Welsh Folk Lore

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In the _Dictionary of the Welsh Language_ by the Rev. Canon Silvan Evans,
part i., p. 8, under the word _Abred_, we have an exhaustive statement on
the subject of transmigration, which I will take the liberty to
transcribe, for it certainly throws light on the matter now treated of.

"_Abred_ . . . 1. The state or condition through which, by a regular
upward gradation, all animated beings pass from the lowest point of
existence in which they originate, towards humanity and the highest state
of happiness and perfection. All the states of animation below that of
humanity are necessarily evil; in the state of humanity, good and evil
are equally balanced; and in all the states above humanity, good
preponderates and evil becomes impossible. If man, as a free agent,
attaches himself to evil, he falls in death into such an animal state of
existence as corresponds with the turpitude of his soul, which may be so
great as to cast him down into the lowest point of existence, from which
he shall again return through such a succession of animal existences as
is most proper to divest him of his evil propensities. After traversing
such a course, he will again rise to the probationary state of humanity,
where according to contingencies he may rise or fall; yet, should he
fall, he shall rise again, and should this happen for millions of ages,
the path of happiness is still open to him, and will so remain to all
eternity, for sooner or later he will infallibly arrive at his destined
station or happiness, from which he can never fall. This doctrine of
metamorphosis or evolution, attributed to the Druids and the Welsh bards,
is succinctly but fully stated by its hierophant, Iolo Morganwg, in his
'Poems' (1794), ii., 195-256, and elucidated by documents which had not
previously been made public, but of which none are of an early date."

Thus writes the Welsh lexicographer on this matter. The word _abred_ is
archaic, as is the idea for which it stands; but as already said, very
little has been lost of ideas which were once the property of kindred
races; so here we have no exception to the general rule, though the word
_abred_ and the theory it represented come down to modern times
strengthless, resembling the lifeless mummy of an Egyptian king that once
represented a living people and principle. Still, the word and the idea
it stands for have descended, in form, to our days, and tell us something
about the faith of our forefathers regarding the immortality of the soul.

RHAMANTA, OR OMEN SEEKING.

_Rhamanta_ was a kind of divination that could be resorted to without the
intervention of any outside party, by anyone wishful to ascertain the
future with reference to herself or himself. It differed, therefore,
from the preceding tales of conjurors or witches, insomuch that the
services of neither of these parties were required by the anxious seekers
of coming events. They could themselves uplift the veil, using, however,
for this purpose certain means, which were credited with possessing the
power of opening to their view events which were about to happen.

As there was something uncanny in this seeking for hidden information,
young women generally in companies of three sought for the information
their inquisitiveness required. This was usually done in the dead of
night, and twelve o'clock was the hour when they resorted to their
incantations. Some of the expedients adopted were harmless, though
silly; others were cruel. To the effective carrying out of the matter it
was generally necessary that at least one of the party should have slept
within the year on an oat-straw bed, or a bed made of the leaves of
mountain ash, mixed with the seeds of a spring fern, and a pillow of
Maiden Hair.

The nights generally resorted to for the purpose mentioned above were All
Hallow Eve, S. John's Eve, and Mayday Eve, but there were other times
also when the lovesick could get a glimpse of their life partners.

I have said that some of the means employed were innocent and others
cruel. Before proceeding I will record instances of both kinds. It was
thought that if a young woman placed a snail under a basin on _Nos Wyl
Ifan_, S. John's Eve, it would by its movements trace the name of her
coming husband underneath, or at least his initials. One can very well
imagine a young woman not over particular as to form, being able to
decipher the snail's wanderings, and making them represent her lover's
name. Should the snail have remained immovable during the night, this
indicated her own or her lover's death; or at the least, no offer of
marriage in the coming year.

It was usual for young women to hunt for _Llysiau Ifan_ (S. John's Wort)
on _Nos Wyl Ifan_, at midnight, and it was thought that the silvery light
of a glow-worm would assist them in discovering the plant. The first
thing, therefore, was to search for their living lanthorn. This found,
they carried the glow-worm in the palm of the hand, and proceeding in
their search they sought underneath or among the fern for St. John's
Wort. When found, a bunch was carried away, and hung in the young
woman's bedroom. If in the morning the leaves appeared fresh, it was a
sign that she should be married within the year; if, however, the leaves
were found hanging down or dead, this indicated her death, or that she
was not to get a husband within that year. We can well understand that a
sharp young person would resort to means to keep the plant alive, and
thus avert what she most feared.

