Wicker Man: Encyclopedia - Wicker Man

Wicker Man

A wicker man is burned as part of possibly traditional Gaelic or possibly neo-pagan festivities, especially Beltane, a rite of spring. Wicker men are tall, anthropomorphic wooden structures, woven from flexible sticks such as those of willow as used in wicker furniture and fencing.

In popular culture, a wicker man may be expected to contain sacrificial livestock or persons, as in the 1973 cult film, The Wicker Man. There is little evidence for such extravagances in reality, beyond a single account of Druid rituals recorded by Julius Caesar, which, as the leader of their enemy, writing for his supporters back in Rome, may have just been sensationalist blood libel. Fire rituals in most cultures are associated with simple purification, and the burning of a human effigy is typically intended to create a messenger to carry a community's prayers to its favored deity.

Wicker Man - References in popular culture

• The Wicker Man is a cult 1973 British film containing thriller, horror and musical elements, directed by Robin Hardy, written by Anthony Shaffer.

• In Anne Rice's famous book The Vampire Lestat (1984), Marius, one of the main characters, mentions the horrifying practice of the burning of the wickerman, complete with bodies inside it, when he lived in Roman times.

• The heavy metal group Iron Maiden released a song called "Wicker Man", presumably inspired by the film.

• Bruce Dickinson, singer of the group Iron Maiden, also released a different song with the same title.

See also

• Burning Man

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Wicker Man", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki