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🚪😱HAUNTED GATES & DANCING CATS😼👻
It's been a while since I've done a #folklorethursday, so here's some local, rather less well-known tales.
Demizu was once home to Toyotomi Hideyoshi's lavish palace 'Jurakudai' (聚樂第), and the area has many strange wonders.
#Kyoto #京都
It's been a while since I've done a #folklorethursday, so here's some local, rather less well-known tales.
Demizu was once home to Toyotomi Hideyoshi's lavish palace 'Jurakudai' (聚樂第), and the area has many strange wonders.
#Kyoto #京都
Kannon-ji's 'Gate of 100 Lashings' (観音寺 百叩きの門) belonged originally to the prison at Fushimi Castle (伏見城). When the castle was dismantled the doorway was gifted to the temple🏯🚪🩸😰👋
The gate is just 1 of the '7 Wonders of Demizu' (出水の七不思議).
#Kyoto #京都 #出水
The gate is just 1 of the '7 Wonders of Demizu' (出水の七不思議).
#Kyoto #京都 #出水
Before prisoners were set free they underwent a final punishment at the prison gate...a warning to stay on the straight & narrow.
They were lashed 100 times with a piece of split bamboo across the back. It was agonizing, & sometimes deadly!
Image thanks🙇♂️-bakumatsuya.com
They were lashed 100 times with a piece of split bamboo across the back. It was agonizing, & sometimes deadly!
Image thanks🙇♂️-bakumatsuya.com
👹'TOMB OF THE BEASTS'😱
In 1611, during excavation of the Takase Canal (高瀬川), Suminokura Ryōi (角倉了以) discovered a stone pagoda. Further investigation revealed that he had unearthed the tomb of the 'traitor' Toyotomi Hidetsugu (豊臣秀次 1568-95).
#folklore #Kyoto #京都
In 1611, during excavation of the Takase Canal (高瀬川), Suminokura Ryōi (角倉了以) discovered a stone pagoda. Further investigation revealed that he had unearthed the tomb of the 'traitor' Toyotomi Hidetsugu (豊臣秀次 1568-95).
#folklore #Kyoto #京都
Hidetsugu was the nephew and heir of Japan's de facto ruler, Toyotomi Hideyoshi (豊臣秀吉), but in 1595 he dramatically fell from grace and was forced to commit seppuku at Mt Kōya.
His grave became known by many names, including the "Beast's Mound" (畜生塚 "Chikushō-zuka").
His grave became known by many names, including the "Beast's Mound" (畜生塚 "Chikushō-zuka").
It is unclear why Hidetsugu was so abruptly put to death, but the most likely explanation is the unexpected birth of Hideyoshi's son in 1593.
When Hideyori (秀頼) survived his first years, Hideyoshi no longer needed an adopted heir & Hidetsugu may well have thought about a coup.
When Hideyori (秀頼) survived his first years, Hideyoshi no longer needed an adopted heir & Hidetsugu may well have thought about a coup.
Come with us on a journey to the Cornish coast, where an eccentric Victorian clergyman held the very first church harvest festival service.
A thread for #FolkloreThursday. ...
📷 Golden ears of corn in a stylised wall mural at St John the Baptist's, Allington, Wiltshire
A thread for #FolkloreThursday. ...
📷 Golden ears of corn in a stylised wall mural at St John the Baptist's, Allington, Wiltshire
In 19th century Britain, rural villages at harvest-time must have looked not unlike those same places centuries earlier, as villagers celebrated the fruits of their community's back-breaking labour with ancient, sometimes pagan customs.
In Cornwall and Devon, harvesters announced the reaping of the last head of corn by 'crying the neck'. In many parts of the country, corn dollies were crafted and imbued with magical fecund qualities. Lords of the harvest were appointed, songs sung, and suppers shared.
