the game to disappear when once its meaning was
lost.
The game, "Hark! the Robbers" (i. 192-99) may be a portion of "London
Bridge" made into a separate game by the part of the building being
lost, or the children who play both games may have mixed up the method
of playing; but as it ends in some places with a contest and in some
with a dance, it is difficult to say which is right.
"Thread the Needle," played by all players running through an arch and
then dancing round, is a game well illustrated by customs obtaining on
Shrove Tuesday in different parts of the country. All the children play
"Thread the Needle" in the streets of Trowbridge, Bradford-on-Avon,
South Petherton, Evesham, besides other places, in long lines, whooping
and shouting as they run through the arches they make. After this they
proceed to the churchyard, and encompassing the church by joining hands,
dance all round it three times, and then return to their homes. Here is
the undoubted performance of what must have been an old custom,
performed at one time by all the people of the town, being continued as
an amusement of children. It was played at Evesham only on Easter
Monday, and in three other places only on Shrove Tuesday, and another
correspondent says played only on a special day. In other places where
it is played the game is not connected with a special day or season. The
circle dance does not always occur, and in some cases the children
merely run under each other's clasped hands while singing the words. In
the places above mentioned we see it as a game, but still connected with
custom. It is a pity that the words used by the children on all these
occasions should not have been recorded too. "How many Miles to Babylon"
(vol. i. pp. 231-238) may with good reason be considered a game of the
same kind. It represents apparently a gateway of a town, and a parley
occurs between the gatekeepers and those wishing to enter or leave the
town. Small gateways or entrances to fortified towns were called
needle's eyes, which were difficult to enter. But notwithstanding these
apparent identifications with the conditions of a fortified town, I
think the practice of going through the arch in this and in the previous
game relates to the custom which prevailed at festivals held during
certain seasons of the year, when people crept through holed stones or
other orifices to propitiate a presiding deity, in order to obtain some
particular favour. This would be done by a number of people on the same
occasion, and would terminate by a dance round the church or other spot
associated with sacred or religious character. "Long Duck" is another
probably almost forgotten version of this game.
"Draw a Pail of Water" (vol. i. pp. 100-108), though not quite in accord
with the arch form in its present state, is certainly one of the same
group. This game I consider to be a descendant of the custom of "well
worship." In its present form it is generally played by children
creeping under the arms of two or four others, who clasp hands and sway
backwards and forwards with the other children enclosed in them. The
swaying movement represents, I believe, the drawing of water from the
well. The incidents of the game are:--
(1) Drawing water from a well. (2) For a devotee at a well. (3)
Collecting flowers for dressing the well. (4) Making a cake for
presentation. (5) Gifts to the well [a gold ring, silver pin, and
probably a garter]. (6) Command of silence. (7) The presence of
devotee at the sacred bush. (8) The reverential attitude (indicated
by the bowing and falling on the ground).
I can now add another incident, that of the devotee creeping through a
sacred bush or tree (signified by the creeping under or getting enclosed
within the arms of the leaders). These are all incidents of primitive
well worship.
I have from many different versions pieced together the lines as they
might appear in earlier versions (i. p. 107).
This restoration, though it is far from complete, shows clearly enough
that the incidents belong to a ceremonial of primitive well worship.
Dressing holy wells with garlands and flowers is very general; cakes
were eaten at Rorrington Well, Shropshire, and offerings of pins,
buttons, and portions of the dress, as well as small articles worn on
the person, are very general; silence is enforced in many instances, and
sacred trees and bushes are to be found at nearly all holy wells.
Offerings are sometimes hung in the bushes and trees, sometimes thrown
into the well. Miss Burne records in _Shropshire Folk-Lore_ (pp. 414,
433, 434) that at Rorrington Green, in the parish of Chirbury, is a holy
well, at which a wake was celebrated on Ascension Day. The well was
adorned with green bowers, rushes, and flowers, and a maypole was set
up. The people used to walk round the hill with fife, drum, and fiddle,
dancing and frolicking as they went. They threw pins into the well for
good luck, and to prevent them from being bewitched, and they also drank
the water. Cakes were eaten. These were round flat buns, from three to
four inches across, sweetened, spiced, and marked with a cross, and were
supposed to bring good luck if kept.
