Superstitious cavers

Born again caver

Born again caver

New member
Chatting to a member of the Orpheus the other day, he tells me that he never whistles in a mine because it awakes the spirit of the miners. This had me thinking about superstition and caving, are we a superstitious bunch or not? I always have a good breakfast before a caving trip (it might be my last).
Any other superstitious behavior out there?
 
graham

graham

New member
whistling.gif
 
Pitlamp

Pitlamp

Well-known member
Doesn't it go back to the late Keith "Ben" Bentham (who is sorely missed)?
He would tell you off for whistling in old mines - and sometimes storm off and leave you to it if you wouldn't stop.
 
TheBitterEnd

TheBitterEnd

Well-known member
I don't think of myself as superstitious but having spent a bit of time down Cornish mines where whistling is a complete no-no, I get a bit uncomfortable if I hear whistling underground...
 
paul

paul

Moderator
Pitlamp said:
Doesn't it go back to the late Keith "Ben" Bentham (who is sorely missed)?
He would tell you off for whistling in old mines - and sometimes storm off and leave you to it if you wouldn't stop.
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It wasn't just Ben - I know others of the same generation who also do their nut if you whistle in a mine here in the Peak.
 
SamT

SamT

Moderator
I'm a no whistling kind of guy.  Just tradition really, mines can be dangerous places at times so spirits or no, I want to keep everything in my favour.

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A

Armchair

New member
Sam's right, most mining taboos have a perfectly sensible origin in survival.
Ben was neither superstitious nor was his phobia restricted to mines (or even the underground); it was related to a medical condition that he otherwise kept very well hidden.
 
O

owd git

Active member
Earliest mines i've seen in Derbys' they wedged twigs or reeds across roof, the slightest movement would snap or dislodge them as an early warning alarm, so a constant un-neccesary noise 'whistling?' would be wholly dangerous.eh?
It makes more sence than offerings to T'owd man ( and I lead plenty down for him  :LOL: :LOL: :LOL: :LOL: )
O.G.
 
AR

AR

Well-known member
owd git said:
Earliest mines i've seen in Derbys' they wedged twigs or reeds across roof, the slightest movement would snap or dislodge them as an early warning alarm, so a constant un-neccesary noise 'whistling?' would be wholly dangerous.eh?
It makes more sence than offerings to T'owd man ( and I lead plenty down for him  :LOL: :LOL: :LOL: :LOL: )
O.G.
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Funny you should mention that Ric, I saw some calcited-up twigs in the roof of a Via Gellia mine only last night (and half expected to see you in the 'mow afterwards!)

I always wondered if the superstition against whistling was due to someone in the dim and distant past having managed to whistle at the resonant frequency of an unstable roof while underneath it , in much the same way that I managed to bring down part of the ceiling of the bathroom in my parent's house with a low "A" on my bass guitar! There's no similar stricture against singing in the Peak though, as evidenced by the Bradwell and Castleton tradition of the miners singing carols round a candle in the mine.
 
SamT

SamT

Moderator
Hi AR -

I guess this is not completely Off Topic, but what do you know about burning heather in caves mines.  It was something we've spotted evidence of in a few mines round bradwell and always presumed it was some sort of superstitious ritual performed by the miners. 
 
graham

graham

New member
SamT said:
Hi AR -

I guess this is not completely Off Topic, but what do you know about burning heather in caves.  It was something we've spotted evidence of in a few mines round bradwell and always presumed it was some sort of superstitious ritual performed by the miners.
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Interesting. The only references to heather & superstitions that I can find are to the classic one of white heather being lucky. The only references to burning heather are ones about "setting the heather on fire" meaning to inject some excitement into something. This comes from the Highland practice of burning off heather to allow room for grass to grow.

I can find no folklore references to burning heather, none. So if you do find anything else about that I'd be fascinated to hear about it.
 
AR

AR

Well-known member
SamT said:
Hi AR -

I guess this is not completely Off Topic, but what do you know about burning heather in caves mines.  It was something we've spotted evidence of in a few mines round bradwell and always presumed it was some sort of superstitious ritual performed by the miners.
Click to expand...

Hi Sam, this is a new one on me, I don't recall it being mentioned anywhere by either Jim Rieuwerts or Nellie Kirkham, or in the old PDMHS bulletin article about miner's superstitions. I'll check up when I'm at home with my library, but I'll raise it on Aditnow ("the other site") and see if anything comes back, I'll also mention it to Jim when I next speak to him.

I'm reluctant to label it "ritual" yet as that's the archaeologists cop-out for anything you don't know WTF it was, the nearest practical thing I can think of are the small brushes used in the fireset workings of the Northern Dale mines to sweep out the ore after the firing site had cooled. The other thing that springs to mind is some sort of folk remedy against damps but that's pure speculation on my part. :confused:
 
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