The following instance of _Rhamanta_ I received from a young woman who
witnessed the work done. She gave me the name of the party, but for
special reasons I do not supply names.

A young woman was madly in love with a young man, and she gave the
servant man a jug of beer for procuring a frog for her. This he did; and
she took the poor creature to the garden, and thrust several pins into
its back. The tortured creature writhed under the pain, but the cruel
girl did not cease until the required number had been inserted. Then she
placed the frog under a vessel to prevent its escape, and turning to my
informant, she said, "There, he will now come to our house this evening."
The man certainly came, and when he entered she smiled at my informant,
and then both went together to the lacerated frog, and the pins were
extracted one by one from its back, and the wounded animal was set at
liberty. My informant said that the hard-hearted girl mumbled something
both when inserting and extracting the pins.

It was believed that the spirit of a person could be invoked and that it
would appear, after the performance of certain ceremonies, to the person
who was engaged in the weird undertaking. Thus a young woman who had
gone round the church seven times on All Hallow Eve came home to her
mistress, who was in the secret that she was going to _rhamanta_, and
said, "Why did you send master to frighten me?" But the master had not
left the house. His wife perceived that it was the spirit of her husband
that had appeared to the girl, and she requested the girl to be kind to
her children, "for," said she, "you will soon be mistress here." In a
short time afterwards the wife died, and the girl became her successor.

I obtained the preceding tale from the Rev. P. Edwards, son of the Rector
of Llanwyddelan, Montgomeryshire, and the lady who related the tale of
herself to Mr. Edwards said the occurrence took place when she was
servant girl.

There are several versions of the above tale to be met with in many
places in Wales.

I will give one, omitting names, from my work on "_Old Stone Crosses_,"
p. 203:--"An aged woman in Gyffylliog parish, who is still alive (1886),
saw her husband by _rhamanta_; and so did her fellow-servant. I am
indebted to Mr. Jones, Woodland Farm, to whom the woman related it, for
the story I am about to give. When young women, she and her
fellow-servant, in accordance with the practice of the country,
determined to obtain a sight of the men whom they were to marry. The
mistress was let into the secret that that night one of the two was going
to raise the veil of the future, and the other the following night. As
the clock began striking twelve the fellow-servant began striking the
floor with a strap, repeating the doggerel lines

"Am gyd-fydio i gyd-ffatio,"

and almost immediately she saw her master come down stairs. The girl
innocently the next day asked her mistress why she had sent her master
down stairs to frighten her. The answer of her mistress was, 'Take care
of my children.' This girl ultimately married her master. The next
night it was the other girl's turn, and she saw a dark man, whom she had
never seen before; but in the course of a week or so, a stranger came
into the farmyard, and she at once perceived that it was the person whom
she had seen when divining. Upon inquiry, she ascertained that he was a
married man, but in time his wife died, and the girl became his wife."

There were several ways of proceeding by young girls who were anxious to
ascertain whom they were to marry. One of these was by means of yarn.
This divination was usually performed by two young girls after the family
had retired for the night. It has been called _Coel ede wlan_, or the
yarn test, and under this name I will describe the process.

_Coel Ede Wlan_, _or the Yarn Test_.

Two young women took a ball of yarn and doubled the threads, and then
tied tiny pieces of wood along these threads so as to form a miniature
ladder. Then they went upstairs together, and opening the window threw
this artificial ladder to the ground, and then the one who was performing
the incantation commenced winding the yarn back, saying the while:--

"Y fi sy'n dirwyn
Pwy sy'n dal?"

I am winding,
Who is holding?

This was done three times, and if no lover made his appearance, then for
that year her chances of marriage were gone. The next evening the other
girl in the same manner tried her fortune, and possibly better luck would
attend her trial. It was believed that the spirit of the coming husband
would mount this ladder and present himself to his future wife.

