The famous cat Maru

Many Maru 23

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bgm-NSg3Zeg

The famous Cat Maru and a Christmas stocking

 

Maru and the Christmas stocking 





Have fun!

I AM MARU - and my effect is positive !

Looking at cute cats on the net gives a positive effect on humans - and this effect is much larger than the scientists ever believed. Cute cats on film are not just entertaining here and now,  but they bring us a warm feeling of happiness and a positive energy, which reduces tiring feelings like restlessness, irritation and depression. A new investigation on 7000 participants show this, made by Indiana University Media School in USA.

 
I AM MARU

Women and Cats.....................

Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea.
 

Robert A. Heinlein.

The Famous Cat Maru and a Christmas Stocking

The famous Cat Maru

Ten Quotes about Cats

The Hunter, gb 2003.

Women and cats will do as they please and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea.
 - Robert A. Heinlein



"And how do you know that you're mad?"
"To begin with," said the Cat, " a dog's not mad. You grant that?" 
"I suppose so," said Alice.
"Well then" the Cat went on," you see a dog growls when it's angry, and wags its tail when it's pleased. Now I growl when I'm pleased, and wag my tail when I'm angry. Therefore I'm mad."
 - Lewis Carroll "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass. 



Cats are intended to teach us that not everything in nature has a purpose.
 - Garrison Kellor



"What's your name ?" Coraline asked the cat. "Look, I'm Coraline. Okay?"
"Cats don't have names," it said.
"No?" said Coraline.
"No," said the cat. "Now you people have names. That's because you don't know who you are. We know who we are, so we don't need names."
 - Neil Gaiman "Coraline"  


The smallest feline is a masterpiece.
 - Leonardo da Vinci. 



Never try to outstubborn a cat.
 - Robert A. Heinlein "Time Enough for Love".



Let us be honest: most of us rather like our cats to have a streak of wickedness. I should not feel quite easy in the company of any cat that walked around the house with a saintly expression.
 - Beverley Nichols, "Beverley Nichols' Cats' A Z" 


I am not a cat but a dog man, and all felines can tell this at a glance - a sharp vindictive glance.
 - James Thurber. 


I take care of my flowers and my cat. And enjoy food. And that's living.
 - Ursula Andress. 



The kitten was six weeks old. It was enchanting , a delicate fairy-tale cat, whose Siamese genes showed in the shape of the face, ears, tail, and the subtle lines of its body.  [...] She sat, a tiny thing , in the middle of a yellow carpet, surrounded by five worshippers, not at all afraid of us. Then she stalked around that floor of the house inspecting every inch of it, climbed up on to my bed, crept under the fold of a sheet and was at home. 
 - Doris Lessing "On Cats."







photo Clausholm Manor 2003: grethe bachmann

The Norwegian Forest Cat by the Old Watermill

Deep into the forest lies an old watermill, it is not a run down, but a very well maintained building. Someone lives here, but they are usually not showing up when people are passing by. They probably want peace and quiet like we do when we seek out into those quiet desolate places.

I had been here by the old watermill at Fussingø many times in each season through the years but on a day
in June this year one of the inhabitants of the house was sitting outside the door -  a magnificent cat with a thick furry coat. The cat was looking through me with golden eyes like I was not existing -  looking across the yard down to the lake in a calm and dignified posture. I took a few shots, and the cat did not react in any way. What a proud, independent soul!

This was the Norwegian Forest cat, which is now a very popular breeding cat. Many myths and legends are attached to this pretty cat-creature.

The Danish born priest Peter Clausson Friis lived in Norway for many years; together with his priest work he was very occupied by nature - and he described the animals he met in the Norwegian nature. In 1559 he began writing about the lynx. He divided the lynx into three categories: wolf-lynx, fox-lynx and cat-lynx. It was later discovered that all three belonged to the same species, but what he called the cat-lynx might have been the Norwegian Forest cat. It is very likely since there are many similarities between the forest cat and  the Norwegian lynx. The most apparent is that they are both high-legged big cats with a big fur collar and hair upon the tip of the ears, the socalled tufse - and they both like water. The stories about swimming forest cats catching fish in lakes and rivers are numerous. The forest cat used exactly the same method as the Norwegian lynx. These similarities between the lynx and the forest cat have once and again caused that people have taken a great interest in the forest cat.

There are many cats in the Norwegian country settlements, but in the oral handovers and fairy tales the big longhaired cat is always mentioned. Because of its size and the lynx-like characteristica many people thought that it was a mix of dog and cat - or more commonly that this cat was a half lynx.

In the Norwegian fairy tales of Asbjørnsen and Moe the forest cat appears several times. It is called a *Huldrekat - and is described as a forest cat with a thick bushy tail. The fairy tales and the legends are not the only proofs of the big natural presence of the forest cat. In 1912 the Norwegian author Gabriel Scott wrote a very popular children's book called Sølvfax (Silver Fax).The main person is a forest cat called Sølvfax.

*Huldre is a forest spirit ( see wikipedia).

