Frìth: A Method of Divination

Silhouette in Doorway

A name by now very familiar to this blog is John Ewen (Iain Eòghann) MacRury who hailed from Torlum, Benbecula, and who supplied quite a lot of information to Alexander Carmichael. It appears that he was something of a tradition bearer himself and so it is rather difficult to ascertain if some of his anecdotes were his own or came from some other source. Either way, what he did write down contains some fascinating details particularly about superstitious beliefs. In this narrative, a Donald MacInnes (fl. 1850), styled Dòmhnall mac Ailein, is name-checked as someone who had a particular bent for making auguries using the frìth. In short, this allowed the augurer to obtain occluded information previously hidden which allowed in some instances to find out the whereabouts of missing people or cattle. The first story tells of a lost vessel and its crew who were thought to have persished but are found safe and well in remote St Kilda whereas the second ones tells of the tragic drowning a young man from Howgarry, North Uist:

MacCallain Duncan
McInnes Balavanich
Benbecula was known
far and wide for his
power of Frith making.


On one occasion a
boat with four men
were driven, by a severee [sic]
storm from the N[orth] E[ast]
off the coast of Uig
Lewis. The idea was
at the time that the
boat was swamped
and all perished but
as no wreckage was
cast on shore on
the west of Lewis
or Harris resembling
the belongings of the
boat people thought
they managed to get
on shore in the Flannan
Isles. A boat & crew
went there but got
no trace of the miss
ing boat.
People advised
the nearest relative
of the missing crew
to visit MacCallen
in Benbecula and
he lost no time in doing
so. In his arrival at
his destination Mac
Callen received him
hospitably and told
him to at rest
It was late at night
for to make a Frith
but early the following
morning he told him
that his missing friends
were all well on
the Islan[d] of St
Kilda, and were actually
k[i]l[l]ing & flaying a
cow along with
some of the natives
and that they could
not come home till
the Month of March
This happ[e]ned in Winter.


On another occasion
a fine young man
from Howgarry
North Uist was
drowned and his
remains could not
be found,
His father
weeks after the
accident visited
MacCallen and
he told him to
go back at onc[e]
and that his son
was lying face
downward under
a quantity of sea-
weed in a “geobha”
at the point of
Ard-a-Runaira
Balranald.
Instances of this
sort could be followed
to a great length.

Elsewhere in Carmina Gadelica, Alexander Carmichael offers a description of this method of divination in connection with Frìth Mhoire (‘Augury of Mary’):

The ‘frith’ augury, was a species of divination enabling the ‘frithir’, augurer, to see into the unseen. This divination was made to ascertain the position and condition of the absent and the lost, and was applied to man and beast. The augury was made on the first Monday of the quarter and immediately before sunrise. The augurer, fasting, and with bare feet, bare head, and closed eyes, went to the doorstep and placed a hand on each jamb. Mentally beseeching the God the unseen to show him his quest and to grant him his augury, the augurer opened his eyes and looked steadfastly straight in front of him. From the nature and position of the objects within his sight, he drew his conclusions.

References:
Carmina Gadelica, ii, p. 24, p. 158, p,. 295; iii, p. 156; iv, p. 150; v, p. 286, p. 290, p. 292, p. 294, p. 296.
CW 1/65, ff. 28r–30r.
Image:
Silhouette in Doorway.

Nine Nines: A Sacred Number

81

Another short anecdote, dating from 14 January 1895, about fairy lore from the pen, or rather pencil, of John Ewen (Iain Eòghann) MacRury, from Torlum, Benbecula, concerns a sacred number in the shape of nine.