Happy #CloudedLeopardDay! #Sunda #cloudedleopards in #Sumatra #Borneo are declining from #palmoil and #timber #deforestation & illegal #poaching The Red List says there are 3,700-5,580 individuals alive (2020). Help them #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife palmoildetectives.com/2021/03/08/the…
#Cloudedleopards are #wildcats that live in #rainforests from the #Himalayas to SE Asia and southern #China. Considered a 'medium-sized cat', they weigh about 23 kilos. #CloudedLeopardDay #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife palmoildetectives.com/2021/01/19/asi…
Clouded #leopards get their name for their remarkable "clouds" on their coats. Their large paws make them agile climbers and hunters. Their main threat is #palmoil #deforestation. #CloudedLeopardDay2022 Help them and #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife palmoildetectives.com/2021/02/09/bra…
Happy "Owl Day"!🦉🙌
when the owl hoots
how many are left?
wildflowers
ふくろふよ鳴ばいくらの草の花
-Issa (小林一茶), 1810.
#OwlAwarenessDay #InternationalOwlAwarenessDay #owls #フクロウ #Japan #ukiyoe #浮世絵
Image thanks🙇♂️ - ukiyo-e.org & harashobo.com
when the owl hoots
how many are left?
wildflowers
ふくろふよ鳴ばいくらの草の花
-Issa (小林一茶), 1810.
#OwlAwarenessDay #InternationalOwlAwarenessDay #owls #フクロウ #Japan #ukiyoe #浮世絵
Image thanks🙇♂️ - ukiyo-e.org & harashobo.com
Through a play on words, in Japan owls have come to be celebrated as bringers of luck and relievers of suffering.
🦉'Fukurō' (梟 'owl') can be broken down into homonyms for...
🍀'luck comes' (福 'fuku' /来 'ku' /郎 'rō').
🤕'without hardship' (不 'fu' /苦労 'kurō').
#Japan #梟
🦉'Fukurō' (梟 'owl') can be broken down into homonyms for...
🍀'luck comes' (福 'fuku' /来 'ku' /郎 'rō').
🤕'without hardship' (不 'fu' /苦労 'kurō').
#Japan #梟
Owls make a regular appearance in Beniya Miyake's (紅谷三宅 @beniyamiyake) annual line-up.
Last autumn's creations were known as "owls that bring good fortune" (幸運を呼ぶミミズク)🦉😋
➡️beniyamiyake.raku-uru.jp
➡️instagram.com/beniya_miyake/
#wagashi #和菓子 #フクロウ #梟 #紅谷三宅
Last autumn's creations were known as "owls that bring good fortune" (幸運を呼ぶミミズク)🦉😋
➡️beniyamiyake.raku-uru.jp
➡️instagram.com/beniya_miyake/
#wagashi #和菓子 #フクロウ #梟 #紅谷三宅
Legend has it that just before the Norman conquest, the village of Sockburn in Durham was under siege for seven years ... by a worm.
A thread for #FolkloreThursday ...
⛪ Ruins of Sockburn church
A thread for #FolkloreThursday ...
⛪ Ruins of Sockburn church
Of course, this wasn't just your common-or-garden worm but a "monstrous venomous, and poysonous wyvern, ask, or worm, which overthrew and devoured many people in fight." The Sockburn Worm guzzled livestock, destroyed land and terrorised the locals. It also had terrible breath.
Sockburn needed a hero, but who would stand up to this ferocious creature?
Enter local nobleman Sir John Conyers. Armed with his fearsome falchion, he slew the wicked worm, freeing Sockburn from its slithering tormenter.
In return, the king made him Lord of Sockburn.
Enter local nobleman Sir John Conyers. Armed with his fearsome falchion, he slew the wicked worm, freeing Sockburn from its slithering tormenter.
In return, the king made him Lord of Sockburn.
At an inn near Rhoscrowther in the 1980s, a culm fire was said to have burned continuously for 300 years.
Culm fires once warmed houses all across south Pembrokeshire and it was said that if a fire went out, it would bring bad luck.
#FolkloreThursday
📷 St David's, Manordeifi
Culm fires once warmed houses all across south Pembrokeshire and it was said that if a fire went out, it would bring bad luck.
