Chapter 48. The Corn-Spirit as an Animal.
Section 1. Animal Embodiments of the Corn-spirit.
IN SOME of the examples which I have cited to establish the
meaning of the term "neck" as applied to the last sheaf, the
corn-spirit appears in animal form as a gander, a goat, a hare, a
cat, and a fox. This introduces us to a new aspect of the
corn-spirit, which we must now examine. By doing so we shall not
only have fresh examples of killing the god, but may hope also to
clear up some points which remain obscure in the myths and
worship of Adonis, Attis, Osiris, Dionysus, Demeter, and
Virbius. 1
Amongst the many animals whose forms the corn-spirit is
supposed to take are the wolf, dog, hare, fox, cock, goose, quail,
cat, goat, cow (ox, bull), pig, and horse. In one or other of these
shapes the corn-spirit is often believed to be present in the corn,
and to be caught or killed in the last sheaf. As the corn is being
cut the animal flees before the reapers, and if a reaper is taken ill
on the field, he is supposed to have stumbled unwittingly on the
corn-spirit, who has thus punished the profane intruder. It is said
"the Rye-wolf has got hold of him," "the Harvest-goat has given
him a push." The person who cuts the last corn or binds the last
sheaf gets the name of the animal, as the Rye-wolf, the Rye-sow,
the Oats-goat, and so forth, and retains the name sometimes for a
year. Also the animal is frequently represented by a puppet made
out of the last sheaf or of wood, flowers, and so on, which is
carried home amid rejoicings on the last harvest-waggon. Even
where the last sheaf is not made up in animal shape, it is often
called the Rye-wolf, the Hare, Goat, and so forth. Generally each
kind of crop is supposed to have its special animal, which is
caught in the last sheaf, and called the Rye-wolf, the
Barley-wolf, the Oats-wolf, the Pea-wolf, or the Potato-wolf,
according to the crop; but sometimes the figure of the animal is
only made up once for all at getting in the last crop of the whole
harvest. Sometimes the creature is believed to be killed by the last
stroke of the sickle or scythe. But oftener it is thought to live so
long as there is corn still unthreshed, and to be caught in the last
sheaf threshed. Hence the man who gives the last stroke with the
flail is told that he has got the Corn-sow, the Threshing-dog, or
the like. When the threshing is finished, a puppet is made in the
form of the animal, and this is carried by the thresher of the last
sheaf to a neighbouring farm, where the threshing is still going on.
This again shows that the corn-spirit is believed to live wherever
the corn is still being threshed. Sometimes the thresher of the last
sheaf himself represents the animal; and if the people of the next
farm, who are still threshing, catch him, they treat him like the
animal he represents, by shutting him up in the pig-sty, calling
him with the cries commonly addressed to pigs, and so forth.
These general statements will now be illustrated by examples. 2
Section 2. The Corn-spirit as a Wolf or a Dog.
WE begin with the corn-spirit conceived as a wolf or a dog. This
conception is common in France, Germany, and Slavonic
countries. Thus, when the wind sets the corn in wave-like motion
the peasants often say, "The Wolf is going over, or through, the
corn," "the Rye-wolf is rushing over the field," "the Wolf is in the
corn," "the mad Dog is in the corn," "the big Dog is there." When
children wish to go into the corn-fields to pluck ears or gather the
blue corn-flowers, they are warned not to do so, for "the big Dog
sits in the corn," or "the Wolf sits in the corn, and will tear you in
pieces," "the Wolf will eat you." The wolf against whom the
children are warned is not a common wolf, for he is often spoken
of as the Corn-wolf, Rye-wolf, or the like; thus they say, "The
Rye-wolf will come and eat you up, children," "the Rye-wolf will
carry you off," and so forth. Still he has all the outward
appearance of a wolf. For in the neighbourhood of Feilenhof (East
Prussia), when a wolf was seen running through a field, the
peasants used to watch whether he carried his tail in the air or
dragged it on the ground. If he dragged it on the ground, they
went after him, and thanked him for bringing them a blessing, and
even set tit-bits before him. But if he carried his tail high, they
cursed him and tried to kill him. Here the wolf is the corn-spirit
whose fertilising power is in his tail. 1
Both dog and wolf appear as embodiments of the corn-spirit in
harvest-customs. Thus in some parts of Silesia the person who
cuts or binds the last sheaf is called the Wheat-dog or the
Peas-pug. But it is in the harvest-customs of the north-east of
France that the idea of the Corn-dog comes out most clearly.
