This is the OFFICIAL video from Morcheeba, the band. People in costume visit cemetery for a October celebration--and wake the dead. Enjoy The Ride youtube/watch?v=7uMGH3kHhzM Watch the video and THEN look at my comments below the line and let me know what you think about this video... Blessings, Myth ________________________ This music video is a fantasy about feasting with the dead probably at Halloween (aka All Hallows, Samhain, Calan Gaeaf, Festa della Morti/Tutti i Morti, Feast of Pomona). The cartoon animator, Joel Trussell, produced the music video for Enjoy the Ride. The video is animated tale which features waking the dead. The story depicts a group of people who don animal masks upon entering the cemetery. In Europe and the British Isles, people visited graves at the family cemetery with food and drink to celebrate both life and death on All Souls Day. Why the masks? It might because of the animal masks worn in the Wickerman movie. I think it possible that the image of anthropomorphized animals in the cartoon could have been influenced by the animal masks in that movie. Another reason could have to do with witches in British and European folklore: the witches were supposed to transform into animals and fly with spirits on All Hallows night. In the animated video, the people seem to become anthropomorphic animals, as the party-like ceremony progresses--at one point stealing a worm from a bird. In the video, the tall tombstones look vaguely Irish, or perhaps Norse/Anglo-Saxon. Historians now argue about what happened when--but supposedly the pre-Christian pagan Celts honored their dead during the beginning of the month of Samhain. Hence, roughly around October 31, November 1, and 2. Interesting historical note: Some claim the Catholic Church moved the date of All Saints Day from May 13 to November 1 and then November 2 was made into the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed aka the Day of the Dead. The supposedly the feast was moved to coincide with pre-Christian Celtic honoring of their ancestors. Likewise some folks insist that even the original feast day in the Catholic Church, May 13, had its origins in the pagan Roman Lemuria festival on May 13, which was a day to honor and propitiate the restless spirits of the dead. In any case, when some of the stricter forms of Protestantism got control of the British Isles they supressed practices of feasting with the dead because they smacked of witchcraft and paganism...as well as being entirely too Catholic. None this visiting cemeteries with food and drink. At some point, even visiting churches to pray for dead friends, family, and ancestors was discouraged because the dead were either in heaven or hell due to their own deeds and no prayers could help them. Either that or the dead slept in the garden of death until Judgement Day--when all condemned sinners would be cast into the lake of fire and the Elect would receive their reward in heaven. (Protestant Christianity has always seemed to vacillate about exactly how this all worked out.) Nevertheless stories and folklore about people (witches & heathens/pagans) visting lonely graveyards at All Hallows/All Souls persisted. The people put down parts of grave stone rubbings and set a goblet with a triskelion on top of them. Are they some how acknowledging the four directions of the area? The four Watchtowers and represent the four elements and spirits/animals of those directions. Could this be the meaning here? East = air = bird South = fire = dragon/lion West = water = fish/sea serpent North = earth = snake Here are the order of the rubbings top right corner -- bird wing = east? bottom right corner -- claw foot = south? bottom left corner -- serpentine body = west? top left corner -- snake head = earth? (Im speculating that the cartoon animator, Trussell, might have viewed this as a artsy way to indicate calling the four directions or four quarters.) Remember me mentioning the Feast of Pomona? Pomona is the Roman Goddess for fruit, in particular pears and apples. Pomona is honored about the first of November. The people turned into animals are feasting on fruit. In particular, they eat pears. (There is an old English divination used around Halloween. A person peels an apple/pear all the way around without breaking it. Then you toss the peel behind you. You turn around and see what shape does the peel make.) An interesting note: Neo-Pagans typically offer fruit, bread, water, juice, beer, wine, etc.at celebrations. Pouring libation and sprinkling food at All Hallows is supposed to share it with the spirits of the dead. The video does show the dead awaking from the bits of food and drink. One of the spirits is quite unhappy with someone vomiting in the cemetery. Its seems to be that that causes them to not just wake up, but to actually arise. Some modern magical folk do believe cemeteries are a good place to honor the dead and advocate visiting a cemetery during the day at All Hallows to leave flowers, fruit, etc . Those who do honor the dead in actual cemeteries insist on being respectful of the place and/or the spirits. They deplore vandalism and uncouth behavior like vomiting. When spirits of the dead respond, the animals are initially terrified. One of them drops the kitchen knife he tried to use in defense. These mortals must be the soft, fluffy-wfuffy fluffy bunny modern Neo-Pagans who dont expect to meet real spirits. At that point, the story becomes quite mystical, as the spirits take the party on a mysterious ride, with tombstones serving as surf boards. The participants eventually find themselves enjoying the ride. Folklore is full of people--usually witches--going on the night flight, aka spirit rides with the dead. (Its key element in some Italian folklore involving the women of Diana.) Its also implied in folklore that night flight could be somewhat perilous at times...
Posted on: Sat, 18 Oct 2014 03:14:54 +0000
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