Balder the Beautiful, Volume I.: A Study in Magic and Religion: the Golden Bough, Part VII., The; Fire-Festivals of Europe and the Doctrine of the External SoulFrazer, James George
Religion
Balder the Beautiful, Volume I.: A Study in Magic and Religion: the Golden Bough, Part VII., The; Fire-Festivals of Europe and the Doctrine of the External Soul
Frazer, James George
Magic; Mythology; Religion; Superstition
[245] August Schleicher, _Volkstümliches aus Sonnenberg_ (Weimar, 1858),
p. 134; B. Souché, _Croyances, Présages et Traditions diverses_ (Niort,
1880), p. 11; A. Meyrac, _Traditions, Coutumes Légendes et Contes des
Ardennes_ (Charleville, 1890), p. 171; V. Fossel, _Volksmedicin und
medicinischer Aberglaube in Steiermark[2]_ (Graz, 1886), p. 124. A
correspondent, who withholds her name, writes to me that in a Suffolk
village, where she used to live some twenty or thirty years ago, "every
one pickled their own beef, and it was held that if the pickling were
performed by a woman during her menstrual period the meat would not
keep. If the cook were incapacitated at the time when the pickling was
due, another woman was sent for out of the village rather than risk what
was considered a certainty." Another correspondent informs me that in
some of the dales in the north of Yorkshire a similar belief prevailed
down to recent years with regard to the salting of pork. Another
correspondent writes to me: "The prohibition that a menstruating woman
must not touch meat that is intended for keeping appears to be common
all over the country; at least I have met with it as a confirmed and
active custom in widely separated parts of England.... It is in regard
to the salting of meat for bacon that the prohibition is most usual,
because that is the commonest process; but it exists in regard to any
meat food that is required to be kept."
[246] R. Andree, _Braunschweiger Volkskunde_ (Brunswick, 1896), p. 291.
[247] W.R. Paton, in _Folk-lore_, i. (1890) p. 524.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account