Thus when a harvester, through sickness, weariness, or laziness,
cannot or will not keep up with the reaper in front of him, they say,
"The White Dog passed near him," "he has the White Bitch," or
"the White Bitch has bitten him. In the Vosges the Harvest-May is
called the "Dog of the harvest," and the person who cuts the last
handful of hay or wheat is said to "kill the Dog." About
Lons-le-Saulnier, in the Jura, the last sheaf is called the Bitch. In
the neighbourhood of Verdun the regular expression for finishing
the reaping is, "They are going to kill the Dog"; and at Epinal they
say, according to the crop, "We will kill the Wheat-dog, or the
Rye-dog, or the Potato-dog." In Lorraine it is said of the man who
cuts the last corn, "He is killing the Dog of the harvest." At Dux, in
the Tyrol, the man who gives the last stroke at threshing is said to
"strike down the Dog"; and at Ahnebergen, near Stade, he is
called, according to the crop, Corn-pug, Rye-pug,
Wheat-pug. 2
So with the wolf. In Silesia, when the reapers gather round the
last patch of standing corn to reap it they are said to be about "to
catch the Wolf." In various parts of Mecklenburg, where the belief
in the Corn-wolf is particularly prevalent, every one fears to cut
the last corn, because they say that the Wolf is sitting in it; hence
every reaper exerts himself to the utmost in order not to be the
last, and every woman similarly fears to bind the last sheaf
because "the Wolf is in it." So both among the reapers and the
binders there is a competition not to be the last to finish. And in
Germany generally it appears to be a common saying that "the
Wolf sits in the last sheaf." In some places they call out to the
reaper, "Beware of the Wolf"; or they say, "He is chasing the Wolf
out of the corn." In Mecklenburg the last bunch of standing corn is
itself commonly called the Wolf, and the man who reaps it "has the
Wolf," the animal being described as the Rye-wolf, the
Wheat-wolf, the Barley-wolf, and so on according to the
particular crop. The reaper of the last corn is himself called Wolf or
the Rye-wolf, if the crop is rye, and in many parts of Mecklenburg
he has to support the character by pretending to bite the other
harvesters or by howling like a wolf. The last sheaf of corn is also
called the Wolf or the Rye-wolf or the Oats-wolf according to the
crop, and of the woman who binds it they say, "The Wolf is biting
her," "She has the Wolf," "She must fetch the Wolf" (out of the
corn). Moreover, she herself is called Wolf; they cry out to her,
"Thou art the Wolf," and she has to bear the name for a whole
year; sometimes, according to the crop, she is called the
Rye-wolf or the Potato-wolf. In the island of Rügen not only is the
woman who binds the last sheaf called Wolf, but when she comes
home she bites the lady of the house and the stewardess, for
which she receives a large piece of meat. Yet nobody likes to be
the Wolf. The same woman may be Rye-wolf, Wheat-wolf, and
Oats-wolf, if she happens to bind the last sheaf of rye, wheat, and
oats. At Buir, in the district of Cologne, it was formerly the custom
to give to the last sheaf the shape of a wolf. It was kept in the barn
till all the corn was threshed. Then it was brought to the farmer and
he had to sprinkle it with beer or brandy. At Brunshaupten in
Mecklenburg the young woman who bound the last sheaf of wheat
used to take a handful of stalks out of it and make "the
Wheat-wolf" with them; it was the figure of a wolf about two feet
long and half a foot high, the legs of the animal being represented
by stiff stalks and its tail and mane by wheat-ears. This
Wheat-wolf she carried back at the head of the harvesters to the
village, where it was set up on a high place in the parlour of the
farm and remained there for a long time. In many places the sheaf
called the Wolf is made up in human form and dressed in clothes.
This indicates a confusion of ideas between the corn-spirit
conceived in human and in animal form. Generally the Wolf is
brought home on the last waggon with joyful cries. Hence the last
waggon-load itself receives the name of the Wolf. 3
Again, the Wolf is supposed to hide himself amongst the cut corn
in the granary, until he is driven out of the last bundle by the
strokes of the flail. Hence at Wanzleben, near Magdeburg, after
the threshing the peasants go in procession, leading by a chain a
man who is enveloped in the threshed-out straw and is called the
Wolf. He represents the corn-spirit who has been caught
escaping from the threshed corn. In the district of Treves it is
believed that the Corn-wolf is killed at threshing. The men thresh
the last sheaf till it is reduced to chopped straw. In this way they
think that the Corn-wolf, who was lurking in the last sheaf, has
been certainly killed. 4
In France also the Corn-wolf appears at harvest. Thus they call
out to the reaper of the last corn, "You will catch the Wolf." Near
Chambéry they form a ring round the last standing corn, and cry,
"The Wolf is in there." In Finisterre, when the reaping draws near
an end, the harvesters cry, "There is the Wolf; we will catch him."
Each takes a swath to reap, and he who finishes first calls out,
"I've caught the Wolf." In Guyenne, when the last corn has been
reaped, they lead a wether all round the field. It is called "the Wolf
of the field." Its horns are decked with a wreath of flowers and
corn-ears, and its neck and body are also encircled with
garlands and ribbons. All the reapers march, singing, behind it.
Then it is killed on the field. In this part of France the last sheaf is
called the coujoulage, which, in the patois, means a wether.
Hence the killing of the wether represents the death of the
corn-spirit, considered as present in the last sheaf; but two
different conceptions of the corn-spirit-as a wolf and as a
wether-are mixed up together. 5
Sometimes it appears to be thought that the Wolf, caught in the
last corn, lives during the winter in the farmhouse, ready to renew
his activity as corn-spirit in the spring. Hence at midwinter, when
the lengthening days begin to herald the approach of spring, the
Wolf makes his appearance once more. In Poland a man, with a
wolf's skin thrown over his head, is led about at Christmas; or a
stuffed wolf is carried about by persons who collect money. There
are facts which point to an old custom of leading about a man
enveloped in leaves and called the Wolf, while his conductors
collected money. 6
Section 3. The Corn-spirit as a Cock.
ANOTHER form which the corn-spirit often assumes is that of a
cock. In Austria children are warned against straying in the
corn-fields, because the Corn-cock sits there, and will peck their
eyes out. In North Germany they say that "the Cock sits in the last
sheaf"; and at cutting the last corn the reapers cry, "Now we will
chase out the Cock." When it is cut they say, "We have caught
the Cock." At Braller, in Transylvania, when the reapers come to
the last patch of corn, they cry, "Here we shall catch the Cock."
At Fürstenwalde, when the last sheaf is about to be bound, the
master releases a cock, which he has brought in a basket, and
lets it run over the field. All the harvesters chase it till they catch
it. Elsewhere the harvesters all try to seize the last corn cut; he
who succeeds in grasping it must crow, and is called Cock.
Among the Wends it is or used to be customary for the farmer to
hide a live cock under the last sheaf as it lay on the field; and
when the corn was being gathered up, the harvester who lighted
upon this sheaf had a right to keep the cock, provided he could
catch it. This formed the close of the harvest-festival and was
known as "the Cock-catching," and the beer which was served
out to the reapers at this time went by the name of "Cock-beer."
The last sheaf is called Cock, Cock-sheaf, Harvest-cock,
Harvest-hen, Autumn-hen. A distinction is made between a
Wheat-cock, Bean-cock, and so on, according to the crop. At
Wünschensuhl, in Thüringen, the last sheaf is made into the shape
of a cock, and called the Harvest-cock. A figure of a cock, made
of wood, pasteboard, ears of corn, or flowers, is borne in front of
the harvest-waggon, especially in Westphalia, where the cock
carries in his beak fruits of the earth of all kinds. Sometimes the
image of the cock is fastened to the top of a May-tree on the last
harvest-waggon. Elsewhere a live cock, or a figure of one, is
attached to a harvest-crown and carried on a pole. In Galicia and
elsewhere this live cock is fastened to the garland of corn-ears or
flowers, which the leader of the women-reapers carries on her
head as she marches in front of the harvest procession. In Silesia
a live cock is presented to the master on a plate. The
harvest-supper is called Harvest-cock, Stubble-cock, etc., and
a chief dish at it, at least in some places, is a cock. If a waggoner
upsets a harvest-waggon, it is said that "he has spilt the
Harvest-cock," and he loses the cock, that is, the
harvest-supper. The harvest-waggon, with the figure of the cock
on it, is driven round the farmhouse before it is taken to the barn.
