The Scouring of the Shire: Fairies, Trolls and Pixies in Eco-Protest Culture

Folklore, Oct, 2001 by Andy Letcher

Stories are extremely important in the formation and maintenance of vernacular spiritualities. [3] Eco-paganism is shaped, not by books or charismatic leaders, but by the language spoken and by the myths and narratives shared around the campfires, the hearths of the protest camps. Here I use the word "myth" in Marion Bowman's sense of a "significant story," making no judgement as to veracity (Bowman 2000).

The narratives which protesters tell themselves about fairies are perfect examples of eco-pagan belief stories:

   That class of informal stories which: illustrate current community beliefs;
   tell not only of personal experiences but also those that have happened to
   other people; are used to explore and validate the belief traditions of a
   given community by showing how experience matches expectations (Bennett,
   cited in Bowman 2000, 85).

They comprise, of course, only a fraction of the belief stories that constitute eco-paganism and protest culture. Others, for example, may be much more political, but these narratives come to have particular significance for protesters by helping them to make sense of the struggle in which they are involved, and by forging a unique neo-tribal identity. The following examples describe ways in which fairy mythology is adopted by protesters.

Examples

Identification with fairies is an extremely common motif in the creative expressions of protesters, particularly in poetry and song. Music and song is a particularly good place to start when trying to understand how a culture perceives and portrays itself: through their art, the musicians or "bards" distil and reflect back the belief stories which help forge identity (Letcher 2001). Protesters released a taped collection of their songs and poetry called "Tribal Voices," recorded in the field at protest camps across the country. This not only gave protesters a voice, but also allowed them to generate an income, selling the tapes while busking. The following is an excerpt from the opening song on the tape called "The Dance of Dreams" by Tegwyn:

   I've got something to tell you
   Now how do I explain
   Without you thinking I'm insanely sane?
   And maybe things ain't quite what they seem,
   Let me tell you 'bout the people in my dreams.
   Cos they play like the pixies and they fly like the fairies
   They make the wishes of the wizards
   And then they make love like the mermaids of the morning. [4]

Here she blurs the distinction between fairies as beings in their own right, and fairies as symbolising protesters. In trying to explain that "things ain't quite what they seem," she first implies the former, but then implies the latter by saying that the "people in her dreams," namely her fellow protesters, are just like the fairies and pixies, playful and free of spirit.

In another song from the tape, by Matt Tweed, the English countryside in summer is romanticised:

   I bring you sweet songs and love of the sacred earth
   Of quicksilver's gold and "I'll make a crown for you"
   Of tinker bells glistening and laughing the pixie folk
   Of green growth and new growth and Eden's reborn again.
   And nature she's calling, nature she says to me,
   "Come and join hands, you're one with the family now." [5]