NB! · Observations · Ethnography · Humour
A man with sheep beside a net in an engraving and the work of July
July is not only the time for making hay but also for shearing sheep, that much is understood. But can anyone explain what is going on here?
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Ethnography
Faith · Books · London · Mores · Ethnography
In Shakespeare's Cymbeline there are these lines:
Yes, he has fallen asleep In the last, eternal, unwaking sleep. I shall make a coffin his bed, Fairies will gather at his grave And no worm will dare creep into it. Literal translation Indeed, in ancient Britain there was a belief that fairies take particular care of young corpses
NB! · Faith · Art · Ethnography
The pilgrim women Repin painted in 1878 reached the canvas "Religious Procession in Kursk Province" by 1883 almost unchanged
Books · Observations · Ethnography
The Hero of Neil Gaiman's "American Gods" Is Accompanied by a Mysterious Old Man Named Wednesday
The hero of Neil Gaiman's "American Gods" is accompanied by a mysterious old man named Wednesday. Perhaps one ought to have guessed sooner, and the sly old fellow would have ceased to seem so enigmatic, but the text offers no special explanation. As the book unfolds,
London · Museums · Observations · Ethnography · Humour
Dried toad as an amulet against seizures in English folk medicine
I don't wish to make diagnoses, but what if Andrey Trubnikov, founder of Natura Siberica, who always wears a toad around his neck, took his inspiration from the old English custom of making an amulet from a dried toad to ward off fits? True, in England the toad&
Faith · Observations · Ethnography
The Hasidic tish: how the rebbe distributes challah and how it recalls the Last Supper
I am not hinting at anything, but if you wish to feel how Jesus handed out bread and wine to his disciples at the Last Supper, try finding video of Hasidic feasts. To attend such a gathering would be nothing short of a miracle, if only because the way there
Archaeology · The East · Museums · Ethnography
Hippopotamus statuettes from Byblos in the Beirut Museum and their link to fertility
The hippopotamuses themselves are also represented in the Bronze Age galleries of the Beirut Museum. These, for example, found in the Temple of the Obelisks at Byblos, portray an animal the Egyptians detested for its gluttony and its merciless raids on their plantations, and the rather dismissive attitude is conveyed
Books · Observations · Mores · Ethnography
Kipling’s poem about bees in translation and the real custom of telling bees the news
Kipling's poem on bee customs, in translation. It should be understood that this is not purely a fairy tale, talking bees aside, of course. Otherwise it describes a way of life that really existed: one shared with the bees not only the news but the gossip too, the
Books · Observations · Nature · Ethnography
English poem on the custom of telling the bees about a wedding, a birth or a death
On the traditions of respectful regard for bees, Rudyard Kipling writes, for example, in the tale "Puck of Pook's Hill":. A Maiden in her glory, Upon her wedding-day, Must tell her Bees the story, Or else they'll fly away. Fly away—die away—
Mores · Nature · Ethnography
The English custom of telling bees family news and draping hives in mourning
The English have a remarkable custom of telling the bees the family news. Not only the beekeeper but his whole household must converse with the hives and relate the most important of what has happened, and it is especially vital for the bees to learn of a recent death. In
Books · Mores · Ethnography · Humour
Advice from a book on the folklore of Cheshire published in 1898
Never buy furniture from workshops and shops near the cemetery: grandfather clocks and dining tables with antique tops are made from the planks of ornate oak coffins, which acquire an elegant patina underground. Advice from a book on Cheshire folklore, 1898
Faith · The East · Art · Ethnography
Saint Helena Discovers the True Cross of the Lord
Saint Helena Discovers the True Cross of the Lord. Jan van Eyck, 1424. Perhaps it is precisely this legend that lies behind the custom of knocking on wood three times, to ward off bad luck or to invite good. The aged mother of the Emperor Constantine, Helena, searched long in