#FolkloreThursday
📷 St David's, Manordeifi
Culm - the refuse dust from stone coal (anthracite) - was mixed with local clay or mud and formed into oblong balls 'about the bigness of a man's fist'. Wet balls were then piled into a deep grate in a pyramid shape. They made a fierce fire with no smoke but a sulphurous smell.
'A fire made of this compost in the morning will often last for a whole day without being renewed or stirred: the fires are covered over at night with a stumming of the same material, on which they feed, and in the morning require only to be stirred for instant service.' (1849)
A tale from Pakistan's region of Gilgit Baltistan for #FolkloreThursday
Once upon a time, in a village, lived a strange man. His face was half black and half white. He was also known for having the gift of second sight.
Once upon a time, in a village, lived a strange man. His face was half black and half white. He was also known for having the gift of second sight.
Not only could he see beyond the veil, but could move fairly back and forth between our world and the otherworld. He was known for his friendships with the fairies, he used to spend a lot of time chit-chatting with them, conversing with them, and learning from them.
They even used to share food, just like family. One day, he made a mistake. He took his pet dog along. Now fairies are afraid of dogs. When the fairies saw the dog, they cried and screamed and ran away. However, one brave fairy came up to him. To reproach him, she slapped him.
🐸😼FROLICKING ANIMALS & AN ANCIENT TEA FIELD🍵🌿
The Chōjū-jinbutsu-giga (鳥獣人物戯画), a set of four scrolls depicting anthropomorphic animals, is considered by many -though it features no words- to be the earliest form of manga (漫画) in Japan.
#Kyoto #Japan #京都 #folklore
The Chōjū-jinbutsu-giga (鳥獣人物戯画), a set of four scrolls depicting anthropomorphic animals, is considered by many -though it features no words- to be the earliest form of manga (漫画) in Japan.
#Kyoto #Japan #京都 #folklore
Kōzan-ji's (高山寺) precious Chōju-jinbutsu-giga (鳥獣人物戯画 'Scrolls of Animals Frolicking as Humans') gently makes fun of religion, the court, and the human condition. Monks and nobles are depicted as rollicking rabbits, frogs, monkeys, cats & other animals.
#Kozanji #高山寺
#Kozanji #高山寺
The 4 scrolls are thought to have been created by the artist-monk Toba Sōjō (鳥羽僧正 1053–1140), though the 3rd & 4th (in notably different styles) may well date to the 13thC.
Certainly Toba completed paintings very similar in style during his lifetime.
#folklorethursday #Japan
Certainly Toba completed paintings very similar in style during his lifetime.
#folklorethursday #Japan
Legend has it that the church at Rhoscrowther is built over the grave of its 6th-century founder, St Decuman.
But that’s not the only legend about this place. In Welsh Rhoscrowdder means the crwth player’s moor. Who could this ancient musician have been?
#thread #FolkloreThursday
But that’s not the only legend about this place. In Welsh Rhoscrowdder means the crwth player’s moor. Who could this ancient musician have been?
#thread #FolkloreThursday
The crwth is one of the oldest traditional instruments in Wales. It’s a type of bowed lyre, and was hugely important throughout Welsh history. It’s mentioned in the 10th-century laws of Hywel Dda, and in 1176, at the first ever Eisteddfod, there was a crwth playing contest.
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Cerdd dafod (literally dance of the tongue) was a form of singing with crwth accompaniment, which flourished in Wales from the beginning of the 14th century to the end of the 16th century. The arrival of the fiddle called time on the crwth.
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#FolkloreThursday Thread: In Serbia in the past people lived in extended families called "zadruga". When grain needed to be sown, the family would choose one man to do all the sowing. He had to abstain from sex from that moment until all the seeds were sown...
Sowing (spreading of seeds) is here directly linked with ejaculation (spreading of semen). Male reproductive energy which is usually used to impregnate a woman has to be during sowing period preserved and used to impregnate the Earth...
