WELSH TRADITIONS 7<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Traditions associated with death and funerals We\u2019ll begin by going back to Pre-Christian and pre-Roman times to consider how the Celts buried their dead. The ancient Celtic religion – known as Celtic Paganism – was the religion of the Celtic peoples of Europe – and the priests of this religion were known as Druids – but very little is known about them.<\/p>\n Nicole Evelina writes -\u2018For a warrior people, it\u2019s not surprising that to the Celts, the most honorable death was to die in battle. Depending on the time period and which tribe you were in, you might be buried, cremated or have your ashes buried. In pre-Christian times, many graves contained items needed for the next world, from chariots and weapons to food, wine, money and clothing. There is some evidence that the Celts practised human sacrifice, but not likely on a large scale.<\/p>\n The Celts believed in reincarnation. Some sources say they only believed you could come back in human form, but others argue you could be reincarnated as an animal or plant, too. Mythology seems to support this later theory as in our ancient tales, we learn that the Cauldron of Rebirth was able to revive the dead. Pre-Christian Celts believed in an after-death Otherworld (Annwn <\/em>in Welsh mythology), a resting place between incarnations\u2019.<\/p>\n We know that the body was washed before burial, wrapped in a thin shirt and laid out surrounded by burning candles. During this time feasts and games were held in honour of the deceased – and food and money would be left for him or her to use in the next life. This was the forerunner of the modern \u2018wake\u2019 of course. On the day of the funeral a Druid would visit to measure the corpse – to make sure that it would fit in the grave. He would also whisper instructions in his ear of how to reach the Other World\u2019.<\/p>\n Bodies were cremated or buried in single cairns or graves – or in a burial chamber where multiple bodies were buried. We have two of these burial tombs – from an earlier time – near us here in Wenvoe namely the Cromlech <\/em>at Tinkinswood and the smaller one at St Lythans. Both these date from the New Stone Age and are over 6,000 years old – about 1,000 years older than Stonehenge and the Pyramids in Egypt.<\/p>\n Coming a little closer to our own time, a number of traditions and rituals associated with death here in Wales have survived until relatively recently.<\/p>\n It was customary to announce a death by tolling the church bell – and in the counties of Anglesea and Arfon, the home of the deceased was known as a \u2018t\u0177 corff\u2019 <\/em>(house of the corpse). A local woman would attend the house to prepare the body for burial and a carpenter would come to measure him\/her before making the coffin. It was important to our forefathers that the honey bees be informed formally if there was a death in the house. It was generally believed that failure to do so would result in the\u00a0mass death of the bees – or they would leave the hive.<\/p>\n Traditionally the room where a corpse lay before burial would be draped with white curtains and linen. Curtains were kept closed and mirrors were covered. Sweet-scented herbs were used to scent the room, and wax candles kept alight. In some parts of Wales, the family would sprinkle salt on a pewter plate and place it on the chest of the deceased – to ward off all evil spirits. The belief was that salt purified the soul. It is also known that in some areas a \u2018sin eater\u2019 would be invited to the house to eat the sins of the dead person, by dipping a piece of bread in the salt and eating it above the body. Thus the dead person would be relieved of all sins and would be assured of entry into heaven.<\/p>\n From the time of death, the house was never empty. Family members and friends would take it in turn to hold a vigil over the body every night until the day of the funeral. In some areas a wake would be held every night – with plenty of food and alcohol – but the proceedings were always carried out in a respectful manner. In the 19th Century, the deceased was often propped up during these wakes! It was also customary for gifts of butter, cake, tea, biscuits and sugar to be gifted to the family in mourning. By the 19th Century, under the influence of the Methodist Movement, the vigil or the pre funeral wake had become much more reverential – more like a prayer meeting. And a recognised singer would be invited to sing an elegy – an echo of the elegiac poems composed by the court poet during the age of the Welsh Kings and Princes.<\/p>\n On the morning of the burial, the mourners would arrive at the house, where the main mourner would be seated – dressed in back of course. Before the service black gloves would be handed round to the mourners; silk or kid for near-relatives and cotton for more distant members of the family. In Aberystwyth, for example, it was customary for a man to walk around the town ringing a Corpse Bell. He would walk along and every so often, stop and ring out one solemn stroke on his bell.<\/p>\n One particularly sad custom was that of baptising a newly born baby on his or her mother\u2019s coffin, if she had died in childbirth – a common occurrence in earlier times, of course.<\/p>\n The Welsh have always carried their dead relatives to the churchyard, unlike the English who in general paid strangers to do this. At the end of the service a collection was made and the money would go to the priest – who would often pass the money to the family – if it was particularly impoverished. Another collection was made at the graveside when coins would be placed on the gravedigger’s shovel or spade – \u2018spade money\u2019 (arian rhaw) – <\/em>which would pay for the burial. In the 1700s it was the custom to throw a sprig of rosemary into the grave, which by the 19th Century, was substituted by the placing of flowers on top of the grave.