Nidd Nokk Sliddery Bawk. NITH INTUIT

[Geoff]

How often have we heard it said?
"THERE MUST BE SOMETHING IN THE WATTER"
(See Icons: burnscorridor.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=12 )
When you look at the Icon List it may make you wonder: is there some elixir of wisdom, innovation & intuition mixed within the flower?

Just to mix you up completely, I'll tell you about the local Nokk:
NIDD NOKK NICHT
What is the "NIDD NOKK"?

NIDD---------------Nith River (New River)
NOKK---------------River Sprite
SLIDDERY-----------Slippery
BAWK---------------Aul' Scots for: Path Through Crops.

NIDD NOKK NICHT: An annual festival of light, with torchlight processions, covering the length of the Nith Valley (Niddesdale). On the weekend nearest the anniversary of Burns' death, or the Wickerman festival in July. Beacons are lit along the Nidd from source to sea. The main character is the Nidd Nokk which lives within the Sliddery Bawk of south west Scotland. Born in days of legend on the heights of Enoch.
Beacons are lit on the banks by every town and village community.

NIDD NOKK NICHT

Nidd Nokk, sliddery bawk, somethin' in the watter,
Scary een, that's rarely seen, will mak yer wallies chatter.
They pierce the nicht, an' gie such fricht,
Nerves plucking Pizzicatter:
Its breath's obscene, its vision keen,
Ye'd best tae flee than flatter.

Nidd Nokk, sliddery bawk, ye'll stert tae get the feelin',
Somethin's there, ye feel its stare, butterflees are reelin'.
Twa rid slits flash, was that a splash?
Am shair ther's somethin' stealin',
It soondit close, it's somethin' gross,
It's there! It's here! You're squeelin'!!!!!

Nidd Nokk, sliddery bawk, we'd walked & talked the gether,
The nicht did please, we'd felt at ease, ye cannae bate a blether.
A silent break, sa' that it takes,
To change from pleasant weather,
We quickened pace, and asked for grace,
Aw runnin', Hell for leather.

Nidd Nokk, sliddery bawk, oor lungs were fit fur burstin'
Wi' legs lik leed, we loast wur speed, nae breath wis left fur cursin'.
We aw' fell doon, an' looked aroon, Nae sicht, nae soon', nae' nothin'.
“But whit's that smell? Can you no' tell?
The Nidd Nokk's braith: it's thurstin'.”

Nidd Nokk, sliddery bawk, we're aulder noo and shrewder,
But when we walk along the bawk, wur checkin' ow'r wur shooder?
Wis that a troot the Nith spat oot? Or a maybe an intruder?
A glowr, a stare, "there's nothin' there"
That maks the murmur looder?

Nidd Nokk, sliddery bawk, fae Enoch Hill tae Solway,
The Nithsdale sprite in daurk respite, lichts shadowed fears we aw’ hae,
Build frames tae flame, make it a game,
midsummer, warm or caul’ day.
In fire-clay urns oor Rabbie Burns',
Connels doon the hallway.

Every youth within the Nith Valley gets the chance to use their imagination and their hands, designing a NOKK (river sprite) in local competitions. Each town and village choses a winner which is then made "life size" of wicker or willow by an artist. These "NOKKS" are then taken to the Banks of Nith near their town/village and set alight: think Wickerman Festival but all along a river.

During the Summer Holidays youngsters can make willow rings which will form the body of the Nokk. The more rings, the bigger (louder) the Nokk.

[The Nith may be comparable to the Nidd,.....
Earliest spellings for the Nith refer to Nithsdale:
Stranit c1124, Stradnitt, 1124-40;
Stranith, 1192-98;
Strathnith, 1195-99;
aquam de Nid, 1161-74.]
www.spns.org.uk/MayWilliamsonComplete.pdf

In 2009 an effigy of Tam O'Shanter was burned on the river Nith, Dumfries during Homecoming celebrations and I thought it would make sense to use the same effigy for a NOKK ceremony beginning at New CumNOKK in Upper Nithsdale. www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpmshaUuVYY

[Geoff]

Coincidence: This is the year of the DRAGON beginning this weekend.