Once a man finished sowing grain seeds, it was female fertile energy of the "Mother Earth" which then turned each grain seed into a grain plant full of new grain seeds...Slavs believed that this fertile energy was taken away from the "Mother Earth" when the grain was harvested...
@daire_lawlor It's not a super exact science, but here are some things that have made a significant difference for me. In terms of getting more eyes on your work in social media:
-make use of all the promo hashtags you can find~
-RT and QRT all your old stuff on a regular basis, like 3x a day
-make use of all the promo hashtags you can find~
-RT and QRT all your old stuff on a regular basis, like 3x a day
@daire_lawlor In terms of getting more eyes and clients on your work in general:
-observe what is received well/not received well in your work, and hone in on the themes or visuals that seem to be enchanting ppl more
(this is only in terms of your professional/promotion work, I think it's-
-observe what is received well/not received well in your work, and hone in on the themes or visuals that seem to be enchanting ppl more
(this is only in terms of your professional/promotion work, I think it's-
@daire_lawlor -important to keep a space for yourself where you're doing whatever tf you want regardless of whether it gains an audience or not)
-Having a strong idea of what you want to communicate seems to work best, be that a social topic you explore regularly or a theme/genre
-Having a strong idea of what you want to communicate seems to work best, be that a social topic you explore regularly or a theme/genre
CHRISTMAS IN WALES: A THREAD 🎄🏴
"One of the most curious customs which was once in vogue about Christmastime was the procession known as Mari Lwyd, a man wearing the skeleton of a horse’s head decked with ribbons and rosettes."
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#FolkloreThursday #Wales #Christmas
"One of the most curious customs which was once in vogue about Christmastime was the procession known as Mari Lwyd, a man wearing the skeleton of a horse’s head decked with ribbons and rosettes."
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#FolkloreThursday #Wales #Christmas
I'll be updating this thread with lots of Welsh folklore as we count down to Christmas, sources to follow. The Mari Lwyd photo above gets used a lot this time of year, it was originally taken for one of my stories in South Wales Evening Post many moons ago. Nadolig llawen!
Christmas in Wales:
The Mari Lwyd (the man wearing the skeleton of a horse’s head) "was enveloped in a large white sheet and proceeded round the houses, followed by a merry procession, singing songs, playing merry pranks & collecting Christmas boxes."
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#FolkloreThursday #Wales
The Mari Lwyd (the man wearing the skeleton of a horse’s head) "was enveloped in a large white sheet and proceeded round the houses, followed by a merry procession, singing songs, playing merry pranks & collecting Christmas boxes."
2/
#FolkloreThursday #Wales
What people don't understand is that Big Bird is a represenation of Veðrfaðir, who sits atop Yggdrasil, the World Tree of Norse Myth, and quarrels endlessly with Níðhǫggr, the dragon who gnaws at Yggdrasil's roots. In this essay I will describe the allegorical meaning of
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Big Bird, whose kindliness sweeps across Sesame Street the way that the winds caused by the flapping of Veðrfaðir's wings sweep across Miðgarðr, and Oscar the Grouch, who as the parallel of Níðhǫggr gnaws at the foundation of Sesame Street with his grouchiness.
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Where it gets really interesting is that Veðrfaðir was an Odin parallel: Odin sent his two ravens, Huginn & Muninn, "Thought" and "Memory," out to observe the world and bring back news. Veðrfaðir had the falcon Veðrfǫlnir ("storm-pale" or "wind-witherer") do the same.
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If you'd like a Halloween tale of local townsfolk resisting religious change, secretive midnight ceremonies and folklore of uncertain origin, a fine example would be the hilltop fires of Hallowtide after the Reformation. A #FolkloreThursday thread:
The tumultuous times would have seen local customs and practises swept away, decried as 'superstition'. There are records of isolated resistance - buried statues and altar items, which gained talismanic or protective status - but some acts were more widespread.
All Souls Day was a time for praying for the souls of loved ones in purgatory and of ringing the church bells to comfort the souls. Protestantism rejected purgatory and deemed the bell-ringing superstitious, thus the praying and ringing was outlawed in 1559.
