LL-L "Rituals" 2002.01.09 (09) [E/S]

[Lowlands-L]

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 L O W L A N D S - L * 09.JAN.2002 (09) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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From: Sandy Fleming [sandy at scotstext.org]
Subject: "Rituals"

> From: Thomas <t.mcrae at uq.net.au>
> Subject: LL-L "Rituals" 2002.01.08 (04) [E/S]
>
> boy's birthday, for example, "tae gie 'im 'is Dumps". This involved his
> friends lining up and thumping him once for each year of his
> age.." Yin, Twa, etc...." At count's end each he'd get a harder thump with
'Yin
> fur the Day', another such 'Yin fur the moarun', then a third 'An yin fur
the
> day that yew wur boarun'. Final part of the ritul was chanting 'An yin fur
the
> auld man's  kick' as the victim received a kick up the bum. This could be
a
> painful time if you had a lot of pals.

We called them "dumps" as well - I seem to remember that rhyme
being appended so that you could hit the lucky birthday boy or
girl three more times.

> From: "Randy Elzinga" <frisiancow at hotmail.com>
> Subject: LL-L "Rituals" 2002.01.09 (02) [E]
>
>   My birthday is in the summer, so I never had to recieve the birthday
> bumps, nor bring treats.  However, my brother's birthday was in February,
> near to my half birthday (a consolation prize for those souls

Yes, I was never on the receiving end either, my birthday
being Hogmanay. It is more blessed to give than to receive!

Still on the subject of rituals, what sort of graces, in the
sense of prayers before a meal, are traditional in the Lowlands?
The best known in Scotland is the Selkirk Grace, popularised by,
and usually attributed to, Burns (this is the version I learned
from my mother, Burns's is slightly different):

Some hae meat an canna eat,
    An some can eat that wants it,
But we hae meat, an we can eat,
    An sae the Lord be thankit.

(hae - have
 wants - lacks
 in the above and all of the following you should be aware
 that "meat" in Scots means food of any kind)

Since this is worth being able to recite here's a SAMPA version:

sVm he: mi? @n k(h)a:n@ i?
@n sVm k(h)@n i? Da? wQ:n?s I?
b@? wi: he: mi? @n wi: k(h)@n i?
@n se: D@ lo:rd bi 'TQ:NkI?

(The glottal stops can be pronounced [t] throughout if you
have difficulty with them - it's still good Scots; "meat" and
"eat" are pronounced [me:?] and [e:?] in some dialects)

>From my own county of East Lothian comes the following,
somewhat cynical (or just plain honest), grace:

Lord be blessed for aa his gifts,
Defy the deil an aa his shifts,
    God send me mair siller.  Amen.

(deil - devil
 mair siller - more money)

"The Hoosekeeper's Grace" emphasises good husbandry and manners:

Holy, holy, roond the table,
Eat nae mair than ye are able;
Eat ane, pootch nane,
Holy, holy, Amen.

(pootch nane - pocket none)

Sometimes when food is scarce, humour is brought into play:

Holy Mary, holy meat,
Holy tatties, peel an eat.

(tatties - potatoes)

The following is known as "King Crispin's Grace" - would he
be the patron saint of soutars (shoemakers)? I'm not sure in
what sense this is a "grace" - presumably in some times and
places the word is used to mean something more general than
a prayer before meat.

O, King Crispin, what are we in thy sicht but a set o easie-osie, ulie-moued
bodies!
Leather tae yark an leather tae bark,
Leather in o the hole an leather oot o the hole,
Inseam awls an ootseam awls,
Heel awls an peggin awls.
Bags o birse, baas o roset, an batter in the neuk o the stuil.
Amen.

Sandy
http://scotstext.org
A dinna dout him, for he says that he
On nae accoont wad ever tell a lee.
                          - C.W.Wade,
                    'The Adventures o McNab'

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