Bollan bane

Bollan bane

Sat, 01 Jul 2017

A new short film has been released to time in with Tynwald Day.

On the National Day of the Isle of Man, people wear bollan bane pinned to their chests at the Tynwald fair, but perhaps few will know where the tradition comes from.

To explain something of the tradition, we visited Pooilvaaish Farm with Annie Kissack to discover the link between the plant and the traditional Manx belief in its powers to ward off evil spirit. Of particular concern on the Isle of Man, of course, are "Themselves" (the fairies), who are likely to do you harm if they take a dislike to you. This links to the traditional Manx folktale of the fiddler lost on the hills who overhears the fairies' music...

The film, as well as other resources about the tradition, are available on the newly-created Tynwald Day part of our Manx Year on our website:

The Manx Year: Tynwald Day