Nine, Naodh
The fairies are said
to be nine nines of y[ea]rs
sucking the bre[a]st.
Nine nines in boyhood, Nine
nines in younghood
Nine nines in Middle
man hood Nine nines
in old manhood, and
Nine nines to the bre[a]st
of death “ri uchd bais”

On the following folio Alexander Carmichel himself appends a Gaelic version of the above but from whom he got his he does not say. As well as this, Carmichael has added another stage to the six others mentioned in the above indicating that he may have heard his version from a different source:

Naogh naoghanan a deo[ghai]l
nan cioch naoi 9 a nam corrachadh
naogh naoigh na oganach
naogh naogh na fhear
agh naogh naogh na dhann
fear (dol leis a bhiuthadh) naogh
naogh na dhean fhearagh
naogh naogh ri uc[hd] bais
is duile dhomh nan a
naoghannan D bha = 567 years.

The sum of 9 x 9 is, of course, 81. Adding all these six stages (9 x 9 x 6) gives the total life expectancy of a typical fairy to be 486. The sum of nine nines would seem to have a connection with the sacred number 432 (the so-called cycle of time) that Joseph Campbell came across during his studies of comparative mythology. This, however,  falls rather short of 486. Perhaps it may be stretching things out a little to far to suggests there might well be some sort of connection between this pithy anecdote and the cosmic cycle of time. However, within a more specific Celtic context, nine maidens and nine virgin attended Bridget, while the sacred Beltane fire rites were attended by a cycle of nine groups of men consisting each of nine men. And, of course, when looking for other nines there are a great many: nine months for the period of human gestation, nine muses, nine planets and, if we want to look smart, then we all get dressed to the nines.

Reference:
CW1/71 & 72, f. 38v & f. 39r.
Image: 81.

The Gaels Have a Word for It

John Ewen MacRury (1853–1909)

John Ewen (Iain Eòghann) MacRury, from Torlum, Benbecula, and the various materials that he collected for Alexander Carmichael has been the subject of numerous blogs on previous occasions. Here, for example, are a couple of very useful words if you ever get into a dispute and are looking for just the right words:

Feicheantas a common word
in olden times for an arugment [sic]
between man and wife about
paltry dispuits [sic], especially when
such dispute took place regarding
each other’s people.


Cramhan is a continual
low murmuring complaint
by any person kept up for
no other purpose than to keep
on grumbling and dissatisfy[ing]
others.

Both these words can be found in Dwelly’s dictionary where they are glossed as ‘friendly dispute’ under the heading féicheanas and as ‘unceasing, vexatious talk’ under the heading cnàmhan. MacRury’s definitions are certainly more colourful that those given by Dwelly and reflect the intricate nuances of a rich Gaelic vocabulary.

References:
CW1/106 & 107, f. 111r.
Dwelly, Edward, The Illustrated Gaelic-English Dictionary (Glasgow, 1994), p. 217 & p. 426.
Image: John Ewen MacRury (1853–1909). Reproduced with the kind permission of Calum Laing.

What’s in a name?

Borve Castle, Benbecula / Caisteal Bhuirgh, Beinn na Faoghla

Sometimes Alexander Carmichael’s entries are so full of information that they generally have to be unpacked and carefully read before they reveal anything. This example is not untypical for at the mere mention of a name – Àird nan Ceann, Benbecula, in this instance, where a battle is said to have been fought – a series of related items is given beginning with a prediction attributed to the so-called Brahan Seer, or Coinneach Odhar Fiosaiche. The exact location of the place is then given with some fascinating detail about a rock called Creaga Loisgte which was, according to this tradition, one of the first places to be utilised by an Irishman for the purposes of teaching the proper method of kelp-burning. And finally it is related that it was, and perhaps still is, a very fertile place used for planting potatoes and other crops as well as being a very good place for harvesting lobsters, crabs and sand-eels:

Aird-nan-ceann S[outh] E[ast] of the Caisteal
where a battle is to be fo[ugh]t & where a great army

has been seen under arms in a vision
Aird nan Ceann sin s Aird nan C[eann]
S mail liom nach mi bheir cam ann
Aig ceann a chlachain a deas
Sann a bheirear an cath teth teann
osa Cainneach O[dh]ar. Aird nan ceann
is bet[ween] the castle & Braobh fha[th]oil
Creaga Lois[g]te got its name fr[om] the first
kelp having been burnt there by Rua[i]ri[dh]
na Luath – an Irishman who came to
teach kelp making. This was the best plac[e]
for giomaich & crubagun. This is now
pota[to] ground bere &c. Each[ann]’s wife’s gr[ea]t g[r]and
mother Catri[o]na ni[gh]ean mhic a
Ghobh-an – used to bring basketfull[s] of siol
agaun from round the castle. Siolagun
can only be got from a clean strand at
low wat[er] spring tide.

