Blackening is a traditional wedding custom performed in the days or weeks prior to marriages in rural areas of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

and

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. The bride and/or groom are "captured" by friends and family, covered in food, or a variety of other – preferably adhesive – substances, then paraded publicly for the community to see. Frequently, the couple are driven in the back of an open-backed truck, accompanied by the clattering and banging of pots and pans by the couple's "captors". There are no strict rules regarding the act of blackening itself, only that the couple must be rendered messy and uncomfortable, and that as many people as possible should witness the occasion. The most famous occurrence was performed on Melanie Richmond, she was covered in tripe, pig's blood and feathers before marching from Elgin to Aberdeen over the course of five days. Blackenings occur predominantly in rural areas of north-east

, the

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and the

Northern Isles The Northern Isles ( sco, Northren Isles; gd, Na h-Eileanan a Tuath; non, Norðreyjar; nrn, Nordøjar) are a pair of archipelagos off the north coast of mainland Scotland, comprising Orkney and Shetland. They are part of Scotland, as are th ...

. The origins of the custom are obscure, however researcher, Dr. Sheila Young of the Elphinstone Institute,

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has shown that the blackening has evolved from an earlier Scottish ritual called the feet-washing. There is uncertainty surrounding just when it began, but it probably started as a solemn washing ritual for both men and women on the eve of their wedding and included a blackening of the feet and legs by the early 19th century. A little later, it had developed into a kind of a game, with the legs and feet being alternately blackened and scrubbed clean, and then by the end of the 19th century early 20th century escape, capture, tar and feathering, and

pillory The pillory is a device made of a wooden or metal framework erected on a post, with holes for securing the head and hands, formerly used for punishment by public humiliation and often further physical abuse. The pillory is related to the stocks ...

ing had become part of the ritual. In order for this to happen the ritual had to move out of doors. The move out of doors appears to have coincided with a change in wedding practices, with more people marrying in the summer months. A ritual, which began as a washing ceremony, developed into a dirtying ceremony. It is probable then, that a change in the form of the ritual led to a change in name. The blackening's roots are Scottish, though a similar practice, called a doing, is to be found in Northern Ireland.Young, Sheila, 'The Evolution of the Contemporary Blackening', ''Folklore'' 128 (3), 2017, 244-270

References

{{reflist Marriage, unions and partnerships in Scotland Wedding traditions Rural Scotland