Here are some Samhain
traditions from a book on Highland traditions called The Folklore of the Scottish
Highlands. Many of these were collected during the last century so its probable
that most of them have died out by now.
One particular festival mentioned was held in Fortingal, Perthshire. It was
communal and continued well into this century, the last bonfire being lit
in 1924. The date the festival was held, was not the usual 1st of November
but
the 11th. The 'sambnag' (bonfire) was a communal effort and was built on
a local
mound known as 'Carn nam Marbh' (The Mound of the Dead). Local tradition
has it that the mound contains the bodies of victims who died of a dreadful
plague
which were brought there and buried by an old woman with a cart or sled pulled
by a white horse. The mound is in fact a Bronze Age tumulus. A stone known
as
'Clach á Phlaigh' (The plague stone) crowns the tumulus.
Another tradition carried out in many places involved every youth who was able
to carry a torch or 'Sambnag' to circuit the boundaries of their farms after
sunset, holding these torches. This brought protection from to the families
and their possesions from fairies and other malevolent forces. When this was
done, everyone met in the local village and participated in traditional activities
such as mischief-making, guising, ducking for apples and scrying.
Several different methods of scrying are described. Hazel nuts would be thrown
onto fires to divine the future. Aother method was to place six plates on the
floor each with different contents. The girls of the house would then be led
to the plates blindfolded and which ever one she chose revealed her future for
the following year.
Dropping egg whites onto water was another popular way of diving the future.
Plants were also used. In some areas girls pulled cabbages from a sack to determine
what their future husband would be like.
The bonfire was probably the most important element of Samhain festivals. All
household hearths were extinguished and relit from the communal fire. It is
likely that like the Beltane fire, the Samhain fire was made from 'tein-eigin'
caused by the friction of rubbing two sticks together. This communal fire was
sacred fire. In many places boy jumped the fire when it had dies down to hot
ashes.
The book doesn't give any of the tradional prayers said at this festival, as
it does for the others. However the Carmina Gadelica by Alexander Carmichael
will give many of them. Carmichael travelled round the Highlands during the
last century collecting these traditional prayers and also recorded some of
the festival activities listed above. Although they are technically Christian
prayers, they are a gold mine of prayers to the old Gods.
Other traditions include lighting candles at windows to encourage the dead to
your home, particularly members of your own family. It is also said that if
you light a candle infront of a mirror on Samhain Eve, you will see the Devil
behind you. The Devil may have originally been the horned God, or Gwynn ap Nudd,
who is said to ride out from Glastonbury Tor with his wild hunt on this night.
Another tradition I've heard of is that if you stand at crossroads on Samhain
Eve you will see the Crone Goddess riding a horse. She is usually a frightening
apparition to behold looking somewhat like the Morrighan.
A good Samhain story from Irish Mythology is The Adventures of Nera, where the
hero of the story enters a burial mound on Samhain Eve.
The things I remember doing at Samhain when I was young are dressing up and
going guising with friends and afterwards going home and ducking for apples
and reciting poetry or telling ghost stories, eating the nuts and fruit we had
collected. It was a very communal event. It's a shame that certain members of
the Christian community want to stop it. --
-Ann
Samhain by Susa Morgan Black
Poems for Samhuinn