Reference:
CW 116, f. 58v.
Image:
Borve Castle, Benbecula / Caisteal Bhuirgh, Beinn na Faoghla.

Fairy Cattle

It was not completely unusual for Alexander Carmichael to note down succinct and short examples of Gaelic lore. Here, for example, is one that involves fairy cattle. Unfortunately, the Clanranald hero named in the story cannot be identified but his location is: Rosinish or Roisinis which may be taken to be the one in Benbecula rather than the one further south in Eriskay. He owned a cow but it gave little milk and so it happened that his wife one morning found three fairy cattle and went to milk them. A voice suggests that she spills a pail full of milk on the fairy-mound at Rosinish. She followed this instruction and she benefited by having plenty of milk thereafter. The story concludes with the woman’s death and the disappearance of the cattle. Presumably she could no longer provide a milk sacrifice to the fairy folk and so they then withheld their fairy cattle. Because the story has been summarised there is little to explain why the fairy cattle arrived on the scene in the first place:

A hero of Clanranald lived at Roisinis

& had 1 cow & but little milk. One morn[in]g his

wife saw 3 cro[dh] maol bui[dhe] & went to milk

them. A voice came to her at night & request[ed]

her to spill the full of the cuman

on the top of the sithein (Roisinis)

She did so each day & ever aft[er] she had

the cows & plenty of milk. When the woman

died the cows left & never ret[urne]d.

In Gaelic tradition such cattle are usually referred to as crodh sìdhe or mara (fairy or sea cattle). Elsewhere in Carmina Gadelica, Carmichael supplies a short note under the heading Crodh-mara, which he translates as sea-cows:

‘Cra-chluasach’, crimson-eared and ‘corc-chlusach’, purple-eared, are terms applied to a species of cattle with red ears which are alleged to be descended from sea-cows. Some of these cattle have one or both ears scalloped, and are hence called ‘torc-chluasach’, or notch-eared. Probably these red-eared cattle are descended from the old Caledonian cattle are also called ‘earc iucna’, notched cattle.

Several sea-cows came ashore at Struth, Obbe, Harris. The sea-maiden was tending the sea-cows, and singing the following song as she sent them back to sea and away through the Sound of Harris:–

Chualas nuall an cuan Canach,

Bo a Tiriodh, bo a Barraidh,
Bo a Ile, ’s bo a Arainn,
’S a Cinntire uain a bharraich.

A low is heard in the sea of Canna,
A cow from Tiree, a cow from Barra,
A cow from Islay, a cow from Arran,
And from green Kintyre of the birches.

References:
CW 116, fos. 53v–53r
Carmina Gadelica, ii, pp. 260–61.
Image:
Rosinish, Benbecula / Roisinis, Beinn na Faoghla

Latha Fhèill Mìcheil – Michaelmas

Alexander Carmichael in a letter of 1898 to his friend Fr Allan McDonald (of Eriskay) once wrote with regard to Michaelmas: ‘The more I think of the Festival of Michael the more convinced I am that there was no festival in the wide world like it. A variety of interests combined to render it great.’ Certainly, there was a great deal of festivities (in particular horse-racing) going on around 29 September, particularly in the Southern Outer Hebrides, when it came to celebrate Michaelmas. By the time Carmichael came to write about Michaelmas it had all but died out but his older informants and those from whom Fr Allan received information would have remembered a great deal of this old custom. An excerpt from his letter to Carmichael, Fr Allan relates that: ‘The religious functions most commonly assigned by the people here to St Michael are his meeting of the souls of the elect at the moment of death, and his presiding at the balance where the soul’s good and bad works are weighed.’ This reflects the esteem and importance of the Archangel Michael in Hebridean tradition and doubtless elsewhere.

