Horse's head decorated for the Mari Lwyd event Chepstow 2019 against a poster.

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Chepstow Wassail and Mari Lwyd is an annual event celebrating two ancient forms of folk tradition. In the Welsh Mari Lwyd tradition, a horse's skull is decorated with ribbons and fixed to a pole, which allows an individual hidden under a sheet draped from the skull to the ground to move it's jaws. The Mari Lwyd custom occurs in mid-winter; a group of (usually) men accompany the horse around a village, where they engage in verbal rhyming (and sometimes sung) battles with the householders, with the intention of being admitted and given food and drink. These photos are from the 2019 Chepstow event, where a large crowd gathered to witness the march of the Mari Lwyds through the town, in the company of Morris men and folk musicians.

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Size: 5472px × 3648px
Location: Public Highways in Chepstow, Wales
Photo credit: © John Hunter / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No

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