The thresher of the last sheaf is said to "beat the Horse."
9. The Corn-spirit as a Pig (Boar or Sow)
THE LAST animal embodiment of the corn-spirit which we shall notice
is the pig (boar or sow). In Th?ringen, when the wind sets the young
corn in motion, they sometimes say, "The Boar is rushing through the
corn." Amongst the Esthonians of the island of Oesel the last sheaf
is called the Ryeboar, and the man who gets it is saluted with a cry
of "You have the Rye-boar on your back!" In reply he strikes up a
song, in which he prays for plenty. At Kohlerwinkel, near Augsburg,
at the close of the harvest, the last bunch of standing corn is cut
down, stalk by stalk, by all the reapers in turn. He who cuts the
last stalk "gets the Sow," and is laughed at. In other Swabian
villages also the man who cuts the last corn "has the Sow," or "has
the Rye-sow." At Bohlingen, near Radolfzell in Baden, the last sheaf
is called the Rye-sow or the Wheat-sow, according to the crop; and
at R?hrenbach in Baden the person who brings the last armful for the
last sheaf is called the Corn-sow or the Oats-sow.
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