In pagan times, however, these dances were not simply picturesque jigs. They were frenzied rites ending in a sacrifice by which the dancers hoped desperately to win over the goddess of the fields.

— Sgt. Neil Howie (Edward Woodward)

customsdanceedward woodwardsacrificesuperstitions

13 seconds sound clip from the The Wicker Man (1973) movie soundboard.

You can hear this line at 00:58:07 in the Blu-ray version of the movie.

Quote context

[...]

- Relics of these fertility dramas are to be found all over Europe. In Great Britain, for example, one can still see harmless versions of them danced in obscure villages on May Day.

- Their cast includes many alarming characters: a man-animal, or hobbyhorse, who canters at the head of the procession, charging at the girls.

- A man-woman, the sinister teaser, played by the community leader or priest.

- And a man-fool, Punch, most complex of all the symbolic figures, the privileged simpleton and king for a day.

- Six swordsmen follow these figures, and at the climax of the ceremony lock their swords together in a clear symbol of the Sun.

- In pagan times, however, these dances were not simply picturesque jigs. They were frenzied rites ending in a sacrifice by which the dancers hoped desperately to win over the goddess of the fields.

- In good times, they offered produce to the gods and slaughtered animals, but in bad years, when the harvest had been poor... the sacrifice was a human being.

- Rowan's not dead!

- Sometimes the victim would be drowned in the sea or burnt to death in a huge sacrificial bonfire.

- Sometimes the six swordsmen ritually beheaded the virgin.

[...]

Top rated lines from this movie

Oh, God! Oh, Jesus Christ! Oh, my God! Christ! No, no, dear God! No, Christ!
That is good, for believing what you do, we confer upon you a rare gift these days, a martyr's death.
Come. It is time to keep your appointment with The Wicker Man.
Himself the son of a virgin, impregnated, I believe, by a ghost.
For you have accepted the role of king for a day, and who but a fool would do that?

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