Then the cock is nailed over or at the side of the house-door, or
on the gable, and remains there till next harvest. In East Friesland
the person who gives the last stroke at threshing is called the
Clucking-hen, and grain is strewed before him as if he were a
hen. 1
Again, the corn-spirit is killed in the form of a cock. In parts of
Germany, Hungary, Poland, and Picardy the reapers place a live
cock in the corn which is to be cut last, and chase it over the
field, or bury it up to the neck in the ground; afterwards they strike
off its head with a sickle or scythe. In many parts of Westphalia,
when the harvesters bring the wooden cock to the farmer, he
gives them a live cock, which they kill with whips or sticks, or
behead with an old sword, or throw into the barn to the girls, or
give to the mistress to cook. It the Harvest-cock has not been
spilt-that is, if no waggon has been upset-the harvesters have
the right to kill the farmyard cock by throwing stones at it or
beheading it. Where this custom has fallen into disuse, it is still
common for the farmer's wife to make cockie-leekie for the
harvesters, and to show them the head of the cock which has
been killed for the soup. In the neighbourhood of Klausenburg,
Transylvania, a cock is buried on the harvest-field in the earth,
so that only its head appears. A young man then takes a scythe
and cuts off the cock's head at a single sweep. If he fails to do
this, he is called the Red Cock for a whole year, and people fear
that next year's crop will be bad. Near Udvarhely, in Transylvania,
a live cock is bound up in the last sheaf and killed with a spit. It is
then skinned. The flesh is thrown away, but the skin and feathers
are kept till next year; and in spring the grain from the last sheaf is
mixed with the feathers of the cock and scattered on the field
which is to be tilled. Nothing could set in a clearer light the
identification of the cock with the spirit of the corn. By being tied
up in the last sheaf and killed, the cock is identified with the corn,
and its death with the cutting of the corn. By keeping its feathers
till spring, then mixing them with the seed-corn taken from the
very sheaf in which the bird had been bound, and scattering the
feathers together with the seed over the field, the identity of the
bird with the corn is again emphasised, and its quickening and
fertilising power, as an embodiment of the corn-spirit, is intimated
in the plainest manner. Thus the corn-spirit, in the form of a cock,
is killed at harvest, but rises to fresh life and activity in spring.
Again, the equivalence of the cock to the corn is expressed,
hardly less plainly, in the custom of burying the bird in the ground,
and cutting off its head (like the ears of corn) with the scythe. 2
Section 4. The Corn-spirit as a Hare.
ANOTHER common embodiment of the corn-spirit is the hare. In
Galloway the reaping of the last standing corn is called "cutting
the Hare." The mode of cutting it is as follows. When the rest of the
corn has been reaped, a handful is left standing to form the Hare.
It is divided into three parts and plaited, and the ears are tied in a
knot. The reapers then retire a few yards and each throws his or
her sickle in turn at the Hare to cut it down. It must be cut below
the knot, and the reapers continue to throw their sickles at it, one
after the other, until one of them succeeds in severing the stalks
below the knot. The Hare is then carried home and given to a
maidservant in the kitchen, who places it over the kitchen-door
on the inside. Sometimes the Hare used to be thus kept till the next
harvest. In the parish of Minnigaff, when the Hare was cut, the
unmarried reapers ran home with all speed, and the one who
arrived first was the first to be married. In Germany also one of the
names for the last sheaf is the Hare. Thus in some parts of Anhalt,
when the corn has been reaped and only a few stalks are left
standing, they say, "The Hare will soon come," or the reapers cry
to each other, "Look how the Hare comes jumping out." In East
Prussia they say that the Hare sits in the last patch of standing
corn, and must be chased out by the last reaper. The reapers
hurry with their work, each being anxious not to have "to chase
out the Hare"; for the man who does so, that is, who cuts the last
corn, is much laughed at. At Aurich, as we have seen, an
expression for cutting the last corn is "to cut off the Hare's tail."
"He is killing the Hare" is commonly said of the man who cuts the
last corn in Germany, Sweden, Holland, France, and Italy. In
Norway the man who is thus said to "kill the Hare" must give
"hare's blood," in the form of brandy, to his fellows to drink. In
Lesbos, when the reapers are at work in two neighbouring fields,
each party tries to finish first in order to drive the Hare into their
neighbour's field; the reapers who succeed in doing so believe
that next year the crop will be better. A small sheaf of corn is
made up and kept beside the holy picture till next harvest. 1
Section 5. The Corn-spirit as a Cat.
AGAIN, the corn-spirit sometimes takes the form of a cat. Near
Kiel children are warned not to go into the corn-fields because
"the Cat sits there." In the Eisenach Oberland they are told "the
Corn-cat will come and fetch you," "the Corn-cat goes in the
corn." In some parts of Silesia at mowing the last corn they say,
"The Cat is caught"; and at threshing, the man who gives the last
stroke is called the Cat. In the neighbourhood of Lyons the last
sheaf and the harvest-supper are both called the Cat. About
Vesoul when they cut the last corn they say, "We have the Cat by
the tail." At Briançon, in Dauphiné, at the beginning of reaping, a
cat is decked out with ribbons, flowers, and ears of corn. It is
called the Cat of the ball-skin (le chat de peau de balle). If a
reaper is wounded at his work, they make the cat lick the wound.
