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Krampus’s Kousins · real folklore
The Mari Lwyd, the Welsh Christmas horse
The Mari Lwyd (usually translated “Grey Mare”) is a Welsh midwinter custom: a horse's skull on a pole, draped in a white sheet and decorated with ribbons, carried from door to door by wassail singers between Christmas and Twelfth Night. At each door the party and the household trade improvised rhymes, the pwnco, and if the house runs out of answers the Mari comes in.
What the Mari Lwyd looks like
Museum Wales describes the horse as usually a real horse's skull, decorated with coloured ribbons and rosettes, with glass bottle eyes. The skull is fixed to a pole held by someone hidden under a long white cloth, and the mane can be colourful streamers or holly and ivy. She snaps her jaws. She is, in our considered opinion, the best-dressed of all Krampus's Kousins.
The pwnco: a battle of rhymes at the door
The visit is a contest. The Mari's party sings verses at the closed door, and the household sings back; Visit Wales calls it “an exchange of rude rhymes”. When the house can think of no reply, the door opens, the Mari and her party come in for food and drink, and letting her in is said to bring good luck for the year. Museum Wales says the custom ran from Christmas Day to Twelfth Night, and on to Hen Galan, the old New Year's Day, on January 13.
How old it is, and where to see it
Museum Wales dates the earliest account to 1798, and Visit Wales credits J. Evans's book of 1800 with the first written record. It was mostly a South Wales custom, strongest in Glamorgan, Monmouthshire and Carmarthenshire. By the 1960s only a few Mari processions were left; Llantrisant Folk Club revived it, a family in Llangynwyd still takes its Mari to the Old House Inn, and Chepstow's Mari Lwyd Wassail draws crowds in the New Year. A Mari Lwyd is on show at St Fagans National Museum of History, near Cardiff.
Hear it on Krampus Kristmas
The song
The Mari Lwyd
Welsh male-voice choir, concert harp, sleigh bells
Krampus’s Kousins, on the air
The Mari Lwyd
In Wales, a horse's skull in a white sheet knocks at the door and challenges the house to a battle of rhymes. Lose, and she comes in.
More of Krampus’s Kousins
Questions
What is the Mari Lwyd?
A Welsh midwinter custom: a horse's skull on a pole, draped in a white sheet and ribbons, taken from door to door by singers who challenge each household to a battle of rhymes.
What does Mari Lwyd mean?
It is usually translated 'Grey Mare'. Some read it as 'Grey Mary' instead.
When does the Mari Lwyd come out?
Between Christmas and Twelfth Night, traditionally running to Hen Galan, the old New Year on January 13. Revived groups often appear around New Year, as at Chepstow's Mari Lwyd Wassail.
What is pwnco?
The battle of improvised rhymes sung at the door between the Mari party and the people inside. If the household runs out of answers, the Mari comes in, which is said to bring good luck.
Sources
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