Elsewhere, John Ewen (Iain Eòghann) MacRury of Torlum, Benbecula, notes down some of the customs that were once commonly held at this particular time of the year:

(In general) was observed
all over the country.
Every wife in the family
way had to go round
local burying ground or
some other burying place
agreed upon previously
Believing that the sanc-
timonious odour of the
graves was sufficient
to prevent premature
birth. In like manner
every mare expected
to be in foal went rou-
nd it also ‘A dol deas
al a chlaidh’ Going right
round it or following the
sun. There was no bridle
in the mouth of the animal
“Aodhstar” was the head
gear Cock-fi[gh]ting was
also to the fore. Every
defeated cock went to
the schoolmaster gratus [sic]
The winners were taken
back by their respective
masters, with a share
of the spoil. After all
the performances were
over the balls were held
one in each township and
many a ball terminated very
suddenly, by a severe fight.

References:
CW 1, fos. 15v–16r.
Carmina Gadelica, iii, pp. 138–42
Image: Horses Racing.

Blood Brotherhood

John Ewen (Iain Eòghann) MacRury from Torlum, Benbecula, took down a note about ‘goitseachd’. Under the heading ‘goistidheachd’, Dwelly’s dictionary glosses the word as: ‘Office or duty of a godfather. 2 Gossiping. Ri goistidheachd, assuming the office of a godfather; cleamhnas am fagas is goistidheachd am fad, affinity at hand and sponsorship afar off.’ It seems that this definition does not take into account all its meanings, for it is rather interesting what MacRury reveals about this word by the way in which he offers some social contexts behind the word:

Goisteachd
I remember when a
school boy of Goist-
eachd being a common
saying with us,
If I were bristeadh
rudan with another
and blood issuing
from the knuckles
of either of us the
one producing blood
put it on the bare
skin of the other and
say roinn mi
goisteachd riut,
signifying that we
were friends in all
plays henceforth, but
very often the friend
ship did not last very
long, for as soon
as play commenced
every one so positive
we were sure to fall
out, and ultimately
end the dispuit with
blood which very
often produced more
blood than on the
occasion on which
we made the goist
eachd. However there
was something in it
as the goistidhean
showed a warm
side to each other
“an am cruaidh chais[”]
in time of hardship,
If I were to put the
blood on the bare
hand of a girl for
it was mostly on
the back of the
hand the blood was
put “air cul an
duirn[”] then they
would say “roinn
thu goisteachd rithe”
and that signified
that she was to be
one of my Godmother[s]
and if I were to fall
in love with her I
dared not say a word
to her for my life
as goisteachd was made
with her, It was a
common occurrence
for boys to put a
drop of their blood
on the hands of
girls that were not
nice looking signify-
ing that they would
not have anything to
do with them as their
lovers. Nice young
girls did the same
on coarse wild boys.

References:
CW1/70, fos. 35v–38r.
Dwelly, Edward, The Illustrated Gaelic-English Dictionary (Glasgow, 1994), p. 516.
Image: Drops of Blood.

Horse Senses

Sandwiched between notes about fish spawn and Latha Fhèill Mìcheil (Michealmas), John Ewen (Iain Eòghann) MacRury of Torlum, Benbecula, wrote down interesting notes consisting of Gaelic vocabulary and dialectical variations regarding horses. It is no coincidence that this short note presages another note about Michaelmas for this day was renowned for horse races. In some Roman Catholic districts of the Highlands and Islands the 29th of September was referred to as latha na marcachd (‘the riding day’), where horse races were held and where other celebrations were performed in order to mark this special day in the calendar.