Instances of similar practices at holy wells could be multiplied, and
they are exhaustively examined in my husband's book on _Ethnology in
Folk-Lore_. Halliwell records in his nursery rhymes what is perhaps the
oldest printed version of the rhyme. He says the children form a long
string, hand in hand; one stands in front as leader, two hold up their
clasped hands to form an arch, and the children pass under; the last is
taken prisoner. Though this way of playing does not appear to be used
now--no version, at least, has reached me--it is clear that the game
might be played in this way, probably as a commencement of the
ceremonial, and then the other positions might follow. Halliwell may not
have recorded it minutely or have heard of it as a whole, or the version
sent him may have been in degenerate form. It is, however, clear that
the arch form here indicates a ceremonial, and not the taking of a
prisoner.
"Oranges and Lemons" (vol. ii. pp. 25-35) is the best-known game of the
arch form, followed by the contest or tug-of-war. In this game two
players, sometimes chosen by lot, clasp hands and form an arch. They
have each a name, which is secret. One is called "Orange," the other is
"Lemon." They sing the words of the game-rhyme, and the other players
run under the arch in a long line or string. At the close of the verses
which ends with the line, "Here comes a chopper to chop off your head,"
one of the string of players is caught and is asked which she prefers,
orange or lemon. She chooses, and is told to stand behind that leader
who took that name. This is repeated until all the players have been
separately caught, have chosen their side, and are standing behind the
respective leaders, holding on to each other by clasping each other's
waists. A line is then drawn on the ground, and both sides pull; each
endeavours to drag the other over the line. The tug is generally
continued until one side falls to the ground. Now this is an undoubted
contest, but I do not think the contest is quite of the same kind as the
line game of contest and fighting. The line form is one of invaders and
invaded, and the fight is for territory. In this form it seems to me
that the contest is more of a social contest, that is, between people of
the same place, perhaps between parishes and wards of parishes, or
burghers and apprentices (townspeople) on one side, and the followers of
lords or barons (military power) on the other, or of two lords and
barons. The leaders are chosen by lot. Each leader has a "cry" or
"colour," which he calls out, and the other players run and place
themselves under the banner they choose.
In my account of this game I draw particular attention to the following
details:--The game indicates contest and a punishment, and although the
sequence is not clear, as the execution precedes the contest, that is
not of particular importance in view of the power of the old baronial
lords to threaten and execute those of their following who did not join
their armed retainers when required. All rhymes of this game deal with
saints' names and with bell ringing. Now, the only places where it would
be probable for bells to be associated with different saints' names in
one area would be the old parish units of cities and boroughs. The
bells were rung on all occasions when it was necessary to call the
people together. The "alarm" bell tolling quickly filled the open spaces
and market-places of the towns, and it is a well-known fact that serious
contests and contest games between parishes and wards of parishes were
frequent. The names "oranges" and "lemons," given to the leaders in the
game, usually considered to be the fruits of these names, are, in my
opinion, the names of the "colours" of the two rival factions.
The passing under the arch in this game is not absolutely necessary in
order that the players may exercise their choice of leaders, nor is the
"secrecy" which is observed necessary either. Even this may have its
origin in custom. It may signify the compulsory attendance of a vassal
under pain of punishment to serve one side, or the taking prisoner and
condemning to death for serving on the opponents' or losing side. An
idea is current that it represents cutting off the last person's head,
the last of the string or line of players, and in some places the last
one in the line is always caught instead of one whom the leaders choose
to enclose in their arms. Of course a "laggard" or late arrival would be
liable to suspicion and punishment, and this idea may be suggested in
the game; but I do not think that the game originates from the idea of
catching a "last" player. The passing under the arch can also be
attributed to the custom of compelling prisoners to pass under a yoke to
signify servitude, and the threat of execution would follow attempt to
escape or disobedience. Again, prisoners were offered life and freedom
on condition of joining the army of their opponents.
The other games of this method of play, "Three Days' Holiday," and "Tug
of War," are the same game under other names, with only a nominy
surviving, and the method of play. Several games entered under the title
of "Through the Needle Eye," are really the "arch" type with the "tug,"
that is the "Oranges and Lemons" game, instead of belonging to the
"Thread the Needle" or first form of arch type, as they are usually
considered. The Scottish form, described by Jamieson (ii. p. 290), is an
exception which should have been included with "Thread the Needle," to
which group it belongs. The other games, "Through the Needle Eye," have
lost a portion of their play, which probably accounts for the mixture of
name with the "Thread the Needle" games, because of both containing the
arch form. "Namers and Guessers," "Fool, Fool, come to School," "Little
Dog, I call you," practically versions of one and the same game, which I
have classed in this type because of the "tug," have an additional
element of guessing in them. The leader or namer on one side and the
guesser on the other take sides. All the players have names given them,
and it is the first business of the guesser to guess which of the
players has taken a particular name. If he guesses correctly, he takes
that player on his side; if incorrectly, he stays on the namer's side.
