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

2,500th catalogue entry created

Friday saw another milestone for the Carmichael Watson Project as the 2,500th item was catalogued (ref. Coll-97/CW116/16 folio 4v). The item relates to a man called Taogai MacCuinn who is said to have been the progenitor of all the MacQueens in Skye and Uist. He is described as being litigious and the item tells how he 'got off' a charge of crop damage.

Taogai MacCuinn from whom descended

the MacCuinns. This Taog was litigious. He had a

g[rea]t law plea about corn damaged. He wa[s] pur[sued] for

this corn & he sug[gested] that the inj[ury] might have been down

to the seals rolling them[elves] over the corn & he got off.

He lived in Trotarnish Skye from him all

the MacCuinns in Skye & Uist.

This nugget of information was collected by Alexander Carmichael on Taransay from a man called Ranald MacDonald (c1834-1913), who was a sheep farmer and the son of John MacDonald, tacksman of Taransay, during his visit there in July 1870.

So far, these 2,500 catalogue entries cover over 500 subjects, 130 families, 800 people and 1,300 places. You won't have too long to wait until you can explore these items for yourself as the online catalogue is due to be made live during our conference "Alexander Carmichael: Collecting Controversy and Contexts" on Thursday 23 June 2011. 

Reference: Coll-97/CW116/16 folio 4v.
Image: Loch na h-Uidhe, Taransay © Copyright Peter Standing and licensed for reuse under Creative Commons Licence via http://www.geograph.org.uk/

No Rats in Taransay

Satires against vermin such as mice and rats were once a fairly common feature of Gaelic tradition. One such satire Aoir nan Radan – which may have been familiar to Alexander Carmichael given that the composer was a farmer called Livingstone from Lismore – appears in the Rev. Alexander Stewart’s ’Twixt Ben Nevis and Glencoe (1885), pp. 3–6. Many examples could be given of this interesting genre but this one should suffice in order to give a taste of the whole. The first verse goes like this: 

Mile marbhaisg ort, a radain!
A shlaideare nam badan arbhair;
Cha leòr leat sop ach an lán sguab dheth,
Dh-fag thu ’m bualadh dhomb nêo-tharbhach.
Rinn thu gradan de’m chuid eòrna,
A mhéirlich gur mōr do cháil dheth;
Na’n robh do cheann agam air innean,
’Smise nach tilleadh mo lámh dhiot!

The minister also gives a rather ‘loose’ translation aiming to keep the rhythm of the piece rather than supplying a literal version of ‘A Rat-Expelling Incantation’:

A thousand ills befall thee, greedy rat!
Expertest thief that ever yet was born!
In barn and stack-yard, maugre trap and cat,
Sad is the state of all my stock of corn;
Nor does a handful serve thee, shameless thief,
Unblushing rogue, thou claimest the whole sheaf!

Although the following anecdote does not explicitly indicate whether a satire was used against the rats it may well be taken to be understood. Donald MacKinnon, mentioned by Carmichael, was a crofter and fisherman from Taransay itself, an isle just off the west coast of Harris:

Rats can[no]t live in Taransay, so says Don[ald] MacInnon my
guide & cont[inued] in Lews when he was much troub[led]
with these pests. He made a wish that they were
anywhere The Cail[l]each Leo[tha]sach asked
him what would he give her to send them
away for him. He pro[mised] her so much but gives
her power. She askt [asked] him if he knew of any
pl[ace] where there were no rats. He told her that
a rat was no in Tar[ansay] & that they c[ou]ld not live
there so she sent them here greatly to his
relief – not none reap[peared?]. In 2 y[ea]rs they left not a
single thing in Tar[ansay] He then entreated her
to take them fr[om] his fr[e]inds & send them else
where which she did obligingly did & not one was left here.
Two rats were taken here by some fish[er]men
& in the course of 3 days 1 & in 4 days the 2 we[re]
found dead over at Aird nan Ceall
Plenty of mice here thou[gh]

References:
CW 116, f. 9v

Morrison, John A, ‘Drumming Tunes: A Study of Gaelic Rat Satires’, Transactions of the Gaelic Society of Inverness, LVII (1990–92), pp. 273-364

