“The figure of Hwch Ddu Gwta, the tailless black sow, is one of the more terrifying apparitions in Welsh folklore. While often dressed up as a game to frighten children, it carries the weight of ancient beliefs in the dangers that lie beyond the protective walls of the village. Nos Galan Gaeaf is the thin boundary between the living and the dead, and in the shape of this ghostly sow, the villagers’ most primal fears were given form.”
Juliette Wood
Cover art by Elin Manon Illustration
When the days are already very short and the air chills to the bone, there is one figure in Welsh folklore whose presence strikes terror into the hearts of all who known her name: Yr Hwch Ddu Gwta, the tailless black sow. This monstrous creature emerges from the shadows on the evening of Nos Galan Gaeaf (the first day of winter) to remind the people of Wales of the fine line between life and death, between the living and the dead. This night is of course otherwise known as Samhain or Halloween.
She’s thought to be an evil spirit taking the form of a fierce and enormous black sow with red eyes. Sometimes she was accompanied by the Ladi Wen heb ddim pen, the white lady without a head. It’s said that the haunted sow and her headless ghostly companion, stalks the roads and fields, waiting to prey on innocent children who wander too far from home. Her arrival marks the end of innocence and the arrival of harsh winter. Children were warned that if they stayed out too late, they would find themselves chased by the terrifying sow, a fate worse than any other. Her presence was not just a story, but a warning that even the most innocent could be taken by the darkness.
The ritualistic games that took place on Nos Galan Gaeaf were designed not only for entertainment but also for survival. Children were instructed to hurry home before the Hwch Ddu Gwta appeared, or risk being snatched away into the darkness. One of the most chilling chants associated with the night went:
“Adref, adref, am y cyntaf’,
Hwch ddu gwta a gipio’r ola’.”
“Home, home, at once
The tailless black sow shall snatch the last one.“
In times of old, as the fires died and the last embers flickered out on Halloween night, the children gathered around the bonfire chanting this rhyme in anticipation of Hwch Ddu Gwta’s approach. A man (or multiple men) would often don a pig’s skin or some other animal hide to take on the role of Hwch Ddu Gwta. The figure of the sow would emerge from the embers of the dying fire, a living embodiment of the terror and mystery that surrounded the celebration. The man in the pigskin chased the children toward their homes, with the chant of the Hwch Ddu Gwta echoing through the night, instilling in them a primal fear of the unknown. The race to reach safety had begun and the last child to make it home was believed to be the most at risk. That sense as a child that something menacing was just at our heals as the darkness enclosed around us is palpable and easily recalled, especially at this nostalgia filled time of year. Then… of course, the relief as we reach the doorway of our homes and into our parent’s arms.
The Hwch Ddu Gwta is a figure that straddles the line between the living and the dead, a symbol of both the terror that lurks in the dark and the ever-present reminder that death, in its various forms, is always close at hand. It’s a stark and haunting reminder to tread carefully. With the arrival of Nos Galan Gaeaf each year, her shadow continues to stretch across the land, reminding all who dare venture into the dark that the boundary between life and death is never as clear as it seems.
Of course, the crux of this tale is being reminiscent of the ‘hunt’ for souls we are ever so familiar with on Halloween where many similar beings and creatures of the night have a similar role, even being similar to Gwyn ap Nudd himself. More on him later…