After he has "guessed" at all the players, the "tug" follows, and the
beaten side has further to run the gauntlet between two lines of the
successful side. This game, having all its players chosen by guessing,
by what might have been originally choosing by "lot" or by magical
powers, may have an entirely different meaning, but it is clearly a
contest game, although there is no indication as to the why or
wherefore. The punishment of "running the gauntlet" is found in the
game, which again indicates military fighting.
This group of games, though small, is perhaps one of the most indicative
of early custom, for beyond the custom which is enshrined in each
game--foundation sacrifice, well worship, &c.--it will be noticed there
is a common custom belonging to all the games of this group; this is the
procession under the arch. The fact that this common custom can also be
referred to primitive usage, confirms my view that the particular
customs in each game owe their origin to primitive usage. Mr. W. Crooke
has very kindly supplied me with some notes on this interesting subject,
and I gladly avail myself of his research:--
"In Cairo, women walk under the stone on which criminals are
decapitated, in the hope of curing ophthalmia and getting children.
They must go in silence, and left foot foremost."--Lane, _Modern
Egyptians_, i. p. 325; Hartland, _Perseus_, i. p. 163.
"Rheumatism and lumbago cured by crawling under granitic masses in
Cornwall."--Hunt, _Popular Romances_, p. 177.
"Passing children under bramble to cure rupture."--_Ibid._, pp. 412,
415.
"This cures chincough."--Aubrey, _Remains_, p. 187.
"In Scotland, sick children are passed through the great stones of
Odin at Stennis, and through a perforated monolith at Burkham, in
Yorkshire."--Rogers, _Social Life in Scotland_, i. p. 13.
"Barren women pass their hands through the holes of the Bore Stone
at Gask in order to obtain children."--_Ibid._, iii. p. 227.
"Similar rites prevail in Cyprus."--Hogarth, _Devia Cypria_, p. 48;
Gardner, _New Chapters in Greek History_, p. 172.
"This again gives rise to the use of the gateway through which
pilgrims pass to temples. Such are the Indian Torana, in this shape,
which are represented by the Torio, so common in Japan.
"The Greeks had the same, which they called Dokana ([Greek: dokana],
from [Greek: dokos], 'a beam'). With them they represented the
Dioscuri--Castor and Pollux. They are described by Plutarch."--_De
Amor. Fratr._, i. p. 36.
"Similar arches, covered with charms, were seen at Dahomi by
Burton."--_Mission to Gelele_, i. pp. 218, 286.
"Women in England creep under a gallows to get children." (I have
mislaid the reference.)
"There are many 'creeps' or narrow holes in Irish dolmens certainly
used by people, who had to creep in to worship the ghost or bring
offerings. Captives intended to be slaughtered had to creep through
such places."--Borlase, _Dolmens of Ireland_, ii. p. 554.
"Barren women pass their hands through such holes."--_Ibid._, ii. p.
650.
"A good picture of such a stone from France."--_Ibid._, ii. pp. 626,
700, 702, 707.
Mr. Albany F. Major has also kindly drawn my attention to the following
interesting passages from the sagas, which Dr. Jon Stefansson has kindly
translated as follows:--
"In old times this had been the custom of brave men, who made an
agreement (pact) that the one who lived the longest should revenge
the other's death. They were to go under three earth-sods, and that
was their oath (eiðr). This ceremony (leikr) of theirs was in this
wise, that three long earth-sods (turfs) should be cut loose. All
the ends were to be fast in the ground (adhere to it), but the coils
(bends) were to be pulled upward, so that a man might go under
them. This play Thorgeir and Thormod went through."--_Fóstbrædra
Saga_, ed. 1822, ch. i. p. 7.
"Now is spread about this report of Thorkell and his men, but
Gudmund had before told [the story] somewhat otherwise. Now that
tale seemed to those kinsmen of Thorarins somewhat doubtful, and
they said they would not put trust in it without proof, and they
claimed for themselves [to share] half the property with Thorkell,
but Thorkell thought to own it himself alone, and bade go to ordeal
after their custom. This was then the [form of] ordeal at that time,
that they should go under an earth-belt, that is, a sod [which] was
ripped up from the field. The ends of the sod must be fast in the
field, but the man who was to perform the ordeal must go thereunder.
