The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2)Frazer, James George
Religion
The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2)
Frazer, James George
Magic; Mythology; Religion; Superstition
dung-heap, drenched with water, buried in the dung-heap, and covered with
straw.(840) Similarly in Schörzingen, near Schömberg, the “Carnival
(Shrovetide) Fool” was carried all about the village on a bier, preceded
by a man dressed in white, and followed by a devil who was dressed in
black and carried chains, which he clanked. One of the train collected
gifts. After the procession the Fool was buried under straw and dung.(841)
In Rottweil the “Carnival Fool” is made drunk on Ash Wednesday and buried
under straw amid loud lamentation.(842) In Wurmlingen the Fool is
represented by a young fellow enveloped in straw, who is led about the
village by a rope as a “Bear” on Shrove Tuesday and the preceding day. He
dances to the flute. Then on Ash Wednesday a straw-man is made, placed on
a trough, carried out of the village to the sound of drums and mournful
music, and buried in a field.(843) In Altdorf and Weingarten on Ash
Wednesday the Fool, represented by a straw-man, is carried about and then
thrown into the water to the accompaniment of melancholy music. In other
villages of Swabia the part of fool is played by a live person, who is
thrown into the water after being carried about in procession.(844) At
Balwe, in Westphalia, a straw-man is made on Shrove Tuesday and thrown
into the river amid rejoicings. This is called, as usual, “Burying the
Carnival.”(845) On the evening of Shrove Tuesday, the Esthonians make a
straw figure called _metsik_ or “wood-spirit;” one year it is dressed with
a man’s coat and hat, next year with a hood and a petticoat. This figure
is stuck on a long pole, carried across the boundary of the village with
loud cries of joy, and fastened to the top of a tree in the wood. The
ceremony is believed to be a protection against all kinds of
misfortune.(846) Sometimes the resurrection of the pretended dead person
is enacted. Thus, in some parts of Swabia, on Shrove Tuesday Dr.
Iron-Beard professes to bleed a sick man, who thereupon falls as dead to
the ground; but the doctor at last restores him to life by blowing air
into him through a tube.(847) In the Harz mountains, when Carnival is
over, a man is laid on a baking-trough and carried with dirges to a grave;
but in the grave, instead of the man, a glass of brandy is placed. A
speech is delivered and then the people return to the village-green or
meeting-place, where they smoke the long clay pipes which are distributed
at funerals. On the morning of Shrove Tuesday in the following year the
brandy is dug up and the festival begins by every one tasting the brandy
which, as the phrase goes, has come to life again.(848)
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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