Hop-tu-Naa
Encyclopedia
Hop-tu-Naa is a Celt
ic festival celebrated in the Isle of Man
on 31 October. Predating Halloween
, it is the celebration of the original New Year's Eve . The etymology of 'Hop-tu-naa' is uncertain, some sources speculating that it comes from Manx Gaelic , meaning "this is the night", though there are a number of origins suggested for the similar Hogmanay
, which is the Scottish New Year.
For modern Hop-tu-Naa children dress up and go from house to house with the hope of being given sweets or money, as elsewhere. However the children carry carved turnip
lanterns rather than pumpkin
s and sing Hop-tu-naa songs.
In older times children would have also brought the stumps of turnips with them and batter the doors of those who refused to give them any money. (An ancient form of trick or treat
, however this practice appears to have died out.)
Some of the older customs are similar to those now attached to the January new year. It was a time for prophesying, weather prediction and fortune-telling. The ashes of the fire were smoothed out on the hearth last thing at night to receive the imprint of a foot.
If, next morning, the track pointed towards the door, someone in the house would die, but if the footprint pointed inward, it indicated a birth.
A cake was made which was called Soddag Valloo or Dumb Cake, because it was made and eaten in silence. Young women and girls all had a hand in baking it on the red embers of the hearth, first helping to mix the ingredients, flour, eggs, eggshells, soot and salt, and kneading the dough. The cake was divided up and eaten in silence and, still without speaking, all who had eaten it went to bed, walking backwards, expecting and hoping to see their future husband in a dream or vision.
Another means of divination was to steal a salt herring from a neighbour, roast it over the fire, eat it in silence and retire to bed.
The future husband was expected to appear in the dream and offer a drink of water
(Spoken)
Jinnie the Witch is a modern Manx English
song, which was sung around the Douglas area.
According to an article in the "Manx Independent" newspaper in October 2007, Jinny's real name was Joney Lowney. She lived in Braddan and was tried at Bishop's Court for witchcraft in 1715 and 1716. Her greatest "crime" was stopping the Ballaughton Corn Mill. She was sentenced to 14 days' imprisonment, fined £3 and made to stand at the four market crosses dressed in sackcloth.
The modern song goes as follows :
There is also a ruder version of the song which has the same tune and some of the same words but it a little different. It goes as followed:
In the West of the Island a longer version was sung, which is more closely related to the Manx version.
The following version dates from the 1930's - a similar version is recorded in A.W. Moore's "A Vocabulary of the Anglo-Manx Dialect" (1924) :
Celt
The Celts were a diverse group of tribal societies in Iron Age and Roman-era Europe who spoke Celtic languages.The earliest archaeological culture commonly accepted as Celtic, or rather Proto-Celtic, was the central European Hallstatt culture , named for the rich grave finds in Hallstatt, Austria....
ic festival celebrated in the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
on 31 October. Predating Halloween
Halloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
, it is the celebration of the original New Year's Eve . The etymology of 'Hop-tu-naa' is uncertain, some sources speculating that it comes from Manx Gaelic , meaning "this is the night", though there are a number of origins suggested for the similar Hogmanay
Hogmanay
Hogmanay is the Scots word for the last day of the year and is synonymous with the celebration of the New Year in the Scottish manner...
, which is the Scottish New Year.
For modern Hop-tu-Naa children dress up and go from house to house with the hope of being given sweets or money, as elsewhere. However the children carry carved turnip
Turnip
The turnip or white turnip is a root vegetable commonly grown in temperate climates worldwide for its white, bulbous taproot. Small, tender varieties are grown for human consumption, while larger varieties are grown as feed for livestock...
lanterns rather than pumpkin
Pumpkin
A pumpkin is a gourd-like squash of the genus Cucurbita and the family Cucurbitaceae . It commonly refers to cultivars of any one of the species Cucurbita pepo, Cucurbita mixta, Cucurbita maxima, and Cucurbita moschata, and is native to North America...
s and sing Hop-tu-naa songs.
In older times children would have also brought the stumps of turnips with them and batter the doors of those who refused to give them any money. (An ancient form of trick or treat
Trick or Treat
Trick or Treat is a 1952 American animated short film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The cartoon, which takes place on Halloween night, follows a series of pranks between Donald Duck and his nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie who are aided by Witch Hazel...
, however this practice appears to have died out.)
Some of the older customs are similar to those now attached to the January new year. It was a time for prophesying, weather prediction and fortune-telling. The ashes of the fire were smoothed out on the hearth last thing at night to receive the imprint of a foot.
If, next morning, the track pointed towards the door, someone in the house would die, but if the footprint pointed inward, it indicated a birth.
A cake was made which was called Soddag Valloo or Dumb Cake, because it was made and eaten in silence. Young women and girls all had a hand in baking it on the red embers of the hearth, first helping to mix the ingredients, flour, eggs, eggshells, soot and salt, and kneading the dough. The cake was divided up and eaten in silence and, still without speaking, all who had eaten it went to bed, walking backwards, expecting and hoping to see their future husband in a dream or vision.
Another means of divination was to steal a salt herring from a neighbour, roast it over the fire, eat it in silence and retire to bed.