The Rev. R. Jones, rector of Llanycil, told me the following tale. Two
young men from Festiniog went to court two young girls in the parish of
Maentwrog, servants at a farm called Gellidywyll. As they were going
towards the farm one of them said, "Let me rest awhile." He at once
seated himself on the ground, and apparently he fell asleep immediately.
This surprised his friend, but he was thoroughly frightened when he saw
_a blue light emanate_ from his mouth, and he attempted to awaken the
man, but he failed to arouse him, he seemed as if dead. However, after
awhile, the blue light was seen returning, and it entered the mouth of
the sleeper, and he instantly awoke, and they proceeded together towards
Gellidywyll. At the very time that the man felt an irresistible
inclination to sleep, his love had used the yarn incantation, and the
unconscious man during his short sleep dreamt that he had seen his
sweetheart in the window, and the girl said that he had appeared to her
at the window. In a few months after this proof of true love they were
married.

Another form of incantation was to walk around the church seven or nine
times on certain nights. This I will call the _Twca Test_ or _Knife
Test_. This was a very common form of incantation.

_Divination with the Twca or Knife_.

The proceeding was as follows:--The party who wished to know whom he, or
she, was to marry, went to the church secretly and walked around it seven
times, repeating the while these words:--

"Dyma'r Twca,
Lle mae'r wain?"

Here's the knife,
Where's the sheath?

And it was thought that the spirit of his or her life partner would
appear to the person who held the knife, with the sheath in his or her
hand, and that it would be found that the one fitted the other exactly.
I have been told by a person who resorted to this test that if the person
was to become a wife, her lover would certainly appear to her; if she was
to die an old maid then a coffin would meet her. The superstition is
mentioned in _Bardd Cwsg_--

"Fe glywai rai yn son am fyned i droi o gwmpas yr Eglwys i weled eu
cariadau, a pheth a wnaeth y catffwl ond ymddangos i'r ynfydion yn ei lun
ei hun." That is in English:--

"He heard some persons talking of going round the church to see their
sweethearts, but what did the stupid one (the devil) do, but appear to
the foolish things in his own person."

_The Washing Test_.

Another well-known and often practised form of divination was for a young
woman to take an article to wash, such as a stocking, to the water-spout
or _pistyll_, and with her she carried two pieces of wood wherewith to
strike the article which was being washed. She went on her knees and
commenced striking the stocking, saying the while:--

"Am gyd-fydio i gyd-ffatio."

We'll live together to strike together.

It was thought that her future husband would then appear, take hold of
the other piece of wood, and join her in her work; should the wraith
appear, a marriage within six months followed.

_Troi Crysau or Clothes Drying Test_.

Young maidens washed linen after the household had retired, and placed
the articles by the fire to dry, and then watched to see who should come
at midnight to turn the clothes. In this case, again, the evil one is
said to have entered the kitchen to perform this work for the young
woman, and also it is affirmed that a coffin has, ere this, moved along
through the room, a sure prognostication that she was doomed to die
single. _Bardd Cwsg_ mentions this practice.

He writes in the third part of his book, where a devil is accused in the
Parliament of Hell, thus:--"Aeth nos _Ystwyll_ ddiweddaf i ymweled a dwy
ferch ieuanc yng Nghymru _oedd yn troi crysau_, ac yn lle denu'r genethod
i faswedd, yn rhith llanc glandeg, myned ag elor i sobreiddio un; a myned
a thrwst rhyfel at y llall mewn corwynt uffernol."

"He went on the night of _Epiphany_ to visit two young girls in Wales,
who were turning shirts, and, instead of enticing them to folly, in the
form of a handsome young man, he took to the one a coffin to sober her,
and to the other he appeared in a hellish whirlwind, with a horrible
noise."

Happy, however, is the young woman should the man she loves appear, for
he is to be her husband.

_Hemp Seed Sowing_.

A young married woman, a native of Denbighshire, told me that if a young
woman sowed hemp seed, the figure of her lover would appear and follow
her. This was to be done by night on Hallow Eve. I find from _English
Folk-Lore_, p. 15, that this divination is practised in Devonshire on St.
Valentine's Eve, and that the young woman runs round the church
repeating, without stopping, the following lines:--

"I sow hempseed, hempseed I sow,
He that loves me best
Come, and after me now."

_Sage Gathering_.

A young person who went of a night to the garden, and stripped the leaves
of the sage tree, would, as the clock struck twelve, be joined by her
lover. This was to be done on All Hallow Eve.

_Pullet's Egg Divination_.

Mr. J. Roberts, Plas Einion, Llanfair Dyffryn Clwyd, told me the
following:--When he was a young man, he, his sister, and the servant man,
formed a company to find out by divination their future life partners.
They procured a pullet's egg, it was emptied into a cup, to this was
added flour and salt, in equal proportions, these ingredients were mixed
together, made into three small cakes, and baked. They all ate one half
of their cake, and the other half was placed in their respective
stockings, to be placed under their bolsters. They went upstairs
backward, and thus to bed, preserving the while, absolute silence. It
was believed, he said, that they should that night, in their dreams, if
everything were carried out properly, see their partners, who would come
to their bedsides to offer them a drink of water.

_The Candle and Pin Divination_.

The process is as follows:--A couple of young women meet, and stick pins
in a candle, and if the divination acts properly the last pin drops out
of the candle at 12 o'clock at night, and then the future husband of the
girl to whom that pin belongs appears.

I must not name the lady whom I am indebted to for the following
information, but she told me that when she was a young woman, she, and
her friend, took part in this prying into the future, and exactly at 12
o'clock her companion's pin fell out of the candle, and at that very
instant there was a knocking at the door, and in great fright both ran
upstairs, but the knocking continued, and her friend put her head out of
the window to enquire who was there, and my informant told me that the
man at the door became her friend's husband, though at the time they were
consulting the future she was desperately in love with another man.

There were other ways in which people could _Rhamant_. Enough has been
said on this subject, but there are other practices resorted to, having
much the same object in view, which I will now relate.

_To ascertain the condition of the Person whom you are to Marry_.

_Water in Basin Divination_.

Should young persons wish to know whether their husbands were to be
bachelors, or their wives spinsters, the following test was to be
resorted to:--

Three persons were necessary to carry out the test. These three young
ladies were to join in the undertaking and they were to proceed as
follows:--On _Nos Calan Gauaf_, All Hallow Eve, at night, three basins
were to be placed on a table, _one filled with clear spring water_, _one
with muddy water_, _and the other empty_. The young ladies in turn were
led blindfolded into the room, and to the table, and they were told to
place their hands on the basins. She who placed her hand on the clear
spring water was to marry a bachelor, whilst the one who touched the
basin with muddy water was to wed a widower, and should the empty basin
be touched it foretold that for that person a life of single blessedness
was in store.

_Hairs of a Lover found under a Holly Tree_.

This test is to be carried out on All Hallow Eve. The young person walks
backwards to a holly tree, takes a handful of grass from underneath it,
and then carries the leaves to the light, and she then sees among the
grass several hairs of her true lover.

_The Bible and Key Divination_.

A key is taken, and placed on the 16th verse of the 1st chapter of
Ruth:--"And Ruth said, intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from
following after thee; for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou
lodgest I will lodge; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God."

The Bible is then closed with that part of the key that enters the lock
on this verse. The person who wishes to look into the future takes the
garter off his left leg, and then ties the Bible round with his garter,
which also passes through the loop of the key. He has with him a friend
who joins in carrying out the test. Both men place one of their big or
central fingers on the key underneath the loop, and press the key, so as
to keep the Bible steady and the key from falling. Then the man, who
does not consult the future, reads the verse above written, and should
the Bible turn towards the other man, it is an affirmative answer that
the young lady he loves will accept him.

The writer received this account from a man who had himself consulted the
future by the Bible and Key.

_Testing a Lover's Love by Cracking of Nuts_.

This divination is common to many countries, but the writer knows that it
is resorted to on _All Hallows Eve_ in Denbighshire by young ladies,
partly, it may be in fun, and partly in earnest. The plan of proceeding
is as follows:--Nuts are placed on the bars of the fire grate, equal in
number to the young lady's lovers, and the nut that cracks first, and
jumps off the bar, represents her true love. She has, of course fixed in
her mind the lover each nut stands for. So common is this test that in
the North of England _All Hallows Eve_ is called "_Nutcrack night_."