Image: Rat / Radan

How John Campbell Landed Up in Scalpay, Harris

It is not clear from whom Alexander Carmichael collected this historical anecdote concerning the progenitor of at least some of the Campbells of Scalpay, Harris. Although some of the details may have been exaggerated in the telling before they were committed to paper, there are normally kernels of truth in these type of family origin legends. It is interesting to note that if there is any truth to it the Campbells preferred to marry into Skye families rather than to take local Harris women. Could it have been that they still got preferential treatment as a favour from MacLeod? It may also be of interest that Carmichael notes the finding of a stone with the initials R.C. inscribed upon it and it may be reasonably conjectured that they stand for Roderick Campbell and an attempt may be made to try and tie up the family origin legend with this bit of material culture. Perhaps, though, Carmichael’s surmise in this instance goes a step too far but one of the earliest recorded mentions of these Campbells is a certain John Campbell or Iain Òg, his patronymic in early estate papers is given as John oig mc ean vc Innish or Iain Òg mac Iain mhic Aonghais: John son of John son of Angus. In all likelihood there is probably a connection between these two John Campbells:

The Duke of Argyle[’]s eldest son & MacLeod
of MacLeod’s eldest son were boys together at the Royal
High School Edin[burgh] or at the University. The Duk[e’s]
son & a gille Gal[l]da quar[elled] The latter was big & old
and was ill us[in]g the latter when young MacLeod step[p]e[d]
in to as[sis]t his young friend The 2 gave such a thrash[ing]
to the gille Gal[l]da that he died from the effect and
the two boys got so frightened that they fled home to Dun
veag[an] & then to Harris. The Duke sent for his son
sever[al] times but the would not go. MacLeod to his hon[our]
gave young John Campbell his choice of any
place in Harris & when young MacLeod came
to the pro[perty] he treated the family of his young friend with
much kindness. Of course young Campbell
and his suc[cessors] mar[ried] with the best families
in the isles – always took their wives from
Skye or at all events not fr[om] Harris This was
some[time] ab[ou]t the year 1600. Has the stone at Scalpa
anything to do with this with its letters R[oderick] C[ampbell]
and 1601? It was found at Lochsiphort when
qua[rryin]g for the Lighthouse at Scalpa. It was
und[er] much rubbish in a cleft in the rock and hid[?]
by the site of an old smithy.

References:
CW 116, f. 13v
John Campbell – Iain Og [http://www.virtualhebrides.com/scalpay/scalpay/scalpay_history/campbells/johncampbell.htm]

Image:
Lighthouse on Scalpay, Harris

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.

Conference Registration Open

"Alexander Carmichael: Collecting, Controversy and Contexts"

Thursday 23 to Friday 24 June 2011

Centre for Research Collections,
Edinburgh University Library, George Square, Edinburgh.

In order to celebrate the completion of the most recent phase of the Carmichael Watson Project, the Centre for Research Collections is pleased to host a major interdisciplinary conference focusing on the life, career, and legacy of the great Hebridean folklorist, collector and author Alexander Carmichael (1832–1912).

Among the themes to be considered at the conference will be the Carmichael family; Alexander Carmichael's circle; Carmichael as collector of texts and objects; Carmichael and the environment; as well as folklore in the digital age.

The conference will showcase the important work being done by younger scholars and independent scholars alike in shedding further light on Carmichael's achievements, on the controversies surrounding his work, and on the people, the history, the environment, and the culture of the nineteenth-century Hebrides.

A conference highlight will be the launch of the new Carmichael Watson Project website, giving access for the first time to fully indexed transcriptions of all of Alexander Carmichael's field notebooks, the 'holy grail' for Carmichael researchers for several decades. A small exhibition of objects and images connected with Carmichael will accompany the conference.

Keynote Speakers will include Professor William Gillies, Celtic and Scottish Studies, University of Edinburgh and Peter Burnhill Director of EDINA.

To close the conference a concert will be held at St Cecilia's Hall, Cowgate, Edinburgh, featuring performances from acclaimed Gaelic singer Kathleen MacInnes, piper Allan MacDonald and Còisir Dhùn Èideann. The concert is open to members of the public, who can purchase tickets from the University of Edinburgh's ePay website. Ticket price is 10:00 GBP and includes a complimentary refreshment during the interval.

Attendance at 'Alexander Carmichael: Collecting, Controversy and Contexts' will cost 60:00 GBP or 25:00 GBP for students. The cost includes attendance at all lectures, teas/coffees, lunches, the reception to mark the launch of the Carmichael Watson project website and the conference concert.

To register go to the University of Edinburgh's ePay website.

