Liskeard Old Cornwall Society hosted the ancient Cornish celebration of the Harvest, Crying the Neck in the Wildflower Field at Pengover Green on September 16.

In pre-Christian pagan times the event was more about fertility rites and often involved a blood sacrifice.

This was replaced later with ‘feasting and the consumption of plentiful supplies of cider and beer, with romps and kissing games’. The evening’s proceedings followed the Christianised service established by the Old Cornwall movement in 1928 in St Ives.

A welcome was extended to the 60 plus members and visitors by Brian Oldham, President of Liskeard OCS, followed by a short history of the tradition.

The opening prayer was read in Cornish by Rod Sheaff, Bard of the Cornish Gorsedd, and in English by Father Gilmour of Our Lady & St Neot Catholic Church, Liskeard.

Farmer James Moon then scythed the last of the crop, made a sheaf known as the neck, which he then raised to the North, the East and the South, not to the West as traditionally this would have brought a poor harvest.

In each direction James shouted three times ‘Yma genef’, we all asked three times ‘Pandr’us genes?’, James replied three times ‘Pen yar’, which was greeted by three loud ‘Houra!’s. The neck was then passed to Simon Haley-Cassidy, Mayor of Liskeard, to repeat the process in English, ‘I have’n’, ‘What have’ee?’, ‘A Neck’, ‘Hurrah!’.

The Lord’s Prayer was said in Cornish and English, followed by a blessing from Father Gilmour.