Bionach or Biorach
In one part of Skye a
colt or a filly is called
Bionach whereas in an-
other part of it the word
is changed into Biorach,
In Uist & Barra it is
generally termed Loth,
whether masc[uline] or fem[inin]e.
In Harris they term a
foal, Isean an eich (or
the chicken of the horse),
till they are six month[s],
and after that till they
are put in harness are
termed Spriodach, Faol
Searach, in Uist when
a foal is six month[s]
it is generally termed both
afterwards Blia[dh]nach,
Da-bhlia[dh]nach Tri-bhli[a]dh
nach, above that termed
horse or mare, a horse
is at its best at seven
a mare at nine if not
ill used, As long as the
four leggs of the animal
are right and the inside
souind good feeding and
cleaning will build up
the frame

Reference:
CW 1, fos. 15r –15v.
Image: Horses Racing.

The Butterfly of Death

Golden Butterfly

In a short note taken down by John Ewen (Iain Eòghann) MacRury of Torlum, Benbecula, the subject of death and its connection with a type of butterfly is mentioned. There are, of course, many different words for the butterfly in Scottish Gaelic, but one of the most common is dealan-dè (sometimes dearbadan-dè, depending on dialect) and another fairly frequent one is amadan-dè. This superstitious belief was probably once common in other areas of the Highlands and Islands as well as in other localities:

The “Dalan De” of golden

colour is considered of
great importance at
the time of death,
If seen after, flying
over the remains, whether
in coffin or shroud it was
supposed the spirit was,
in heaven. There is only
one class of “Dalan De,”
of medium size & of fine
yellowish colour, like gold.
“All the other kinds are of
moss, or other worms,
such as the grub, turning
into flies.

Elsewhere in Carmina Gadelica, Carmichael writes: ‘There are many kinds of Butterfly, but the kind we speak of is not so plentiful. The true Yellow Butterfly is near half an inch in length, and stouter about the body than any other kind, covered with pretty down or plumage, very small about tail—more so than any other kind under the sun. The top of his head is like a king’s crown with a fringe around it. His hue is half-way between fine gold and the white snow of the hill. He is always seen in summer, quiet and peaceful, without heat of flurry, above the corpses of infants and of other good people. It is a good sign to see the Yellow Butterfly upon a corpse or near a corpse. They say that every furrow and streak in his wings and in his head and in his body is exactly the manner of those that were in the sacred corpse and body of the Saviour lying in the linen shroud.’

References:

CW1/45, ff. 13v–14r
Carmina Gadelica, iv, pp. 4–5.

Image: Golden Butterfly.

Fuath – An Evil Spirit

Here is a very short anecdote―leaving the original spelling intact―written down by John Ewen (Iain Eòghann) MacRury, from Torlum, Benbecula concerning the Fuath. By anyone’s standards it was best avoided and it seems to have haunted those remotest of places ready to pounce on an unexpectant wayfarer.

Fuath,
Is considered an invissible
spirit generally in a
whirel wind & in sec-
luded places or felt
at wakes of wicked
people. A bad omen
for any family as they
are to loose all their
possession[s] shortly.

Elsewhere in Carmina Gadelica, Carmichael glosses the wordFuath as ‘a spectre, a kelpie, a demon, a water-fiend frequenting glens, rivers and waterfalls.’

References:
CW 1, fol. 12v.
Carmina Gadelica, ii, p. 296.
Image: Am Fuath © Andy Paciorek http://www.batcow.co.uk/strangelands
This and many other images can be found in the Strange Lands book:
http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/1957828

An Tuairisgeul Mòr – An Epic Tale

One of the stories that was prized above all by reciters was an epic one known as An Tuairisgeul Mòr, sometimes translated as ‘The Chief Story’. Unsurprisingly, this tale has been much sought after by collectors of Gaelic folklore and has been recorded and published on numerous occasions. In a marginal note, dated 11 November 1883, by John Francis Campbell in his copy of The Scottish Celtic Review he writes: ‘This story is considered to be one of the first class by story tellers all over the far west. This version is rather shortened [Gregorson Campbell’s Tiree version] and made reasonable by my friend the Minister but so far as it goes it is good and genuine.’ John Francis Campbell was in a position to know for the had printed versions of this tale in his Popular Tales of the West Highlands some two decades previously.

