WORSHIP OF ANCIENT BAAL

Hawera Star, Volume LII, 28 January 1933, Page 11

WORSHIP OF ANCIENT BAAL

» / OTARI ES of Baal, the ancient ’ Phoenician God of Fire, still exist in the tiny village of Whalton, Northumberland, though they themselves are probably not aware of it, nor of the significance of the Baal fire ceremony enaeted on their village green every year. The ceremony is conducted under rules, the origin of which is lost in the mists of time. Wood for the fire is hauled to the scene in farm carts drawn by the villagers. Horses have never been used. If the carts are not willingly lent by their, owners, they are “borrowed,” regardless of authority. The fire is lighted at dusk, and free beer is served to the men, and sweets to the children. Then the village boys and girls dance, sometimes until dawn. Mr James Spence, the oldest male inhabitant of the village, who has taken part- in the festival for nearly 70 years, has never troubled to solve the problem of its ancient origin. “Hots of people liftvc tried to find out what it is all about,” he said, “but I have never worried over it, and I don’t know how far they got.’’ Mr W. .Stringer, who has been village schoolmaster at Whalton for nearly thirty years, and has made a deep study of the subject, says: “The ceremony is a survival of the preChristian worship of Baal, which Avas practised throughout the then civilised Avorld. As far as I know there is only one other place in England where it is i kept up, and that is in Devon. I beliove, however, that it is still carried

Modern Counterpart in Britain

on in Austria. Asia Minor, and other r I countries. “Wlialton is a very ancient site. In a held locally known as Dead Men’s 'Graves, hones and pieces of armour ■have been turned up by the plough, and are evidently traces of some unknown unrecorded battle long ago. There was a Roman outpost from Hadrian’s 'Wall here. My own personal investigations have shown that there has been no interruption in the ceremony at Whalton for the past 200 years.” Mr 'II. Coote, Lake .serretary of the Folk Lore Society, says: “The lire ceremony undoubtedly has its origin in the sun worship of primitive days. It seems to bo closely associated with the ■sowing, and reaping of crops, and also with the strength, of the sun. Lighting bonfires on Midsummer Day, for instance, continues in many places, especially in Cornwall and Ireland. “I have seen instances of sun ■worship at springtime in Austria, Dalmatia, and Brittany. Some of the previous year’s corn is burned, and this is probably a survival of ancient efforts to propitiate the sun, and ensure a bountiful harvest. In some places the villagers leap through the flames of the harvest fires. This can probably bo traced back to the belief that to pass through lire is not only purifying, but also strengthening. As all power comes from the sun, it was thought that a fire, representing the sun, could give strength, which was especially needed when the sun itself was beginning to lose its intensity of heat.”