Irish mythology Irish mythology is the body of myths native to the island of Ireland. It was originally passed down orally in the prehistoric era, being part of ancient Celtic religion. Many myths were later written down in the early medieval era by Ch ...

, hungry grass ( ga, féar gortach; also known as fairy grass) is a patch of cursed

grass Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns a ...

. Anyone walking on it was doomed to perpetual and insatiable

hunger In politics, humanitarian aid, and the social sciences, hunger is defined as a condition in which a person does not have the physical or financial capability to eat sufficient food to meet basic Human nutrition, nutritional needs for a sustaine ...

. Harvey suggests that the hungry grass is cursed by the proximity of an unshriven

corpse A cadaver or corpse is a dead human body that is used by medical students, physicians and other scientists to study anatomy, identify disease sites, determine causes of death, and provide tissue to repair a defect in a living human being. Stud ...

(the

fear gorta In Irish mythology, the fear gorta (Irish: ''Man of hunger'' / ''Man of famine''; also known as the fear gortach) is a phantom of hunger resembling an emaciated human. According to Yeats' ''Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry'' the fear ...

).Harvey, Steenie
Twilight places: Ireland's enduring fairy lore
. ''World and I'', March 1998, v13 n3.

William Carleton William Carleton (4 March 1794, Prolusk (often spelt as Prillisk as on his gravestone), Clogher, County Tyrone – 30 January 1869, Sandford Road, Ranelagh, Dublin) was an Irish writer and novelist. He is best known for his ''Traits and St ...

's stories suggest that

faerie Fairyland (''Faerie'', Scottish ''Elfame'', c.f. Old Norse '' Álfheimr'') in English and Scottish folklore is the fabulous land or abode of fairies or ''fays''. Old French (Early Modern English ) referred to an illusion or enchantment, the land ...

s plant the hungry grass. According to Harvey, this myth may relate to beliefs formed in the Great Famine of the 1840s. In Margaret McDougall's letters, the phrase "hungry grass" is - by analogy to the myth - used to describe hunger pains.McDougall, Margaret.
The Letters of "Norah" on Her Tour Through Ireland
' This mythology expanded to rural

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

in the 1800s. Following the earthquake of 1811, a shapeless creature was found to harass the hemp farmers of the countryside. Irish immigrants to the area dubbed this mysterious, amorphous creature "The Gortach of Missouri". Crop destruction, business follies, and other calamities fell upon the farmers and associated businesses. In 1910 it was discovered that hemp farmers who often smoked hemp on their

veranda A veranda or verandah is a roofed, open-air gallery or porch, attached to the outside of a building. A veranda is often partly enclosed by a railing and frequently extends across the front and sides of the structure. Although the form ''vera ...

every night were exempt from these attacks. The Gortach of Missouri is believed to be suppressed by holding an annual celebration in clear defiance of the creature. Starting with the

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: '' Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternative ...

prohibition of 1937, the event was lost over time. With hemp and cannabis resurgent in Missouri, the festival has been revived. South Central Missouri, deep in the

Ozarks The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and the extreme southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover a significant port ...

, is both the origin of the Missouri Gortach and the location of the celebration each year.

References

Irish mythology Mythological plants Grasses {{Ireland-stub

See also

References