Punch and Judy

The vivid recollections of Mrs Margretta Thomas seem to make it clear that these characters were the unruly element. It was they, not the Mari Lwyd , that had to be kept out.

Ceinwen Thomas writes : "Punch and Judy did not always accompany Y Fari, as the Mari Lwyd was always called here, but they usually did. You could always tell from inside whether they were in the company, because Punch carried a long poker and he tapped this on the ground, while the singing went on. My grandfather used to accompany Y Fari as Punch, as a young before being converted to religion in 1859, and we still have his poker. He had it made for him by the colliery blacksmith. Judy would prance about, sweeping the windows and doors in front of the house and anyone incautious enough to come near. Before allowing the door to become opened, the rhymester would extract a promise that Punch would not touch the fire: for on one occasion he had raked it out and Judy has swept the hearth and then brushed the walls with her dirty broom.

The following year my great grandfather was persuaded to come to Rhywddar to wait Y Fari, because he was a great rhymester and could work up the necessary repartee in a flash. He made it clear that there was no welcome for Y Fari, because of their bad behaviour the previous year."

Before Y Fari was admitted, those inside would sit back around the walls. The Mari Lwyd and her leader would come first, then the Punch and Judy side by side. The leader would then drop the reins and perform a step dance with Punch and Judy. These two were dressed as nearly as possible, like the popular puppets.

An article by Cadrawd in 'Cymru' 1912, confirms much of what Mrs.Thomas recollected. He refers to a party of revellers calling themselves 'Hoen Dawnswyr'. They carried a Mari Lwyd, who must be able to dance a jig. There was also a Punch and Judy. They had no music, but Punch beat time with his cudgel, while they danced. They would end by gripping each other's wrists and whirling round "with such velocity that they would end up quite dazed."

A letter in 'Country Life ', 11th April 1968, says that the Mari Lwyd was performed, up to 50 years ago, in the district of Mumbles, Gower. The horses trappings, glass eyes, canvas ribbons were, till recently, in possession of the Jenkins family, one of whose forebears had regularly played the part of coachman, who had whipped the horse until it slowly died. This is a fresh aspect of the custom. We have heard of the ritual beating of the Gwasseilwyr and of Punch beating Judy, but the Mari Lwyd was never the victim. The writer of this letter, Bernard Lloyd, has put this story into a children's book called "The Hirlas Horn" (Stockwell).

The Punch and Judy do not seem to have penetrated the Gower and there is no mention of a rhyming contest. It is interesting that these characters have become associated with the Mari Lwyd; but they have also become part of other seasonal customs. They are the Fool and Cadi of the North Wales Morris and are found in Folk plays and fertility rites all over Europe and beyond. At some time in his career, the traditional folk fool became identified with a character in the Italian Commedia de arte, and thence by way of the puppet show became the Punch we find in South Wales, complete with the puppet's dress and the hump, which if touched, was thought to bring good luck.