Curiosities of Indo-European Tradition and Folk-lore |
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Agni ancient appears Aryans asvattha believed besoms Bhrigu bird bride burning called cattle chark churning clouds colour cuckoo custom dead death demon divine dragon drink earth elves England father fern fern-seed fire Freyja furious host German Gervase of Tilbury giant goddess gods golden Greek Grimm haoma hare hazel heaven heavenly Hindu Holda hoopoe horn horses human Indo-European Indra kindled king known Kuhn ladybird laid latter legend lightning mandrake Mannhardt Maruts milk mountain mythical mythology nature needfire night Norse Odin origin palasa peas Perchta Picus Pitris plant popular race Rig Veda Romans round rowan sacred Sanscrit says Schwartz sieve soma souls springwort stick stone stork storm story Swabia tell Thor Thor's thunderbolt tradition tree Vedas Vedic village werewolf Westf wheel wife wild hunt winds wish-rod witches Woden wolf wood woodpecker word wren Yggdrasil Zeus
Popular passages
Page 152 - ... and threatened with the loss of the use of the limb.* Against this accident, to which they were continually liable, our provident forefathers always kept a shrew-ash at hand, which, when once medicated, would maintain its virtue for ever. A shrew-ash was made thus : — Into the body of the tree a deep hole was bored with an auger, and a poor devoted shrew-mouse was thrust in alive, and plugged in, no doubt, with several quaint incantations long since forgotten.
Page 153 - In a farm-yard near the middle of this village stands, at this day, a row of pollardashes, which, by the seams and long cicatrices down their sides, manifestly show that, in former times, they have been cleft asunder. These trees, when young and flexible, were severed and held open by wedges, while ruptured children, stripped naked, were pushed through the apertures, under a persuasion that, by such a process, the poor babes would be cured of their infirmity.
Page 179 - Two Hazel-Nuts I threw into the Flame, And to each Nut I gave a Sweet-heart's Name. This with the loudest Bounce me sore amaz'd, That in a Flame of brightest Colour blaz'd. As blaz'd the Nut so may thy Passion grow, For 'twas thy Nut that did so brightly glow.
Page 97 - This lady-fly I take from off the grass, Whose spotted back might scarlet red surpass, " Fly, lady-bird, north, south, or east, or west, Fly where the man is found that I love best.
Page 157 - For the purpose of regeneration, it is directed to make an image of pure gold of the female power of nature ; in the shape either of a woman or of a cow. In this statue the person to be regenerated is enclosed and dragged through the usual channel. As a statue of pure gold and of proper dimensions would be too expensive, it is sufficient to make an image of the sacred Yoni, through which the person to be regenerated .is to pass.
Page 269 - To wake the bounding stag, or guilty wolf, There oft is heard, at midnight, or at noon, Beginning faint, but rising still more loud, And nearer, voice of hunters, and of hounds, And horns, hoarse-winded, blowing far and keen :— Forthwith the hubbub multiplies ; the gale Labours with wilder...
Page 151 - At the south corner of the Plestor, or area, near the church, there stood, about twenty years ago, a very old grotesque hollow pollard-ash, which for ages had been looked on with no small veneration as a shrew-ash.
Page 68 - They kindle a fire, and dress a repast of eggs and milk in the consistence of a custard. They knead a cake of oatmeal, which is toasted at the embers against a stone.
Page 52 - ... their fire, they then sacrificed a heifer, cutting in pieces and burning, while yet alive, the diseased part, they then lighted their own hearths from the pile and ended by feasting on the remains, words of incantation were repeated by an old man from Morven, who came over as master of the ceremonies, and who continued speaking all the time the fire was being raised. This man was living a beggar at Bellochroy. asked to repeat the spell, he said, the sin of repeating it once had brought him to...
Page 115 - ... corpse. The late Mr Ritson found an illustration of this dirge in a MS. of the Cotton Library, containing an account of Cleveland, in Yorkshire, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. It was kindly communicated to the Editor by Mr Frank, Mr...