At the close of the reaping the cat is again decked out with
ribbons and ears of corn; then they dance and make merry. When
the dance is over the girls solemnly strip the cat of its finery. At
Grüneberg, in Silesia, the reaper who cuts the last corn goes by
the name of the Tom-cat. He is enveloped in rye-stalks and
green withes, and is furnished with a long plaited tail. Sometimes
as a companion he has a man similarly dressed, who is called the
(female) Cat. Their duty is to run after people whom they see and
to beat them with a long stick. Near Amiens the expression for
finishing the harvest is, "They are going to kill the Cat"; and when
the last corn is cut they kill a cat in the farmyard. At threshing, in
some parts of France, a live cat is placed under the last bundle of
corn to be threshed, and is struck dead with the flails. Then on
Sunday it is roasted and eaten as a holiday dish. In the Vosges
Mountains the close of haymaking or harvest is called "catching
the cat," "killing the dog," or more rarely "catching the hare." The
cat, the dog, or the hare is said to be fat or lean according as the
crop is good or bad. The man who cuts the last handful of hay or
of wheat is said to catch the cat or the hare or to kill the dog. 1
Section 6. The Corn-spirit as a Goat.
FURTHER, the corn-spirit often appears in the form of a goat. In
some parts of Prussia, when the corn bends before the wind, they
say, "The Goats are chasing each other," "the wind is driving the
Goats through the corn," "the Goats are browsing there," and they
expect a very good harvest. Again they say, "The Oats-goat is
sitting in the oats-field," "the Corn-goat is sitting in the rye-field."
Children are warned not to go into the corn-fields to pluck the
blue corn-flowers, or amongst the beans to pluck pods, because
the Rye-goat, the Corn-goat, the Oats-goat, or the Bean-goat is
sitting or lying there, and will carry them away or kill them. When a
harvester is taken sick or lags behind his fellows at their work,
they call out, "The Harvest-goat has pushed him," "he has been
pushed by the Corn-goat." In the neighbourhood of Braunsberg
(East Prussia) at binding the oats every harvester makes haste
"lest the Corn-goat push him." At Oefoten, in Norway, each
reaper has his allotted patch to reap. When a reaper in the middle
has not finished reaping his piece after his neighbours have
finished theirs, they say of him, "He remains on the island." And if
the laggard is a man, they imitate the cry with which they call a
he-goat; if a woman, the cry with which they call a she-goat.
Near Straubing, in Lower Bavaria, it is said of the man who cuts
the last corn that "he has the Corn-goat, or the Wheat-goat, or
the Oats-goat," according to the crop. Moreover, two horns are
set up on the last heap of corn, and it is called "the horned Goat."
At Kreutzburg, East Prussia, they call out to the woman who is
binding the last sheaf, "The Goat is sitting in the sheaf." At
Gablingen, in Swabia, when the last field of oats upon a farm is
being reaped, the reapers carve a goat out of wood. Ears of oats
are inserted in its nostrils and mouth, and it is adorned with
garlands of flowers. It is set up on the field and called the
Oats-goat. When the reaping approaches an end, each reaper
hastens to finish his piece first; he who is the last to finish gets the
Oats-goat. Again, the last sheaf is itself called the Goat. Thus, in
the valley of the Wiesent, Bavaria, the last sheaf bound on the
field is called the Goat, and they have a proverb, "The field must
bear a goat." At Spachbrücken, in Hesse, the last handful of corn
which is cut is called the Goat, and the man who cuts it is much
ridiculed. At Dürrenbüchig and about Mosbach in Baden the last
sheaf is also called the Goat. Sometimes the last sheaf is made up
in the form of a goat, and they say, "The Goat is sitting in it."
Again, the person who cuts or binds the last sheaf is called the
Goat. Thus, in parts of Mecklenburg they call out to the woman
who binds the last sheaf, "You are the Harvest-goat." Near
Uelzen, in Hanover, the harvest festival begins with "the bringing
of the Harvest-goat"; that is, the woman who bound the last sheaf
is wrapt in straw, crowned with a harvest-wreath, and brought in
a wheel-barrow to the village, where a round dance takes place.
About Luneburg, also, the woman who binds the last corn is
decked with a crown of corn-ears and is called the Corn-goat. At
Münzesheim in Baden the reaper who cuts the last handful of corn
or oats is called the Corn-goat or the Oats-goat. In the Canton St.
Gall, Switzerland, the person who cuts the last handful of corn on
the field, or drives the last harvest-waggon to the barn, is called
the Corn-goat or the Rye-goat, or simply the Goat. In the Canton
Thurgau he is called Corn-goat; like a goat he has a bell hung
round his neck, is led in triumph, and drenched with liquor. In
parts of Styria, also, the man who cuts the last corn is called
Corn-goat, Oats-goat, or the like. As a rule, the man who thus
gets the name of Corn-goat has to bear it a whole year till the
next harvest. 1
According to one view, the corn-spirit, who has been caught in
the form of a goat or otherwise, lives in the farmhouse or barn over
winter. Thus, each farm has its own embodiment of the corn-spirit.
But, according to another view, the corn-spirit is the genius or
deity, not of the corn of one farm only, but of all the corn. Hence
when the corn on one farm is all cut, he flees to another where
there is still corn left standing. This idea is brought out in a
harvest-custom which was formerly observed in Skye. The farmer
who first finished reaping sent a man or woman with a sheaf to a
neighbouring farmer who had not finished; the latter in his turn,
when he had finished, sent on the sheaf to his neighbour who was
still reaping; and so the sheaf made the round of the farms till all
the corn was cut. The sheaf was called the goabbir bhacagh, that
is, the Cripple Goat. The custom appears not to be extinct at the
present day, for it was reported from Skye not very many years
ago. The corn-spirit was probably thus represented as lame
because he had been crippled by the cutting of the corn.
Sometimes the old woman who brings home the last sheaf must
limp on one foot. 2
But sometimes the corn-spirit, in the form of a goat, is believed
to be slain on the harvest-field by the sickle or scythe. Thus, in
the neighbourhood of Bernkastel, on the Moselle, the reapers
determine by lot the order in which they shall follow each other.
The first is called the fore-reaper, the last the tail-bearer. If a
reaper overtakes the man in front he reaps past him, bending
round so as to leave the slower reaper in a patch by himself. This
patch is called the Goat; and the man for whom "the Goat is cut" in
this way, is laughed and jeered at by his fellows for the rest of the
day. When the tail-bearer cuts the last ears of corn, it is said, "He
is cutting the Goat's neck off." In the neighbourhood of Grenoble,
before the end of the reaping, a live goat is adorned with flowers
and ribbons and allowed to run about the field. The reapers chase
it and try to catch it. When it is caught, the farmer's wife holds it
fast while the farmer cuts off its head. The goat's flesh serves to
furnish the harvest-supper. A piece of the flesh is pickled and
kept till the next harvest, when another goat is killed. Then all the
harvesters eat of the flesh. On the same day the skin of the goat is
made into a cloak, which the farmer, who works with his men, must
always wear at harvest-time if rain or bad weather sets in. But if a
reaper gets pains in his back, the farmer gives him the goat-skin
to wear. The reason for this seems to be that the pains in the back,
being inflicted by the corn-spirit, can also be healed by it.