Conference Programme

Am Beannachadh Bealltain or The Beltane Blessing

Bealltain, Beltane, is the first day of May. On May Day all the fires of the district were extinguished and the 'tein eigin,' need-fire, produced on the knoll. This fire was divided in two, and people and cattle rushed through for the purification and safeguarding against 'ealtraigh agus dosgaidh,' mischance and murrain, during the year. The people obtained fires for their homes from this need-fire. The practice of producing the need-fire came down in the Highlands and Islands to the first quarter of this century [19th century]. The writer found traces of it in such distant places as Arran, Uist and Sutherland. In 1895 a woman in Arran said that in the time of her father the people made the need-fire on the knoll, and then rushed home and brought out their 'creatairean,' creatures, and put them round the fire to safeguard them, 'bho'n bhana bhuitsich mhoir Nic-creafain,' from the arch-witch Crawford.

The ordeal of passing through the fires gave rise to a proverb which I heard used by an old man in Lewis in 1873: - 'A Mhoire! mhicean, bu dora dhomhsa sin a dheanamh dhuit na dhol eadar dha theine mhoir Bheaill,' An Mary! sonnie, it were worse for me to do that for thee, than to pass between the two great fires of Beall.

BEANNAICH, a Thrianailt fhioir nach gann,

Mi fein, mo cheile agus mo chlann,

Mo chlann mhaoth ’s am mathair chaomh ’n an ceann,

Air chlar chubhr nan raon, air airidh chaon nam beann,

Air chlar chubhr nan raon, air airidh chaon nam beann.

Gach ni na m’ fhardaich, no to ’na m’ shealbh,

Gach buar is barr, gach tan is tealbh,

Bho Oidhche Shamhna chon Oidhche Bheallt,

Piseach maith, agus beannachd mallt,

Bho mhuir, gu muir, agus bun gach allt,

Bho thonn gu tonn, agus bonn gach steallt.

Tri Pears a gabhail sealbh anns gach ni ’na m’ stor,

An Trianailt dhearbha da m’ dhion le coir;

O m’ anam riaraich am briathra Phoil,

Is dion mo chiallain fo sgiath do ghloir,

Dion mo chiallain fo sgiath do ghloir.

Beannaich gach ni, agus gach aon,

Ta ’s an teaghlach bheag ri m’ thaobh;

Cuir Crois Chriosd oirnn le buaidh baigh,

Gun am faic sinn tir an aigh,

Gun am faic sinn tir an aigh.

Trath threigeas buar am buabhal bho,

Trath threigeas cuanal an cual chro,

Trath dh’ eireas ceigich ri beinn a cheo,

Treoir na Trianaid bhi triall ’n an coir,

O treoir na Trianaid bhi triall ’n an coir.

A Thi a chruthaich mi air tus,

Eisd is fritheil rium aig lubadh glun,

Moch is anamoch mar is iul,

A d’ lathair fein a Dhe nan dui,

A d’ lathair fein a Dhe nan dui.

BLESS, O Threefold true and bountiful,

self, my spouse, and my children,

My tender children and their beloved mother at their head.

On the fragrant plain, on the gay mountain sheiling,

On the fragrant plain, on the gay mountain sheiling.

Everything within my dwelling or in my possession,

All kine and crops, all flocks and corn,

From Hallow Eve to Beltane Eve,

With goodly progress and gentle blessing,

From sea to sea, and every river mouth,

From wave to wave, and base of waterfall.

Be the Three Persons taking possession of all to me belonging,

Be the sure Trinity protecting me in truth;

Oh! satisfy my soul in the words of Paul,

And shield my loved ones beneath the wing of Thy glory,

Shield my loved ones beneath the wing of Thy glory.

Bless everything and every one,

Of this little household by my side;

Place the cross of Christ on us with the power of love,

Till we see the land of joy,

Till we see the land of joy,

What time the kine shall forsake the stalls,

What time the sheep shall forsake the folds,

What time the goats shall ascend to the mount of mist,

May the tending of the Triune follow them,

May the tending of the Triune follow them.

Thou Being who didst create me at the beginning,

Listen and attend me as I bend the knee to Thee,

Morning and evening as is becoming in me,

In Thine own presence, O God of life,

In Thine own presence, O God of life.

References: Taken from Carmina Gadelica, vol i, pp 182-185. Collected from Donald Wilson, aged 101, crofter, Airdmhor, South Uist.Image: Image taken from http://foodmapper.wordpress.com/tag/local-food/