"Huldra's Nymphs" by Bernard Evans Ward (1909)

The Norwegian forest cat is adapted to survive Norway's cold weather. Its ancestors may include black and white shorthair cats, brought to Norway from Great Britain sometime after 1000 AD by the Vikings, and longhaired cats brought to Norway by crusaders. These cats could have reproduced with farm and feral stock and might have eventually evolved into the modern-day Norwegian Forest cat. The Siberian and the Turkish Angora longhaired cats from Russia and Turkey respectively, are also possible ancestors of the breed. Norse legends refer to the skogkatt as "a mountain dwelling fairy cat with an ability to climb sheer rock faces that other cats could not manage".

Many people believe that the ancestors of the Norwegian Forest cat served as mousers on Viking ships. The Norwegian Vikings had the forest cat as a domestic cat, and in their expeditions around the world they brought the forest cat with them on their ships. This should be the cause of the large numbers of half-wild longhaired cats in Normandy.

The forest cats lived in the Norwegian forests for many centuries, but were later prized for their hunting skills and were used on Norwegian farms. Norwegian Forest cats would continue acting as mousers on Norwegian farms until they were discovered in the early twentieth century by cat enthusiasts.


The Norwegian Forest cat is now a popular breeding cat in many countries. The cat has a quiet voice but can develop a loud voice if kept in a house wit a dog. They are friendly and intelligent and are good with people. They have a lot of energy and can be very demanding of attention. Those cats that live primarily outdoors become swift and effective hunters, but the breed can also adapt to indoor life. The cats usually live to be 14 to 16 years old. As they are heavy-boned and tall they require more food than most other domestic breeds. Males are considerably heavier and larger boned than females. There have been kidney and heart diseased reported in the breed. The breed has also been known to suffer from hip dysplasia which is a rare partially hereditary disease of the hip joint. The breed along with several other cat breeds can be poisoned by things that are considered safe to humans.

But no matter, I had a lovely meeting with a beautiful forest cat in the midst of the forest. I hope I'll see it again the next time I'll go there. 


source: Skovkattens historie, Dansk Skovkattering; wikipedia: den Norske Skovkat, den Europæiske Skovkat.  
photo Fussingø June 2013: grethe bachmann; 
photocopy "Huldra's Nymphs", wikipedia.

Cat saying Wuf!

Cat with split personality?  `)

 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aP3gzee1cps

Have a nice week-end!
Grethe

Bacchus on the Barrel

Fastelavn/ Carnival


In February when it's Fastelavn it is still common to beat the cat out of the barrel, in the old days it was a real cat, but now the barrel is filled with candy and other good stuff. Each Kindergarten has a celebration on our Fastelavns-Monday, where the children are dressed out and "beat the cat out of the barrel". And a cat-king or a cat-queen is elected.

But earlier were more customs around Fastelavn in Denmark, although most of those customs could not be compared to the customs in Mid- and South Europe, where a whole district or town is celebrating the carnival. A special custom was "Bacchus on the Barrel", especially celebrated in the Danish "South Sea" islands Lolland, Falster, but also at Sjælland, Funen and in South Jutland. This custom had many European common features. Everyone took part in this feast in the village, parish or town, but the custom died out in the late 1930s.

The archives can tell us about it.It was an impressive arrangement, this procession with a fat "Bacchus on the Barrel" . Everyone in the procession had a certain role and was dressed out for this. The rest of the people were busy in treating them with food and drink, when they went from farm to farm to collect money for the great Fastelavn's feast, the great finish of the day. A description of a day like this tells us that they visited 32 farms and then held this great feast, where they danced until sunrise.

In front of the Bacchus- procession was the leader in his officer's uniform with a sabre. After him came the Master of Ceremonies. After them two standard bearers dressed in white tie and tails. Then followed the musicians, the singers and the carriers with garderhuer (like the Queen's Guards), they wore white shirts, decorated with red and blue revenue labels. The carriers had a ladder upon which sat Bacchus, all dressed in white and stuffed with hay to make him look real fat. He sat upon a small barrel with water and splashed water on people, if they came too close.

After this all the other figures came, and all with certain roles to play. "The Summer" was a man dressed in summer-dress and with sun-glasses. When the procession came indoors, he at once opened all the windows, claiming that it was too hot. But "the Winter", who was dressed in fur coat and wooden-soled boots, closed the windows again very quickly and went to sit in the chimney corner because he froze. In the meantime the wheat farmer with his meerschaum-pipe and a long coat with silver buttons bargained about the harvest of the year, and he smoke so much that he was almost covered in tobacco-smoke. The clowns removed all kinds of domestic utensils and gave them back - in return for payment. There was also a knife-grinder and his madam, both in old, ragged clothes. He sang his knife-grinder-song.

When the procession came to a farm the Master of Ceremonies went inside and asked if they might come in, which he said in a special jingle. When they came into the yard, they played music and sang a Fastelavn's-song. The whole company came into the living room and was treated with food and drink, and the Master of Ceremonies thanked host and hostess in a verse. The jester with fool's cap and bell told him to ask if they might come back next year. "Yeah, yeah! mister Barrejads!" said the MC, "let's see, if we live that long". And the company sang another song.