<\/p>\n There were a few superstitions surrounding death and funerals in Wales one of the most common being \u2018cannwyll corff\u2019 – a corpse candle. Before a death had been reported in an area, people would report seeing a candle moving along a particular path or roadway. They believed that this foretold the death of a local person – whose funeral procession would follow the route of the candle they had witnessed. If a corpse candle was seen glowing red it was thought to be foretelling the death of a man; a white glow showed the death of a woman and a small, weak light, that of a child. <\/p>\n WELSH TRADITIONS 7 Traditions associated with death and funerals We\u2019ll begin by going back to Pre-Christian and pre-Roman times to consider how the Celts buried their dead. The ancient Celtic religion – known as Celtic Paganism – was the religion of the Celtic peoples of Europe – and the priests of this religion were known as Druids – but very […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[228],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6cWjO-3Qa","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":14849,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=14849","url_meta":{"origin":14766,"position":0},"title":"Welsh Traditions 7 Calan Gaeaf","author":"Alan Williams","date":"22nd November 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"WELSH TRADITIONS 7 CALAN GAEAF. In this last article in the series of Welsh Traditions we\u2019ll look briefly at the traditions associated with Calan Gaeaf. I\u2019m sure you\u2019ll remember that \u2018Calan\u2019 is a Welsh word meaning \u2018the first day of\u2019\u2019 - as in Calan Mai (May Day). Calan Gaeaf celebrates\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General Interest Articles"","block_context":{"text":"General Interest Articles","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=334"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":14259,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=14259","url_meta":{"origin":14766,"position":1},"title":"Welsh Traditions 2 Calan Mai – May Day","author":"Alan Williams","date":"16th May 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"WELSH TRADITIONS 2 CALAN MAI - MAY DAY In the old Celtic Year, the summer season consisted of the months of May, June and July so the first day of May was also the first day of summer. The Welsh name for July - Gorffennaf - testifies to this as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General Interest Articles"","block_context":{"text":"General Interest Articles","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=334"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":14657,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=14657","url_meta":{"origin":14766,"position":2},"title":"Welsh Traditions 6 – Medi – Harvest","author":"Alan Williams","date":"9th September 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"WELSH TRADITIONS 6 MEDI - HARVEST The Welsh word \u2018medi\u2019 is a verb meaning \u2018to reap\u2019 or \u2018to harvest\u2019 and as a proper noun, \u2018Medi\u2019, is the name of the ninth month of the year, namely September - the month when the crops are harvested, of course. The English word\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General Interest Articles"","block_context":{"text":"General Interest Articles","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=334"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/gleaners.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/gleaners.png?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/gleaners.png?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/gleaners.png?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14512,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=14512","url_meta":{"origin":14766,"position":3},"title":"Love or Romance and Marriage – Arferion Caru a Phriodi","author":"Alan Williams","date":"1st August 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"WELSH TRADITIONS 5 Love Or Romance And Marriage Arferion Caru A Phriodi. Most of the traditions associated with love, or courtship, and marriage in Wales have unfortunately died out but one or two are still practised. Traditionally, when a young man\u2019s eye fell on a young woman, he would not\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Readers Articles of Interest"","block_context":{"text":"Readers Articles of Interest","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=228"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":14057,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=14057","url_meta":{"origin":14766,"position":4},"title":"Saint David – the Patron Saint of Wales","author":"Alan Williams","date":"14th March 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Dewi Sant - Nawddsant Cymru Saint David - the Patron Saint of Wales \u00a0 Dewi was the Bishop of Mynyw in South West Wales - what today is called St David\u2019s - in the 6th Century. The date of his birth is not clear but it is generally accepted that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Readers Articles of Interest"","block_context":{"text":"Readers Articles of Interest","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=228"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":12433,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=12433","url_meta":{"origin":14766,"position":5},"title":"Meaning Of Place-Names Part 5","author":"Alan Williams","date":"2nd November 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"THE DERIVATION AND MEANING OF PLACE-NAMES MERTHYR DYFAN \u00a0- The Welsh word \u2018merthyr\u2019 is seen in a number of place-names in Wales - and this again is often mistakenly translated. Many people are familiar with the word \u2018merthyr\u2019 which derives from the Latin word \u2018martyr\/martyris\u2019 - meaning \u2018martyr\u2019 - a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General Interest Articles"","block_context":{"text":"General Interest Articles","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=334"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14766"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14766"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14766\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14770,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14766\/revisions\/14770"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14766"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14766"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14766"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n
\n
\n
\nThere are also numerous accounts from all parts of Wales of people witnessing a phantom funeral procession – \u2018toili\u2019 – which, like the corpse candles, foretold of an imminent death in the area.
\nOmens of death were widely feared and taken very seriously indeed. In Port Talbot at the Morfa Colliery in 1890, workers noticed a strong scent of flowers. They believed this to be a sign of invisible death flowers and half the miners stayed in their homes. That day there was a huge explosion leaving 87 miners dead. If certain types of birds flew over the pit head, such as pigeons, robins or doves, it was also believed to be foretelling a disaster. They were dubbed \u2018corpse birds\u2019 and are reported to have been seen just before the explosion at Senghennydd Colliery in Glamorgan in 1913, in which 400 miners were killed. So seriously were these superstitions taken by Welsh miners, that if they passed a squinting woman on their way to the mine, they would turn back and go home to avoid bad luck.
\nAnn M. Jones<\/p>\n
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\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"