: St Fagans Archive

I’m finding it hard to believe that the St Fagans Food Festival will be soon upon us – where has the year gone? Last year, we asked you to tweet your favourite family recipes to us. We had an amazing response, thanks again to all who took part, enabling us to create a lovely exhibition at Oakdale Workmen’s Institute over the Festival weekend.

As part of this year’s Festival, we’re launching a digital version of Welsh Fare, a collection of traditional recipes collected by Minwel Tibbott. When she started at the Museum in 1969, the study of traditional foods was a very new research field. She realised very early on that the information would not be found in books and she travelled all over Wales in order to interview, record and film the older generation of women. They recalled the dishes prepared by their mothers, and their memories harked back to the end of the 1880s.

With the digital version, not only can you read the recipes, but also hear the women explain the processes and see them prepare the dishes. We’re also keen to add to this collection, and as the Great British Bake Off fever grabs us once again, we’re asking you to share with us your favourite family recipes. We’d also like to add to our images of people feasting - people enjoying your showstoppers, a family celebration or a gathering of friends.

Tweet recipes, images and information to @archifSFarchive or post them on the St Fagans Facebook page using the hashtag #Ryseitiau #FoodFestival. Another option is to bring them along to Oakdale Workmen’s Institute during the Food Festival and we’ll scan them. All the recipes and photos, as well as last year’s collection will be uploaded on to the People’s Collection Wales.

For the latest on this project, follow tweets by @archifSFarchive and @SF_Ystafelloedd and the hashtags #Ryseitiau #Food Festival #WelshFare #AmserBwyd.

Mae’n ganol Gorffennaf.  Mae’r ardd yn ei blodau, y llysiau yn wyrdd ac yn iachus a brwydr flynyddol y garddwr (neu’r archifydd yn yr achos hwn) a’r falwoden ar ei hanterth. 

Mae’n debyg bod gan y falwoden gyffredin tua 14,000 o ddannedd (neu rychau ar ei thafod i fod yn fanwl gywir) ac wedi iddi dywyllu, o dan olau lleuad, gall y gelyn gwancus hwn a’i ffrindiau achosi armagedon yn y borderi gan ddinistrio misoedd o dyfiant mewn un noson o wledda.

Rhaid cymryd camau dybryd i arbed hyn rhag digwydd!

Felly, i ymddiheurio i’r malwod hynny sydd efallai wedi cwrdd â’u crêwr ychydig yn gynharach na’r disgwyl trwy amryfal ffyrdd yn yr ardd eleni - dyma bedwar pwt diddorol o Archif Sain Amgueddfa Werin Cymru am y lladron llwglyd llithrig.

Sbaddu Malwod yn Abergorlech

Yn ôl Garfield Evans a anwyd yn Abergorlech yn 1909 ac a recordiwyd gan yr Amgueddfa yn 1977, roedd hi’n arfer yn yr ardal ar ddechrau’r ganrif i chwarae tric ar unrhyw blentyn dieithr a fyddai’n dod i’r ysgol.  Byddent yn gofyn iddo  “Wyt ti wedi gweld sbaddu malwed?”.  “Na” fyddai’r ateb bob tro.  Wedi dal sylw y plentyn newydd byddai un o’r bechgyn yn codi dau ddarn o bren ac yn mynd i chwilio am falwoden.  Wedi dod o hyd i’r falwoden, byddai’r bachgen yn ei chodi a’i gosod i orwedd wyneb i waered ar y ddau ddarn o bren.  Wrth i’r plentyn newydd syllu ar y falwoden, ac agosáu yn gegrwth ati, byddai’r daliwr yn taflu’r anifail druan yn sydyn i’w geg.

Llafarganu i’r Falwoden

Yn ôl Sian Williams a anwyd yn Nhyn-y-gongl, Môn, yn 1896, ac a recordiwyd gan yr Amgueddfa yn 1973, nid oedd ganddi hi a’i ffrindiau lawer o deganau pan yn blant.  “Efo malwod oeddan ni’n chwarae’n blant, toedd gynno ni ddim byd arall.”  Byddent yn dal malwoden yr un, gosod y malwod ar garreg y drws a llafarganu iddynt:  ”Horn, horn, estyn dy bedwar corn allan, neu mi tafla’i di i Bwllheli, at y neidr goch i foddi” . Y plentyn â’r falwoden a fyddai’n tynnu ei phedwar corn allan yn gyntaf oedd yr enillydd. 

