The Golden Bough (Third Edition, Vol. 7 of 12) - Mirrors

344 The Golden Bough (Third Edition, Vol. 7 of 12)[293]Oats-stallion. 953 In Hertfordshire, at the end of the reaping, thereis or used to be observed a ceremony called “crying the Mare.”The last blades of corn left standing on the field are tied togetherand called the Mare. The reapers stand at a distance and throwtheir sickles at it; he who cuts it through “has the prize, withacclamations and good cheer.” After it is cut the reapers cry thricewith a loud voice, “I have her!” Others answer thrice, “Whathave you?”—“A Mare! a Mare! a Mare!”—“Whose is she?” isnext asked thrice. “A. B.'s,” naming the owner thrice. “Whitherwill you send her?”—“To C. D.,” naming some neighbour whohas not reaped all his corn. 954 In this custom the corn-spirit inthe form of a mare is passed on from a farm where the corn is allcut to another farm where it is still standing, and where thereforethe corn-spirit may be supposed naturally to take refuge. InShropshire the custom is similar. “Crying, calling, or shoutingthe mare is a ceremony performed by the men of that farm whichis the first in any parish or district to finish the harvest. Theobject of it is to make known their own prowess, and to tauntthe laggards by a pretended offer of the ‘owd mar'’ [old mare]to help out their ‘chem’ [team]. All the men assemble (thewooden harvest-bottle being of course one of the company) inthe stackyard, or, better, on the highest ground on the farm, andthere shout the following dialogue, preceding it by a grand ‘Hip,hip, hip, hurrah!’“ ‘I 'ave 'er, I 'ave 'er, I 'ave 'er!’“ ‘Whad 'ast thee, whad 'ast thee, whad 'ast thee?’“ ‘A mar'! a mar'! a mar'!’“ ‘Whose is 'er, whose is 'er, whose is 'er?’“ ‘Maister A.'s, Maister A.'s, Maister A.'s!’ (naming the farmerwhose harvest is finished).“ ‘W'eer sha't the' send 'er? w'eer sha't the' send 'er? w'eer sha'tthe' send 'er?’953 E. H. Meyer, Badisches Volksleben (Strasburg, 1900), p. 428.954 J. Brand, Popular Antiquities, ii. 24, Bohn's edition.