Fair Folk Podcast

This is a re-release of last year's August Fair Folk Almanac for Patreon about the Irish festival of Lughnasadh, its mysterious history, and its afterlife in modern Irish folklore.

This is the feast of the harvest's beginning, of the shining sun, of first precious golden loaf.

In Irish, Lughnasa is a gathering for the god Lugh, who was responsible for teaching the people of Ireland how to harvest the grain, and for maintaining the four quarters of the year, with the harvest at their peak.

Music:

Intro theme: Forest March by Sylvia Woods

10:00 Instrumental track: The Dear Little Isle (air)” by Antóin Mac Gabhann & Caitlín Nic Gabhann with Brian McGrath

18:45 "Corn Rigs" by Us and Them

29:00 "The Band of Shearers" by Carla Sciaky

37:15 "Corn Rigs" by Whirligig

44:30 "The Lammas Tide" by the Corries

51:05 "Corn Rigs" by Whirligig (again)

The book I referenced is "The Festival of Lughnasa" by Máire MacNeill

This episode witnesses the troubled relationship between the folklore of wells and springs and memories of trauma and violation. It discusses the vulnerability and suffering of women and Jews under medieval Christianity that is symbolized in the image of the well and processed through the embodied act of singing.

Links:

Mailing list: https://winter-lion-59052.myflodesk.com/pijrgnu11x

Patreon: www.patreon.com/fairfolkcast.com

Transcript: https://tinyurl.com/yb6cp36h

Music:

1:40 "Gungnir" by Valgaldr (Gøran Hálfdanarson Ellingsen)

9:15 “You are the Field” by Sarah Neufeld

12:30 “The Holy Well” by Jean Ritchie

20:00 “Maria Magdalena” by Vendla Johansson

24:25 “The Well Below the Valley” by Frankie Armstrong and Maddy Prior

30:20 “George Collins” by John Fleagle

38:15 “Per Tyrsons döttrar i Vänge” by Jan Hammarlund

49:30 “Little Sir Hugh” by Alasdair Roberts

58:15 "Herr Töres Döttrar I Vänge" Jan Johansson

This episode discusses Empire and its deconstruction, and the relationship between healing and learning in life and in this podcast.

I speak on abundance and scarcity in the context of European traditional spirituality and culture, and invite listeners to give themselves moments of grace in order to address the work of anti-racism from a place of abundance and love.

Music:

Intro theme: "Forest March" by Sylvia Woods

Instrumental track: "The Warm Shoulder" by Mary Lattimore

"Sleepers Awake" by Jackie Oates

The first in a series on wells and springs, this episode explores the phenomenon of wells and springs in mythology and spiritual belief and practice. Wells for magic, wells for healing, wells for wisdom and love; wells for the pure awe and wonder of living water.

Bi-weekly Q&A on Patreon, Conjuration Tier: https://www.patreon.com/join/fairfolkcast/

Music:

Intro theme: "Forest March" by Sylvia Woods

"Háleygir" by Valgaldr (instrumental)

“Tobar Tobar” by Marit and Rona

“Nornegaldr” by Runahild

“The Leaves of Yggdrasil” by Myrkur

“My Love is a Well” by Daoirí Farrell

“Туман яром, туман долиною” (Tuman Yarom) by the Veryovka National Folk Choir of Ukraine

“Makosh’ ” by Vedan Kolod

“Čisto Srce Gospod želi” by Grupa Legende

“Nornegaldr” by Runahild

My interview with Faber Horbach of Sowulo Pagan Band in the Netherlands, June 2019.

Listen to Sowulo's new album and more:

https://www.sowulo.nl/ (Bandcamp)

https://www.facebook.com/Sowulo/ (Facebook)

https://www.instagram.com/sowulo.music (Sowulo Instragram)

https://www.instagram.com/faber.horbach/ (Faber Horbach Instagram)

https://www.facebook.com/amplifiedhistory/ (Heilung Facebook)

Music:

Intro Theme: "Forest March" by Sylvia Woods

2:00 "Wulfwiga" by Sowulo

6:40 "Sol" by Sowulo

11:30 "Slincan Snican" by Sowulo

15:35 "Beltane" by Sowulo

20:25 "Wohs Wildum" by Sowulo

31:45 "Wulfwiga" by Sowulo

This episode edited by Laura Hamill.

My interview with Ignas Šatkauskas, pagan priest of Romuva, in August 2018

Pagan Ritual Songs from Romuva Camp, playlist on Fair Folk's YouTube Channel:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwfbVKoLviE&list=PLDGCg4JtohsA1pJf6bB_pNbmKT_AK0d6W

Fair Folk's YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCw5BgVgYLuRWmEs66AHx38A

Music:

Intro Theme: "Forest March" by Sylvia Woods

22:00 ”Kukal, Rože, Ratilio” by Jievaras

26:45 “Improvisation on the Bagpipe” by Skirmantas Sasnauskas

34:50 "Nuslaida Saulala" by Kulgrinda

39:50 “Vakarinė žvaigždelė” by Kulgrinda

46:40 "Turėja liepa” by Vilniaus čiurlionio Mgs Ansamblis

In Part Two of Children of the Sun episode, I travel to the forests of Dzūkija region with ethnomusicologist Eglė Česnakavičiūtė to meet the elder and traditional singer Elena Česnulytė, and talk folksong politics. I finally wind up at Šatrijos Ugnis, a perpetual flame tended at a hill in a national park in Samogitia, where I decide maybe paganism is not about belonging after all, but rather, more powerfully, about connection.