Meddyginiaeth ar gyfer Llyfrithen

Yn ôl Blodwen Gettings a anwyd yn 1911 yn Llangwm ac a recordiwyd yn Saesneg gan yr Archif yn 1983, roedd gan y gymuned hon ger Hwlffordd feddyginiaeth wahanol iawn i’r cyffredin ar gyfer cael gwared o lyfrithen ar y llygad.  I ddechrau, gellid rhwbio’r llyfrithen â modrwy briodas neu â chynffon cath, ond os na fyddai hynny’n gweithio, roedd un awgrym arall.  Rhaid oedd dod o hyd i ddraenen o lwyn y ddraenen wen ac un falwoden dew o’r ardd.  Wedyn aed ati i bigo’r falwoden â’r ddraenen ac arllwys yr hylif a ddeuai allan ohoni i mewn i’r llygad.

Pennill i’r Falwoden

I gloi, dyma bennill i’r falwoden gan Robin Lewis y Craswr o Felin Glasfryn.  Clywodd William John Edwards, a anwyd yn 1898 ac a fagwyd ym Mhentrellyncymer, y rhigwm hwn gan ei fam pam oedd tua 15 oed ac fe’i recordiwyd yn ei adrodd gan yr Amgueddfa yn 1973.

Malwen Ddu ar ochr wal,

Slip a meddal a annodd ei dal.

Well gen i un ddu nac un wen,

A dau gorn o boptu’i phen.

Dwi’n siŵr eich bod, fel finna yn dotio gweld yr ŵyn bach adeg hyn o'r flwyddyn, ac wedi bod yn cadw llygaid ar y diweddaraf o'r Sgrinwyna sy'n cofnodi'r genedigaethau ar fferm Llwyn-yr-eos, yma yn Sain Ffagan.

Erbyn heddiw ystyrir cig oen fel ein danteithfwyd cenedlaethol, a dwi’n siŵr y bydd amryw ohonoch yn mwynhau gwledda ar gig oen wedi ei rostio dros Sul y Pasg. Be sy’n syndod yw mai tan yn gymharol ddiweddar, ni fwytawyd llawer o gig oen yma yng Nghymru. Cedwid defaid ar gyfer eu gwlân a’u llefrith, nid ar gyfer eu cig. Dim ond ar achlysuron arbennig y bwytawyd cig oen, gan ei fod yn fwy proffidiol i gneifio a gwerthu gwlân y ddafad.

Wrth chwilota trwy’r archif, prin iawn yw’r ryseitiau sy’n cynnwys cig oen. Ond yr hyn sydd yn rhan o’n traddodiad, ac sy’n profi dadeni ar hyn o bryd yw cig dafad – sef cig o anifail a gedwid rhwng tair a phum mlynedd. Tan y 1940au, roedd cig dafad yn ffefryn ar draws Prydain a’r consensws oedd bod ei flas a’i ansawdd yn rhagori ar gig oen. Wrth deithio o amgylch Cymru ym 1862, fe brofodd George Borrow gig dafad am y tro cyntaf, a bu’n canu ei glodydd:

The leg of mutton of Wales beats the leg of mutton of any other country, and I had never tasted a Welsh leg of mutton before. Certainly I shall never forget that first Welsh leg of mutton which I tasted, rich but delicate, replete with juices derived from the aromatic herbs of the noble Berwyn, cooked to a turn, and weighing just four pounds ... Let anyone who wishes to eat leg of mutton in perfection go to Wales.

           George Burrow Wild Wales: Its People, Language and Scenery, 1862

Felly pam fod cig dafad wedi mwy neu lai diflannu o’n basgedi siopa a’n bwydlenni? Gyda gostyngiad ym mhris gwlân yn ystod degawdau cyntaf y 1900au, roedd yn talu i ffermwyr werthu ŵyn gwrywaidd ar gyfer cig, yn hytrach na’u cadw i roi gwlân. Rhaid cofio hefyd fod cig dafad yn cymryd tipyn yn hirach i'w goginio, felly nid yw'n syndod iddo gael ei ddisodli gan gig oen sy'n yn cymryd chwarter yr amser.

