Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 4, 1893.djvu/132

 124 on the scene, dressed up in women's dresses, and with straw masks completely covering their heads, in order to dance at the wedding. A gang consists of twelve men; the captain of the gang asks the bride to dance with him. It is thought to bring bad luck if anyone recognises the "straw-boys", as they are called. In a letter dated "Belmullet, Sept. 28, 1892", Mr. Green writes: "At a wedding our fish-curers were at the other day, several gangs of straw-boys turned up in succession. They drank very little, but the dancing went on till 6 A.M."

I immediately wrote to Mr. Green, asking whether it was possible to procure a photograph of a dance or of the men dressed up. Unfortunately this was impossible, but I do not despair of obtaining one in the future. However, Mr. Green was good enough to bring me a mask. For the present I propose to deposit it in the Pitt-Rivers Museum at Oxford.

This mask, which is entirely made of straw, is conical in shape, and surmounted by three rings of straw. It is oval in section, and the mask has a slight cant or rake. The mask is 21 inches in total height, and the extreme length in section is 11½ inches; the interior dimensions of the opening are about 10¼ X 5½ inches. Mr. Green adds, "the captain's mask or cap is adorned with colours, the others are plain."

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Drinking the Moon.— Mrs. Meer Hasan Ali, in her work on the Manners and Customs of the Mussulmnans of India describes a curious practice which seems to have escaped notice by European writers on Moon-lore: "A silver basin, being filled with water, is held in such a situation that the full moon may be reflected in it. The person to be benefited by the draught is required to look steadfastly on the moon in the basin, then shut his eyes and quaff the liquid at a draught. This remedy is advised by medical professors in nervous cases, and also for palpitation of the heart." (Vol. i, 275.)