Monday 16 September 2024

'"Tis But A Thing of Straw"

 I unpinned my corn dolly from the top corner of the bookshelves when they were emptied ready for moving when the floor was being done and bits fell off it. It's looking very faded too.

This is how it looked when new

 So I had to look back on the blog to see how old it was and turns out I got it in October 2020 because of the connection to the Ogham Tree Alphabet which has Wheat Straw representing October to November.


The Wheat-straw Page from Karen Cater's book" Ogham Sketch Book"



Later I was shifting more books from the living room shelves out of the way and re-found a sort of scrap book I started with great plans about 8 years ago. (This is a different scrap book to my two old fashioned scrapbooks started in 2021!) It has cuttings about the seasons and weather folklore taken from the pages that I wrote for the Suffolk Smallholders Society newsletter and cuttings from Country Wisdom and Folklore Diaries but not much else. Trouble is they are all stuck in with glue and can't be taken out.........Anyway, while I was flicking through a loose cutting fell out -taken from an old Folklore Diary all about Corn Dollies. Ah Ha I thought - I can make a blog post from this. ............

From the diary
Twisting and plaiting straw to make effigies and other objects has been practised all over the world and is closely linked to harvest thanksgiving. In the British Isles, the men who brought in the harvest traditionally made a human-like form out of the last wheat standing. This tradition developed to become a decorative pastoral craft often practised by women. Crafting these symbols of good luck and fertility, which reflected superstitious beliefs also enabled them to earn a small extra income. In it's purest form, the corn doll was used to than Mother Earth for the harvest.


'Tis but a thing of straw' they say,
yet even straw can sturdy be
Plaited into a doll like me.
And in the days of long ago
To help the seeds once more to grow
I was an offering to the gods.
A very simple way indeed
Of asking them to intercede
That barn and granary o'erflow
At harvest time, with fruit and corn
To fill again Amalthea's horn.

Minnie Lambert 1957 

(Amalthea's horn is another name for a Cornucopia)

From the book Cattern Cakes and Lace by Julia Jones

Great ceremony was always attached to the harvesting of the last sheaf  and a great Harvest Shout was raised by the reapers as it was cut. It was treated with special respect and used to make the corn dolly which would be carried home atop of the last load from the field. In the following year the Corn Dolly would be planted in the first furrow on Plough Monday, so that it's spirit would be released and ensure another good harvest.

Many parts of the country gave names to the dolly made from the last sheaf. In Devon the 'Crying The Neck and Kirn Baby'. In Hertfordshire 'The Mare'. In Shropshire ' The Old Hare'. In Hampshire 'Kern Baby' and in the Highlands of Scotland it was called 'The Maiden'.

I may have a morning out sometime to Corncraft  in Monks Eleigh for a new corn dolly, a look around their shop - and a coffee and cheese scone of course!

Back Soon
Sue


27 comments:

  1. That sounds like a good morning out. We still have Harvest Festival in most churches but the remembering of how the food on our plate got there is of course forgotten. As is the food 'Grace' we say before starting a meal.

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  2. My Christmas tree topper is made partly from corn dolly type weaving. She's well over 35 years old now, I did not expect her to last this long. An interesting round up of facts again, you really do your research well.

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    1. Your tree topper has lasted well - better than my little bit of corn weaving

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  3. That's really interesting. I was taught to make corn dollies as a young woman. It is something that I would have liked to have carried on doing but it is very hard to get straw of the right length as modern varieties of cereals (we used rye) are so much shorter than older varieties.

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    1. I wonder if anywhere grows Rye - not around here - always just barley and wheat

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  4. That’s really interesting that the corn Dollie’s have different names. Enjoy your trip out-I managed 2 lots of coffee and cheese scones last week when we were away in the van. Catriona

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    1. No mention of what they were called here in Suffolk - I should have investigated further

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  5. Love this post! I remember those from my childhood. I love a good cheese scone. My sister makes lovely ones and made me lots while I was there!

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  6. If there are cheese scones and coffee to be had, I definitely think you should have a morning out to go and buy a new corn dolly. Spraying it lightly with hairspray before you hang it up will both help you keep the dust off it a bit and make it last longer.

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    1. Good idea about the hairspray - not something I use on my short hair but I could get some

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  7. Most interesting post. I wonder how many keep up the old traditions in these super-mechanised times.
    Corncraft looks an interesting place.

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    1. The shop has some very expensive up market stuff - nice to look at, just a small display of Corn crafted things now- different to when they started

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    2. The word 'corn' was used for wheat, oats, barley, rye and other grains.

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  8. A nice idea to have a visit to the Corncraft shop to buy a new corndolly and have a nice coffee. I quite often make cheese scones, so simple and so good.
    BTW I managed t get the the Cattern Cakes and Lace book at a charity shop recently, I was well chuffed.
    Alison in Wales x

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    1. That book has been used a lot on the blog - I've had it ages and it's been very handy

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  9. I lived in Kent, and as a young child I remember being given 3 pieces of corn that had been woven very tightly into a short plait with the 3 heads at the top, so that might be tucked into a buttonhole as decoration. It was extremely well made, I couldn’t imagine how he had managed to weave it so tightly, but what surprised even my very young self was that the person who wove it who worked on the farm was more of a rebel with slicked back hair and a cheeky demeanour— the last person I would have expected to follow the traditional ways. Jean in Winnipeg

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  10. Well, this post led me to Google to find out why they are called "corn dollies" if they are made out of wheat or straw? I found corn husk dolls which are totally different looking. So I really didn't figure it out. Still pretty to see, tho! ;)

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    1. Corn Husk dolls are made from Maize which wasn't grown here until relatively recently.- I guess these corn dollys were in the shape of a doll originally

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  11. Fascinating. I wonder if the Corn Dolly tradition is still being used today by wheat farmers. The corn dolly is intricate and very nicely crafted.
    The Corncraft shop, cafe and garden center look wonderful. High tea looks absolutely delightful on the web site.

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    1. The cafe is always very busy - it's a bit too far for frequent visits - which is a good thing as things there are very expensive

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  12. I hope you manage to find a new corn dolly. I have not seen many through my life, but then we don't have any of those old traditions here (sadly), so the only ones around are those made by craftspeople keen to try out something different.

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  13. I have come upon the term and often wondered just what a corn dolly was.

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  14. A blast from the past. I haven't seen one of those in years. Xx

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  15. At the Lost Trades Fair in Victoria, Australia, a lady demonstrates and sells corn dollies. I have two hanging in the kitchen and marvel at their intricate designs each day. Fumblefingers here so no finished craft attempts. Liz

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