Ankou (
Breton: ''an Ankoù'') is a servant of death in
Breton,
Cornish (''an Ankow'' in
Cornish),
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...
(''yr Angau'' in
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...
) and
Norman French folklore.
Background
Ankou appears as a man or skeleton wearing a black robe and a large hat which conceals his face, or, on occasion, simply as a shadow. He wields a scythe and is said to sit atop a cart for collecting the dead, or to drive a large, black coach pulled by four black horses and accompanied by two ghostly figures on foot.
According to one legend, he was the first child of
Adam and Eve
Adam and Eve, according to the creation myth of the Abrahamic religions, were the first man and woman. They are central to the belief that humanity is in essence a single family, with everyone descended from a single pair of original ancestors. ...
. Other versions depict Ankou as the first dead person of the year (though he is always depicted as a male adult), charged with collecting others' souls before he can go to the afterlife. In an alternate origin he was a cruel prince who met Death during a hunting trip and challenged him to see who could kill a black stag first. Death won the contest and the prince was cursed to roam the earth as a ghoul for all eternity.
Sometimes he is depicted as the king of the dead whose subjects have their own particular paths along which their sacred processions move.
[Wentz, W. Y. (1911). ''The Fairy-faith in Celtic Countries.'' Reprinted. Colin Smythe (1981). . P. 218.]
Ankou is mentioned by
Anatole Le Braz
Anatole le Braz, the "Bard of Brittany" (2 April 1859 – 20 March 1926), was a Breton poet, folklore collector and translator. He was highly regarded amongst both European and American scholars, and known for his warmth and charm.
Biography
Le B ...
, a writer and collector of legends, in ''The Legend of Death'':
:The Ankou is the henchman of Death (''oberour ar maro'') and he is also known as the grave yard watcher, they said that he protects the graveyard and the souls around it for some unknown reason and he collects the lost souls on his land. The last dead of the year, in each parish, becomes the Ankou of his parish for all of the following year. When there has been, in a year, more deaths than usual, one says about the Ankou:
:– ''War ma fé, heman zo eun Anko drouk''. ("On my faith, this one is a nasty Ankou.")
Appearance in subcultures
Every parish in
Brittany
Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...
is said to have its own Ankou.
In Breton tradition, the squealing of railway wheels outside one's home is supposed to be ''Karrigell an Ankou'' ("The Wheelbarrow of Ankou").
Similarly, the cry of the owl is referred to as ''Labous an Ankou'' ("The Death Bird").
The Ankou is also found on the baptismal font at
La Martyre
La Martyre (; ''Ar Merzer in Breton'') is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France.
Population
Inhabitants of La Martyre are called in French ''Martyriens''.
Sights
The village of La Martyre has one of the old ...
where he is shown holding a human head.
In Ireland, there is proverb that states, "When the Ankou comes, he will not go away empty".
See also
*
Arawn
In Welsh mythology, Arawn (; ) was the king of the otherworld realm of Annwn who appears prominently in the first branch of the Mabinogi, and alluded to in the fourth. In later tradition, the role of the king of Annwn was largely attributed to ...
, a Welsh king of the Otherworld
*
Death (personification)
Death is frequently imagined as a personified force. In some mythologies, a character known as the Grim Reaper (usually depicted as a berobed skeleton wielding a scythe) causes the victim's death by coming to collect that person's soul. Other b ...
References
{{Reflist
Breton mythology and folklore
Breton legendary creatures
European folklore
French folklore
Personifications of death
Death gods
Psychopomps