Fethera is part of a flock of sheep now dispersed all over northern England. She and her sisters came into being for the HERD festival – part of Kirklees Year of Music 2023. They were made and designed by artists Dave Young and Jane Gaffikin from salvaged materials and reclaimed wood.
Fethera’s home is a suitable one. She’s at Sunny Bank Mills in Farsley Leeds: from 1829, a bustling complex involved in the textile industry, from raw wool to finished product and all steps in between, and employing 900 people. Now it’s still bustling, but in a different way. It now offers creative business spaces for both small and large organisations. Sunny Bank Mills Gallery has exhibitions, workshops, studio spaces and events, and there’s also Sunny Bank Mills Museum & Archive, which protects and promotes the history of the Mills.
Fethera’s job is to welcome you onto the site, and her sisters are called:
Aina (the mother sheep) Eddero, Covero, Bumfitt, Dix, Ix and Jiggit.
These are all ancient words, used in a sheep-counting system traditionally used by shepherds in Yorkshire, other parts of Northern England and beyond. There are countless variations, but here’s one common in Yorkshire :
1. Yan
2. Tan
3. Tethera
4. Methera
5. Pimp
6. Sethera
7. Lethera
8. Hovera
9. Dovera
10. Dik
11. Yan-a-dik
12. Tan-a-dik
13. Tethera-dik
14. Methera-dik
15. Bumfit
16. Yan-a-bumfit
17. Tan-a-bumfit
18. Tethera-bumfit
19. Methera-bumfit
20. Figgit / Jiggit
More than 20 sheep? Put a stone down, and begin counting all over again. Repeat as necessary.
Too much information? That’s what comes of whiling away a morning exploring at Sunny Bank Mills. And there’s lots still to explore …
For Leanne’s Monochrome Madness.
From Pyrenees to Pennines 
Love the names. Not sure I’d want to meet one of those big critters on a dark night though. Have occasionally passed by Farsley on a bus. Next time I will get off xx
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It’s not Saltaire, for sure. But interesting in its own right.
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5, 10, 15, 20 (and the variations like tan-a-dik) are obvious favourites to a juvenile mind! Phantastic scultpure and great pictures thereof.
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It was a fun sculpture for sure. And yes, those numbers ….
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Bumfit 🤣🤣 Love it!
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Me too. There are some fine ‘numbers’ here. What puzzles me is that country wide, the names are much the same acroos regions, just ‘dialect’ versions of each other. As they’re so old, I find that remarkable
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Brill!
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She is! She’s huge.
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Such a pleasure
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She’s fun. In a demented sort of way.
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In a short time reading blogs this evening I have come across two representations of horses and two sculptures made out of recycled materials. These are obviously the themes for the day!
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Recycling in every sphere of life is becoming more of A Thing, I think.
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Hard not to smirk at bumfit!
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What a fascinating thing to make art with salvaged materials.
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They really took it to extreme lengths, those two creators of her. Road signs? Whole wheels?
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What a pile of junk. It must look better in real life. the history is interesting as is the counting method. You would have to have a big pocket of stones to count sheep like that here
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You would indeed. And with many British flocks these days too. To be honest, Fethera looks quite good in Glorious Technicolor. BW did her no favours.
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At least you tried.
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Good Lord, I’m glad that counting method faded away. Obviously not of Roman origin either.
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Indeed not. But I think, though not so commonly used now, it’s alive and well.
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In our travels, I met an indigenous woman in Western Australia, she told me she learnt to count on a sheep property…one thousand, two thousand…
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Oooh, that’s a bit demanding ….
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Fethera looks more horse than sheep!
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Fair point. I didn’t discover until too late that there is another one on site, whose picture looks more sheepish.
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So shall I get to see her?
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Only if you pusue the links in the post. I didn’t realise she was there to look for till too late.
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Ah , OK
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Fabulous Fethera! And I love the counting system!
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This is fun! And although I’d heard (herd?!) that counting system in the past I don’t think I knew what came past ten.
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PS I know sheep come in flocks rather than herds but I couldn’t resist the pun 😄
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🤣
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Well, you do now. Test later!
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This was fascinating Margaret. I loved reading about it and I love things that are made like that. Looks great in monochrome.
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Thanks Leanne. I’m glad you like it, as I felt this was one that needed colour to show itself off!
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