THE YEAR OF THE DRAGON, 01/23/2012 - 02/09/2013 (Water)

[According to the Chinese Zodiac, the Year of 2012 is the Year of the Dragon, which begins on January 23, 2012 and ends on February 9, 2013. The Dragon is the fifth sign of the Chinese Zodiac, which consists of 12 Animal signs. The Dragon is a creature of myth and legend. In ancient China, the celestial Dragon represents an emperor and power. Today, it is the ultimate auspicious symbol signifying success and happiness. May the celestial Dragon bring great good luck to everyone.

In Sung Dynasty (a Chinese imperial dynasty lasting from AD 960 - 1279) texts, the dragon is described as having the head of an ox, muzzle of a donkey, eyes of a shrimp, horns of a deer, body of a serpent covered with fish scales, and feet of a phoenix. The dragon usually clutches a pearl symbolic of its super-natural powers. Invariably accompanied by thunder and rain, dragons move like lightning and whirlwinds - - all powerful yet totally unpredictable.] www.stanssewingsupplies.com/catalogs/store.asp?pid=254835

[Geoff]

The Common NOKK is found in pools & rivers. Rivers such as the Nith in south west Scotland.

The Nith starts in East Ayrshire, the part of Ayrshire once known as Kyle.

Taking the Festival of Light theme a step further, we can use the "CANDLE" connection:
The word "Candle", pronounced "Connel" in the south west, has a few 'namesakes' within the Nith Valley.
Kirkconnell
Kirkconnel
Connel Burn
Connel Park
Connel View
Most of these originate from 7th century St Conval who was a follower of St Enoch.

There was another Saint named Enoch in the 10th century also known as Kennocha and Kyle. (The river Nith begins in Kyle at Enoch Hill).

Coincidentally; the heraldic arms of a sept of the Kyle family is:
three connels. www.kylesociety.org/Kyle_CoatofArms.htm

Beacons and processions of connels/candles in every town and village, following the A76 main Dumfries to New Cumnock road, lighting the way. From Connel Park to Solway Firth via KirkConnel and Kirkconnell.

[Geoff]

"Dear Geoff

Thank you for submitting your idea to the Creative Scotland Ideas Bank. On this occasion Creative Scotland does not wish to take your idea forward and we will not continue to hold it. We do not offer feedback but we wish you the best of luck with your idea elsewhere.

Best wishes

Creative Scotland" 30/01/12

[Geoff]

Comenoc may come from "the confluence of the rivers of Enoch.

Was there something in the watter?
Seeping from the hill of Enoch, two rivers meandered their ways north to the castle's loch. From there outlets flowed both north and south, but that was a long time ago and now it is only when the rains are at their heaviest does this anomally occur.

Some have noticed that the areas which the rivers pass through have given birth to masters of innovation.

Where did the name originate?
The name Enoch is Hebrew and means 'trained', 'vowed' or 'dedicated'.
I. Enoch: the son of Cain, father of Irad
II. Enoch: a city built by Cain, named after his son Enoch
III. Enoch: the son of Jared, father of Methuselah, from the line of Seth, also a direct descendant of Adam.
IV. Enoch was the mother of St. Mungo / St.Kentigern

[Geoff]

NOKK
www.mythicalcreatureslist.com/mythical-creature/Nokk
NIXXIE
korybing.deviantart.com/art/N-is-for-Nixie-43918512

[Geoff]

Trying to create interest in using folklore to stimulate tourism in the Nith Valley. As Fiona Hislop Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs, is shortly attending the Viking Congress would it be possible for her to enquire on the subject of the Scandinavian Nix.

In 2009 an effigy of Tam O'Shanter was burned on the river Nith, Dumfries, during Homecoming Scotland celebrations and I thought it would make sense to use the same effigy for a NOKK ceremony beginning at New CumNOKK in Upper Nithsdale. A man on the back of a horselike creature in the middle of a river being set alight, sounds like an interesting spectacle. www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpmshaUuVYY

The Nix & Nokk burnscorridor.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=103

Nix or Bäckahästen (translated as the brook horse) is a mythological horse in Scandinavian folklore. If properly approached, and if you brought the Nix a treat of three drops of blood, a black animal, some brännvin (Scandinavian vodka) or ''snus'' (wet snuff) dropped into the water, he would teach a musician to play so adeptly "that the trees dance and waterfalls stop at his music." It has a close parallel in the Scottish kelpie. It was often described as a majestic white horse that would appear near rivers, particularly during foggy weather. Anyone who climbed onto its back would not be able to get off again. The horse would then jump into the river, drowning the rider. The brook horse could also be harnessed and made to plow, either because it was trying to trick a person or because the person had tricked the horse into it. www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Nix

[Geoff]

Nearly new stories on the Miss Nokk Sliddery Bawk FB page

[Geoff]

It seems perhaps, that someone from America liked the new Cumnock story and in 1953 created their own Nith Monster:
everything2.com/title/The+Nith+River+Monster

The topic of most conversation in New Hamburg these days is of the "thing" that has been leaving a weird trail through parts of the north and western parts of town.
--"Our Town," The New Hamburg Independent, July 10, 1953.