Similarly, we saw that elsewhere, when a reaper is wounded at
reaping, a cat, as the representative of the corn-spirit, is made to
lick the wound. Esthonian reapers of the island of Mon think that
the man who cuts the first ears of corn at harvest will get pains in
his back, probably because the corn-spirit is believed to resent
especially the first wound; and, in order to escape pains in the
back, Saxon reapers in Transylvania gird their loins with the first
handful of ears which they cut. Here, again, the corn-spirit is
applied to for healing or protection, but in his original vegetable
form, not in the form of a goat or a cat. 3
Further, the corn-spirit under the form of a goat is sometimes
conceived as lurking among the cut corn in the barn, till he is
driven from it by the threshing-flail. Thus in Baden the last sheaf
to be threshed is called the Corn-goat, the Spelt-goat, or the
Oats-goat according to the kind of grain. Again, near Marktl, in
Upper Bavaria, the sheaves are called Straw-goats or simply
Goats. They are laid in a great heap on the open field and
threshed by two rows of men standing opposite each other, who,
as they ply their flails, sing a song in which they say that they see
the Straw-goat amongst the corn-stalks. The last Goat, that is, the
last sheaf, is adorned with a wreath of violets and other flowers
and with cakes strung together. It is placed right in the middle of
the heap. Some of the threshers rush at it and tear the best of it
out; others lay on with their flails so recklessly that heads are
sometimes broken. At Oberinntal, in the Tyrol, the last thresher is
called Goat. So at Haselberg, in West Bohemia, the man who
gives the last stroke at threshing oats is called the Oats-goat. At
Tettnang, in Würtemburg, the thresher who gives the last stroke to
the last bundle of corn before it is turned goes by the name of the
He-goat, and it is said, "He has driven the He-goat away." The
person who, after the bundle has been turned, gives the last
stroke of all, is called the She-goat. In this custom it is implied that
the corn is inhabited by a pair of corn-spirits, male and female. 4
Further, the corn-spirit, captured in the form of a goat at
threshing, is passed on to a neighbour whose threshing is not yet
finished. In Franche Comté, as soon as the threshing is over, the
young people set up a straw figure of a goat on the farmyard of a
neighbour who is still threshing. He must give them wine or money
in return. At Ellwangen, in Würtemburg, the effigy of a goat is
made out of the last bundle of corn at threshing; four sticks form its
legs, and two its horns. The man who gives the last stroke with the
flail must carry the Goat to the barn of a neighbour who is still
threshing and throw it down on the floor; if he is caught in the act,
they tie the Goat on his back. A similar custom is observed at
Indersdorf, in Upper Bavaria; the man who throws the straw Goat
into the neighbour's barn imitates the bleating of a goat; if they
catch him, they blacken his face and tie the Goat on his back. At
Saverne, in Alsace, when a farmer is a week or more behind his
neighbours with his threshing, they set a real stuffed goat or fox
before his door. 5
Sometimes the spirit of the corn in goat form is believed to be
killed at threshing. In the district of Traunstein, Upper Bavaria, they
think that the Oats-goat is in the last sheaf of oats. He is
represented by an old rake set up on end, with an old pot for a
head. The children are then told to kill the Oats-goat. 6
Section 7. The Corn-spirit as a Bull, Cow, or Ox.
ANOTHER form which the corn-spirit often assumes is that of a
bull, cow, or ox. When the wind sweeps over the corn they say at
Conitz, in West Prussia, "The Steer is running in the corn"; when
the corn is thick and strong in one spot, they say in some parts of
East Prussia, "The Bull is lying in the corn." When a harvester has
overstrained and lamed himself, they say in the Graudenz district
of West Prussia, "The Bull pushed him"; in Lorraine they say, "He
has the Bull." The meaning of both expressions is that he has
unwittingly lighted upon the divine corn-spirit, who has punished
the profane intruder with lameness. So near Chambéry when a
reaper wounds himself with his sickle, it is said that he has "the
wound of the Ox." In the district of Bunzlau (Silesia) the last sheaf
is sometimes made into the shape of a horned ox, stuffed with tow
and wrapt in corn-ears. This figure is called the Old Man. In some
parts of Bohemia the last sheaf is made up in human form and
called the Buffalo-bull. These cases show a confusion of the
human with the animal shape of the corn-spirit. The confusion is
like that of killing a wether under the name of a wolf. All over
Swabia the last bundle of corn on the field is called the Cow; the
man who cuts the last ears "has the Cow," and is himself called
Cow or Barley-cow or Oats-cow, according to the crop; at the
harvest-supper he gets a nosegay of flowers and corn-ears and
a more liberal allowance of drink than the rest. But he is teased
and laughed at; so no one likes to be the Cow. The Cow was
sometimes represented by the figure of a woman made out of ears
of corn and corn-flowers. It was carried to the farmhouse by the
man who had cut the last handful of corn. The children ran after
him and the neighbours turned out to laugh at him, till the farmer
took the Cow from him. Here again the confusion between the
human and the animal form of the corn-spirit is apparent. In
various parts of Switzerland the reaper who cuts the last ears of
corn is called Wheat-cow, Corn-cow, Oats-cow, or Corn-steer,
and is the butt of many a joke. On the other hand, in the district of
Rosenheim, Upper Bavaria, when a farmer is later of getting in his
harvest than his neighbours, they set up on his land a Straw-bull,
as it is called. This is a gigantic figure of a bull made of stubble on
a framework of wood and adorned with flowers and leaves.
