Global InformationThe Burryman information
The Burryman or Burry Man is the central figure in an annual ceremony or ritual, the Burryman's Parade, that takes place in the town of South Queensferry, near Edinburgh on the south bank of the Firth of Forth in Scotland, on the second Friday of August.
The custom is associated with, but separate from, the town's Ferry Fair.[1] On the Friday morning of the fair, a local man is covered from head to ankles in burrs (the sticky flowerheads or seedheads of two species of burdock, Arctium lappa and A. minus)[2] that grow locally, and walked through the town for over nine hours.[3] The meaning of this ceremony has long been forgotten, but it has been the cause of much speculation.[4]
- ^ Hole, Christina (1978). A Dictionary of British Folk Customs, pp53–54, Paladin Granada, ISBN 0-586-08293-X
- ^ Flora Celtica
- ^ 2007 Burryman route Archived 4 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ The Burryman: article at Scotsman.com (accessed 21 September 2009)