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A
Year of Orcadian Tradition
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"'Well", says August, "time
to gather all the riches together
in a field full of folk."
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| August |
August was the month in which the
greatest Orkney holiday of the year was held - the Lammas
Market.
Lammas, also called "Lughnasad", was an ancient
celebration of the first harvest, and honoured the grain
harvests, as well as the gods and goddesses of death and
resurrection.
Lughnasadh - meaning "festival of Lugh" - or Lammas
- meaning "festival of the loaves" ("hlaf-mass")
- fell on August 1.
In Kirkwall, the Lammas Market took place over 11 days, and
was proclaimed through the streets of the town by the town
officer, preceded by a drummer. These days, however, the
Lammas Fair is forgotten. In its heyday, the Lammas Fair attracted folk from across
the islands, who all headed into the town to be entertained
by showmen, tricksters and entertainers.
To cope with the incredible influx of visitors, poor, but
adequate, accommodation was offered throughout Kirkwall.
These Lammas "beuls" were, very often, just a straw-covered
floors on which the visiting islanders rested, in the company of
a number of strangers.
An interesting tradition surrounding the fair is that the
young men were advised to place a four-leafed clover in
their boots. This was believed to give them the power to
see through the tricks employed by the visiting cheap-jacks.
Examples of the reliability of this charm are actually recorded.
One story relates that a crowd, gathered around a Lammas
booth to watch a dancing cockerel, were asked by an old woman
why they were so interested in a bird with straws fixed
to its legs. It was only then that the sheepish onlookers
realised that they had been mesmerised by the crafty showman.
The old woman was immune to his tricks because there was a four-leaved
clover hidden within the grass she carried. |
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