Superstitions of Welsh Miners
Some may have been better founded than others.
Underground coal mining began in Wales over 400 years ago, although it is now a thing of the past.
When the industry was in full swing, generations of miners faced a daily struggle against darkness and danger. Belief in the supernatural came easily to those who were constantly threatened by a sudden disaster, and superstition was rife in coalmining communities.
It was unlucky to be late for work or to forget something and then return home for it. If, on his way to work, a miner met someone with a squint, or a rabbit or bird crossed his path, he would go home for the day. Whenever anyone in his family dreamt of death, an accident, or broken shoes, a miner was often forced to stay at home by his frightened relatives on the day after the dream.
How many of these reasons for absence from work could be termed “excuses” rather than genuine fears must be left open to conjecture.
Bad days, good days
Ever since Christ was crucified on a Friday, the day has been associated with bad luck. In South Wales, many colliers refused to start new work on any Friday, referred to as “Black Friday”, but especially on one preceding a holiday, when miners in Monmouthshire would complain of having “the old black dog” on their backs, an evil spirit which caused illness and accidents.
Throughout Wales, pit workers stayed away from the mines on Good Friday, but there were other days when they missed work for reasons unconnected with foreboding. In 19th-century Carmarthenshire, the arrival of a fair led to an impromptu ceremony when the miners said: “We’ll throw a stone into the air. If it comes down, we’ll go to the fair”.
Ominous birds
The sight of a robin, pigeon, or dove flying around the pithead was thought to foretell disaster, and many miners refused to work if such birds were seen near the mines. They were called “corpse birds” and are said to have been seen before the explosion at Senghennydd Colliery in Glamorganshire in 1913 when over 400 pit workers died in the worst mining disaster in Welsh history.
In the mines themselves, whistling and the word “cat” were strictly taboo. Superstition had its good side in the case of the Welsh lead miners who believed in “knockers” — invisible spirits who made tapping noises to point the way to rich veins of ore.
Saved by superstition
In 1890, miners at the Morfa Colliery near Port Talbot reported many eerie manifestations that occurred in the neighbourhood and in the mine itself. Fierce hounds, known locally as the “Red Dogs of Morfa”, were seen running through the district at night.
The colliery was filled with a sweet rose-like perfume emanating from invisible “death flowers.” Cries for help and sounds of falling earth were heard, and flickering lights, called “corpse candles”, appeared in the tunnels (These might have been caused by wisps of methane gas and therefore have been a genuine cause for concern).
The ghosts of dead miners and coal trams drawn by phantom white horses were seen, and rats swarmed out of the mine. On 10th March, nearly half of the workers on the morning shift stayed at home. Later that day there was an explosion at the colliery, and 87 miners were burned alive and died in the disaster.
Being superstitious might therefore have been a lifesaver for many.
Did you like this? Maybe not! Either way, your comment will be very welcome!
For other similar pieces, see my List:
