Page:The Folk-Lore Journal Volume 1 1883.djvu/127



HE villages spoken of in this paper lie on the north-east coast of Aberdeenshire. The fisher folks are industrious, hardy, most temperate, a great many of them being total abstainers, kind-hearted, intelligent, and in general anxious to give their children a good education. Their old simple manners are fast disappearing.

In the matter of the "feet-washing" a finger-ring is thrown into the tub. After the ceremony is completed, there is a contest for the ring; the one who becomes the possessor of it is the one who will be married next. It is only the very near relations ("lief freens") that are present, and take part in this rite. The bride invites her own friends, and the bridegroom, his. There is, of course, hospitality. The bride's property is taken to her future home by her nearest relatives the day before the marriage. It is not carried into the house by them, but handed to the bridegroom's friends, who are there to receive it and to carry it in. This does not seem to be a custom in any of the other villages. Invitations to the marriage are given separately by the bride and the bridegroom. All the members of each family are invited. It would be looked upon as a slight to ask only part of a family; and were such an invitation given it would be refused. The bride's guests make presents to her, for the most part articles necessary for a household, and the bridegroom's to him. In this way the expense of the marriage feast is in a great measure made up for; and the expense is no small matter, as the guests are often numbered by the hundred.

After the marriage is solemnized, the two parties separate, and hold the feast. The bride's guests are entertained at her home, and the bridegroom's at his. It would be a serious breach of good manners for any of the guests of the one to go to the house of the other. In others of the fishing villages along the coast this distinction between the guests is not observed. When the bride returns to her father's