On this full moon night, Tom and Rhonda discuss some of the main rituals and customs necessary to safeguard important life events, from pregnancy through birth and baptisms, and onward to concerns and superstitions around courtship. Tom will tell us a few stories related to these customs and give a bit of history to help folk understand the very sensible reasons for these early Orkney practices.
Join us to find out ...
- Why you should avoid insulting a witch when you're about to go sailing (which has nothing to do with our topic, but is interesting and perhaps valuable information nonetheless)
- Natural signs of an upcoming birth; precautions taken to avoid trouble during the precarious time of pregnancy and the earlierst months of life; how to avoid attracting the evil eye; keeping the trows from kidnapping mother or child
- All about the howdie wife - an important and respected woman who takes folk into the world and helps them out of it
- The Orkney meaning of "wifie"
- The story of the bairn of Langalour
- Different strengths of home brew, their names and when to drink them
- Christening stories
- Why Orcadians never let the hearthfire die
- Divining customs for discerning the identity of one's future spouse
- Why one of the Stones of Stenness has holes in it
- Tales from the Odin Stone, and the unbreakable Odin Oath (with a handy escape clause)
- The pathetic story of Pirate Gow and the Odin Oath
Mentioned in this episode: The story of the Hudson's Bay Company man who was a woman: https://www.orkneyology.com/isobel-gunn.html
In Part 2 of Orkney Customs: Hatch, Match, Dispatch Tom will tell us more about "match" customs - courtship and marriage - and also Orkney death customs. See you on the next full moon!
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