The Traditional Games of England, Scotland, and Ireland (Vol 2 of 2): With Tunes, Singing-Rhymes, and Methods of Playing etc.Gomme, Alice Bertha
General
The Traditional Games of England, Scotland, and Ireland (Vol 2 of 2): With Tunes, Singing-Rhymes, and Methods of Playing etc.
Gomme, Alice Bertha
Folklore -- Great Britain; Games -- Great Britain
Twelve children in the Perth
version stand in a row, another stands a little in advance, who is
called “daughter Jane,” another is the “mother.” Three more stand in
front of the twelve and are the “Dukes.” These dance forwards and
backwards before “Jane and her mother,” singing the first lines. The
mother answers. When they sing the last line the “Dukes” choose one of
the twelve, and sing the words over again until all the twelve are on
the “Dukes’” side. Then they try to carry off “Jane” and the “mother,”
and run until they are caught. In the Clapham school version (Mrs.
Herbertson), the “Duke” tries to drag by force the chosen girl across a
handkerchief or other boundary, if successful she goes on his side. In
the Cornwall version the “Dukes” retire and consult before choosing a
girl, then select one. When all have been taken they bring them back in
the same order to the “mother,” saying the last verse, and the “mother”
replies in the last two lines. In the London version, the “Dukes” take
the girl and rob her, then bring her back. In the Fochabers version
(Rev. W. Gregor), the two “sailors” join hands crosswise, walk backwards
and forwards, and sing the words. The girl crosses over to them when
chosen. When all are chosen the “sailors” bring all the girls before the
mother, singing the last verse. The mother searches the daughters one
after the other, finding neither money nor ring. She then chases the
sailors, and the one caught becomes mother next game.
(_c_) This game has been said by previous collectors, and at first sight
may be thought to be merely a variant of “Three Dukes,” but it will on
investigation, I think, prove to be more than this. In the first place,
the obvious borrowing from the “Three Dukes” of a few words, as in
versions Nos. 29, 30, and 31, tells against the theory of identity of
the two games. Then the form of marriage custom is different, though it
is still marriage under primitive conditions of society. The personal
element, entirely absent from the “Three Dukes,” is here one of the
principal characteristics. The marriage is still one without previous
courtship or love between two individuals, but the parental element is
present here, or at any rate that of some authority, and a sanction is
given, although there is no trace of any actual ceremony. The young men,
or suitors, apparently desire a particular person in marriage, and
although there is no wooing of that person a demand is made for her.
These suitors are, I think, making the demand on the part of another
rather than for themselves. They are the ambassadors or friends of the
would-be bridegrooms, and are soliciting for a marriage in which
purchase money or dowry is to be paid. The mention of “gold and silver”
in many versions, and the line, “she must be sold,” is important.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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