bucca

A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology | 2004 | 657 words | Copyright

bucca [Corn., hobgoblin]. Supernatural creature in Cornish folklore, related to the Welsh pwca and the Irish pooca. When it was still thought necessary to propitiate the bucca, fishermen left some of their fish on the sands for it, and others threw a few crumbs or drops of beer over their shoulders for it. In the 20th century the bucca has been a terror only for small children, and the word may now humorously describe a scarecrow. Two varieties of bucca are the bucca-dhu, bucca-boo, or bucca-hoo, the ‘black spirit’ and the bucca-gwidden or bucca-gwidder, the ‘white spirit’. See also the Cornish KNACKER. Folk motif: V12.9.

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JAMES MacKILLOP. "bucca." A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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JAMES MacKILLOP. "bucca." A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. 2004. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O70-bucca.html

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