Crying The Neck is a harvest festival

Harvest festival

A Harvest Festival is an annual celebration which occurs around the time of the main harvest of a given region. Given the differences in climate and crops around the world, harvest festivals can be found at various times throughout the world...

 tradition practised in the county of Cornwall

Cornwall

Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...

. The tradition was also once popular in the county of Devon

Devon

Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...

, but its practice there has since died out. The tradition was revived in the early twentieth century by the Old Cornwall Society.

In The Story of Cornwall, by Kenneth Hamilton Jenkin

Kenneth Hamilton Jenkin

Alfred Kenneth Hamilton Jenkin was best known as a historian with a particular interest in Cornish mining, publishing The Cornish Miner, now a classic, in 1927.-Birth and education:...

, the following explanation is given on the practice:

"In those days the whole of the reaping had to be done either with the hook or scythe

Scythe

A scythe is an agricultural hand tool for mowing grass, or reaping crops. It was largely replaced by horse-drawn and then tractor machinery, but is still used in some areas of Europe and Asia. The Grim Reaper is often depicted carrying or wielding a scythe...

. The harvest, in consequence, often lasted for many weeks. When the time came to cut the last handful of standing corn, one of the reapers would lift up the bunch high above his head and call out in a loud voice.....,

"We have it! We have it! We have it!"

The rest would then shout,

"What 'ave 'ee? What 'ave 'ee? What 'ave 'ee?"

and the reply would be:

"A neck! A neck! A neck!"

Everyone then joined in shouting:

"Hurrah! Hurrah for the neck! Hurrah for Mr. So-and-So"

(calling the farmer by name.)"

External links

• Popular Romances of the West of England collected and edited by Robert Hunt
• The custom as described in 1836 by W. Hone from the Legendary Dartmoor webpage
• http://www.strawcraftsmen.co.uk/cryneck.html
• What exactly is a Corn Dolly? Picture of a Cornish Neck from The Guild of Straw Craftsmen website.