Thread: Homer's "ASPHODEL MEADOW" (ἀσφοδελὸν λειμῶνα), "where the spirits of the dead dwell" (Od. 24.14), could be a result of an ancient confusion between ἀσφόδελος (the plant name) and σφοδελός, or rather σποδελός, meaning "ashen"... #FolkloreThursday
The Ancient Greek word "σποδός" is regularly used in Greek poetry for the ashes of the dead, and for the ashes used in the act of mourning for the dead. It is also commonly used in funerary epigrams for the ashes of the dead contained in a vessel, in the earth...
The Hades (as in land of the dead) was always portrayed as a dark, gloomy, and mirthless place. So the translation of the "dead wondering through asphodel meadows" as "dead wondering through ash-filled meadows" fits the context well...
🪄ABE-NO-SEIMEI🦊
Abe-no-Seimei (安倍晴明 921-1005) is often thought of as the 'Merlin of Japan'.
Celebrated as Japan’s most successful onmyōji (陰陽師), Seimei served 6 emperors, & thanks to a prominent career and long (sickness free) life came to be viewed as a magical figure.
Abe-no-Seimei (安倍晴明 921-1005) is often thought of as the 'Merlin of Japan'.
Celebrated as Japan’s most successful onmyōji (陰陽師), Seimei served 6 emperors, & thanks to a prominent career and long (sickness free) life came to be viewed as a magical figure.
Long after he had died, Seimei was the subject of countless stories and miraculous legends.
As an onmyōji (陰陽師) Seimei worked in the palace's onmyō-ryō (陰陽寮 'Bureau of Yin-Yang Divination'), responsible for geomantic and spiritual matters.
#folklorethursday #Japan #Kyoto
As an onmyōji (陰陽師) Seimei worked in the palace's onmyō-ryō (陰陽寮 'Bureau of Yin-Yang Divination'), responsible for geomantic and spiritual matters.
#folklorethursday #Japan #Kyoto
Amongst his many tasks was onmyō (Yin-Yang divination), tenmon (天文-astronomy), koyomi (暦-calendar making), & rōkoku (漏刻-time keeping).
Seimei was charged with protecting the court by predicting future events, something he became so adept at that he was in constant demand.
Seimei was charged with protecting the court by predicting future events, something he became so adept at that he was in constant demand.
Bush Spirits and other Beings of the Wild occupy a central role in the folklore of most African peoples. They are also one of our favorite topics here at MA 😊
For #FolkloreThursday, here’s a thread of MA threads on this topic:
For #FolkloreThursday, here’s a thread of MA threads on this topic:
#FolkloreThursday
First, a short invocation by yours truly 😊
First, a short invocation by yours truly 😊
#FolkloreThursday
Beings of the Wild are invoked in the opening of the Myth of the Bagre.
Beings of the Wild are invoked in the opening of the Myth of the Bagre.
#FolkloreThursday Thread:
Q: "Which way to turn myself I know not?"
A: "If you worship the gods, right-hand wise, I apprehend."
Ever wondered why "clockwise" means "circle to the right" and "anti clockwise" means "circle to the left"?
Cause the original clocks were sundials
Q: "Which way to turn myself I know not?"
A: "If you worship the gods, right-hand wise, I apprehend."
Ever wondered why "clockwise" means "circle to the right" and "anti clockwise" means "circle to the left"?
Cause the original clocks were sundials
You can make a sundial by sticking a stick in the ground, and drawing a circle around it. As the sun moves from east to west, which is in the northern hemisphere "to the right" the shadow made by the sundial stick will move in the opposite direction, to the left...
But by doing that it will draw "rightward" circle around the sundial stick, with the stick, and the sun, always "on the right" side...This movement eventually became known as clockwise, but really it is "sunwise"...
Tamra Maew (The Treatise of Cats) is an illustrated Thai manuscript that consists of "auspicious" cat types (possibly serves as breeding standard). Each cat picture is accompanied by a poetic verse that describes its characteristics.