"Every small town has something like this happen."
--graveyard worker, Halloween (1978).

New Hamburg, Ontario, remains a small town, with a disproportionately large park and a river running through it. Back in the 1950s, The New Hamburg Independent published births on the front page and started summer by naming every local student who successfully moved up a grade. If you want mythic mid-century small town North America, New Hamburg in 1953 does just fine. For years, it also hosted the Canadian Harness Racing Derby or "Derby Days." Thousands once descended on the town in August for the event, where the "Top names in harness racing… vied for the honor of winning" ("Our Town," August 7, 1953)

In addition, the town has hosted its very own New Hamburg Monster-- also known as "the Nith River Monster," "Nithy," and "Slimy Caspar."

The beast made its debut in July, 1953, though the local paper claims some unidentified residents had observed its trail in previous years. The summer-friendly story spread quickly and garnered the small town national and even international coverage.

What most locals saw, of course, was not the monster itself, but its tracks, a continuous groove about the width of a bicycle wheel, such as might be made by a dragging tail, and three-toed clawprints. Theories abounded. Observers speculated the marks might be made by anything from a heron to a turtle, a "large lizard-like animal to a dog dragging a chain"("Our Town," July 10, 1953). Others posited that an alligator, brought back from Florida by travelers, had been released when it grew too large (Colombo 55). The Independent's local round-up, "About Town," expressed relief that, at least, no one has "reported seeing a flying saucer" (July 10, 1953).

Chief Constable George Thomas, who enforced the law in the region, claims to have seen the monster once, at night, but could not clearly make out what it was. In a story covered by the out-of-town papers, he says he "spotted it dragging itself towards the river from the business section"("Three-Toed Night-Prowling Monster..."). He made a "snap decision" and fired at the animal, which was about three or four feet long, but to no avail. It escaped into the river. Though the tracks turned up throughout the summer, no one else reporting seeing the creature itself. The three-toed footprints recalled an alligator or a lizard's, and showed signs of webbing. Zoologists from the University of Western Ontario in nearby London, Ontario knew of no creature indigenous to the region that left prints of this sort.

The out-of-town coverage compares oddly with the New Hamburg material. When interviewed by papers from other communities, Thomas sounds quite serious, and expresses concern about the presence of a real animal that might be harmful to children ("The 'Monster' of Ontario"). Yet in local coverage, he sounds as terribly amused by the tracks as the local press.

Indeed, while area children doubtless received a few frights telling campfire stories, the inhabitants of New Hamburg took a relaxed and jocular attitude towards their creeping cryptid. A local bakery made cakes shaped like the monster and its mate. When a resident of Medicine Hat sent a letter mocking the beast for being so much smaller than the west coast's infamous Ogopogo, Thomas responded with a tongue-in-cheek letter which the local paper helpfully reproduced. Thomas expressed doubt a monster could survive in a place like Medicine Hat ("by the way—is it on the map?") and suggested that while few people truly believe in the Ogopogo, locals in New Hamburg want to grant their monster the freedom of the city and special protection against capture by a sideshow. An odd attitude, indeed, from someone who apparently shot at the creature earlier that month and, into the autumn, told the foreign press he feared for children's safety.

The monster made the front page of every Independent issue that July, alongside weightier fare. Then, in August, it disappeared. New Hamburg had Derby Days to promote.

I suppose some unknown or out-of-territory beast might have taken up residence in the small town that summer, but the facts strongly indicate a different explanation.

An event like Derby Days (1936-1958) had to be suffering, along with most local festivities, from the competition provided by the growing mass media and the postwar highway system. Television and trips to more famous—and now more accessible—places would hold greater appeal, especially for children. The monster bought publicity, and a draw for those uninspired by horse races.

