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Thc3a8se08 Chap8 1.Pdf CHAPITRE 8 MYTHES ET RITUELS DE MAI DANS LES TRADITIONS ANCIENNES 8.1 FOLKLORE ET MYTHOLOGIE DE GALLES ET DE CORNOUAILLES 8.1.1 Exemples tirés des folklores gallois et cornique Il nous a semblé pertinent, pour ne pas dire impératif, d’étudier le cas du pays de Galles et de la Cornouailles de manière indépendante : contrairement à celle de l’Ecosse ou de l’Ile de Man, la mythologie galloise – ou en tout cas un pan de cette mythologie, adaptée par la Nouvelle Religion – est parvenue jusqu’à nous. Or, certains de ces mythes se réfèrent ouvertement à la fête de Beltaine , ou plus exactement à Calan Mai , son équivalent gallois. En outre, les folklores du pays de Galles et de la Cornouailles laissaient une place prépondérante à la célébration du début du mois de mai. Calan Mai 1 signifie littéralement « calendes / premier jour de mai ». Le terme « calendes » aurait été emprunté au vocabulaire romain au temps de la période romano-britannique ; l’inclusion d’un terme renvoyant au mois de mai remonterait à la même époque. Un certain nombre d’éléments laissent toutefois à penser que le nom du mois aurait trouvé une résonance sémantique dans les langues dites celtiques. Les termes * maros, *maios (ou maior, maius ) renvoyaient à l’idée « d’agrandissement ». Cette idée se retrouve également dans les attributs de ce que Dumézil appelle « l’Entité Maia », qui aurait donné son nom au mois de mai. 2 Ainsi, le terme aurait été plus facilement intégré à la langue galloise : Les divers mots ou termes sémantiquement apparentés [tels que] mawr en gallois, mor en irlandais et much en anglais indiqueraient que [ces termes] étaient courants dans les langues indo-européennes d’Europe.3 1 On trouve également les désignations Dydd Calan Mai, Galan Mai, Kalan Mei, Calanmei, Calánmai, Clame, etc.. Voir, par exemple, Dictionary of Celtic Mythology, Op. cit. , p. 72 ou Celtic Folklore, Welsh and Manx, Op. cit ., p. 329. De même, le terme Cyntefin (ou Cyntefln, Cyntefyn ) correspondrait à l’équivalent de Cét-samain , un autre nom irlandais de Bealtaine . May Day est, à l’évidence, un terme également connu au pays de Galles et en Cornouailles. Voir infra. 2 Voir infra, chap. 9.3. 3 The various cognates or terms in close relation semantically corresponding to mawr in Welsh, mor in Irish or much in English would indicate that the words were widespread in Indo-European languages in Europe. May Day in Insular Celtic Traditions, Op. cit. , p. 588. 436 Le folklore de Calan Mai était sensiblement identique à celui de Bealtaine . La fête marquait le début de la saison estivale :4 son pendant hivernal prenait le nom de Calan Gaeaf .5 Plus encore que de simplement marquer le début de certains contrats, 6 des activités agricoles (notamment le travail dans les tourbières)7 ou pastorales (le début de la transhumance 8 et le transfert dans les quartiers d’été)9 Calan Mai correspondait au début traditionnel de l’année 10 et prenait ainsi certains aspects d’une fête de Nouvel An. 11 On y payait taxes et loyers 12 et, au pays de Galles comme en Cornouailles, un certain nombre de foires aux bestiaux ou à l’embauche, 13 de taille et d’importance variables, étaient organisées comme il se doit au début du mois de mai. Un témoignage d’Alwyn Rees vient nuancer l’idée que l’on pouvait se faire des mariages de mai, ici mis en relation avec les contrats annuels, au pays de Galles : Mai-juin et octobre-novembre étaient également [les mois que l’on préférait pour célébrer les unions. Le mois de mai, qui correspondait à la fin des contrats des laboureurs et des servantes [...], était] particulièrement commode et la croyance générale [selon laquelle il était défavorable avait] peu de poids à Llanfihangel.14 4 Les proverbes relatifs aux abeilles, à l’abondance du foin et les croyances relatives au coucou étaient connus dans le pays de Galles. Ibid. , pp. 247-8 et 252. Pour le coucou, voir Popular Romances of the West of England or the Drolls, Traditions and Superstitions of Old Cornwall, Op. cit. , p. 403, entre autres pour la fête du coucou de Towednack ( Towednack Cuckoo Feast ) en Cornouailles, célébrée le 28 avril. 5 « Calendes de l’hiver ». 6 « Au pays de Galles , les serviteurs changent de situation à May Day , on paie les loyers de six mois, on investit les fermes et on signe les baux [ainsi que les divers contrats relatifs aux maisons]. » (On May Day servants change their places in Wales, half-yearly rents are paid, farms are taken, and house agreements and leases are signed.) Trevelyan, Marie. Folk-Lore and Folk Songs of Wales . Londres : Elliot Stock, 1909. 7 Ibid. , pp. 312-6. 