Welcome

Gathering the Jewels features over 30,000 images of objects, books, letters, aerial photographs and other items from museums, archives and libraries throughout Wales.

Search the map

Thumbnail image of Wales,

New to Gathering the Jewels is G.I.S. A geographical search facility that will enable searching by location and place name.

Topics

Home » Neighbourhood and Community » Folklore and Custom » Cursing rituals

Displaying results 1 to 2 out of 2

Page 1

  • This cursing pot was found in 1871 by a labourer who was removing an old bank or fence on Penrhos Bardwyn farm, Holyhead, Anglesey. A piece of slate had been placed over the mouth of the black pot or pipkin, on which was scratched the letters 'NANNY ROBERTS' on both sides. In the pipkin the remains of a frog were found and it appeared that several large pins had been stuck into its body. The evidence suggests that the pot was used as part of a cursing ritual. It was customary for people who wished misfortune against another person to stick pins into a live frog then place it in a pot, along with the name of the person to be witched or cursed. The curse would remain in place, until the named person was able to find the pipkin. Sometimes the frog was burnt in a fire to denote a curse that could not be taken away.
Cursing pot and slate inscription, 19th century
  • This object was found in Ffynnon Eilian (Eilian's Well), Llaneilian, Anglesey, in 1925. It consists of a small piece of slate some three inches long and two inches wide, with crossed lines scratched around its border. In the centre of the slate, the letters RF have been carved and the letters OAM, MEM, AGM(?) and (--M) in the corners. A wax figure has been pinned to the centre of the slate with head body, legs and one arm, the left arm having been broken off. The evidence suggests that this object had been placed in the well by someone who bore no goodwill towards 'RF'. It was customary for people who wished misfortune against another person to write the name or initials of the person to be witched or cursed on a piece of slate, before placing it in a well. In the same way that some wells were believed to be 'healing' wells, others gained a more sinister reputation as cursing wells, into which people who wished to curse their enemies threw all manner of objects.
Wax effigy on a piece of slate, found in Ffynnon Eilian, Anglesey, 1925