Horse Drawn Ploughing On History Visit To North East Fife Scotland

Tour Scotland travel video of horse drawn ploughing, or plowing, on ancestry, genealogy, history visit to North East Fife. In many parts of Scotland there was an observance with regard to the first ploughing or the first furrow drawn by the plough after the fields had been cleared of the grain crops. The ploughman engaged on the work was given refreshment in the form of food and drink and a portion was given symbolically to the plough. The day on which the plough was put to the soil for the first time was no ordinary day. On a farm in Aberdeenshire, the ploughman, wishing to start his ploughing early in the week, was put off by the farmer each day till Saturday came. On Saturday he was told he need be in no hurry to begin, and by the time he got to the field, the farmer was there carrying bread, cheese, and a bottle of whisky. The ploughman drank a glass himself, and refilling the glass poured it over the bridle of the plough, repeating as he did so the words, " Well goes the work " A piece of bread and cheese was then carefully wrapped up in a piece of paper and firmly tied to the beam of the plough by the farmer, who at the same time gave strict instructions to the ploughman that it was not to be removed, that is, food was tied or laid on the beam of the plough and drink was poured over it. This ceremony, known as " streeking the plough ", was an event of very considerable importance and is a survival of perhaps one of the oldest and most elaborate rituals carried out to ensure a prosperous ploughing and sowing. All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.

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