Here, John Ewen (Iain Eòghann) MacRury, from Torlum, Benbecula, provides a social context (and perhaps even a rather romanticised one) for the telling of this particular tale. The man name-checked as being ‘a famous old piper’ was Donald MacDougall, styled Dòmhnall Bàn Dùghallach (c. 1813–1893), a joiner by trade and a resident of Creagorry in Benbecula. The old man passed the tale on to his son, John, who settled at Crinan Canal and plied his trade as a steamer skipper on the Clyde. Perhaps in order to pass the time he might have even regaled his crew with this very story. It looks as if neither of these two men were actually recorded telling this particular tale but, fortunately, many others were such as those collected in South Uist, Eigg, Tiree, and Islay during the nineteenth century. The story was still evidently in circulation for it was collected by Calum Iain Maclean and John Lorne Campbell from Duncan MacDonald of South Uist in 1947 and 1950 respectively as well as also being recorded from Alick Stewart then residing at the Muir of Ord in 1953.

Tuaireasgeul Mor.
How he was put to death or how
he went to death, was a wonder-
ful tale. I heard old men well
versed in folk-lore say that it wo[u]ld
take a good reciter seven winter long
nights from beul na hoi[dh]che dusk
to Gairm-chailleach cock-crowing
to repeat it in full. In olden times
they used to meet, heads of families
in an appointed place to hear it re-
cited. It was divide[d] into chapters
and each chapter would take a whole
night. Domhnull Ban Dughallach
Donald Macdougall a famous old
piper of the MacCrimmon school
was considered the best reciter
of his day. His son John who
left Benbecula about thirty
years ago and settled down at Crinan
Canal could recite it word for
word, but not with the same
emphasis as his father.
John is still living and one
of his sons is Skipper of one of
the Clutha steamer up & down
on the Clyde. 1895

References:
CW1, fos. 109r–110v
Campbell, John Gregorson, ‘West Highland Tale: How the Tuairsigeul Mor was put to Death’, The Scottish Celtic Review, no. 1 (1881), pp. 61–77.
Macperson, Donald C., [=Abrach], ‘An Tuairisgeal’, An Gàidheal (1875), pp. 303–10.
MacKay, John, ‘An Tuairisgeal’, The Transactions of the Gaelic Society of Inverness, vol. XXXIV (1927–28), pp. 1–112.
Duncan MacDonald’s recitation of An Tuairisgeul Mòr recorded by John Lorne Campbell:
http://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/en/fullrecord/24966/1

Image: Illustration from Campbell’s Popular Tales of the West Highlands (though not of the Tuairisgeul Mòr!)

It’s No Use Crying Over Spilt Milk

Milk Drop

According to John Ewen (Iain Eòghann) MacRury, from Torlum, Benbecula, the old people had a saying which they said whenever some milk had been accidently spilt. The phrase which he gives is: ‘Coma leibh dheth, tha beul feumach a’ feitheamh air’ which may be literally translated as ‘Never you mind, there is a needy mouth waiting for it.’ Given that milk and its derivative products was a staple part of the islanders’ diet, from which they produced many foodstuffs such as cheese, butter, buttermilk, crowdie, cream and so on, it seems that the above phrase reflects their rather philosophical stance: if even only a little was spilt then even that would still not go to waste:

Spilling Milk
In olden times the
Inhabitants of the
Outer Hebrides when
Milk was spilt would
say “Coma libh dheth,
tha bial feumach a
feathamh air,” mean-
ing that there was
a thirsty mouth –
waiting for it somewhere
else, and that the thirsty
party would get the[ir]
thirst quenched.

Reference:
CW 1/60, f. 27r.
Image: Milk Drop.

Carmichael, Catholicism and the Bard

Next Monday, 25 January 2010, Dr Domhnall Uilleam Stiùbhart, Senior Researcher on the project, will give a seminar to the Scottish Catholic Historical Association about Alexander Carmichael's extraordinarily demanding collecting work between 1865 and 1878 in the Catholic islands of Benbecula, South Uist, and Barra, then as now some of the richest areas for traditional folklore in western Europe.

