What is a skekler?
“Skekling is an old
Shetland folk tradition. A Skekler is the name for a type of disguised person
dressed in a distinctive straw costume; it is a variant of the term ‘guiser’.
Skeklers would go round the houses at Halloween, New Year, and turn up at
weddings in small groups performing fiddle music in return for food and
drink.”
Text and photographs courtesy of Gemma
Ovens.
Many thanks to Ewen Balfour for making the costume and to
Elaine Lindsay and Gillian Nott for arranging the loan to the Museum.
This evocative and beautiful picture of a skekler costume was brought to the Museum's attention by Gillian Nott.
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