Attached to it is a label on which are scrawled doggerel verses in
ridicule of the man on whose land the Straw-bull is set up. 1
Again, the corn-spirit in the form of a bull or ox is killed on the
harvest-field at the close of the reaping. At Pouilly, near Dijon,
when the last ears of corn are about to be cut, an ox adorned with
ribbons, flowers, and ears of corn is led all round the field,
followed by the whole troop of reapers dancing. Then a man
disguised as the Devil cuts the last ears of corn and immediately
slaughters the ox. Part of the flesh of the animal is eaten at the
harvest-supper; part is pickled and kept till the first day of sowing
in spring. At Pont à Mousson and elsewhere on the evening of the
last day of reaping, a calf adorned with flowers and ears of corn is
led thrice round the farmyard, being allured by a bait or driven by
men with sticks, or conducted by the farmer's wife with a rope. The
calf chosen for this ceremony is the calf which was born first on
the farm in the spring of the year. It is followed by all the reapers
with their tools. Then it is allowed to run free; the reapers chase it,
and whoever catches it is called King of the Calf. Lastly, it is
solemnly killed; at Lunéville the man who acts as butcher is the
Jewish merchant of the village. 2
Sometimes again the corn-spirit hides himself amongst the cut
corn in the barn to reappear in bull or cow form at threshing. Thus
at Wurmlingen, in Thüringen, the man who gives the last stroke at
threshing is called the Cow, or rather the Barley-cow, Oats-cow,
Peas-cow, or the like, according to the crop. He is entirely
enveloped in straw; his head is surmounted by sticks in imitation
of horns, and two lads lead him by ropes to the well to drink. On
the way thither he must low like a cow, and for a long time
afterwards he goes by the name of the Cow. At Obermedlingen, in
Swabia, when the threshing draws near an end, each man is
careful to avoid giving the last stroke. He who does give it "gets
the Cow," which is a straw figure dressed in an old ragged
petticoat, hood, and stockings. It is tied on his back with a
straw-rope; his face is blackened, and being bound with
straw-ropes to a wheelbarrow he is wheeled round the village.
Here, again, we meet with that confusion between the human and
animal shape of the corn-spirit which we have noted in other
customs. In Canton Schaffhausen the man who threshes the last
corn is called the Cow; in Canton Thurgau, the Corn-bull; in
Canton Zurich, the Thresher-cow. In the last-mentioned district
he is wrapt in straw and bound to one of the trees in the orchard.
At Arad, in Hungary, the man who gives the last stroke at
threshing is enveloped in straw and a cow's hide with the horns
attached to it. At Pessnitz, in the district of Dresden, the man who
gives the last stroke with the flail is called Bull. He must make a
straw-man and set it up before a neighbour's window. Here,
apparently, as in so many cases, the corn-spirit is passed on to a
neighbour who has not finished threshing. So at Herbrechtingen,
in Thüringen, the effigy of a ragged old woman is flung into the
barn of the farmer who is last with his threshing. The man who
throws it in cries, "There is the Cow for you." If the threshers catch
him they detain him over night and punish him by keeping him
from the harvest-supper. In these latter customs the confusion
between the human and the animal shape of the corn-spirit meets
us again. 3
Further, the corn-spirit in bull form is sometimes believed to be
killed at threshing. At Auxerre, in threshing the last bundle of corn,
they call out twelve times, "We are killing the Bull." In the
neighbourhood of Bordeaux, where a butcher kills an ox on the
field immediately after the close of the reaping, it is said of the man
who gives the last stroke at threshing that "he has killed the Bull."
At Chambéry the last sheaf is called the sheaf of the Young Ox,
and a race takes place to it in which all the reapers join. When the
last stroke is given at threshing they say that "the Ox is killed";
and immediately thereupon a real ox is slaughtered by the reaper
who cut the last corn. The flesh of the ox is eaten by the threshers
at supper. 4
We have seen that sometimes the young corn-spirit, whose task
it is to quicken the corn of the coming year, is believed to be born
as a Corn-baby on the harvest-field. Similarly in Berry the young
corn-spirit is sometimes supposed to be born on the field in calf
form; for when a binder has not rope enough to bind all the corn in
sheaves, he puts aside the wheat that remains over and imitates
the lowing of a cow. The meaning is that "the sheaf has given birth
to a calf." In Puy-de-Dôme when a binder cannot keep up with
the reaper whom he or she follows, they say "He (or she) is giving
birth to the Calf." In some parts of Prussia, in similar
circumstances, they call out to the woman, "The Bull is coming,"
and imitate the bellowing of a bull. In these cases the woman is
conceived as the Corn-cow or old corn-spirit, while the
supposed calf is the Corn-calf or young corn-spirit. In some parts
of Austria a mythical calf (Muhkälbchen) is believed to be seen
amongst the sprouting corn in spring and to push the children;
when the corn waves in the wind they say, "The Calf is going
about." Clearly, as Mannhardt observes, this calf of the
spring-time is the same animal which is afterwards believed to be
killed at reaping. 5
Section 8. The Corn-spirit as a Horse or Mare.
SOMETIMES the corn-spirit appears in the shape of a horse or
mare. Between Kalw and Stuttgart, when the corn bends before
the wind, they say, "There runs the Horse." At Bohlingen, near
Radolfzell in Baden, the last sheaf of oats is called the
Oats-stallion. In Hertfordshire, at the end of the reaping, there is
or used to be observed a ceremony called "crying the Mare." The
last blades of corn left standing on the field are tied together and
called the Mare. The reapers stand at a distance and throw their
sickles at it; he who cuts it through "has the prize, with
acclamations and good cheer." After it is cut the reapers cry thrice
with a loud voice, "I have her!" Others answer thrice, "What have
you?"-"A Mare! a Mare! a Mare!"-"Whose is she?" is next
asked thrice. "A. B.'s," naming the owner thrice. "Whither will you
send her?"-"To C. D.," naming some neighbour who has not
reaped all his corn. In this custom the corn-spirit in the form of a
mare is passed on from a farm where the corn is all cut to another
farm where it is still standing, and where therefore the corn-spirit
may be supposed naturally to take refuge. In Shropshire the
custom is similar. The farmer who finishes his harvest last, and
who therefore cannot send the Mare to any one else, is said "to
keep her all winter." The mocking offer of the Mare to a laggard
neighbour was sometimes responded to by a mocking acceptance
of her help. Thus an old man told an inquirer, "While we wun at
supper, a mon cumm'd wi' a autar [halter] to fatch her away." At
one place a real mare used to be sent, but the man who rode her
was subjected to some rough treatment at the farmhouse to which
he paid his unwelcome visit. 1
In the neighbourhood of Lille the idea of the corn-spirit in horse
form in clearly preserved. When a harvester grows weary at his
work, it is said, "He has the fatigue of the Horse." The first sheaf,
called the "Cross of the Horse," is placed on a cross of boxwood
in the barn, and the youngest horse on the farm must tread on it.
