Hello One and All!
The practice of the need-fire had a long history in Great Britain, and illustrates the importance and reverence of fire for much of human history. This custom is especially a reflection of the pre-Christian belief among some cultures in Europe (Celtic and Germanic) that fire had a protective and purifying aspect. This belief was utilized to protect some of the most valuable assets in rural areas - livestock.
The Need-Fire Ritual
The ritual started with all of the households quenching the fires in their hearths, and a fire would be kindled outside, either through rubbing wood against each other or flint against wood. The flame would be allowed to grow into a bonfire, damp wood would be added to create smoke and diseased livestock would be corralled to walk through the smog. This was believed to cure the ailments that the animals may be carrying.
After all of the livestock had trudged through - from horses to swine- the families made their way through the smoke. The people attending would then proceed to light a torch from this fire, whereupon the bonfire would be doused and the ashes would be smeared on the livestock. Each person would light their hearth with the new purified flame. It was believed that if one were to carry fire around a house in a sunwise (clockwise) direction, that the occupants would have no harm done to them and the building would be protected. Bel (Belenus), the Celtic fire god, was the deity whose help was sought in many of these rituals.
The need-fire practice was perceived to be unholy by the clergy and in 747 CE a papal synod banned it, but the ritual was sill carried out more than a 1000 years later - the last reported need-fire in England took place near Scaleby in 1865-66, when a cattle plague struck the area. The need-fire made combating a scary concept, such as disease, a communal activity, which lent it a special durability as a tradition in Europe. Jacob Grimm, in his Deutsche Mythologie (ed. 1843, page 576), reports an incident of a need-fire:
"In the Island of Mull, on the West coast of Scotland, in the year 1767, there broke out disease among the black cattle. Whereupon the people agreed to perform an incantation, though they were well aware it was not a very godly act. They carried a wheel and nine spindles of oakwood to the top of Carnmoor. Then they extinguished every fire in every house within sight within sight of the hill. The wheel was then turned from east to west over the nine spindles long enough to produce fire by friction."
It is clear from this description, and many other accounts, that the wheel played an important part in the need-fire ritual. To many Germanic pagans, for instance, the wheel was a symbol of the sun. In the need-fire on the island of Mull the wheel was also turned from east to west, like the journey of the sun across the skies. The wheel could also have been a proxy for the sun in the kindling of the purifying flame, and thus could have served as a link to Bel.
Thank you for reading!
The practice of the need-fire had a long history in Great Britain, and illustrates the importance and reverence of fire for much of human history. This custom is especially a reflection of the pre-Christian belief among some cultures in Europe (Celtic and Germanic) that fire had a protective and purifying aspect. This belief was utilized to protect some of the most valuable assets in rural areas - livestock.
The Need-Fire Ritual
The ritual started with all of the households quenching the fires in their hearths, and a fire would be kindled outside, either through rubbing wood against each other or flint against wood. The flame would be allowed to grow into a bonfire, damp wood would be added to create smoke and diseased livestock would be corralled to walk through the smog. This was believed to cure the ailments that the animals may be carrying.
After all of the livestock had trudged through - from horses to swine- the families made their way through the smoke. The people attending would then proceed to light a torch from this fire, whereupon the bonfire would be doused and the ashes would be smeared on the livestock. Each person would light their hearth with the new purified flame. It was believed that if one were to carry fire around a house in a sunwise (clockwise) direction, that the occupants would have no harm done to them and the building would be protected. Bel (Belenus), the Celtic fire god, was the deity whose help was sought in many of these rituals.
 |
| Beltaine Fires purifying the cattle by Michael Allen Hampshire. |
The need-fire practice was perceived to be unholy by the clergy and in 747 CE a papal synod banned it, but the ritual was sill carried out more than a 1000 years later - the last reported need-fire in England took place near Scaleby in 1865-66, when a cattle plague struck the area. The need-fire made combating a scary concept, such as disease, a communal activity, which lent it a special durability as a tradition in Europe. Jacob Grimm, in his Deutsche Mythologie (ed. 1843, page 576), reports an incident of a need-fire:
"In the Island of Mull, on the West coast of Scotland, in the year 1767, there broke out disease among the black cattle. Whereupon the people agreed to perform an incantation, though they were well aware it was not a very godly act. They carried a wheel and nine spindles of oakwood to the top of Carnmoor. Then they extinguished every fire in every house within sight within sight of the hill. The wheel was then turned from east to west over the nine spindles long enough to produce fire by friction."
 |
| The bonfire lit to welcome Beltane morning. Edinburgh 2008. |
It is clear from this description, and many other accounts, that the wheel played an important part in the need-fire ritual. To many Germanic pagans, for instance, the wheel was a symbol of the sun. In the need-fire on the island of Mull the wheel was also turned from east to west, like the journey of the sun across the skies. The wheel could also have been a proxy for the sun in the kindling of the purifying flame, and thus could have served as a link to Bel.
Thank you for reading!
Comments
Post a Comment