Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 16, 1905.djvu/249

 Collectanea. 2 1 1

of this festival. A strip of the wool, skin, and flesh from the breast of a sheep is carried round by the party after being singed, and is presented to the inmates of the houses visited to be smelt, as a protection against injury it is said. But this is a religious festival evidently, and must be treated like Hallowe'en and Bealltuin (May-day).

An interesting thing connected with its observance is to find in Perthshire what is evidently a small remnant of a Mumming Play, which took the part of the stick thwacking, common in other districts to announce the visitor's presence. The per- formance was described as follows by one who had often in his boyhood taken part in it.

One was chosen to be the " Doctor," the others, divided into two parties, were each provided with a lath sword. On arriving at a door these guisers, guizards, standing opposite each other, recited —

" Here comes I Golossians, Golossians is my name, A sword and pistol by my side, I hope to gain the game."

To this was answered —

" The game, Sir, the game. Sir, is not into your power,

For I'll slay you down in inches, in less than half an hour."

A sham fight ensued, and one of the combatants, pretending to have been wounded, fell to the ground and was immediately attended to by the " Doctor," the others leaving off fighting, and singing —

" Here comes little Doctor Brown, The best little doctor in the town. Gie's cor carol an' let us run, Gie's oor carol an' let us run."

The actors were then rewarded by such Hogmanay gifts as the guid-wife found in her heart to bestow on them, and then passed on to another house to repeat the ceremony.

We give the " Hogmanay Drame of Golishan, as it used to be said, sung, and acted all over Scotland, from Cheviot to Cape Wrath," on the authority of J. F. L., as communicated to the Scotsmafi of 31st Dec, 1902.