Music

Intro theme: “Forest March” by Sylvia Woods

00:45 “LIV Kompozicija” by Žemyna Trinkūnaitė

3:35 Elena Česnulytė, Žiūrai village, Dzūkija

5:17 “Lyliumoj” by Elena Česnulytė, Žiūrai village, Dzūkija

7:40 “Aš Kelaliu Keliavau” by Žiūrų kaimo folkloro ansamblis / Žurai village folklore ensemble (Dzūkija)

17:00 “Aš Pasėjau Balandėlį” by Obelija

19:55 “Ant Tėvulio Dzidzio Dvaro / In the Father’s Great Manor” by Obelija

22:55 Eglė Česnakavičiūtė

25:45 “LIV Kompozicija” by Žemyna Trinkūnaitė

38:30 “III Kompozicija” by Žemyna Trinkūnaitė

40:45 “Rimo Rimo, Tūto” by Birutė Račkaitienė, Vaidotas Digaitis, and Kęstutis Račkaitis

41:50 “XII Kompozicija” by Žemyna Trinkūnaitė

43:45 “Rimo Rimo, Tūtoj” by Jievaras

47:30 “XII Kompozicija” by Žemyna Trinkūnaitė

Šatrijos Ugnis: https://www.facebook.com/SatrijosUgnis/

Obelija’s music can be purchased on bandcamp, or streamed on Spotify. https://obelijaband.bandcamp.com/releases

You can find the amazing Žemyna Trinkūnaitė’s music on Spotify, the itunes store, and streaming at pakartot.lt. You can also email her at [email protected] to order a CD by post.

Thank you so much to all the people who helped me in various ways in producing this podcast; your assistance was essential to my understanding. Any factual or pronunciation errors are my own.

Special thanks to Matas Tamsusis Bodrijė for translating endlessly both song lyrics and social norms, and teaching me to dance, all while almost never cracking a smile.

In this episode I spend a week with pagan religious group Romuva, and reflect on the role of belonging in paganism and folk tradition. Live recordings taken in 2018.

Music:

Intro theme: “Forest March” by Sylvia Woods

4:10 - “XL Kompozicija” by Žemyna Trinkūnaitė

6:57 “Dūno upė” - Romuva camp attendees / Kūlgrinda

9:08 Gabija chant - Romuva camp attendees / Kūlgrinda

10:35 Leliumoj - Romuva camp attendees / Kūlgrinda

13:35 Žemyna chant -Romuva camp attendees / Kūlgrinda

17:35 “XLVI Kompozicija” Žemyna Trinkūnaitė

30:05 “Nuslaide Saulala” by Kūlgrinda

32:40 “XLI kompozicija” by Žemyna Trinkūnaitė

36:30 Inija Trinkūnienė

48:50 “Kompozicija xix” by Žemyna Trinkūnaitė

Thank you so much to all the people who helped me in various ways in producing this podcast; your assistance was essential to my understanding. Any factual or pronunciation errors are my own.

You can find Žemyna Trinkūnaitė’s music on Spotify, the itunes store, and streaming at pakartot.lt. You can also email her at [email protected] to order a CD by post.

Kulgrinda can be found at https://www.facebook.com/Kulgrinda

This episode draws on the folklore of the household spirit (gnome, tomte, tonttu, nisse, domovoi, et al)and the folk music of Scandinavia to explore the ancient traditions of animism and ancestor veneration at midwinter.

Music:

Intro theme: “Forest March” by Sylvia Woods

“Tomtarnas Julnatt” by Göteborgs Symfonietta (instrumental)

“Nisse-Polka” by Sing Song Sisters

“Winter Darkness (Mørketid)” by Georg Buljo & Nils Økland

“Haugebonden” by Folk Och Rackare

“Tomtarnas” Julnatt by Fem Bobbies

“Tomtehallingen” by Øyonn Groven Myhren

“Tomten” by Kraja

“Hej Tomtegubbar” by Nina Persson & Oscar Johansson

The book I referred to in the intro:

Gnomes and Secrets of the Gnomes Wil Huygen and illustrator Rien Poortvliet

Resources for this episode:

The Tradition of Household Spirits by Claude Lecouteux

Russian Folk Belief by Linda J. Ivanits

Tomten by Viktor Rydberg (a video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rJ0Ec-jYg8)

I recorded this conversation last fall with the award-winning Irish storyteller Eithne Ní Ghallchobhair, who lives in Donegal, Ireland, and learned her craft from the last living traditional storytellers in Donegal.

Get the Fair Folk tote at my new website www.fairfolkcast.com!

Notes:

*The book Eithne mentions at 39:00, Women Who Run With the Wolves is written by Clarissa Pinkola Estés. It’s available at used and new bookshops all over.

*42:05 the "schools collection" she refers to is part of the National Folklore Collection of Ireland, at University College Dublin

*This episode edited by Laura Hamill of Perennial Collective! http://www.perennialcollective.com/

Music:

Intro theme: “Forest March” by Sylvia Woods

“Carolan's Farewell to Music” by Julia Seager-Scott

“Untitled” by Jean Christian

“Carolan - Five Tunes By the Irish Harper: IV. Carolan's Farewell to Music” by Da Camera

“When She Cam Ben” by Da Camera

“Untitled” by Jean Christian

“Carolan's Farewell to Music” by Julia Seager-Scott

“The Great Silkie of Sule Skerry” by Ale Möller & Aly Bain

Image: Eithne Ní Gullaher on St. Colmcille’s bed at Glencolmcille, Donegal