THE FAIRIES OF WALES.

Otago Witness, Issue 1832, 31 December 1886, Page 13

THE FAIRIES OF WALES.

Wales has always been represented as a land of" fairies. The belief in the fairy family and their visits is not now what it used to be, yet there are still firm believers in them, &nd in legends connected therewith, which have been handed down from generation to generation among the aged people in rural mining districts. They are known by various names according to their nature and to the places frequented by them. The most numerous class is known as the " Tylwyth Teg " (the fair family), the members of which are represented as of diminutive size, and seen dancing on the green grass under an oak tree on moonlight nights, clad in robes of divers colours, such as green, blue, white, and scarlet. They used to pay visits to indigent families and bestow blessings on them, and on that account they were termed " Bendith Matnau " (mothers' blessing). In some instances they would supply the needy with money as long as the source from whence it came was not divulged; but, whenever the secret was revealed the money supply ceased. These fairies were always spoken of in eulogistic and flattering terms, as speaking of them in a harsh and unkind tone was supposed to incur their displeasure.

Another class was known as •' Gwragedd Annwn " (the wives of the lower world). These frequented lonely mountain lakes, and were supposed to hold communication between this upper world of ours and the lower world of spirits. These lakes are supposed to be inhabited by " Plant Annwn " (children of the lower world), and it is asserted that in most cases large towns lie buried under these lakes, and that at times portions of the towns, in the shape of fine buildings, large castles, and high towers, have been seen, and the sound of tolling bells heard.

"Gwyllyllon," which is the pjural of " GwyE," meaning gloomy or dark, are female fairies of a very desperate character, appearing in the form of very old women, whose terrible shrieks resembled the cries of a person in great agony. Their province was to lead the wayfaring man astray, a purpose which was always effected, notwithstanding his perfect familiarity with the road.

There were also fairies that frequented groves and dingles, and were called " Ellyllon," which is the plural of " Ellyll," from which is derived the English word elf. These are said to have lived chiefly on mushrooms, the Welsh for which is "bwyd ellyllon " (food of the elves), and their gloves were the bells of the foxglove, the Welsh for which is " menyg ellyllon " (the gloves of the elves).

The " Ellyllon," differing from the " Gwyllyllon," were of kind disposition, and were ready to lend a helping hand^in washing, mending clothes, baking, or* any other manual work, and were supposed to bring prosperity to the places which they haunted.

" Bwbach," which is the term used now in Welsh to denote a scarecrow, corresponds to the English bogie. It assumes a twofold character, that of a household fairy and that of a terrifying phantom. The word is used to 1 this day under the corrupted form " bwci." Little children, with a view to induce them to quietness, are threatened with the appearance of the " Bwci." Though a cruel habit, there is hardly a child that is not familiar with the word " bwci."

Another species of elf is that of " Pwca," otherwise \" Ellylldan," or fire elf. This elr haunts marshy ground, and it corresponds to the English Will-o'-the-Wisp. It assumes the appearance of iiro, and is caused by gas generated from decomposed substances.

Fairies which haunt mines and quarries are termed " Coblynau," which is the plural of " Coblyn " — a pecker. They are of small stature, and frightful to look at. Theirpresence brings good luck, and the miners are often led by them to discover rich veins of ere and valuable treasures, which they indicate by knocking similar in sound to pecking.

The fairies seem to have great admiration for bonny children, and were often induced to make attempts to carry them away. If caught in the act, a struggle would ensue between the mother and the fairies ; but the mother, if persistent in her opposition, always came off victoriously.

Whenever a baby was left alone previous to its baptism (the baptised were never molested), the precaution of placing a knife or pair of scissors in its cradle was never neglected, or sometimes a pair of tongs were laid across it. These articles were supposed to possess some magic charm that kept away faries in quest of handsome babies.

There is an instance recorded by Giraldus Cambrenis, who lived in the twelfth century, of a" boy 12 years of age, named Eiidurus, who ran away from school, and was induced by the fairies to follow them, which he did, and they led him by a subterraneous path which eventually brought him to the "fairy land," where (according to the boy's description) the light of day was subdued and mellow, the night extremely dark, its inhabitants extremly small, but well preportioned, of a fair complexion, with long hair. Eiidurus was appointed the king's son's companion. Whenever he felt disposed he was allowed to visit bis mother, which he often did, and afterwards returned. The mother expressed a wish that "he should bring her a present of gold with which his beautiful country abonnded. So to gratify his mother's desire, Eiidurus stole a gold ball which belonged to the king's son, and brought it for a present to his mother. When he reached the threshold of his mother's house, he stumbled ; the golden ball fell and was picked up by the fairies, who looked contemptuously upon Eiidurus, and forever discarded him.

As to the origin of fairies, there seems to be various opinions. The most popular idea in Wales is that they are the spirits of people who have departed this life, and were not good enough to be admitted into heaven, nor bad enough for hell, and so are allowed to roam in secret places on the earth, doomed to be always either toiling or playing, which to them are both fruitless and unsatisfying occupations, until

the resurrection day, when they will be admitted into Paradise.

Others look upon them as evil spirits who were expelled from heaven at the same time as Satan was, and who landed on the earth instead of falling into hell. Others maintain that the original fairies were Druids who used to hide themselves from their enemies — the Romans — in subterraneous places, and turned out at night seeking what could be found, and their children were entertained by dances on the green grass on moonlight nights. As long as the country was thinly inhabited and thickly wooded, this mode of living was successfully carried on, and the tales that were told in later times were but the accounts of events that really occurred, magnified by credulity and superstition, and constantly growing as they descended from generation to generation. '•

A legend is current in Anglesea which attributes the origin of fairies to an incident that occurred in the time of our Lord. There lived a woman at that time who had 20 children. Tho was ashamed of having so large a family, and seeing our Lord approach her dwelling, she concealed half of them. When he had departed she went to seek them, but nowhere could they be found, and never were they seen again. This was looked upon as punishment from Heaven for hiding what it had given, and it is said that from these missing children and their offspring the race of the fairies arose.

However varied the opinions entertained concerning the origin of Welsh folk-lore may*: be, it is undoubted that it n?ay to a great extent be traced to tales connected with ancient mythology.