Hop-tu-Naa is a Celtic festival celebrated in the Isle of Man on 31 October. It is the celebration of the traditional Celtic festival of Samhain, the start of winter. It is thought to be the oldest unbroken tradition in the Isle of Man.
Etymology
Hop-tu-Naa is a continuation of the Manx Oie Houiney, which is exactly the same as the Irish Oíche Shamhna and which was pronounced the same. The exact status of Oíche Shamhna and its role in the Celtic calendar has been a matter of debate. Oíche Shamhna eventually mutated into Halloween in northern England and in Ireland, it was carried to America by Irish immigrants and developed into the modern Halloween. The term Hop-tu-naa comes from a Manx Gaelic song traditionally sung during the festival which included the nonsense Hop-tu-naa as a refrain; such nonsense rhymes are common theme in Irish and Scottish Gaelic music.
Traditions
On the Isle of Man today, many groups of people continue the tradition of singing Hop-tu-Naa songs "around the houses" with turnip lanterns. In addition to this, many public Hop-tu-Naa events take place across the Isle of Man each year, most of which today include competitions for artistically carving turnips and the singing of traditional songs. As well as the many events run within local communities, the National Folk Museum at Cregneash hosts an event to teach the traditional Hop-tu-Naa song and to help people to carve turnips.
Turnip lanterns
At the modern Hop-tu-Naa, children dress up and go from house to house hoping to be given sweets or money, as elsewhere. The children carry carved "turnip" lanterns and sing Hop-tu-Naa songs. There are regional varieties of how turnips should be carved for Hop-tu-Naa, with variations focusing on which way up the turnip is and the nature of the decorations. It is believed that turnip-lanterns do not date earlier than the start of the 19th century, as the vegetable had only been introduced at the end of the previous century. In the past children would bring the stumps of turnips with them and batter the doors of those who refused to give them any money, in an ancient form of trick or treat. This practice appears to have died out.
Dancing
A hop-tu-naa dance was collected by both Mona Douglas and Leighton Stowell. It was believed to have been danced through the streets on Hop-tu-Naa night by couples carrying their turnip-lanterns. It is a simple procession dance for pairs of dancers which involves the Manx reel step and a combination of arches only. This dance is taught in many schools on the Isle of Man during October each year, and it is danced at many of the Hop-tu-Naa events across the island.
Divination
Some of the older customs are similar to those now attached to the January New Year. It was a time for prophesying, weather prediction and fortune-telling. Last thing at night, the ashes of a fire were smoothed out on the hearth to receive the imprint of a foot. If, next morning, the track pointed towards the door, someone in the house would die, but if the footprint pointed inward, it indicated a birth. A cake was made which was called Soddag Valloo or Dumb Cake, because it was made and eaten in silence. Young women and girls all had a hand in baking it on the red embers of the hearth, first helping to mix the ingredients and kneading the dough. The cake was divided up and eaten in silence and, still without speaking, all who had eaten it went to bed, walking backwards, expecting and hoping to see their future husband in a dream or vision. The future husband was expected to appear in the dream and offer a drink of water. Other means of divination was to steal a salt herring from a neighbour, roast it over the fire, eat it in silence and retire to bed; or to hold a mouthful of water in your mouth and a pinch of salt in each hand as you listen to a neighbour's conversation, whereupon the first name mentioned would be that of your future spouse.
Traditional foods
Traditional food for Hop-tu-Naa includes mrastyr: potatoes, parsnips and fish mashed up with butter. Any leftovers from this evening meal would be left out with crocks of fresh water for the fairies. Toffee would also be made, with just sugar and water, as a communal activity on the evening of Hop-tu-Naa.
Songs
The Hop-tu-Naa Song
Modern Hop-tu-Naa songs
Different versions of Hop-tu-naa songs were sung in different areas of the island. "Jinnie the Witch" is a modern Manx English song, which was sung around the Douglas area. According to Hampton Creer, Jinny's real name was Joney Lowney. She lived in Braddan and was tried at Bishop's Court for witchcraft in 1715 and 1716. Her greatest "crime" was stopping the Ballaughton Corn Mill. She was sentenced to 14 days' imprisonment, fined £3 and made to stand at the four market crosses dressed in sackcloth. The modern song goes as follows : In the west of the island a longer version was sung, which is more closely related to the Manx version. The following version dates from the 1930s – a similar version is recorded in "A Vocabulary of the Anglo-Manx Dialect" by A. W. Moore, Sophia Morrison and Edmund Goodwin : The 1970s southern version from Castletown includes the mention of the Witches Mill, the Smelt Monument and the Old House of Keys: When lights were turned out and no sweets were given, there was a further chorus: New songs for Hop-tu-Naa continue to be created, the most notable of which was written by Scaanjoon in 2015, having been commissioned by Culture Vannin. This has been taken up by the Manx traditional music youth group, Bree, as a part of their repertoire.
