Martinmas
"His Martinmas will come as it does to every hog"
“The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which."
From Animal Farm, George Orwell
It is the quiet pigs that eat the meal. (Irish proverb)
Neither give cherries to pigs nor advice to a fool. (Irish proverb)
Pigs might fly lest they had wings. (English proverb)
How much of a pig are you? Complete the questionaire to find out (from BBC Radio4)
Pigs were a very important part of the Celtic economy and society in Western Europe. Pigs were associated with the Otherworld, the feasts of the dead, and as symbols of abundance. Swineherds or pig keepers were thought to be magicians. In Irish folklore, swineherds could cross from the Otherworld to this world and return again. The Lord of the Otherworld was normally portrayed with a pig over his shoulder. The Celtic goddess of crops and abundance, Caridwen (equivalent to the Greek Demeter), was a sow goddess.
Celtic bronze boar figurines from (left) the Gutenberg Votive Deposit, Lichtenstein (2-1 c. BC), and (right) Luncani (Cluj), Romania (1st c. BC)
Pig In St. Patrick's Day Parade An Insult To Irish
April 2, 2000
I was disappointed to read in the Local section on March 12 that the annual Delray Beach St. Patrick's Day Parade had once again as a highlight of the parade "the appearance of Petunia the Pig." For Irish people to feature a pig as one of the highlights of the parade is gross ignorance of history and a perpetuation of old bigotry.
If anyone delves into old history books, magazines and newspapers, one sees cartoons and caricatures of the Irish as pigs. For an Irishman, the late Maury Power, to have started this practice in Delray is the height of stupidity. I, for one, am offended, not amused.
During the past century under English domination, most of the trees of Ireland were cut down and the wood sent to England for fuel. Even today, despite massive reforestation projects, Ireland is denuded of trees except on the longstanding estates of the English aristocracy.
Poor Irish people of the 19th century had no fuel save for some bags of peat. They often had to resort to bringing into their modest homes farm animals (pigs especially) whose body heat warmed their living quarters. They had to endure the smell or freeze to death.
They have been ridiculed for this and the caricature of a pig was topmost. At least northern St. Patrick's Day parades are more dignified. In these days of ethnic sensitivity, one would hope the Delray parade committee could come up with less insulting symbols for those of us who are proud of our Irish background.
FATHER MICHAEL T. DRISCOLL
http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2000-04-02/news/0003311000_1_patrick-s-day-parades-pig-poor-irish
Pigs were frequently used to represent Ireland or Irish politicians from at least the 1840s, but they became especially prominent in the last quarter of the century. The pig represented Ireland’s status as an agricultural, rustic and backward nation, as well as the Irish peasantry’s supposed indifference to filth and muck.
During the Home Rule era and the following decades the comic Irish pig had several recurring roles. The first of these was the carnival, or trick, pig. In these cartoons British or Irish politicians attempted to teach an Irish pig to spell or to perform some other stunt. But for every trained pig there was also a naughty Irish pig that disobeyed the commands of its driver.
From historyireland
Pigs (Three Different Ones) (Waters, Pink Floyd) 11:26
Big man, pig man, ha ha charade you are.
You well heeled big wheel, ha ha charade you are.
And when your hand is on your heart,
You're nearly a good laugh,
Almost a joker,
With your head down in the pig bin,
Saying "Keep on digging."
Pig stain on your fat chin.
What do you hope to find.
When you're down in the pig mine.
You're nearly a laugh,
You're nearly a laugh
But you're really a cry.
Bus stop rat bag, ha ha charade you are.
You fucked up old hag, ha ha charade you are.
You radiate cold shafts of broken glass.
You're nearly a good laugh,
Almost worth a quick grin.
You like the feel of steel,
You're hot stuff with a hatpin,
And good fun with a hand gun.
You're nearly a laugh,
You're nearly a laugh
But you're really a cry.
Hey you, Whitehouse,
Ha ha charade you are.
You house proud town mouse,
Ha ha charade you are
You're trying to keep our feelings off the street.
You're nearly a real treat,
All tight lips and cold feet
And do you feel abused?
.....! .....! .....! .....!
You gotta stem the evil tide,
And keep it all on the inside.
Mary you're nearly a treat,
Mary you're nearly a treat
But you're really a cry.
The Beatles (Piggies)
Have you seen the little piggies
Rolling in the dirt?
And for all the little piggies
Life is getting worse,
Always having dirt to play around in
Have you seen the bigger piggies
In their starched white shirts?
You will find the bigger piggies
Stirring up the dirt,
Always have clean shirts to play around in
In their styes with all their backing
They don't care what goes on around
In their eyes there's something lacking
What they need's a damn good whacking
Everywhere there's lots of piggies
Living piggy lives
You can see them out for dinner
With their piggy wives
Clutching forks and knives to eat their bacon