A feline thread for #FolkloreThursday 1/10
A feline thread for #FolkloreThursday 1/10
The Treatise of Cats is believed to be originated from the Ayutthaya period, but the most extant specimens came from the 19th Century. It is a class of samut khoi, a folding book manuscript widely used in many Buddhist cultures.
Below are examples of the verses in English. 2/10
Below are examples of the verses in English. 2/10
Ninlarat ("Dark Sapphire")
"As the name, the breed. Dark Sapphire,
Perfect shiny black form,
Teeth, eyes, claws, tongue, black as the body,
And a tapering tail to the end, running back to touch the head." 3/10
"As the name, the breed. Dark Sapphire,
Perfect shiny black form,
Teeth, eyes, claws, tongue, black as the body,
And a tapering tail to the end, running back to touch the head." 3/10
**SANTU JUANNE in Sardinia**
Thread about the festivity of Saint John (24th of June) and summer solstice in Sardinia: divination and the ritual of "companionship". #FolkloreThursday #Folklore #SardinianFolklore #Sardinia #Sardegna San Giovanni
Thread about the festivity of Saint John (24th of June) and summer solstice in Sardinia: divination and the ritual of "companionship". #FolkloreThursday #Folklore #SardinianFolklore #Sardinia #Sardegna San Giovanni
Saint John (Santu Juanne) falls by Christian tradition on the 24th of June. It's not a casual day, in fact it's very close to the summer solstice, usually celebrated by many ancient cultures.
In Sardinia this is a very traditional festivity, which still holds clear its pagan-
In Sardinia this is a very traditional festivity, which still holds clear its pagan-
-roots. The festival is linked to fires and water. In some places (Cuglieri, Bono, for example), we have the rite of s'abba muda. Whoever wants to ask for some grace from the Saint has to go from the church to the fountain in complete silence. Once there, they drink water and-
**SU NENNERI**
An ancient ritual linked to Adonis (?), Easter, death and rebirth 🌿 #FolkloreThursday
An ancient ritual linked to Adonis (?), Easter, death and rebirth 🌿 #FolkloreThursday
Su nenneri (or nenniri in Campidanese) is a little vase where barley or wheat seeds are sowed during the winter, some time before important events like Easter but also Santu Juanne (24th of June). The vase is kept in the darkness during the growth, so that the leaves take a-
-very light colour, almost yellow. On the day of the festivity, the leaves are cut and gathered, brought to church as an adornment.
The meaning, though old, is clear: it's a representation of life that starts again in Spring and goes to its death, life that wins the darkness.
The meaning, though old, is clear: it's a representation of life that starts again in Spring and goes to its death, life that wins the darkness.
#FolkloreThursday Thread: In Celtic cultures, a bard was a professional story teller, poet, music composer, oral historian and genealogist, employed by a rich patron to commemorate patron's ancestors and to praise the patron's own activities...
Originally "bards" were a specific lower class of poet, contrasting with the higher rank known as "fili" in Ireland and Highland Scotland...
The word "file" (singular of "fili") is thought to derive from the Proto-Celtic *widluios, meaning "seer, one who sees", which is derived ultimately from the verb *widlu-, "to see"...
**SARDINIAN JEWELS**
Thread about Sardinian traditional jewels. Prepare for plenty of silver and gold 🤩🤩 #FolkloreThursday
Thread about Sardinian traditional jewels. Prepare for plenty of silver and gold 🤩🤩 #FolkloreThursday
The very first jewels we found in Sardinia were Prenuragic and Nuragic artifacts, such as necklaces with animal teeth or bones (1st picture). We then have Phoenician and Carthaginian jewels (2nd picture) and golden bugs, very similar to Egyptian's. We found Roman things too-
- but the most interesting are jewels of Byzantine taste. We've been officially a Byzantine province for 4-5 centuries, but under local rule which led to the autonomous government of the island in Middle Age. Strangely enough, we don't have jewels of the period of Judicates.
