February 23rd, 2010

Three years ago, my dad brought home a video from the library, The Adventures of Robin Hood. It was to be watched after we went skiing for the first time, and he assured us it was a great film. That night, quite sore, we ate enchiladas and had an incredible time watching it in our living room. As I watched, my mind started ticking. I was thinking something like this …

This is so cool …

B’le rwyt ti’n mynd, medda Ricard wrth Robin
B’le rwyt ti’n mynd, medda Dibbun wrth Dobbin
B’le rwyt ti’n mynd, medda John
B’le rwyt ti’n mynd medda’r never beyond

Rwy’n mynd tua’r coed—Llad y drwy bach, Bwa a saeth

Where are you going, says Dibbon to Dobbin
Where are you going, says Richard to Robin
Where are you going says John
Where are you going says the Never Beyond.

I’m going to the woods to hunt the wren with bow and arrow!

And what the heck did THAT mean???

So ho hey, I decided to probe a little further into the Robin Hood legend, to figure out how old it ACTUALLY was! And, now a happy three years later; I finally understand wren-hunting, I know why Robin was doing it, and I have far better insight into this fascinating hero.

For a start here (it’s SUCH a complex subject, aherm), here’s how I think the oldest extant Wren/Bird hunting song oughta look: (it’s not long)

Shelg mi an dreathan
Gabh’s y cean
Is agam’s ny cassyn
Is bheir muid i fo’n thallamh

(all spoken by Robin Hood)

Now as you likely can’t understand Gaelic/Manx, here’s the probationary translation:

I’ve hunted the wren
You take the head
And the feet are mine
And we’ll bear it into the earth.

(There is a tune for this, btw)

Now, this isn’t exactly the normal way that wren/bird hunting songs proceed!

Usually, what goes on is, several fellows go out, kill a bird, and then discuss what they will do with it in a ridiculous doggerel:

Let’s go hunting, said Rickety-Rockety,
Let’s go hunting, said Robbety-Bobbety
Let’s go hunting, said Johnny Malone
Let’s go hunting, said everyone.

What shall we shoot at?
Shoot at a crow
Bang! Bang!
Dead! Dead!
How do we get him home?
Borrow a cart
How’ll we get him in?
Up! Up!
Take off the wheels
Push! Push!
How shall we cook him?
Boil him in a pot
How he’s done
Let’s eat him
Smack! Smack!
(Arkansas version, very modern)

The crow instead of wren reminds me of this nursery rhyme:

Robin a Bobbin bent his bow
Shot at a pigeon and killed a crow!

Or

All in a row, a bendy bow
Shoot at a pigeon and kill a crow
Shoot again and kill a wren …

In fact, in certain songs, it could be an owl, or, in a German song, a cuckoo being hunted by a young man!

And this is a typical explanation of what went on at wren-hunts:

‘On a certain day of the year a wren was caught and killed. It was carried round by a singing procession of men or boys, in a decorated receptacle, from house to house, its feathers, in exchange for food or coins, being distributed to be worn as protective charms or luck-bringing amulets, or to be kept in houses and fishing boats for the same purpose. The body of the bird was afterwards buried to the singing of ‘dirges’, formerly in the churchyard with circular dances, but latterly on the seashore or in any convenient place of waste ground.’

A Second Manx Scrapbook, W W Gill

However, there seems to be another Manx tradition in which two people bury the wren/hen after hunting it:

‘In the days when it was a truly ritual observance, the Wren was buried with all solemnity, by torchlight at night, to the accompaniment of singing, dancing and ‘keening’. The song and dance were both performed by men and boys, but one of these was dressed as a woman, and another, who actually buried the Wren, either wore a mask or had his face blackened. The ‘keening’ was done by the women-folk of the neighbourhood, who had to remain outside the churchyard wall, and keep their heads covered. In its passage down the years, most of this ritual, and all of its solemnity, has been lost …’

Now, the guy dressed as a woman; strange? Indeed! In fact something’s desperately awry here. This is illustrated by some OTHER Manx folklore … concerning the exact same character, who is commonly known as the Fool or Jockey, at least in English/Scottish/Irish mummer’s plays.