Beware of the pig!
Friday 31 October 2008 at 11:49 UTC
Hwch ddu gwta a ladi wen heb ddim pen,
Hwch ddu gwta a gipio’r ola.
Hwch ddu gwta nos g’langaea,
Lladron yn dwad tan weu sana.A tailless black sow and white lady with no head,
A tailless black sow snatches the hindmost.
A tailless black sow on winter’s eve,
Thieves coming along knitting socks.
Halloween, Samhain, Nos Galan Gaeaf … call it what you will. Have a good one, but watch out for the black sow, and go easy on the turnip wine!
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Saturday 1 November 2008 at 19:08 UTC
Have a good burning, Francis.
Saturday 1 November 2008 at 19:20 UTC
Bah! Does gen i’m stash i losgi.
Sunday 2 November 2008 at 06:11 UTC
I love Welsh poetry but now I finally admit defeat - I’ve NO IDEA what’s going on in this one!
Sunday 2 November 2008 at 10:19 UTC
Oi, d’you want an apostrophe?
Sunday 2 November 2008 at 13:00 UTC
Gadjo - On Nos Galan Gaeaf, the dead are said to appear on stiles and at footpath entrances. In some parts of Wales the ghost takes the form of a headless white lady; in the north it is usually a tailless black sow. Beacon bonfires are lit on the hillsides. Apples and potatoes are thrown into the fires for roasting, and the watchers dance around and leap through the flames for good luck.
Stones are also thrown into the fire. When the flames die down, everyone runs home to escape the clutches of the black sow. At daybreak, searchers try to find their stones. Those who succeed are guaranteed good luck for the coming year. For those who fail, bad luck or death could follow.
Tuesday 4 November 2008 at 04:42 UTC
Wow, I’m impressed, now THAT’S a folk tradition - forget rolling cheeses down hills and prancing round maypoles, Wales is where it’s at!
Tuesday 4 November 2008 at 10:25 UTC
Prancing round maypoles can be fun, though it is by comparison with some of Europe’s more robust folk traditions a bit wussy.