Dros y degawd diwethaf, fodd bynnag, mae cig dafad wedi cynyddu yn ei boblogrwydd unwaith eto, gyda mwy o fwytai, ffermydd, siopau cig a chogyddion enwog yn gwerthu a hyrwyddo'r cig arbennig yma. Er ei fod ar gael drwy’r flwyddyn, mae ar ei orau rhwng mis Hydref a Mawrth. Felly tymor cig oen yw hi ar hyn o bryd, ond erbyn yr Hydref, cofiwch edrych allan am gig dafad yn ei siop cig lleol.

Dyma rysáit o’r archif, mae’r dull o goginio’r pryd hwn yn amrywio, ond dyma fersiwn teulu o Garnfadrun, Llŷn:

         Tatws Popty

          darn o gig dafad

          tatws

          nionyn

          dŵr

Llenwi gwaelod y tun cig â thatws a nionod, a’u gorchuddio â dŵr.  Rhoi darn mawr o gig eidion neu gig dafad ar wyneb y tatws a rhostio’r cwbl yn y popty.

In the early 1970s Museum staff set out to record older and retired farmers describing farming in Wales in the first half of the twentieth century, before the large-scale mechanisation and expansion from the 1950s onwards. The recordings are kept in our Sound Archive.

In April 1977 Earnest Thomas Ruell, then aged 76, was interviewed about sheep farming in Radnorshire, mid-Wales, in the early decades of the twentieth century. Born in 1901, he lived at The Pant farm, Llanfihangel Rhydithon, in the hills north east of Llandrindod Wells.  After marrying in 1924 he farmed at Dolyfelin near Knighton for thirty four years.

In this short compilation of selected clips, Thomas Ruell describes lambing time, speaking in the distinctive accent of Radnorshire, one of the most rural Welsh counties, bordering Herefordshire.

The flock comprised 120 ewes and 4 or 5 rams. The breed of sheep was the local Kerry Hill, regarded as excellent mothers. Lambing took place outside, the only space available under cover was by emptying the wainhouse (cart shed) during heavy snow. Treatments for illnesses were limited and often based on local remedies. The flock producing a lambing figure of 125% was considered a good outcome. Female lambs grew into ewes and were kept for just over two years then sold, during which time they would have produced lambs themselves.

Large sheds allow lambing to be a lot less dependent upon weather conditions and the seasons, often starting as early as January. Here at Llwyn-yr-eos farm our ewes were all undercover well before lambing even began. Most flocks and farms now have to be considerably larger in order to be viable. Treatments for illnesses have advanced considerably, most of which can be applied by farmers themselves. Some similarities remain between lambing in the 1920s and the 1930s and the present, though, and a great deal of time, care and attention from the farmer are still fundamental elements for successful lambing today.

St Fagans: National History Museum in the past 60 years has played an important role in collecting and recording the experiences of women in Wales. The Archive collections at St Fagans reflects the work done by several members of research staff to document the many facets that contributed to the lives of past generations of women in Wales, and continues to document their experiences. This blog focuses particularly on the work of one woman researcher, namely S. Minwel Tibbott, and her legacy, and on International Women’s Day looks at her invaluable contribution to document the lives of her fellow sisters in Wales.

S. Minwel Tibbott began working in St Fagans in the early 1960’s and later became Assistant Keeper. Her research work mainly focused on women’s everyday domestic lives collected via oral testimony, photography and film, and was set against a post Second World War Wales that was rapidly transforming, but for a number of women, life had stayed relatively unchanged for generations. Domestic appliances and labour saving devices were emerging and available, but out of the economic reach of many Welsh women at this time, however, as the 1960’s progressed and disposable income more commonplace this began to change.  Many of the images shown here therefore capture domestic rituals that may have been lost had it not been for the foresight of S. Minwel Tibbott to record them. St Fagans continues to record and document the lives of women in Wales via the #Creu Hanes #Making History project. Recent donations have included an archive collection relating to one Welsh woman’s experience at Greenham Common for example.

Miss Jones, Llanuwchllyn, Merionethshire making bread.