The story even attracted the attention of TV wrestler Tuffy Truesdell, who arrived (or was, perhaps, invited) with alligators in tow—Tuffy specialized in rasslin' gators and bears—to draw out the monster. Truesdell's alligators would have ensured that would-be monster-hunters who stopped by New Hamburg saw something exotic and reptilian.

Almost certainly, then, someone in town concocted the story and faked the prints. The Chief Constable seems the chief suspect; at the very least, he clearly cooperated. Paul Knowles' A History of New Hamburg states outright that the amiable officer probably created the tracks himself. If the local paper didn't know the truth, neither did they probe too deeply. The monster made a splash, and the August 14 New Hamburg Independent notes that Derby Days was a huge success.

Two other small-town monster stories may have influenced Nithy's creation.

The Flatwoods Monster of Braxton County, West Virginia, made its mark in September of 1952, less than a year earlier. Whatever truth may be behind that bizarre incident, it received widespread coverage. Flatwoods still sells monster-related souvenirs and paraphernalia. Cherubusco, Indiana hosted its first Turtle Days Festival in June of 1950. The townfolk named the (still extant) event for their monster, Oscar, the Beast of 'Busco, a titanic turtle who made his most publicized appearances in the late 1940s.

These local monsters have become long-term residents, terrors turned town mascots. The Nith River Monster's appearances, after summer's end, 1953, have been scant. A local parade float depicted the creature in 1957. At some point, the local Lions Club sported nifty Nithy pins.1 In 2009, Castle Kilbride, a restored mansion/museum in nearby Baden, unearthed the tale as the basis of that year's "Twilight Family Night." However, many people in the region with whom I've talked have never heard of Nithy.

The keeper of the local archives declines comment. And I'm certain Nithy prefers it that way.2



1. Update: I bought one of these old pins from a Flea Market dealer. I have not been able to determine the year, but likely they coincide with the '57 parade.

2. Update: The monster reportedly reappeared in December 2014 at the New Hamburg Santa Claus parade, a year and some months after this article first appeared. Coincidence?
(Note that this article was posted in 2012, removed pending publication elsewhere, and then reposted)

Since then, Nithy awareness has increased. He even made a Scottish TV show about cryptids.




Sources
John Robert Colombo. Mysteries of Ontario. Toronto: Dundurn, 1999.

"Creepy, crawly fun awaits at Twilight Family Night." NewHamburgIndependent.ca. July 15, 2009. www.newhamburgindependent.ca/whats-on/creepy-crawly-fun-awaits-at-twilight-family-night/.

George M. Eberhart. Mysterious Creatures: A Guide to Cryptozoology. Abc-Clio Incorporated, 2002.

Paul Knowles. A History of New Hamburg. New Hamburg: English Garden, 2002.

"The 'Monster' of Ontario." Townsville Daily Bulletin (Queensland, Australia). September 15, 1953.

"Recreation in Wilmot." Recreation and Leisure in Wilmot. www.heritagewilmot.ca/historyDetails.php?Recreation-and-Leisure-in-Wilmot-10.

"Three-Toed Night-Prowling Mystery Monster Stalked by New Hamburg's Aroused Populace." The London Free Press A1. July 8, 1953.

"Trail Mystery Not Yet Solved." The New Hamburg Independent July 10, 1953: 1.

"Our Town." The New Hamburg Independent July 10, 1953: 1.

"Our Town." The New Hamburg Independent July 24, 1953: 1.

"Our Town." The New Hamburg Independent July 31, 1953: 1.

"Our Town." The New Hamburg Independent August 7, 1953: 1.

"18th Annual Derby Another Successful Event." The New Hamburg Independent August 14, 1953: 1.


Originally posted in June 2013. Removed and reposted.

[Geoff]

www.facebook.com/nidd-nokk-sliddery-bawk/

[Geoff]

2022 is to be Scotland's Year of Story Telling. The ideal time for

#OhaadTheNithing to start his travels up and down the Nit H Valley.

[Geoff]

"The loch at the top of the NitH Valley lasted for 2,000 years. The dam wall had been constructed over hundreds of years by families of beaver and held back an immense amount of water.
The Black Loch wasn't deep, but covered a large part of the valley floor, giving North to the name Fen Glen or Cwm Eneach to the Welsh settlers, who brought new blood to the land."
"The dam stood until 1296, having been used as a way to cross the chasm for 700 years or more. The land became bogland, with the river, which had flowed North to Ayr for three centuries, now taking the other original southern route to Dumfries."
"Trust me" said Ohaad.