The reapers dance round the last blades of corn, crying, "See the
remains of the Horse." The sheaf made out of these last blades is
given to the youngest horse of the parish (commune) to eat. This
youngest horse of the parish clearly represents, as Mannhardt
says, the corn-spirit of the following year, the Corn-foal, which
absorbs the spirit of the old Corn-horse by eating the last corn
cut; for, as usual, the old corn-spirit takes his final refuge in the
last sheaf. The thresher of the last sheaf is said to "beat the
Horse." 2
Section 9. The Corn-spirit as a Pig (Boar or Sow).
THE LAST animal embodiment of the corn-spirit which we shall
notice is the pig (boar or sow). In Thüringen, when the wind sets
the young corn in motion, they sometimes say, "The Boar is
rushing through the corn." Amongst the Esthonians of the island of
Oesel the last sheaf is called the Ryeboar, and the man who gets
it is saluted with a cry of "You have the Rye-boar on your back!"
In reply he strikes up a song, in which he prays for plenty. At
Kohlerwinkel, near Augsburg, at the close of the harvest, the last
bunch of standing corn is cut down, stalk by stalk, by all the
reapers in turn. He who cuts the last stalk "gets the Sow," and is
laughed at. In other Swabian villages also the man who cuts the
last corn "has the Sow," or "has the Rye-sow." At Bohlingen,
near Radolfzell in Baden, the last sheaf is called the Rye-sow or
the Wheat-sow, according to the crop; and at Röhrenbach in
Baden the person who brings the last armful for the last sheaf is
called the Corn-sow or the Oats-sow. At Friedingen, in Swabia,
the thresher who gives the last stroke is called Sow-Barley-sow,
Corn-sow, or the like, according to the crop. At Onstmettingen the
man who gives the last stroke at threshing "has the Sow"; he is
often bound up in a sheaf and dragged by a rope along the
ground. And, generally, in Swabia the man who gives the last
stroke with the flail is called Sow. He may, however, rid himself of
this invidious distinction by passing on to a neighbour the
straw-rope, which is the badge of his position as Sow. So he
goes to a house and throws the straw-rope into it, crying, "There,
I bring you the Sow." All the inmates give chase; and if they catch
him they beat him, shut him up for several hours in the pig-sty,
and oblige him to take the "Sow" away again. In various parts of
Upper Bavaria the man who gives the last stroke at threshing must
"carry the Pig"-that is, either a straw effigy of a pig or merely a
bundle of straw-ropes. This he carries to a neighbouring farm
where the threshing is not finished, and throws it into the barn. If
the threshers catch him they handle him roughly, beating him,
blackening or dirtying his face, throwing him into filth, binding the
Sow on his back, and so on; if the bearer of the Sow is a woman
they cut off her hair. At the harvest supper or dinner the man who
"carried the Pig" gets one or more dumplings made in the form of
pigs. When the dumplings are served up by the maidservant, all
the people at table cry "Süz, süz, süz !" that being the cry used in
calling pigs. Sometimes after dinner the man who "carried the Pig"
has his face blackened, and is set on a cart and drawn round the
village by his fellows, followed by a crowd crying "Süz, süz, süz
!" as if they were calling swine. Sometimes, after being wheeled
round the village, he is flung on the dunghill. 1
Again, the corn-spirit in the form of a pig plays his part at
sowing-time as well as at harvest. At Neuautz, in Courland, when
barley is sown for the first time in the year, the farmer's wife boils
the chine of a pig along with the tail, and brings it to the sower on
the field. He eats of it, but cuts off the tail and sticks it in the field;
it is believed that the ears of corn will then grow as long as the
tail. Here the pig is the corn-spirit, whose fertilising power is
sometimes supposed to lie especially in his tail. As a pig he is put
in the ground at sowing-time, and as a pig he reappears amongst
the ripe corn at harvest. For amongst the neighbouring
Esthonians, as we have seen, the last sheaf is called the
Rye-boar. Somewhat similar customs are observed in Germany. In
the Salza district, near Meiningen, a certain bone in the pig is
called "the Jew on the winnowing-fan." The flesh of this bone is
boiled on Shrove Tuesday, but the bone is put amongst the ashes
which the neighbours exchange as presents on St. Peter's Day
(the twenty-second of February), and then mix with the seedcorn.
In the whole of Hesse, Meiningen, and other districts, people eat
pea-soup with dried pig-ribs on Ash Wednesday or Candlemas.
The ribs are then collected and hung in the room till sowing-time,
when they are inserted in the sown field or in the seed-bag
amongst the flax seed. This is thought to be an infallible specific
against earth-fleas and moles, and to cause the flax to grow well
and tall. 2
But the idea of the corn-spirit as embodied in pig form is
nowhere more clearly expressed than in the Scandinavian custom
of the Yule Boar. In Sweden and Denmark at Yule (Christmas) it is
the custom to bake a loaf in the form of a boar-pig. This is called
the Yule Boar. The corn of the last sheaf is often used to make it.
