Ychen Bannog
Art Exhibition of King Conny Wobble

12.3.11 – 27.3.11

There are many stories of the Ychen Bannog - the long horned oxen. These were the strongest oxen in the world , but there were only two of them and one could not live without the other. They were often used to haul monsters from their lairs, such as the dreaded Afanc, the water monster that lived in the river conway near Betws-y-coed. The creature was enticed from its cave by a young girl it had fallen in love with , but although the towns people managed to put chains round it , it clawed off one of the girls breasts and and escaped. Finally, it was left to the Ychen Bannog to haul the Afanc from its hiding place, they did so, but such was the struggle that the eye of one of the oxen fell to the ground. This was so large that it formed a pool, which is still known as Pwll Llygad ych - the pool os the ox's eye. The oxen were then taken to Llanddewibrefi in Cardigan, where they were employed to haul an enormous boulder to build the church. The work proved too much for them however, and inseparable to the last they died from exhaustion.

- excerpt from the Readers Digest book of Folklore Myths and Legends of Britain

King Conny Wobble reigned for a day in the time of the rule of Edward the Confessor, allowing the subordinate classes to take revenge on their masters. For Ychen Bannog, xero, kline & coma will show handcrafted musical instruments and films about their ritual use, accompanied by masks, prints and artifacts forming an alternative folklore of the British Isles. The exhibition charts the history of the drum and the cult of the Drummers of Tedworth, as well as displaying a hurdy gurdy in the form of a church.