To think more should be made of our local myths, folklore and traditions

[Feelingathomenow]

Britain, and indeed the whole of the western world, seems to be becoming increasingly divided. Political ideologies v political ideology, Religion against religion, race against race, sex against sex.

For a society to be strong, it needs common values, common beliefs and common rituals. It needs shared stories we can relate to and make reference to.

This is where myths and traditions have always played a vital part. Britain is full of local stories that people have all eagerly shared, stories everyone knew that brought people together. story telling is so very important to humanity and always has been. Traditions where everyone played their part either as participator or spectator, either way it brought a community together, these kinds of rituals have proven benefits for all.

People in Devon and Cornwall always knew about the pixies and people round here often blame/thank the Pixies for good/bad luck. We have the Tar barrels every November which provides a focus for people, newer traditions referencing the old, like the pirate festival, celebrations around the landing of William of Orange etc. People talk about hairy hands grabbing the steering wheel of your car on a certain road, people know about Kitty Jays grave where fresh flowers appear on the grave of a suicide victim buried at cross roads even if your back is turned for a second or the Devil riding out across the moors with his hell hounds.

Many of these myths and legends have made it into some of the most popular stories, The hell hounds on Dartmoor made it into the hounds of the Baskerville (thanks to Doyle’s coach driver (a mr Baskerville) when he visited Dartmoor.obviously the Fantastic JK Rowling has introduced Dobies and Boggarts to children far beyond Scotland/East of England respectively. People across the world read these stories

So should we be talking about these things more, esp in schools to give common stories of Britain (or wherever you live) not so tied to the big religions or political ideologies, things that do however, fulfil the need for common stories and rituals based in the landscape of where people live? Should more be done to encourage everyone to take part in local traditions to bring communities together? Also interested to hear of any local legends/traditions etc.

As the saying goes You ain't seen nothing yet!

Thought provoking post👍 fascinated by folklore..recenctly reading about Halloween traditions was v interesting. Living in a big city those tales really aren't part of modern life or just forgotten... always surprised those countryside traditions exist and hope that continues.

Yes, I’m exactly the same, finally feel home. Sometimes wonder if it’s linked to past lives.

Who are your favourite artists?

Great that you have managed to get the kids involved.

Yes, I think there’s just a total disconnect living in cities. I suspect it’s in cities where the most benefit would be derived from sharing the legends, myths and traditions as it’s in cities where this sense of connection is often at its most lacking

I’ve ALWAYS believed I’ve been here before!!
luckily found quite a big folk scene here, little folk clubs dotted about. Some great local acts are Suthering (check out their video for the song Maggie), windjammer, Jon Fazal, Alex Hart but also all the ladies from lady maisery are extremely talented! Whereabouts are you? Might be able to give you some gig recommendations!

This is interesting to me too, although I'm in the north.

I was always drawn north, as a child I had a fascination for all things Scots and Norse. It was only when I was in my forties, when a cousin did some ancestry tracing, that I learned of an Orcadian and Norwegian heritage. So I do think that culture is in my blood.

There is a very active folk music scene where I live, in East Lancashire. This thread has prompted me to want to dig deeper to look into local myths, legends and storytelling traditions.

My family was from Lincoln, and when I was little, my nan would take me to see the Lincoln imp in the cathedral. She often told me tales about the imp The imp appears in a lot of Lincoln things. There is even a shop that sells 'captured' imps from around the area a bit like the York ghosts.

Seconded!

MasterBeth, you seem very cross. Most people on here are only enthusing about the fascinating and rich culture of the British Isles - which has been forgotten to a large extent. I don't see what's so annoying about that!

Wassailing is a good example, along with May Day celebrations, harvest festivals (my local church when I was a child was decorated amazingly - I can picture it now!), rogation services (blessing the plough - an example of the Church taking on semi-pagan functions from far back in prehistory).

All good stuff which reminds us of our place in the natural world.

Folk music is a great way into this for children. So much culture is enshrined in folk songs and dances - some of it quite mystical and symbolic - such as John Barleycorn. Plus sea-shanties (recalling Britain's seafaring history) and work songs etc.

Love this thread @Feelingathomenow

King arthers stone in gower South Wales. Can't seem to attach a picture.

King arther found a stone in his shoe and threw it over the hills. The stone grew and grew from the might of been touched by his hand. All the other rocks lifted it up in admiration.

If your a single woman and take it a gift of shortbread on a full moon and circle it 3 times on your hands and knees an apparition of your one true love will appear.

It was apparently struck by lightning in the 1970's so split it in half.

In reality i think it's an ancient grave but not sure.

Ha ha, yes like this myth.
Seriously though, I agree with OP and enjoyed the myth country series.

If you like these songs, I must recommend The Great Sea Choir, they are wonderful!

It's all those secret right-wing dog whistles folks, I think we've been rumbled, darn it.

Anyway, I'm just listening to the Three Ravens podcast, thank you to whoever recommended it upthread. It's fascinating, and loads to keep me entertained.

I’ve just started listening to the Three Ravens podcast too. Fantastic - just what I was looking for. Perfect for the long winter evenings ahead

I completely agree that folklore and local myths and legends bring a sense of connectedness, and wish it was taught in a more widespread and accessible manner in the UK. When I was a child, we learned some myths and folklore at school but these were predominantly from Ancient Greece, Rome and Egypt or Hinduism (with the prominent exception of King Arthur and Merlin). When I was a teenager, I felt sad that, despite my heritage, I knew very little about Irish, Scottish or English myths beyond the Arthurian myths, which I loved, and some popular faerie stories. Everything I knew beyond that was inspired by folklore, but was modern fiction (which is very enjoyable and something I love, but it's a separate thing in my mind!).

I'm a modern pagan and feel a great sense of connection and rootedness from my religion, which includes beliefs and practices from some of the ancient cultures mentioned above, but which also relies strongly on the folklore, traditions and ancient paganism of the UK and Ireland.

I saw at least one person mention upthread that they felt English folklore and myths are less accessible than Irish, Scottish and Welsh myth (apologies that I've forgotten who it was that mentioned this so can't tag!). I therefore wanted to recommend the book "Gods and Goddesses of England" by the delightful Rachel Patterson, which you might find interesting. The book is part of the Pagan Portals series published by Collective Ink, which is a huge series of short books (each about 100 pages) written by pagan authors to introduce topics of interest to beginners. There are books about certain Gods, types of magic, holidays, different spiritual paths, and much more. There's also this website, Albion and Beyond, which has detailed information about the Gods and Goddesses of Britain (including England) and what we know about them from archaeological finds.

Rachel Patterson also runs a weekly live chat on Friday mornings on Facebook and YouTube, and she does regular talks and events about paganism, folklore and witchcraft. She's especially passionate about the myths and pagan practices that come from England because she too feels this can be overlooked as people might be more familiar with myths from other British nations. She runs the Pagan Portals Podcast, which releases new material twice a month and is excellent. (I am not she, but think she deserves a loud mention for the work she does in making a lot of this accessible to people who otherwise wouldn't know where to look)

Apologies for such a long post, but thought some of these links may interest some on this thread!

I couldn’t agree more. Tentatively, I will say that it seems to be this perpetual rhetoric that the cultural and folkloric history of the British Isles is unimportant in such a global culture. It’s probably seen as racist or colonising to discuss local folklore in schools these days.

😀Totally!

Speaking as an Irish person, that is a completely unfamiliar outlook to me.

I'm sorry, Master B, I just think you're missing the point.

No-one will argue with you over the global popularity of jazz etc (though personally I cannot stand jazz but that's irrelevant - rock I quite like). It's not a competition, though! Just because those genres dominate the globe doesn't mean other, local, more niche ones have to be put down or even compared to them. The point of this thread is about local things (for local people!) - the specific folklore of an area. All countries have this - and the UK is no exception, but fit seems to be a problem for some people - they sort of cringe at anything specifically British (or English, really) - in case others might think they're Tories or uncool. Very immature! I've worked in the cultural and education sector all my life, and this view has been prevalent there - I hope it's changing.

However, I don't think sensible people think like this.

Reading your posts, I just cannot fathom why the undoubted popularity (not to say, world-domination) of jazz and rock has anything to do with the value of knowing about British folklore? You can do both. On the other hand, you don't have to be interested in these things - but please don't try to suggest that they have no value. I can't appreciate jazz but I realise that's my problem - I would never try to disparage its value.

I think we should value our own culture, as other nations do - and it's fantastic to travel and enjoy other national and local traditions and customs. I'd hate everywhere to be the same!

May I ask is this because children in Ireland are more likely to learn of local folklore and traditions in school?

I remember from my own school days that we had a whole month of learning all about Kenya and specifically the Maasai Mara, which was a lot of fun and very interesting, but not once do I remember being taught about local history, folklore and traditions. It seemed okay to learn about African folklore but not our own. I wonder why there wasn’t for a mixture of learning. I don’t think it was just my school to be fair either.

Well, everyone explaining their reticence due to how this culture can interact with England's history of resistance to immigration has been told they're wrong.

Sorted! Countrywide folklore renaissance any day now!

Eh?

I like Kevin Costley-Holland's books, especially on East Anglian folklore. Also Folklore Thursday's collections, published by Batsford, and Rosalind Kerwen's beautiful books of Celtic and Arthurian legends, also by Batsford.

I recently wrote a book which featured folklore as part of the plot and I was ASTONISHED by the number of reviews saying 'I nearly didn't read this because I don't like folklore'... Don't like folklore??!! What is there to 'not like'?

It's hardly bloodthirsty murders - these are stories told by a community, often to make sense of natural occurrences or meteorological peculiarities. They are a glimpse into the beliefs of the past.

Yes - that is weird. It's like saying "I don't like history".

Possibly some people don't know what it actually is, and are assuming it's what MN users like to call 'woo'.

It's a huge and fascinating subject, for me. I'm really interested in the persistence of folk-beliefs into the modern age, and in the linguistic clues. Two examples:

My granny was horrified in the 80s when I bought a pair of green shoes - to her, green was a colour which brought bad luck. And (I love green) when I asked a shop assistant, years later, why it was hard to find green shoes, she told me that 'people don't like green - it's bad luck.' It's interesting to see that the colour still held some kind of meaning/power from prehistory, right up to our own era.

Also - there are roads and tracks called 'Puck Street' or 'Buckle Street', or similar all over the country and this is because the word Puck, or Bug, or Bog (from an ancient source) indicated some kind of being with magical (not always good) powers. It's was often applied to Roman roads by the Saxon invaders who couldn't believe that humans had built them and attributed them to supernatural beings.

THIS (and so much more) is what I find interesting about folklore! The history of places and people which tells us so much about attitudes and life in the past. How can anyone not be interested in it? 🤔😊 They're missing so much.