In “[Isabella]” (vol. i. pp. 247-56) the actions indicate a more modern marriage ceremony. The young couple, after choosing, go to church, clasp hands, put on ring, kneel down, say prayers, kiss, and eat dinner. The clasping of hands, putting on a ring, and kissing are more like a solemn betrothal before a marriage ceremony.
In the other marriage games which show remains of a ceremony are those of the kind to which “[All the Boys]” belongs (vol. i. pp. 2-6). In this game, customs which belong to a rough and rude state of society are indicated. The statement is made that a man cannot be happy without a wife. He “huddles” and “cuddles” the girl, and “puts her on his knee.”
The principal thing here to be noted is the mention in all versions of this game the fact that some food is prepared by the bride, which she gives to the bridegroom to eat. This, although called a “pudding,” refers, of course, to the bridal cake, and to the old custom of the bride preparing it herself, and giving some to her husband first.
Other rhymes of this kind, belonging, probably, to the same game, are “[Down in the Valley],” “[Mary mixed a Pudding],” “[Oliver, Oliver, follow the King],” “[Down in Yonder Meadow].” In all these the making and eating of a particular “pudding” or food is mentioned as an important item; in two, catching and kissing the sweetheart is mentioned; and in all, “courting” and “cuddling”; articles for domestic use are said to be bought by the bride. The formal ceremony of marriage is contained in the verbal contract of the two parties, and the important ceremony of the bridegroom and bride partaking of the bridal food. The eating together of the same food is an essential part of the ceremony among some savage and semi-civilised peoples. The rhymes have a peculiar parallel in the rude and rough customs associated with betrothal and marriage which prevailed in Wales and the North of England.
In “[Poor Mary sits a-weeping]” (vol. ii. pp. 46-62) we have very distinctly the desire of the girl for a “lover.” She is “weeping” for a sweetheart, and, as in the case of “[Sally Water],” her weeping or “crying” is to make her “want” known. She is told by her companions to rise and make her choice. In some versions the marriage lines follow, in others the acceptance of the choice ends with the giving of a kiss.
Others of a similar kind are “[Here stands a Young Man who wants a Sweetheart]” (vol. i. p. 204), “[Silly Old Man who wants a Wife]” (vol. ii. 196-99). This is a simple announcement of the young man’s need for a wife or sweetheart (probably originally intended to announce his having arrived at manhood, as expressed in the expression, “he ain’t a man till he’s got a sweetheart and gone a-courtin’”). These verses are followed by the marriage formula. Games of this kind are used for a kiss in the ring game, without the chasing and capturing. The ordinary kiss in the ring games are probably relics of older custom. These consist of one person going round the assembled circle with a handkerchief and choosing another of the opposite sex, after saying a nominy or form of set words. This was probably originally something in the shape of a “counting out” rhyme, to obtain sweethearts by “lot.” A chase follows, and capture of the girl, and the giving and receiving of a kiss in the circle. This was a method of choosing sweethearts which prevailed until quite a late period at country festivals and fairs, but at an earlier period was a serious function. It is still customary on Easter and Whit-Monday for this game to be played on village greens, and the introduction thus afforded is held sufficient to warrant continued acquaintance between young people.
In connection with this class of games I must point out that a game such as “[Hey, Wullie Wine]” (vol. i. pp. 207-210), though it cannot be considered exactly a marriage game, points to the matter-of-fact way in which it was customary for young people to possess sweethearts. It seems to have been thought not only desirable, but necessary to their social standing. A slur is cast on the young man or young woman who has no lover, and so every facility is given them to make a choice from among their acquaintances. In the game “[King William]” is a remnant of the disguising of the bride among some of her girl friends and the bridegroom’s test of recognition, when that custom became one of the forms of amusement at weddings.
The remaining love and marriage games mostly consist of lines said in praise of some particular girl or young man, the necessity of him or her possessing a sweetheart, and their being married. These are probably fragments of the more complete forms preserved in the other games of this class. Marriage games, preceded by courtship or love-making, are played in the second method of the circle form.
Among the games played in the first method of the circle form, “[Oats and Beans and Barley],” and “[Would you know how doth the Peasant],” show harvest customs. The first of these (vol. ii. pp. 1-13) shows us a time when oats, beans, and barley were the principal crops grown, before wheat—now, and for some time, one of the principal crops—came into such general cultivation as at present. All the players join in singing the words and performing the actions. They imitate sowing of seed, folding arms and standing at ease while the corn is growing, clap hands and stamp on the ground to awake the earth goddess, and turning round and bowing, to propitiate the spirit and do reverence to her. In “[Would you know how doth the Peasant]” (ii. 399-401) we find actions performed showing sowing, reaping, threshing, kneeling, and praying, and then resting and sleeping. These actions are in both games accompanied by dancing round hand in hand. These two games, then, take us back to a time when a ceremony was performed by all engaged in sowing and reaping grain; when it was thought necessary to the proper growth of the crops that a religious ceremony should be performed to propitiate the earth spirit. I believe these games preserve the tradition of the formula sung and danced at the spring festivals, about which Mr. Frazer has written so fully.
“[Oats and Beans and Barley]” also preserves a marriage formula, and after the religious formula has been sung and danced, courting and marriage follows. A partner is said to be wanted, is chosen, and the marriage ceremony follows. The addition of this ceremony to the agricultural custom is of considerable significance, especially as the period is that of spring, when, according to Westermarck, natural human marriage, as also animal pairing, takes place. It is evidently necessary to this game for all the players to perform the same actions, and the centre player is not required until the choosing a partner occurs. There is no centre player in the other agricultural game, and no marriage occurs.