Hop-tu-Naa

Hop-tu-Naa is a Celtic festival celebrated in the Isle of Man on 31 October. Predating Halloween, it is the celebration of the original New Year's Eve (Oie Houney). The etymology of 'Hop-tu-naa' is uncertain, some sources speculating that it comes from Manx Gaelic Shogh ta’n Oie, meaning "this is the night", though there are a number of origins suggested for the similar Hogmanay, which is the Scottish New Year.

For modern Hop-tu-Naa children dress up and go from house to house with the hope of being given sweets or money, as elsewhere. However the children carry carved turnip lanterns rather than pumpkins and sing Hop-tu-naa songs.

In older times children would have also brought the stumps of turnips with them and batter the doors of those who refused to give them any money. (An ancient form of trick or treat, however this practice appears to have died out.)

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. The ashes of the fire were smoothed out on the hearth last thing at night 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, flour, eggs, eggshells, soot and salt, 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.

Another means of divination was to steam a salt herring from a neighbour, roast it over the fire, eat it in silence and retire to bed.

The future husband was expected to appear in the dream and offer a drink of water

The Hop-tu-Naa Song

(Loayrt)

My ta shiu goll dy chur red erbee dooin, cur dooin tappee eh,

Ny vees mayd ersooyl liorish soilshey yn cayst

Hop-tu-naa, Trol-la-laa.

(Spoken)

If you are going to give us anything, give it us soon,

Or we'll be away by the light of the moon.

Hop-tu-naa, Trol-la-laa.

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 an article in the "Manx Independent" newspaper in October 2007, 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 :

Hop-tu-Naa

My mother's gone away

And she won't be back until the morning

Jinnie the Witch flew over the house

To fetch the stick to lather the mouse

Hop-tu-Naa

My mother's gone away

And she won't be back until the morning

Hop-tu-Naa, Traa-la-laa

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 1930's - a similar version is recorded in A.W. Moore's "A Vocabulary of the Anglo-Manx Dialect" (1924) :

Hop-tu-naa! put in the pot

Hop-tu-naa! put in the pan

Hop-tu-naa! I burnt me throt (throat)

Hop-tu-naa! guess where I ran ?

Hop-tu-naa! I ran to the well

Hop-tu-naa! and drank my fill

Hop-tu-naa! and on the way back

Hop-tu-naa! I met a witch cat

Hop-tu-naa! the cat began to grin

Hop-tu-naa! and I began to run

Hop-tu-naa! I ran to Ronague

Hop-tu-naa! guess what I saw there ?

Hop-tu-naa! I saw an old woman

Hop-tu-naa! baking bonnags

Hop-tu-naa! roasting sconnags

Hop-tu-naa! I asked her for a bit

Hop-tu-naa! she gave me a bit

as big as me big toe

Hop-tu-naa! she dipped it in milk

Hop-tu-naa! she wrapped it in silk

Hop-tu-naa! Traa la lay!

Are you going to give us anything

before we run away with the light of the moon ?

Media References

• Hector Plasm is a comic book character published mainly through Image Comics. There is a Hector Plasm story based on Hop-tu-Naa that also incorporates several other Manx legends and myths.

See also

• Guising
• Allantide
• Calan Gaeaf
• Halloween
• Samhain

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References

• A.W. Moore, 1896, Manx Ballads [1]