medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
I grew up in Nigeria where you could see the identical custom at sacred
trees for fertility.
DW
Jon Cannon wrote:
>medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
>
>My impression - it is I'm afraid no more than a semi-educated guess, but
>folklorists must have done 'proper' work on this - is that the word
>'clootie' for wells-surrounded-by-trees-hung-with-cloths is alive and in
>common use in Ireland and/or Scotland, and has recently been imported to
>England. But that nevertheless it is at root an English word, literally
>'clothy' (implying, if I'm right, that the term post-dates the
>widespread use of English in those places).
>
>The practice itself has been around for quite some time, tho whether
>that means 'last century' 'early modern', or 'medieval' (or even
>earlier??), I have no idea. I have always imagined that the elaborate
>'well dressings' carried out in the English Peak District had grown out
>of this more 'primitive' practice, which might thus predate them.
>
>On firmer ground, it is astonishingly widespread as a human/cultural
>activity. I have seen (and photographed) what we would call 'clootie
>wells' in both Central Asia and the Far East, from southern China to
>Siberia.
>
>Pretty is certainly the wrong word for it, but such wells are very
>atmospheric. As a way of giving a place a sense of significance, the
>simple act of adding rags to surrounding growth does a very powerful
>job. I have visited groves of trees in Tibet wrapped up with prayer
>flags, and found them just as effective a 'religious enclosure' as a
>church, and with better views and fresh air to boot... all this, to me,
>makes it a compelling practice.
>
>Jon Cannon
>-----Original Message-----
>From: medieval-religion - Scholarly discussions of medieval religious
>culture [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Susan
>Hoyle
>Sent: 10 February 2006 09:33
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: [M-R] Clootie
>
>medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and
>culture
>
>Not just Saxon, perhaps. We get clooties left at the Holy Wells here
>in
>west Cornwall, scraps of usually cloth, but also tinsel and plastic
>ribbon, tied
>to twigs and branches of overhanging trees. Rarely the effect is
>pretty,
>mainly it's messy; neither is the point, I dare say. My understanding
>is that
>they are meant as gifts of value, but I suspect that nowadays the
>meaning is
>lost and people just do what they 'always' did. I further suspect that
>the
>practice, locally at least, is actually of recent origin.
>
>Susan
>[log in to unmask]
>
>**********************************************************************
>To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME
>to: [log in to unmask]
>To send a message to the list, address it to:
>[log in to unmask]
>To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion
>to: [log in to unmask]
>In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to:
>[log in to unmask]
>For further information, visit our web site:
>http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html
>
>**********************************************************************
>To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME
>to: [log in to unmask]
>To send a message to the list, address it to:
>[log in to unmask]
>To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion
>to: [log in to unmask]
>In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to:
>[log in to unmask]
>For further information, visit our web site:
>http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html
>
>
>
**********************************************************************
To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME
to: [log in to unmask]
To send a message to the list, address it to:
[log in to unmask]
To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion
to: [log in to unmask]
In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to:
[log in to unmask]
For further information, visit our web site:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html
|