He is assisted by two attendants who help him through the long day, and uses staves to support his arms and stop them sticking to his body. He walks the streets of the town for hours, covering about 7 miles in what is believed to be a luck-bringing custom. Whisky is regularly offered to him on his rounds (also for luck) and because his face is also covered with burrs attached to a knitted balaclava, he drinks it through a straw.
The Burry man is associated with, but not part of, the local Ferry Fair which takes place around this time with parades, concerts, fancy dress, bands and the crowning of the Ferry Queen. The right to hold the Ferry Fair was first granted in 1687, but the Burry Man custom is widely believed to be much older.
Similar ceremonies used to be held in other Scottish fishing communities, notably Buckie on the Moray Firth and Fraserburgh, to 'raise the herring' when there had been a poor fishing season. Now, only the South Queensferry ceremony remains, though there are possible parallels with the Whittlesea Straw Bear, Irish Wren Day costumes and the Castleton Garland King (and perhaps even the Jack in the green) in England, as well as other customs elsewhere in Europe.
There are many theories about the origin of the custom, what the ceremony means, and why it continues. One idea is that the parade was intended to ward off evil spirits - it can certainly ward off children, some of whom are terrified at the very sight of the Burryman, and avoid looking him in the eye. It has been suggested that he carries on a pagan tradition thousands of years old; that he is a symbol of rebirth, regeneration and fertility (similar to the Green Man) that pre-dates almost all contemporary religions; that he is a 'scapegoat' and may even originally have been a sacrificial victim.
Here's a video of the costume being created.
And Hollywood actors moan about time spent in make-up!
No comments:
Post a Comment