_Gay_ describes the ceremony:--

Two hazel nuts I throw into the flame
And to each nut I give a sweetheart's name;
This with the loudest bounce me sore amazed,
That in a flame of brightest-colour blazed;
As blazed the nut, so may thy passions grow,
For 'twas thy nut that did so brightly glow.

_Burns_, in his poem of _Hallowe'en_ also mentions the nut divination.

The auld guidwife's weel-hoordet nits
Are round an' round divided,
An' monie lads' and lasses' fates
Are there that night decided;
Some kindle, couthie, side by side,
An' burn thegither trimly;
Some start awa' wi' saucy pride,
And jump out-owre the chimlie
Fu' high that night.
Jean slips in twa' wi' tentie e'e;
Wha 'twas, she wadna tell;
But this is Jock, an' this is me,
She says in to hersel':
He bleez'd owre her, and she owre him,
As they wad never mair part;
'Till, fuff! he started up the lum,
An' Jean had e'en a sair heart
To see't that night.

_The Apple Pip Trial of Lovers_.

The fair lady takes as many pips as she has lovers, and these she places
on the point of a knife, which she inserts between the bars of the fire
grate. Each pip represents a lover, and the pip that swells out and
jumps into the fire indicates that he is the best lover for whom the pip
stands.

SPIRITUALISM.

The next subject I shall treat of is curious, and partakes of the nature
of spiritualism. I hardly know by what other word to describe it,
therefore I will give particulars, so as to make the matter intelligible
to the reader, and call it "Spiritualism."

It was believed that it was possible for the spirit to leave the body,
and then, after an absence of some time, to return again and re-enter it.
The form the spirit assumed when it quitted the body was a bluish light
like that of a candle, but somewhat longer. This light left the body
through the mouth, and re-entered the same way.

The writer was informed by a certain female friend at Llandegla that she
had seen a bluish light leave the mouth of a person who was sick, light
which she thought was the life, or spirit of that person, but the person
did not immediately die.

For another tale of this kind I am indebted to Mr. R. Roberts, who lives
in the village of Clocaenog, near Ruthin. He was not himself a witness
of the occurrence, but vouches for the accuracy of the report. It is as
follows:--

_A Spirit leaving and re-entering the body_.

A man was in love with two young girls, and they were both in love with
him, and they knew that he flirted with them both. It is but natural to
suppose that these young ladies did not, being rivals, love each other.
It can well be believed that they heartily disliked each other. One
evening, according to custom, this young man spent the night with one of
his sweethearts, and to all appearance she fell asleep, or was in a
trance, for she looked very pale. He noticed her face, and was
frightened by its death-like pallor, but he was greatly surprised to see
_a bluish flame proceed out of her mouth_, and go towards the door. He
followed this light, and saw it take the direction of the house in which
his other love lived, and he observed that from that house, too, a like
light was travelling, as if to meet the light that he was following. Ere
long these lights met each other, and they apparently fought, for they
dashed into each other, and flitted up and down, as if engaged in mortal
combat. The strife continued for some time, and then the lights
separated and departed in the direction of the respective houses where
the two young women lived. The man returned to the house of the young
woman with whom he was spending the night, following close on the light,
which he saw going before him, and which re-entered her body through her
mouth; and then she immediately awoke.

Here, presumedly, these two troubled young ladies met in a disembodied
form to contend for the possession of this young man.

A tale much like the preceding occurs on page 283.

There is something akin to this spectral appearance believed in in
Scotland, where the apparition is called _Wraith_, which word is defined
in _Jameson's Etymological Dictionary_, published by Gardner, 1882,
thus:--

"_Wraith_, _etc_.: Properly an apparition in the exact likeness of a
person, supposed by the vulgar to be seen before, or soon after, death."

This definition does not correspond exactly to what has been said of the
Welsh spirit appearance, but it teaches the possibility, or shows the
people's faith in the possibility, of the soul's existence apart from the
body. It would seem that in Scotland this spectre is seen before, or
after, death; but the writer has read of a case in which the _wraith_ of
a person appeared to himself and was the means of saving his life, and
that he long survived after his other self had rescued him from extreme
danger.

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