Using his field notebooks, we can trace in fascinating detail how Carmichael went about gathering his store, as well as get to know some of his favourite interviewees.

Dr Stiùbhart will also talk about how the Carmichael Watson project is progressing, and outline some of our plans for the future. Also, given that it will be Burns Night, Dr Stiùbhart will have to touch upon one of the more interesting conjectures made by Alexander Carmichael: Robert Burns' supposed descent from a poetically-gifted serial killer by the name of Walter Campbell who lived near Taynuilt.

All this and more at the Scottish Catholic Archives, 16 Drummond Place, Edinburgh EH3 6PL starting at 5.30pm. With refreshments!

Scottish Catholic Archives: http://www.scottishcatholicarchives.org/

 

Image: The first page of Carmichael's article on Robert Burns' Gaelic ancestry contained in Sir Patrick Geddes' Evergreen A Northern Seasonal (Edinburgh, 1895) pp. 110-115. (http://www.archive.org/details/evergreennorther01gedduoft)

Milk Libation to the Gruagach

Gruagach Stone, Colonsay

A great source of traditions concerns fairy belief and Carmichael managed to gather in a great deal of these. One such story tells of a flagstone named Leac na Gruagaich (‘The Flagstone of the Gruagach’) at Liniclate in Benbecula. An offering of milk was poured into the hollow of the flagstone – a practice that was carried out throughout the Highlands and Islands and elsewhere – in order to appease the Gruagach so that she would not interfere with any livestock. Such a custom was carried out on a daily basis until the arrival of a Skyeman, Peter Nicholson, who refused to continue with such a practice as he saw it as mere superstitious hocus-pocus. He came to regret his decision and had to revert to its use in order to protect his crop from any further damage. At one time, traditions such as these were tenaciously adhered to for they seemed to be beneficial for it was seen to be foolhardy indeed to invoke the wrath of the fairy people.

Leac na Gruagaich
on the croft of Angus
MacAulay Liniclate
Benbecula, “Rudha –
chuidh Oib”. Cuidh
Oib or Cuidh an Ob
ain was an old cattle
fold for generations im
memorial. Raoghull
MacRuaraidh a
Cuail descendant of
Clanranald was
tacksman of Torlum
& unless some milk
was poured in a
little hollow on
the leachd when
the dairy maid
was done milking
every night the cattle
were sure to be in
the corn before day
break but when there was
no milking cows in
the fold the gruagach
never interfered.
Ronald his son
who built oldtigh
Morchochd na
Monadh followed his
father['s] practice in pouring
a share of the milk to
the gruagach or slender
woman of the
green garbe, When
Peter Nicholson from
Skye got Torlum
under still-bow [steelbow] ten-
ure from ClanRanald
he would not hear
of such sheer nonsense
but sheer necessity
compelled him to them
to the old custom
in giving an evening
contribution to the
gruagach, and he
became a firm be-
liever of the story,
Even sixteen men
failed to keep in
the cattle on one
occasion, The dam
age done to the corn
was great. This took
place about the beginning
of this century.

Carmichael in a long note concerning the gruagach – a supernatural female who presided over cattle – wrote that ‘there is hardly a district in the Highlands which does not possess a ‘leac gruagaich’…whereon the milk libation was poured.’ He then lists islands and districts all over the Scottish Highlands and Islands where he encountered such traditions. Carmichael then continued: ‘All these oblation stones are erratic ice-blocks. Some of them have a slight cavity into which the milk was poured on the stone. In making the oblation the woman intoned a rune –

‘A ghruagach, a ghruagach,

Cum suas mo spreidhe,

Cum sios an Guaigean,

Cum uap an Geige.'

Brownie, brownie
Uphold my herds,
Keep down the ‘Guaigean,’

Keep from them the ‘Geige.’

References:
CW1/57, ff. 22v–24r.
Carmina Gadelica ii, pp. 306–08.
Image: Gruagach stone at Balnahard, Colonsay.