All through Yule the Yule Boar stands on the table. Often it is kept
till the sowing-time in spring, when part of it is mixed with the
seed-corn and part given to the ploughman and plough-horses or
ploughoxen to eat, in the expectation of a good harvest. In this
custom the corn-spirit, immanent in the last sheaf, appears at
midwinter in the form of a boar made from the corn of the last
sheaf; and his quickening influence on the corn is shown by
mixing part of the Yule Boar with the seed-corn, and giving part
of it to the ploughman and his cattle to eat. Similarly we saw that
the Corn-wolf makes his appearance at mid-winter, the time when
the year begins to verge towards spring. Formerly a real boar was
sacrificed at Christmas, and apparently also a man in the
character of the Yule Boar. This, at least, may perhaps be inferred
from a Christmas custom still observed in Sweden. A man is wrapt
up in a skin, and carries a wisp of straw in his mouth, so that the
projecting straws look like the bristles of a boar. A knife is brought,
and an old woman, with her face blackened, pretends to sacrifice
him. 3
On Christmas Eve in some parts of the Esthonian island of Oesel
they bake a long cake with the two ends turned up. It is called the
Christmas Boar, and stands on the table till the morning of New
Year's Day, when it is distributed among the cattle. In other parts
of the island the Christmas Boar is not a cake but a little pig born
in March, which the housewife fattens secretly, often without the
knowledge of the other members of the family. On Christmas Eve
the little pig is secretly killed, then roasted in the oven, and set on
the table standing on all fours, where it remains in this posture for
several days. In other parts of the island, again, though the
Christmas cake has neither the name nor the shape of a boar, it is
kept till the New Year, when half of it is divided among all the
members and all the quadrupeds of the family. The other half of the
cake is kept till sowing-time comes round, when it is similarly
distributed in the morning among human beings and beasts. In
other parts of Esthonia, again, the Christmas Boar, as it is called,
is baked of the first rye cut at harvest; it has a conical shape and
a cross is impressed on it with a pig's bone or a key, or three dints
are made in it with a buckle or a piece of charcoal. It stands with a
light beside it on the table all through the festal season. On New
Year's Day and Epiphany, before sunrise, a little of the cake is
crumbled with salt and given to the cattle. The rest is kept till the
day when the cattle are driven out to pasture for the first time in
spring. It is then put in the herdsman's bag, and at evening is
divided among the cattle to guard them from magic and harm. In
some places the Christmas Boar is partaken of by farm-servants
and cattle at the time of the barley sowing, for the purpose of
thereby producing a heavier crop. 4
Section 10. On the Animal Embodiments of the Corn-spirit.
SO much for the animal embodiments of the corn-spirit as they are
presented to us in the folk-customs of Northern Europe. These
customs bring out clearly the sacramental character of the
harvest-supper. The corn-spirit is conceived as embodied in an
animal; this divine animal is slain, and its flesh and blood are
partaken of by the harvesters. Thus the cock, the hare, the cat,
the goat, and the OX are eaten sacramentally by the harvester,
and the pig is eaten sacramentally by ploughmen in spring. Again,
as a substitute for the real flesh of the divine being, bread or
dumplings are made in his image and eaten sacramentally; thus,
pig-shaped dumplings are eaten by the harvesters, and loaves
made in boar-shape (the Yule Boar) are eaten in spring by the
ploughman and his cattle. 1
The reader has probably remarked the complete parallelism
between the conceptions of the corn-spirit in human and in animal
form. The parallel may be here briefly resumed. When the corn
waves in the wind it is said either that the Corn-mother or that the
Corn-wolf, etc., is passing through the corn. Children are warned
against straying in corn-fields either because the Corn-mother or
because the Corn-wolf, etc., is there. In the last corn cut or the
last sheaf threshed either the Corn-mother or the Corn-wolf, etc.,
is supposed to be present. The last sheaf is itself called either the
Corn-mother or the Corn-wolf, etc., and is made up in the shape
either of a woman or of a wolf, etc. The person who cuts, binds, or
threshes the last sheaf is called either the Old Woman or the Wolf,
etc., according to the name bestowed on the sheaf itself. As in
some places a sheaf made in human form and called the Maiden,
the Mother of the Maize, etc., is kept from one harvest to the next
in order to secure a continuance of the corn-spirit's blessing, so
in some places the Harvest-cock and in others the flesh of the
goat is kept for a similar purpose from one harvest to the next. As
in some places the grain taken from the Corn-mother is mixed with
the seed-corn in spring to make the crop abundant, so in some
places the feathers of the cock, and in Sweden the Yule Boar, are
kept till spring and mixed with the seed-corn for a like purpose. As
part of the Corn-mother or Maiden is given to the cattle at
Christmas or to the horses at the first ploughing, so part of the
Yule Boar is given to the ploughing horses or oxen in spring.
Lastly, the death of the corn-spirit is represented by killing or
pretending to kill either his human or his animal representative;
and the worshippers partake sacramentally either of the actual
body and blood of the representative of the divinity, or of bread
made in his likeness. 2
Other animal forms assumed by the corn-spirit are the fox, stag,
roe, sheep, bear, ass, mouse, quail, stork, swan, and kite. If it is
asked why the corn-spirit should be thought to appear in the form
of an animal and of so many different animals, we may reply that
to primitive man the simple appearance of an animal or bird among
the corn is probably enough to suggest a mysterious link between
the creature and the corn; and when we remember that in the old
days, before fields were fenced in, all kinds of animals must have
been free to roam over them, we need not wonder that the
corn-spirit should have been identified even with large animals
like the horse and cow, which nowadays could not, except by a
rare accident, be found straying in an English corn-field. This
explanation applies with peculiar force to the very common case
in which the animal embodiment of the corn-spirit is believed to
lurk in the last standing corn. For at harvest a number of wild
animals, such as hares, rabbits, and partridges, are commonly
driven by the progress of the reaping into the last patch of
standing corn, and make their escape from it as it is being cut
down. So regularly does this happen that reapers and others often
stand round the last patch of corn armed with sticks or guns, with
which they kill the animals as they dart out of their last refuge
among the stalks. Now, primitive man, to whom magical changes
of shape seem perfectly credible, finds it most natural that the spirit
of the corn, driven from his home in the ripe grain, should make
his escape in the form of the animal which is seen to rush out of
the last patch of corn as it falls under the scythe of the reaper.
Thus the identification of the corn-spirit with an animal is
analogous to the identification of him with a passing stranger. As
the sudden appearance of a stranger near the harvest-field or
threshing-floor is, to the primitive mind, enough to identify him as
the spirit of the corn escaping from the cut or threshed corn, so
the sudden appearance of an animal issuing from the cut corn is
enough to identify it with the corn-spirit escaping from his ruined
home. The two identifications are so analogous that they can
hardly be dissociated in any attempt to explain them. Those who
look to some other principle than the one here suggested for the
explanation of the latter identification are bound to show that their
theory covers the former identification also. 3
