LL-L: "Folklore" (was "Mythology") LOWLANDS-L, 08.OCT.2000 (05) [E/LS]
Lowlands-L
sassisch at yahoo.com
Sun Oct 8 22:39:43 UTC 2000
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L O W L A N D S - L * 08.OCT.2000 (05) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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A=Afrikaans, Ap=Appalachean, D=Dutch, E=English, F=Frisian, L=Limburgish
LS=Low Saxon (Low German), S=Scots, Sh=Shetlandic, Z=Zeelandic (Zeeuws)
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From: niels.winther at dfds.dk
Subject: LL-L: "Mythology"
Folklore and Ethnobotany.
The Elder revisited.
Boys do have many rules and rituals they must obey. Perhaps some of you do
remember from your own childhood the drastic consequences anticipated on
breaching these
rules. When cutting a flute from an Elder-twig great care was taken not to
bruise the
Eldertree. Always a nice clean cut and the superfluous material put back in
the shadow of
the Elder. It was known that you would surely die within a year as a
penalty for vandalism
to the Elder.
It is a mysterious and impressive fact that old Eldertrees are growing ears
in
wintertime. Some days they show, alternating with days when they (the ears)
have suddenly
disappeared. The ears are of a sun-tanned colour. reaching at maximum the
size of an old mans
ear. They are somewhat thinner than a human ear. It is as if there is a
mucilagineous-cartilagineous stroma covered with very delicate, soft, dry
skin. With its convolutions, it is very much alike the human auricle. No
wonder that people speak to this tree.
It was known that you could get some help for rachitis, fever and diseases
of
the urinary tract, from the Elder. I have no first hand knowledge of the
rhymes used when approaching the Elder for this purpose; but the literature
is full of examples. Here is one from Angeln in Slesvig from a collection
early 20th century. To get rid of the fever you approach the Elder with
this rhyme: "De feber plagt mi, nim du et o di, ik gaa von di" If now the
Elder is shaking a little, it is a sign that it has taken the disease.
In my own humble opinion a warm Elder-toddy is a master-remedy for a cold
or a
sore throat. And I would not be the least surprised if one day it be
substantiated as a
farmakon in the treatment of urinary inflammation or cold fever.
Now - I should not forget about the Elder-ears. It is in fact a fungus:
Auricularia auricula-judae. The fruiting body displays in humid weather,
but disappears overnight when dry, not literally of course; it rather
transforms rapidly into some inconspicuous minute hard scales or nodules
when drying out. I am told that this fungus is not very common when you
are far away from the sea. Now, since I spent my childhood very near the
extreme northern end of the wadden sea, this was such a common phenomenon,
that it was considered a natural law that old Elders have ears.
It is a fact that many people had and perhaps still have a mixed feeling of
reverence and fear towards the Elder. I have heard many stories of all the
terrible things that happened if you just felled or destroyed and
Eldertree: houses burnt down and all sorts of misfortunes. Once in a
storm, the roof of my parents house blew off. Shortly afterwards I paid a
visit to help with the many reparations. I have never before heard anything
superstituous from my father, then 85; but on this day he said to me: "You
know there was an Elderbush on the roof. It came down with the tiles. Find
a place where it can live and grow" Considering that there are already the
first hundreds of Elderbushes and -trees near the house, this request shows
some of the very special reverence towards the Elder.
Well, let me stop here, before getting to far OT.
rgds
niels
----------
From: david strommen [si00924 at navix.net]
Subject: LL-L: "Mythology" LOWLANDS-L, 07.OCT.2000 (04) [E]
> From: john feather [johnfeather at sceptic1.freeserve.co.uk]
> Subject: Mythology
>
> Re rings:
>
> Jorge wrote:
>
> >How do you count fingers? Physicians and piano players count
> the thumb as number one. Do you? To an American or Canadian physician,
and
> I
> believe an English one, "ring finger" is synonymous with "fourth
finger."<>
>
> Common BE usage is that the forefinger or index finger is the "first"
> finger
> so the ring finger is called "third".
In Scandinavia we have have names for the fingers. I remember sitting on
my
Norwegian grandmother's lap and my mother's Danish aunt's laps and they
would
play the game of naming our fingers. Does the lowlands area have names for
the
fingers? (in my Norwegian dialect they are tommeltott, slikkepøtt,
langetong,
ringefing, litjegoddagemannjen, in Danish we would say tommeltot, sligepøt,
langemand, ringefing, lillepederspillemand) I would be interested in
hearing
the names for the fingers in low german or dutch. Regards David
----------
From: R. F. Hahn [sassisch at yahoo.com]
Subject: Folklore
David, you wrote:
> In Scandinavia we have have names for the fingers. I remember sitting on
my
> Norwegian grandmother's lap and my mother's Danish aunt's laps and they
would
> play the game of naming our fingers. Does the lowlands area have names
for the
> fingers? (in my Norwegian dialect they are tommeltott, slikkepøtt,
langetong,
> ringefing, litjegoddagemannjen, in Danish we would say tommeltot,
sligepøt,
> langemand, ringefing, lillepederspillemand) I would be interested in
hearing
> the names for the fingers in low german or dutch.
Let me try:
Low Saxon (Low German) (Northern Low Saxon)
Official.............................Nickname
thumb.........Duum/Dumen.................Dickerdriefmann ("fat driving
man")
index f. .......Wiesfinger......................Puttenlicker ("pot licker";
cf. D. sligepøt N. slikkepøtt)
middle f. .....Middelfinger..................Langemann ("long/tall man";
cf. D. langemand)
ring f. ..........Ringfinger......................?
little f. .........lütt(e) finger...................?
Hölp! Ick weet de Ökelnaams vun'n Ringfinger un vun't lütten Finger nich
meer. Wokeen besinnt sick noch daar an?
Niels, you wrote:
> Folklore and Ethnobotany.
>
> The Elder revisited.
<...>
> Well, let me stop here, before getting to far OT.
Oh, but it's very interesting and may be useful considering centuries of
Danish-Jutish-Saxon contacts, i.e., linguistic and cultural exchange
between Northern Germanic and Western ("Lowlandic") Germanic, not to
mention medieval Scandinavian influences on the British Isles. I believe
that especially Southern Jutland is of great interest to Lowlands studies,
and we have hardly even begun to delve into ethnobotany on this list.
Regards,
Reinhard/Ron
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