Some of the customs like the man in officer's uniform and the standard bearers belong to rather new customs from the 1800s, but there are variations, which remind about a medieval fool's play. The jester made all kinds of tomfoolery, he hid pots and pans in the most incredible places. There was Jerusalem's shoemaker dressed as a very old man with long white hair; he went along and measured the girls' legs in order to make them high boots. He received money in advance, but they never got any boots. The knife-grinder's madam stole as a raven as soon she came inside. Two people wore a straw-doll named Ole Lukøje (Sandman) ; one of the persons was dressed as a man in top and as a woman in bottom and number two was dressed the other way round. When they came near a water-hole people tried to push the waggon with the straw-doll into the water to make him drown.

In return for the fine treating with food and drink from the people on the farms everyone was invited to the Fastelavn's-party which was held on the last farm, a total-feast, in which the whole village took part. A total-feast like this is characteristic for traditional, primitive societies. When modern times arrived it became difficult to carry through a feast with everyone taking part - so the custom died out.

The rituals in such a feast can be mysterious, but earlier sources make it possible to see dimly the outline of a heathen carnival, which survived up to the present time. The figures from "Bacchus on the Barrel" are all repetitions from the European Carnival traditions. They were all representatives of the local society, of the world around which they depended on, and of outcast-groups, which was neither this nor that. The straw-doll Ole Lukøje (Sandman) shows signs of relations to various personifications of the old year, which has to be drowned or burnt. And the wheat farmer walks around selling his wheat. A sign of spring to come.




Source: Archaeological Magazine SKALK, Nr. 1, Gustav Henningsen: Det Danske Karneval, February 2006; Lis Paludan & Ulla Dietl, Bo Bedre, Børnenes Idébog 1972.

Fastelavn /Shrove-Tide - Masks

February 3rd


Viking-mask (The Århus-mask)

Fastelavn/Shrove Tide was originally a pagan spring-and fertility feast. Later it was added to the church tradition, but during the Reformation in 1536 the clergy made an attempt to abolish it - in vain. They considered it to be too violent and too heathen. The Fastelavn-custom arrived in Denmark in the end of the 1300s with German merchants and workmen. The name Fastelavn comes from the German Faste-Abend, meaning a night for fasting - the night before the beginning of the Lent which is seven weeks before Easter.

After the Middle Ages the Fastelavn-celebrations were less heathen. In the country the guys on the farms gathered in a group on horseback. They were dressed in their finest clothes and the girls had decorated their favorite guy with silk ribbons on their shirts and hats. Everyone was dressed as either a beggar, a bitch or a clown. The clown wore a white shirt with tassels and a half-mask and a special hat. The beggar was dressed as an old man, and the bitch was a man dressed in a woman's clothes. The guys rode from farm to farm with musicians in front, and when they came to a farm they danced with the girls to the music. They were treated with beer and snaps, and the farm-wife gave them a basket with eggs for their special egg-drinks in the evening.


Viking-mask from Sweden

During the 1900s Fastelavn was mostly for children who went from house to house with a collecting-box, singing a song and begging for buns and money.The children were dressed in imaginative clothes, and their faces were painted or they wore face-masks. This was a tradition on Fastelavns- Monday, and it's still popular to dress up in fantastic dresses. The tradition with the collection-box has almost disappeared.

A Danish Fastelavns-Song: (the children sing if the don't get any buns then they'll make some trouble. )

Fastelavn er mit navn
boller vil jeg have,
hvis jeg ingen boller får
så laver jeg ballade

Boller op, boller ned,
boller i min mave,
hvis jeg ingen boller får
så laver jeg ballade.


Viking-mask from Skern, West Jutland

Another tradition with origin in ancient traditions was to 'beat the cat out of the barrel'. In the Middle Ages a black cat was considered an evil creature. A living cat was put into a barrel, and then the barrel was beaten into pieces, which meant that they were chasing the winter away. Today the custom is still in use, but the barrel is filled with fruit and candy and sometimes a paper figure of a black cat. Children in gaily coloured Fastelavns-costumes line up in a row and beat the barrel. When the barrel finally falls down the last one who gave it a beat is the cat-king or the cat-queen and gets a golden paper crown on his/her head.

Another custom came to Denmark in the 1700s where a birch-twig was used to 'whip' the women. It was some kind of fertility-rite. The women then thanked the men by giving them buns and cakes. In the 1900s the Fastelavns-twig was decorated twith multicoloured tissue paper strings and used by children to 'beat up' their parents, who then gave a breakfast with delicious Fastelavns-buns. Today the Fastelavns-twig is only used as a gift or as an extra decoration at home , decorated with candy and funny toy things.

The custom about the Fastelavns-buns will probably never disappear. Those buns are extremely popular, and the bakers already start selling them after Christmas. Buns with creme, jam, marzipan or whipped cream - and with pink, white or chocolate icing - or icing sugar on top. Very delicious.

Pictures of viking masks from the archaeological magazine 'Skalk', Højbjerg, Århus