8 Wendy Boase rapporte par exemple le cas d’un homme à qui l’on fit payer une amende pour ne pas avoir mené son troupeau aux pâturages à temps. Boase, Wendy. The Folklore of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, Op. cit. , pp. 136-7. 9 Ibid. , p. 86. 10 Voir, par exemple, Un Aspect du cycle de mai en Europe occidentale, Op. cit ., p. 313. 11 Nous reviendrons sur cette différence dans notre partie consacrée à l’interprétation de la fête. 12 May Day in Insular Celtic Traditions, Op. cit. , p. 108. 13 Ibid. , pp. 94 et 104. Voir également Traditions and Hearthside Stories of West Cornwall, Op. cit , pp. 188-97 pour un conte populaire mentionnant une foire et Popular Romances of the West of England or the Drolls, Traditions and Superstitions of Old Cornwall, Op. cit ., p. 299. 14 May-June and October-November are also the favourite months for weddings. May, when labourers and maids end their contracts and when houses or farms become vacant, is particularly convenient and the general belief that it is unlucky carries little weight in Llanfihangel . Rees, Alwyn. Life in a Welsh Countryside. A Social Study of Llanfihangel yng Ngwynfa . Cardiff : University of Wales Press, 1951, pp. 26-7. 437 Cet exemple confirme notre théorie selon laquelle la rareté des mariages de mai en Irlande n’est pas à mettre en relation directe avec la fête de Bealtaine ou avec les fêtes associées. Elle découle plus probablement d’une tradition chrétienne qui, comme nous aurons l’occasion de le constater, semble d’ailleurs constituer le prolongement d’une coutume romaine. L’arrivée de Calan Mai , comme celle de Bealtaine , était redoutée, puisque, une fois encore, c’était dans la nuit précédant Calan Mai que fées et sorcières étaient les plus susceptibles de perturber la vie des « honnêtes gens ».15 Cette appréhension induisait naturellement un certain nombre de rituels à caractère apotropaïque. Nous pourrions mentionner l’utilisation des orties qui, comme en Irlande, étaient censées éloigner le mal. Un informateur ayant vécu en Cornouailles rapporte la coutume suivante : [J’ai 84 ans. Je vis en Cornouailles depuis l’âge de quatre ans et demi]. On y célébrait Stinging Nettle Day (« le Jour de la grande ortie » [ Urtica dioica ]) le premier mai. Ce jour-là, en allant à l’école, on cueillait une petite patience sauvage puis une feuille de grande ortie ; on l’enveloppait dans la patience sauvage et on la mangeait. C’était censé éloigner le mal jusqu’au Jour de la grande ortie suivant.16 Mais, comme pour l’Ecosse et l’Irlande – et dans une certaine mesure d’autres pays que nous avons passés en revue – la vénération des sources sacrées et l’utilisation du feu étaient au centre des rituels apotropaïques et / ou purificateurs du mois de mai. En revanche, la relation qu’entretenaient ces rituels avec Calan Mai n’est pas toujours attestée, plus particulièrement dans le cas des sources. 15 Voir, par exemple, Celtic Folklore, Welsh and Manx, Op. cit ., pp. 17-23 pour la légende d’un jardin aux fées dont l’accès ne s’ouvraient qu’à May Day. Voir également Ibid. , pp. 289 et 294 pour les fées et les sorcières. Popular Romances of the West of England or the Drolls, Traditions and Superstitions of Old Cornwall, Op. cit. , pp. 79-131 pour les fées, pp. 148-171 pour les sirènes, pp. 216-260 pour les revenants, pp. 314-340 pour les sorcières etc. en Cornouailles ; on dénote toutefois une prédominance de ces thématiques dans le folklore d’ Halloween. La couleur rouge était également associée aux fées dans le pays de Galles. Giraldus Cambrensis mentionne les superstitions de lièvres trayeurs au pays de Galles (ainsi qu’en Ecosse et en Irlande) dès le XII e siècle, comme nous l’avons vu. Voir supra, chap. 2.1.2. 16 [ I am 84 year of age. I went to live in Cornwall when I was about 4 and a half years old ]. Stinging Nettle Day was celebrated there on May 1 st . On our way to school on that day we would pick a small dock leaf and then a leaf from a stinging nettle, wrap it in the dock leaf and eat it. This was supposed to keep you from harm until the next Stinging Nettle Day . Vickery, Roy. « Nettles : their Uses and Folklore in the British Isles », Folk Life , XXXI, pp. 88-93, ici p. 91. 438 Les sources sacrées galloises relevées par M me Griffin-Kremer avaient, pour la plupart, vocation à éloigner le mal et soigner les maladies, par exemple la surdité, l’aphasie et les affections de la peau. 17 Une analyse superficielle des rituels corniques nous permet d’avancer que l’idée était approximativement la même dans la péninsule. A la source de Chapell Uny , les enfants souffrant de problèmes intestinaux étaient plongés par trois fois dans l’eau ; on les traînait ensuite sur l’herbe mouillée entourant la source, de manière à leur faire faire le tour de Chapell Uny à trois reprises.
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