This post is one of the series on Cornish Culture native to Cornwall in the far west of Britain.
Late Summer and Early Autumn are fascinating times in the Cornish traditional calender, dominated by the twin harvest traditions of Crying the Neck and Guldize. Before the 20th Century it was common for Cornish agricultural communities to devote considerable resources to bringing in the grain harvest in September.
Cutting the “corn” was an art perfected by many workers using large dangerous scythes they often would hold exhausting competitions determining who was the fastest and best harvester that year. Women took part throughout the whole process , often performing the back breaking and menial tasks such as rescuing earns of grain that had been accidentally discarded during the process. During the harvest it was the local farmers duty to provide as much food as was needed and in some cases large quantities of the local brew, sometimes a very rough cider, which acted as a natural pain killer for the workers.
No doubt the consumption of strong cider and the combination of sharp blades on big sticks would have led to a few injuries however, farmers where often judged by their workers by the quality of the food and drink they provided, the better the rations the more popular the farmer and the more likely he was to attract the best harvesters. As the end of the harvest approached a small section of corn would be left uncut and on the very last day of harvest work the farmer would perform the crying of the neck. Joined by all the workers and locals in the area the last shock of corn would be cut, holding the crop above his head he would shout “we have it , we have it!”, the crowd would reply “what 'ave 'ee! what 'ave 'ee!” the farmer again, “A neck ! A neck!”. This curious custom is still practised by members of the Old Cornwall societies across the Duchy with the added addition of a payers and harvest hymns.
Curiously modern celebrations tend not to include what was seen by real historical workers as the main focus of the end of harvest celebrations, Guldize. Guldize is the name given to the great feast and night of celebration that followed the crying of neck. It was customary for a chosen member of the harvesters to take the newly cut shock of corn and run with it to the site of the communal feast, often a large barn or house, it was his job to enter the building without gaining the attention of the women preparing the food. If he was caught he would be thoroughly drenched by a bucket of cold water, success on the other hand led to kiss from a chosen girl. Feasting and revelry followed, with pork stews and pies a great favourite all followed by lashings of cider and spirits. As the evening continued some of the younger girls would perform the Cornish harvest dance "Cock in Britches", which emulates the actions of the harvest process. Later still singing of Cornish harvest favourites was the norm. Since 2009 there has been an increase in interest in the Guldize feast and there are least 3 known “Guldize suppers” in existence in Cornwall and one in the USA. Ever the preserver of traditions there are in fact a small number of historic harvest suppers held by Methodist churches including one held at Wesley Rock Church in Heamoor, near Penzance, undoubtedly a relic of the Guldize feast. So popular was the practice of Guldize that it may have influenced Morwenstowe based Rev RS Hawker who invented the modern church harvest festival as we know it today.