The Welsh Rhyming Battle with a Real Horse Skull
Every midwinter in Wales, revelers parade the Mari Lwyd: a real horse skull mounted on a wooden pole, draped in a white sheet, with spring-loaded jaws that snap at onlookers. At each home, the troupe sings verses demanding entry. Residents must improvise rhyming retorts in a witty contest called the pwngc. When the householders eventually run out of rhymes, they must welcome the horse inside and share festive food and ale.
The Anatomy of a Winter Apparition
On dark midwinter evenings across South Wales, particularly throughout the historic counties of Glamorgan and Carmarthenshire, a peculiar visitor historically made the rounds from cottage to cottage. The central figure of this party was the Mari Lwyd, an eerie construction fashioned around an authentic horse skull. The bone was thoroughly scrubbed and prepared, its eye sockets often fitted with pieces of coloured cloth, bells, or the round glass bases of green bottles to suggest unnerving, reflective eyes. The skull was attached to a long wooden pole, fitted with a hinged lower jaw controlled from below by a concealed string or spring-loaded lever that snapped the teeth shut with a sharp wooden clatter.
The person tasked with bringing the creature to life hid beneath an expanse of white cloth, heavy canvas, or calico draped from the back of the skull. Decorated with rosettes, seasonal greenery, and streams of bright ribbons cascading down the white fabric, the beast appeared tall, skeletal, and fluid in motion. The operator manipulated the pole to turn the head, lurch through doorways, and snap the jaw at passersby, transforming a static agricultural relic into an unpredictable theatrical presence.
The Mari Lwyd rarely traveled alone. She was escorted by a troupe of companions dressed in distinct costumes. Leading the procession was typically a Leader or Groom, carrying a staff or whip to direct and ostensibly restrain the wild creature. Along with musicians playing the fiddle, harp, or accordion, the troupe often featured stock figures drawn from mumming traditions, most notably Punch and Judy. Judy carried a besom broom to sweep the floor and hearth, while Punch sported ragged garb, blackened face paint, and a wooden ladle or baton to provoke laughter and create commotion.