A Wren, belonging to Bock Yuan Fannee
A wren used in the Hunt the Wren dance on Isle of Man on the 26th of December.
The tradition continues on the Isle of Man of people dancing and singing around a wren pole on St. Stephen's Day.
Various stories explain the significance of the wren, "the king of all birds," including ones touching on witches and warfare.
However, the tradition of actually hunting killing a wren to tie up on the pole is no longer continued!
This wren was found dead and donated to the Manx Museum. It was then kindly donated by the Museum to the traditional Manx dance group, Bock Yuan Fannee.
This wren has been diligently kept safe and brought out each year for the past twenty years, keeping an ancient Manx tradition alive.
The traditional song from the Isle of Man can be heard here:
soundcloud.com/culture-vannin/hunt-the-wren-staa
The music for the song is freely available from ManxMusic.com here: manxmusic.com/learn_page_457493.html
This image is uploaded by Culture Vannin, which exists to support, promote and develop Manx culture:
A Wren, belonging to Bock Yuan Fannee
A wren used in the Hunt the Wren dance on Isle of Man on the 26th of December.
The tradition continues on the Isle of Man of people dancing and singing around a wren pole on St. Stephen's Day.
Various stories explain the significance of the wren, "the king of all birds," including ones touching on witches and warfare.
However, the tradition of actually hunting killing a wren to tie up on the pole is no longer continued!
This wren was found dead and donated to the Manx Museum. It was then kindly donated by the Museum to the traditional Manx dance group, Bock Yuan Fannee.
This wren has been diligently kept safe and brought out each year for the past twenty years, keeping an ancient Manx tradition alive.
The traditional song from the Isle of Man can be heard here:
soundcloud.com/culture-vannin/hunt-the-wren-staa
The music for the song is freely available from ManxMusic.com here: manxmusic.com/learn_page_457493.html
This image is uploaded by Culture Vannin, which exists to support, promote and develop Manx culture: