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1. Sample Cultural Story Week 4 , Year 8 English

2. Celtic Heritage Like many Australians, my heritage is a mixed bag from the British Isles – with a mix of English, Irish, Scottish, and Welsh ancestors! Many ancient groups and cultures from these regions are collectively known as the Celts .

3. Celtic stories are full of magic , druids, and fey creatures such as goblins, pixies, and fairies. However, like other fairy tales, they can be quite dark !

4. I have always loved these scary fairy stories! My childhood was spent playing in my grandparents’ big garden with my little sister and many cousins. We mixed potions , sang songs , and scooped ladybirds (a sign of good luck ) from the pool! My aunty would tell us bed-time stories about goblins, fairies, and brave children, and at bed-time, we’d tuck our feet in away from monsters .

5. On my Mum’s side, my family originate in Ireland and Scotland more than 100 years ago. However, Nanna and Grandad King only immigrated to Australia in the 1970s , when my Dad and my uncle were children! My Nanna is Welsh , and my Grandad was English .

6. I’ve lived my whole life in Australia and my grandparents have always been the window into my cultural heritage. Nanna King is a very proud Welshwoman. She used to speak out against English imperialism in Wales , and even though she now has dementia, she can still speak Welsh today.

7. Treharris , Wales

8. Nanna King has the red dragon of Wales on everything! Growing up I saw it on tea-towels, mugs, jewellery and more…

9. In the 5 th century, the king of the Britons fled to Wales and build defences against invading Anglo-Saxons. But everyday the fort would collapse! After many weeks, the king was advised to seek the help of a ‘boy not conceived of mortal man.’ When such a boy was found – they decided to sacrifice him. However, the clever boy told him that the reason the fort kept falling was because, underground, two dragons fought each night. He said the red dragon of Wales would eventually defeat the white dragon of the Anglo-Saxons.

10. This boy was called Myrddin Emrys – which is the Welsh name for Merlin !

11. The Legend of Gwion and Ceridwen

12. Many hundreds of years ago, on the banks of Bala Lake, there lived a powerful witch called Ceridwen . Ceridwen was married to the giant Tegid Foel .

13. Although their daughter, Crearwy , was beautiful, their son Morfran was stupid and hideously ugly. Ceridwen decided that to make up for his ugliness, she would brew a potion in her magic cauldron that would grant him the gift of wisdom and poetic inspiration. The potion would take a whole year and a day to brew, so she instructed a young boy, Gwion Bach , to stir it for her.

14. One day, while stirring, Gwion Bach accidentally spilt three drops of the potion onto his thumb. Without thinking, he licked it off and was instantly granted the magical gifts intended for Ceridwen’s son! Fearing Ceridwen’s anger, Gwion Bach ran away – but she gave chase!

15. The potion had also given the boy magical powers of transformation and so he turned himself into a hare so that he could outrun Ceridwen .

16. But Ceridwen’s magic was more powerful, and she became a greyhound .

17. Just as she was about to snatch him up, Gwion Bach leapt into a river and became a fish. But Ceridwen became an otter!

18. So Gwion Bach jumped out of the water and turned into a bird , but Ceridwen became a sparrowhawk .

19. Finally, cornered in a barn, he turned into a single grain of corn , thinking he would be impossible for Ceridwen to find. But she became a chicken and ate him up!

20. But because of the potion Gwion Bach was not destroyed. The little grain of corn began to grow in Ceridwen’s tummy! When the baby was born, he was so beautiful that she couldn’t harm him . So she threw him in the ocean instead, sewing him inside a leather-skin bag, knowing somehow that he would be saved.

21. And Ceridwen was right, the child did not die, but was rescued on a Welsh shore by a young prince. When he was found the reborn Gwion Bach began reciting beautiful poetry , even though he was just a baby and he grew to became the legendary bard, Taliesin .

22. Brutality and Violence? Merlin’s narrowly averted sacrifice, Gwion Bach’s servitude, and his punishments from Ceridwen – being eaten and tossed into the sea! – are a relic of a brutal and confusing world. To me, though extremely harsh, this representation of the past highlights the desire to protect one’s own family against both natural and supernatural interference, a key feature of many of these stories. So, while this penchant for violence has (thankfully) changed, the underlying value of family remains.

23. Cultural Values Ceridwen values knowledge and wisdom and wants to provide this for her son. This includes poetic inspiration, so also shows value for the arts and language . Both Ceridwen and Gwion Bach are adaptable and creative in their problem-solving. Ceridwen is fiercely protective of her family , trying to better their lives. The characters are in tune with the natural world and understand its rhythms and cycles.

24. The Role of Women Both sides of my family are very matriarchal: both my grandmothers and my many aunties are very powerful personalities! Like Ceridwen , they would do anything for their children and made sure we were all educated and knew how to look after ourselves. Although Nanna King has dementia now, and even though both of her sons died many years ago, she constantly asks after them and says that they have come to see her.

25. Art and Poetry My Nanna King is poet , and my family has a deep love of telling stories – especially for children. Many men in my family are also creatives , mostly painters and illustrators. And of course, I’m an English teacher!

26. ‘Only Me’ Beneath the bracken, by the stream, Lives a pixie, decked in green. His wings are clear as clear can be But none can see him, only me. Beside the oak tree in the roots Lives an elf with mouse-skin boots. He plays the pipe, just like a bird, By me alone, his song is heard. Within the waters in the brook Lives a water nymph in a nook. ‘Tis she that makes the water shine But this knowledge is only mine. She needs the help of someone good Someone out there in the wood.

27. Growing up with these types of cultural stories shaped me into the person I am today: curious about the natural world whimsical and creative empathetic confident in my abilities loyal to my loved ones brave, yet cautious And that is someone I am very proud to be!