The Telling of the Bees

Many years ago I watched a television series called Lark Rise to Candleford. In essence it is a story about two communities, a town and a hamlet, and the people who live in them. In the hamlet of Lark Rise there is a woman called Queenie, who because of her wisdom and knowledge, is the matriarch of the community. Much loved by all, Queenie, in particular, gives support and advice to the mothers and children of Lark Rise. In addition, her age means that she is more in touch with the old country ways of doing things, and she reveres the superstitions that were handed down to her by the women in her family line. Queenie tells fortunes, see signs and portents in nature, and communes with ghosts. One of the old ways that she strictly adheres to is that she practices the telling of the bees.

   The custom of "telling the bees" is a charming and ancient tradition, thought to date back to the time of the Celtic kingdoms, where beekeepers inform their bees about significant events in their lives, such as deaths, births, marriages, and other major occurrences, though Queenie talks to her bees every morning. This practice is believed to have its roots in Celtic mythology, where bees were seen as messengers between the human world and the spirit world. The presence of a bee after a death was thought to signify the soul leaving the body. The tradition became particularly prominent in the 18th and 19th centuries in Western Europe and the United States.

 

 To tell the bees, the head of the household or the "goodwife" would approach the hives, gently knock to get the bees' attention, and then softly murmur the news in a solemn tone. This ritual was believed to keep the bees informed and prevent them from leaving the hive or dying. The custom underscores the deep connection and respect that people historically had for bees, viewing them as integral members of the household and community.

   The death of the beekeeper required that the new beekeeper to introduce themselves formally as their new owner and ask for their acceptance as their new master/mistress. It was said that not doing this would encourage the bees to desert the hive or the colony to stop producing honey or even die and is a tradition that some beekeepers to continue to this day.

   It is said that some beekeepers would sing the news to their bees. Others took the telling one step further by singing verses that rhymed. For example: “Bees, bees, awake! / Your master is dead, / And another you must take.” If the bees began to buzz after this information had been delivered, it was seen as a good omen.

   Most recently, on the sad death of Queen Elizabeth II, the newspapers featured a story of the Royal beekeeper telling the bees kept on the grounds of Buckingham palace that their mistress had died and wrapped a black bow around each hive.

Note: Lark Rise to Candleford is a British television costume drama series, adapted by the BBC from Flora Thompson's trilogy of semi-autobiographical novels about the English countryside. The books were published between 1939 and 1943. The books are set in the small Oxfordshire hamlet of Lark Rise, and the wealthier neighboring market town of Candleford at the end of the 19th century, before the coming of the railway. The books chronicles the daily lives of farmworkers, craftsmen and gentry observing the characters in loving, boisterous and competing communities of families, rivals, friends and neighbors.

You can purchase the trilogy on Bookshop.org, Amazon, and other in-person and online retailers. The television series can be watched online for free on Tubi, or on Britbox for subscribers.

Artist of the bee teller by Hans Thoma