VOLTARIES OF BAAL

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXVII, Issue 19374, 24 December 1932, Page 5

VOLTARIES OF BAAL

SURVIVALS OF SUN WORSHIP. ALL NIGHT DANCES. Votaries 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, or of the significance of the Baal fire ceremony enacted 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. “Lots of people have tried to find out what it is ail about,” he said to a “Daily Mail” representative, “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 30 years, and has made a deep study of the subject, says: “The ceremony is a survival of the pre-Christian worship of Baal, which was practised throughout the then civilised world. As far as I know, there is only one other nla-e in England where it is kept up, and that is in Devon. I believe, however, that it is still carried on in Austria, Asia Minor and other count's. In a field known locally as ” ?.d Men’s Graves, bones and pieces armour have been turned up by the p! 'ugh, and are evidently traces of

seme unrecorded battle of 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 H. Coote Lake, secretary of the Folk Lore Society, says: “The fire ceremony undoubtedly has its origin in the sun worship of primitive days. It seems to be 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 com is burned, and this is probably a survival of ancient efforts to propitate the sun and ensure a bountiful harvest. In some places villagers leap through the ffcmes of the harvest fires. This can probably be traced back to the belief that to pass through fire 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.”