British Goblins: Welsh Folk-lore, Fairy Mythology, Legends and TraditionsSikes, Wirt
History
British Goblins: Welsh Folk-lore, Fairy Mythology, Legends and Traditions
Sikes, Wirt
Folklore -- Wales; Goblins -- Wales; Mythology, Celtic -- Wales; Mythology, Welsh; Wales -- Social life and customs
The only other instance given by the Prophet Jones as from the depths
of his own personal experience, is more vague in its particulars than
the preceding, and happened when he had presumably grown to years of
discretion. He was led astray, it appears, by the Old Woman of the
Mountain, on Llanhiddel Bryn, near Pontypool--an eminence with which
he was perfectly well acquainted, and which 'is no more than a mile
and a half long and about half a mile broad.' But as a result of his
going astray, he came to a house where he had never been before; and
being deeply moved by his uncanny experience, 'offered to go to
prayer, which they admitted.... I was then about twenty-three years of
age and had begun to preach the everlasting gospel. They seemed to
admire that a person so young should be so warmly disposed; few young
men of my age being religious in this country then. Much good came
into this house and still continues in it.... So the old hag got
nothing by leading me astray that time.'
CHAPTER IX.
Piety as a Protection from the Seductions of the Tylwyth
Teg--Various Exorcisms--Cock-crowing--The Name of
God--Fencing off the Fairies--Old Betty Griffith and her
Eithin Barricade--Means of Getting Rid of the Tylwyth
Teg--The Bwbach of the Hendrefawr Farm--The Pwca'r Trwyn's
Flitting in a Jug of Barm.
I.
The extreme piety of his daily walk and conversation may have been
held as an explanation why the Prophet Jones saw so few goblins
himself, and consequently why most of his stories of the fairies are
related as coming from other people. The value of a general habit of
piety, as a means of being rid of fairies, has already been mentioned.
The more worldly exorcisms, such as the production of a black-handled
knife, or the turning one's coat wrongside out, are passed over by the
Prophet as trivial; but by the student of comparative folk-lore, they
are not deemed unimportant. The last-mentioned exorcism, by the way,
is current among the Southern negroes of the United States. The more
spiritual exorcisms are not less interesting than the others, however.
First among these is ranked the pronunciation of God's name; but the
crowing of a cock is respectfully mentioned, in connection with the
story of our Saviour. Jones gives many accounts which terminate in the
manner of the following: Rees John Rosser, born at Hendy, in the
parish of Llanhiddel, 'a very religious young man,' went one morning
very early to feed the oxen in a barn called Ysgubor y Llan, and
having fed them lay himself upon the hay to rest. While he lay there
he heard the sound of music approaching, and presently a large company
of fairies came into the barn. They wore striped clothes, some in
gayer colours than the others, but all very gay; and they all danced
to the music. He lay there as quiet as he could, thinking they would
not see him, but he was espied by one of them, a woman, who brought a
striped cushion with four tassels, one at each corner of it, and put
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