Thorkell of the Scarf somewhat suspects whether the death of those
men can have happened in the way that Gudmund and his men had said
the latter time. Now, heathen men thought that they had no less at
stake, when they had to play such a part, than Christian men think
nowadays when ordeals are held. Then the man who went under the
earth-belt was clear if the sod fell not on him. Thorkell took
counsel with two men that they should let themselves fall out about
something or other, and be there standing near at hand when the
ordeal was being performed, and should touch the sod so hard that
all might see that they brought it down. After this the man who was
to perform the ordeal starts, and as soon as he was come under the
earth-belt those men who were set to do it sprang to meet each other
under arms, and they encounter near the bend of the sod and lie
fallen there, and the earth-belt fell down, as was to be expected.
At once men spring between them and separate them; that was easy,
because they were fighting with no risk to life. Thorkell of the
Scarf asked what people thought of the ordeal; now all his men say
that it would have done well if no one had spoilt it. Then Thorkell
took all the loose property, but the land is joined on to
Hrappstead."--_Laxdæla Saga_, ch. xviii.
"Berg gave notice of the blow for the Hunawaterthing and began the
lawsuit there. As soon as men came to the thing they tried to
arrange a settlement. Berg said that he would not take payment in
atonement, and would only be reconciled under these terms, that
Jokull should go under three earth-belts, as was then the custom
after great transgressions, 'and thus show humility towards me.'
Jokull said the trolls should take him before he thus bowed himself.
Thorstein said it was a matter for consideration, 'and I will go
under the earth-belts.' Berg said then would the matter be paid for.
The first earth-belt reached to the shoulder, the next to the
waist-belt, the third to mid-thigh. Then Thorstein went under the
first. Then said Berg: 'Now I make thee stoop like a swine, who wast
the loftiest of the Vatnsdale men.' Thorstein answers, 'That hadst
thou no need to say, but this will be the first return for those
words, that I will not go under any more.' Finnbogi said, 'That is
clearly not well said, but then not much comes in repayment for
Berg's wrong, that he gat from Jokull, if the matter shall here come
to a standstill, and everything seems to you lowly by the side of
you Vatnsdale men, and I will challenge thee, Thorstein, to
holm-gang a week hence by the stackyard which stands on the island
down before my farm at Borg.'"--_Vatnsdæla Saga_, ch. xxxiii.
These significant customs, I think, bear out my theory as to the origin
of the games played in the two methods of the arch form.
Lastly, I come to the "winding up" games. "Eller Tree" (i. p. 119) and
"Wind up the Bush Faggot" (ii. pp. 384-387), show a game in which a tree
or bush is represented, and is probably indicative of tree worship. The
tallest player represents the tree, and all the other players walk round
and round in line form, getting closer and closer each time, until all
are wound round the centre player. They call out when winding round "The
old tree gets thicker and thicker," and then jump all together, calling
out "A bunch of rags," and try and tread on each other's toes. This last
action is evidently performed from not understanding the action of
stamping, which is, without doubt, the object of the players. It is
probable that this game descends from the custom of encircling the tree
(Mr. Addy suggests the alder-tree) as an act of worship, and the
allusion to the "rags" bears at least a curious relationship to hanging
rags on sacred trees. A ceremonial of this kind would probably take
place each spring, and the stamping on the ground would be, as in "Oats
and Beans and Barley," a part of the ceremony to awake and arouse the
earth spirit to the necessity of his care for the trees under his
charge. The connection of all the players, by means of the clasped
hands, with the central figure or tree, may also be considered a means
of communicating life and action to it; the tree requiring contact with
living and moving creatures to enable it to put forth its leaves. In a
version of this game from Lincoln, called the "Old Oak Tree" (ii. p.
386), we find practically the same words and same actions, the dancing
round and jumping up and down are constant features of this game. It
remains in some degenerate versions from Scotland (_ibid._), where the
game has assumed the modern name of "Rolling Tobacco." In "Wind up the
Bush Faggot" we have again the tree or bush suggested, and the dancing
and jumping, or stamping up and down. In Shropshire it is the closing
game of any playtime, and was played before "breaking-up" at a boys'
school in Shrewsbury in 1850-1856. This tends to show that the game had
originally been played at a special time or season.