The future husband was expected to appear in the dream and offer a drink of water
The Hop-tu-Naa Song
| Hop-tu-Naa in Manx Manx language Manx , also known as Manx Gaelic, and as the Manks language, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, historically spoken by the Manx people. Only a small minority of the Island's population is fluent in the language, but a larger minority has some knowledge of it... | Hop-tu-Naa in English English language English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria... |
| This is old Hollantide night; Hop-tu-naa | |
| The moon shines bright; Trol-la-laa. | |
| Cock of the hens; Hop-tu-naa | |
| Supper of the heifer; Trol-la-laa. | |
| Which heifer shall we kill? Hop-tu-naa | |
| The little speckled heifer. Trol-la-laa. | |
| The fore-quarter, Hop-tu-naa | |
| We'll put in the pot for you. Trol-la-laa. | |
| The little hind quarter, Hop-tu-naa | |
| Give to us, give to us. Trol-la-laa. | |
| I tasted the broth, Hop-tu-naa | |
| I scalded my tongue, Trol-la-laa. | |
| I ran to the well, Hop-tu-naa | |
| And drank my fill; Trol-la-laa. | |
| On my way back, Hop-tu-naa | |
| I met a witch cat; Trol-la-laa. | |
| The cat began to grin, Hop-tu-naa | |
| And I ran away. Trol-la-laa. | |
| Where did you run to? Hop-tu-naa | |
| I ran to Scotland. Trol-la-laa. | |
| What were they doing there? Hop-til-naa | |
| Baking bannocks and roasting collops. Trol-la-laa. | |
| Hop-tu-naa, Trol-la-laa |
(Spoken)
- If you are going to give us anything, give it us soon,
- Or we'll be away by the light of the moon.
- Hop-tu-naa, Trol-la-laa.
Modern Hop-tu-Naa Songs
Different versions of Hop-tu-naa songs were sung in different areas of the island.Jinnie the Witch is a modern Manx English
Manx English
Manx English, or Anglo-Manx, is the historic dialect of English spoken on the Isle of Man, though today in decline. It has many borrowings from the original Manx language, a Goidelic language, and it differs widely from any other English, including other Celtic-derived dialects such as Welsh...
song, which was sung around the Douglas area.
According to an article in the "Manx Independent" newspaper in October 2007, Jinny's real name was Joney Lowney. She lived in Braddan and was tried at Bishop's Court for witchcraft in 1715 and 1716. Her greatest "crime" was stopping the Ballaughton Corn Mill. She was sentenced to 14 days' imprisonment, fined £3 and made to stand at the four market crosses dressed in sackcloth.
The modern song goes as follows :
- Hop-tu-Naa
- My mother's gone away
- And she won't be back until the morning
- Jinnie the Witch flew over the house
- To fetch the stick to lather the mouse
- Hop-tu-Naa
- My mother's gone away
- And she won't be back until the morning
- Hop-tu-Naa, Traa-la-laa
There is also a ruder version of the song which has the same tune and some of the same words but it a little different. It goes as followed:
- Hop-tu-Naa
- My mother's gone away
- And she won't be back until the morning
- Jinnie the Witch the silly old bitch her arse is made of clay
- She done a fart behind the car and blew the wheels away (Hey!)
- Hop-tu-Naa
- My mother's gone away
- And she won't be back until the morning
In the West of the Island a longer version was sung, which is more closely related to the Manx version.
The following version dates from the 1930's - a similar version is recorded in A.W. Moore's "A Vocabulary of the Anglo-Manx Dialect" (1924) :
- Hop-tu-naa! put in the pot
- Hop-tu-naa! put in the pan
- Hop-tu-naa! I burnt me throt (throat)
- Hop-tu-naa! guess where I ran ?
- Hop-tu-naa! I ran to the well
- Hop-tu-naa! and drank my fill
- Hop-tu-naa! and on the way back
- Hop-tu-naa! I met a witch cat
- Hop-tu-naa! the cat began to grin
- Hop-tu-naa! and I began to run
- Hop-tu-naa! I ran to Ronague
- Hop-tu-naa! guess what I saw there ?
- Hop-tu-naa! I saw an old woman
- Hop-tu-naa! baking bonnags
- Hop-tu-naa! roasting sconnags
- Hop-tu-naa! I asked her for a bit
- Hop-tu-naa! she gave me a bit
- as big as me big toe
- Hop-tu-naa! she dipped it in milk
- Hop-tu-naa! she wrapped it in silk
- Hop-tu-naa! Traa la lay!
- Are you going to give us anything
- before we run away with the light of the moon ?
Media references
- Hector PlasmHector PlasmHector Plasm is the name of a comic book character, created by Benito Cereno and Nate Bellegarde . The duo had started out writing back-up stories in Invincible for Image comics....
is a comic book character published mainly through Image ComicsImage ComicsImage Comics is a United States comic book publisher. It was founded in 1992 by high-profile illustrators as a venue where creators could publish their material without giving up the copyrights to the characters they created, as creator-owned properties. It was immediately successful, and remains...
. There is a Hector Plasm story based on Hop-tu-Naa that also incorporates several other Manx legends and myths.
See also
- Guising
- AllantideAllantideAllantide is a Cornish festival that was traditionally celebrated on 31 October elsewhere known as Hallowe'en. The festival itself seems to have pre-Christian origins similar to most celebrations on this date, however in Cornwall it was popularly linked to St Allen or Arlan a little known Cornish...
- Calan GaeafCalan GaeafCalan Gaeaf is the name of the first day of winter in Wales, observed on 1 November. The night before is Nos Galan Gaeaf , an Ysbrydnos when spirits are abroad...
- HalloweenHalloweenHallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
- SamhainSamhainSamhain is a Gaelic harvest festival held on October 31–November 1. It was linked to festivals held around the same time in other Celtic cultures, and was popularised as the "Celtic New Year" from the late 19th century, following Sir John Rhys and Sir James Frazer...