MAGIC WITCHCRAFT, &C.
IT would seem that the inhabitants of Man and the other Western Isles
of Scotland had acquired a reputation for magical powers at an early
period. For the bard, who accompanied Hakon, king of Norway, in his
expedition to these parts in 1203, wrote as follows:—“Now our deep
inquiring sovereign encountered the horrid powers of enchantment and
the abominations of an impious race. The troubled flood tore many fair
gallies from their moorings, and swept them anchorless before the
waves. A magic raised watery tempest blew upon our warriors, ambitious
of conquest, and against the floating habitations of the brave.”[45]
Two centuries later, we are told by Ranulph Higden that “In the Ilonde
of Mann is sortilege and witchcraft used; for women there sell to
shipmen wynde as it were closed under three knottes of threde, so
that the more wynde he would have the more knottes he must undo.”[46]
According to Sacheverell, Martholine, who was Governor of the Isle of
Man in 1338, wrote a treatise against the practice of witchcraft then
prevalent there.
A profound belief in the power of Magic was one of the characteristics
of Goidelic peoples, though indeed it was formerly all but universal.
Their paganism was a kind of fetichism which considered the various
objects of nature, especially the sun, as malignant beings, who had
to be propitiated with offerings to avert their wrath. In connection
with this worship, a class of persons arose called _Druadh_, who stood
between the people and their deities, and acquired great power over the
former by the influence they were supposed to be able to exert over
the latter by their sacrifices and magic arts. St. Patrick, who is
supposed to have driven the _Druadh_ from Ireland, prays in a very old
hymn attributed to him, to be protected:—
“Against snares of demons,
Against black laws of heathens,
Against spells of women, smiths, and _Druads_.”
These Goidelic _Druadh_[47] probably belonged to the same system as the
Gaulish Druids at a very remote period; but, by Julius Cæsar’s time,
the latter had picked up a little Greek philosophy, and were probably
comparatively well educated and superior men; while the _Druadh_
in Britain, and more especially in Ireland and Man, being isolated
from Continental influences, had shrunk into mere Magicians and
Medicine-men. It was formerly supposed that they sacrificed to _Baal_
on the cromlechs within the stone circles, but more recent research
has shown that these mighty stone monuments are the memorials of a
pre-historic race, and that the Goidels, who, before the introduction
of Christianity, worshipped the heavenly bodies, hills, fire, wells,
&c., had no knowledge of the Phœnician _Baal_, or, indeed, of a
personal God of any kind. With the introduction of Christianity these
_Druadh_ disappeared, but the beliefs they had inculcated survived
in other forms, as it was believed that all the powers of evil were
concentrated in the devil and his myrmidons, that he could delegate
his powers to human beings who sold their souls to him, and who,
according to the nature of their functions or their sex, were called
Magicians, Enchanters or Enchantresses, Sorcerers or Sorceresses,
Wizards or Witches. By their spells, or charms, they could bring all
kinds of evil on human beings, but by counter-charms they could also
alleviate those evils. The Magicians, Enchanters, and Enchantresses
belonged to the higher order of these beings. They had spirits or
demons at their command, and were proficient in the occult sciences,
but would not condescend to the petty malignity occasionally practised
by the Sorcerers and Sorceresses, the Wizards and the Witches. The only
Magician who is remembered by name in the Isle of Man is the famous
_Manannan_ (see Chapter I.) There is also the Enchantress _Tehi_, and
the Sorceress, or rather Prophetess, called _Caillagh-ny-Ghueshag_,
a sort of Manx Mother Shipton, who appears to have been superior to
most of her kind. To the lower and much more common order of these
beings belong those who practised witchcraft, which may be defined
to be a supernatural power which persons were formerly supposed to
obtain by entering into compact with the devil. As soon as the bargain
was concluded, the devil was said to deliver to the Wizard or Witch
an imp or familiar spirit, to be ready at call to do whatever it was
directed. By the aid of this imp and the devil together, the Witch—who
was almost always an old woman, the Wizard being comparatively
uncommon—was enabled to transport herself through the air on a
broomstick, and transform herself into various shapes, particularly
those of cats and hares; to inflict diseases on whomsoever she chose,
and to punish her enemies in various ways. The belief in witchcraft is
very ancient, being common in Europe till the sixteenth century, and
it maintained its ground till the middle of the seventeenth century;
indeed it is not altogether extinct either in the Isle of Man, or
elsewhere, at the present day. A special attribute of Sorcerers and
Witches was the possession of the “Evil Eye.” This was supposed to be
an influence in virtue of which its possessor could injure whomsoever
he or she cast a hostile or envious eye upon, and to be the cause of
many things going wrong. For instance, if anyone took suddenly ill,
if a cow was diseased, or any difficulty occurred in churning, if the
hens did not lay well, &c., the operation of the “Evil Eye” was at
once suspected. Before curing any of these complaints, it was first
necessary to discover the operator. One of the most approved methods
of doing this, in the case of a diseased animal, is to burn it; when,
as Train remarks, “The first person that passes that way after the
fire is kindled, is recognised as the witch or wizard.” Fire, indeed,
was considered generally efficacious against Witches and their wiles,
and was used at special seasons, as we shall see later (Chapter VI.),
when they were supposed to be more powerful than usual. When the
possessor of the “Evil Eye” was discovered, the next step was to cure
the disease, and this was frequently effected by picking up the dust
from beneath the feet or from the threshold of the suspected Witch, and
rubbing it on her victim.
But there were cases in which the popular and well-known methods
failed, when recourse was had to the practitioners called “Charmers”,
or “Witch-doctors.” These Charmers—_Fer-obbee_, “Men-charmers”,
and _Ben-obbee_, “Women-charmers”, as they might be either men or
women—used certain formulas and practised various ceremonies for the
purpose of curing diseases, or, occasionally, of causing them; and they
also made use of their powers to counteract the spells of Fairies as
well as those of the malevolent Sorcerers or Witches. For diseases, in
addition to using charms, they administered medicinal herbs and applied
fasting spittle, in the virtues of which there was a very general
belief, but to accomplish the more recondite branch of their profession
they used charms and incantations[48] only. They were all more or
less tainted with the suspicion of dabbling a little in sorcery and
witchcraft on their own account, but, as their powers were on the whole
used for good purposes, they were tolerated.
One of the best known of these Witch-doctors was Teare, of Ballawhane,
who was described by Train as follows:—“The Seer is a little man,
far advanced into the vale of life; in appearance he was healthy and
active; he wore a low-crown slouched hat, evidently too large for his
head, with a broad brim; his coat, of an old-fashioned make, with
his vest and breeches, were all of _loughtyn_ wool, which had never
undergone any process of dyeing; his shoes, also, were of a colour
not to be distinguished from his stockings, which were likewise of
_loughtyn_ wool.” He was said to have been the most powerful of all
these practitioners, and when their prescriptions had failed in
producing the desired effect, he was applied to. The messenger that was
despatched to him on such occasions was neither to eat nor to drink
by the way, nor even to tell any person his mission. The recovery was
supposed to be perceptible from the time the case was stated to him.
These powers were supposed to be hereditary, and were handed down in
the same family for generations. There is for instance, a daughter of
Teare’s still practising the same art, and she is resorted to by the
fishermen for the sake of having their nets charmed, and so cause them
to be lucky in their fishing.[49] To preserve these powers intact from
generation to generation, it was supposed to be necessary to hand them
down from a man to a woman, but in the next generation from a woman
to a man, and so on. Having thus referred to the methods of detecting
Witches and of protecting and curing those that were attacked by them,
we will now proceed to show how they were punished. The Law with regard
to witchcraft and kindred practices was very severe in every part of
Europe, and, it is said, that in England alone, no less than 30,000
Wizards and Witches have suffered at the stake. Blackstone writes
with regard to the law on this subject in England as follows:—“Our
law once included in the list of crime, that of actual witchcraft
or intercourse with evil spirits; and though it has now no longer a
place among them, its exclusion is not to be understood as implying a
denial of the possibility of such an offence. To deny this, would be to
contradict the revealed word of God in various passages both of the
Old and New Testament; and the thing itself is a truth to which every
nation hath in its turn borne testimony; either by examples seemingly
well attested, or by prohibitory laws, which at least suppose the
possibility of a commerce with evil spirits. * * *
By the Statute 33, Henry VIII., all witchcraft and sorcery were
declared to be ‘felony without benefit of clergy,’ and by 1. Jac. 1.,
‘all persons invoking any evil spirits, or consulting, covenanting
with, entertaining, employing, feeding or rewarding any evil spirit;
... or killing, or hurting any person by such infernal arts; should be
guilty of felony and suffer death; and if any person should attempt,
by sorcery, to discover hidden treasure, or to restore stolen goods,
or to provoke unlawful love, or to hurt any man or beast, he, or she,
should suffer imprisonment and pillory for the first offence, and death
for the second.’ These acts long continued in force, to the terror
of all antient females in the kingdom; and many poor wretches were
sacrificed thereby to the prejudice of their neighbours and their own
illusions; not a few having confessed the fact at the gallows.” In the
Isle of Man, too, legislation on this subject was not neglected, for we
find, by the 50th Spiritual Law, that “all such as are suspected for
sorcerie and witchcraft are to be presented to the Chapter Quest, then
the Ordinary in such cases finding any suspicion is to impannel a jury
of honest men within the same parish and the party suspected in the
meantime to be committed to the Bishop’s Prison, and all the offences
and crimes the jury doth find the Ordinary shall write, and if the jury
can prove any notorious fault or crime done by the same person, then
the Ordinary to deliver him out of the Bishop’s Prison to the Lord’s
Jail and Court.” It is supposed that in old times the usual result of
the legal procedure against Witches was that they were subjected to
two so-called forms of ordeal, but which were really means of putting
them to death, as, if they survived the first, the second would almost
certainly prove fatal, for they were said to have been thrown into
the middle of the _Curragh Glass_, or “green bog” pool, in the valley
below Greeba mountain. If they sank, their bodies were taken out of
the water, carried home, waked, and received a Christian burial; but
if, to save themselves from drowning, they managed to paddle to either
side, they were instantly declared guilty of the crime of which they
were charged, and were consequently either burned alive as unconvicted
witches, or rolled from the top of _Slieau Whuallian_ in spiked
barrels. Thus literally was followed the Scripture maxim, “Thou shalt
not suffer a witch to live.”
The following extracts from the Manx Episcopal and Civil Records show,
however, that our forefathers dealt with these poor creatures in the
seventeenth century, and later, in a milder fashion than they did,
according to tradition, at an earlier date:—
1638.—Whereas Jony Tear hath been presented by the Chapter Quest upon
information given them that she was seen together with an Irish woman
in a gill pulling strange herbs, and whereas the said Jony Tear hath
cleared herself, her slanderers had to ask her forgiveness before the
congregation.
The following entry, taken from the _Liber Scaccar_, or Exchequer Book,
appears in the Malew Register in 1659. It affords an instance of the
enforcement of Church discipline by the temporal ruler who took the
Bishop’s place during the time of the Commonwealth:—
Bishop’s Court, 30th September, 1659.—Whereas Mrs. Jane Cesar hath
been accused upon suspicion of witchcraft, charminge or sorscerie,
whereupon certaine examinacons have been taken. And the said case
being putt to the triall of a jurie, they the said jurors (after
examinacon of the business) have this day cleared and acquitted ye
said Jane Cesar of the accusacon aforesaid as by theire Answere
may appeare. Nevertheles that the said Jane Cesar may declare her
inocencie of such practizes and that shee doth renounce the same as
diabolicall and wicked; she is hereby ordered to acknowledge the same
before the Congregacon off (sic.) Kk. Malew Parish on the next Lord’s
day to the end that others may be admonished to relinquish detest
and abhor such delusions which are of great inducement to greater
temptacons and are too frequently practized in this Island as is dayly
observed. Of which if any one shall be hereafter accused and the same
lawfully proved such persons are to be severely fined and punished, or
otherwise proceeded against accordinge as the law doth provide in such
cases.
(Signed) Jam. Chaloner.
To Sr. Tho. Parr minister of Kk Malew who is to read ye before his
Congregacon the next Sabbath in English and Manxe and to return this
Order with the acknowledgment made as aforesaid into the Comptrouleres
office afterwards. True Coppie agreeinge with ye originall.
October the 2nd, 1659
(Signed) J. Woods.
It is certainly remarkable that this unfortunate woman, after being
acquitted by the jury of the offence alleged against her, should be
ordered “to acknowledge the same before the congregation”, and at the
same time “to declare her innocencie.”
The following, in 1690, is from the Archideaconal Register:—
We, whose names are hereunder written, being sworn in a jury of
inquiry to take evidence in some difference between Gilbert Moore and
John Steon about witchcraft, picking of herbs, and strikening them
unknown, do give in our verdict as followeth:—Ann Callister, alias
Karran, and Grace Cowley, being sworn and examined say that John Steon
said unto Ann Callister thou b—— and w—— that little fat that thou
has gotten upon thee I will take it oft thee in a short time, and
since that time she has lost very many of her goods, and furth: saith
not, Ann Callister further saith that John Steon’s wife said unto
her that she knew an herb, that if a man drank of the drink of it he
would forget himself, but if one drank of it twice he would forget
himself for ever—and further saith not. John Corlet and William Tear
swore that Daniel Quayle told them that John Steon gave him an herb
to put to his eyes and he never saw afterward, and further saith not.
Gilbert Callister and Ann Callister declared that the said Daniel
Quayle’s wife told them the same words, and further saith not. Dollin
Gawn sworn, examined, saith that himself and John Steon chid (sic) and
the said John Steon promised to give him loss, and shortly after he
received it, & furth: saith not. Dollin Gawn’s wife sworn, examined,
saith that the same John Steon told her that he knew that none of her
children should inherit that little place they had, and since that
time one of her child^n dyed and another is now a cripple at her fire
side, and furth: saith not. Adam Callister sworn, examined, saith that
he came with John Corlett and John Steon from church and John Corlett
told Steon he would present him to the great inquest, and the said
Steon answered that he could not tell whether he would be able to do
so, but that he might be sick and have need to be washed in tobacco
water and swines broth, and further saith not. Ann Cowle sworn,
examined, saith that John Steon said unto her he would deceive her and
blind her, and strike her unknown. Adam Callister sworn, examined,
saith that the said Steon told him that he would strike him unawares,
and John Corlett declared that that was the common report he had heard
of John Steon that he would strike people unknown and furth: saith
not. Gilbert Moore sworn, examined, saith that the said Steon came
to his house and said to his wife and children that he would strike
them unawares so that they should not know of it, and since that time
he lost abundance (sic) of his goods, and furth: saith not. Gilbert
Moore likewise and Pat. Cowley sworn, examined, say John Steon came
to the plough to Gilbert Moore for the lone (sic) of a Manks spade,
and the said Moore denyed him, whereupon Steon told him he would do
him a mischief and that shortly and within a while after one of his
oxen were struck lame so the said Moore sent to Steon to come to see
the Ox, and Steon coming spit upon the Ox and handled him and he
recovered, and further saith not. Mrs. Nelson sworn, examined, saith
that John Steon told her that he knew she would be willing to deliver
up her land unto Grinsey and Richard Cannell, and the said Mrs. Nelson
asked him how did he know, whereupon the said Steon replyed that he
knew she would be willing to give them payment for taking it from her
and they would not accept of it, and further saith not. Pat. Cannell
sworn and examined saith that he came upon John Steon’s daughter
picking of herbs in the Court land where corn was sowen on our Lady
day in Lent a little after break of day. Ellin^r Cannell sworn,
examined, saith as aboves^{d,} Jaine Quayle examined saith that she
saw an herb with John Steon’s daughter, and asked what that was for
and she said to preserve her from the flux and seeing something else
with her she said it was to preserve her from the feaver.—Having taken
the above depositions we find said Steon to be guilty, and leave him
to the discretion of the Court for fine and punishment. Jo. Quayle his
m^{k.} ×, Gilb^{t.} Callist^r his m^{k.} ×, Pat. Caine his m^{k.} ×,
and W^{m.} Quayle his m^{k.} ×.
At Kirk Michael, July 31, 1712, one Alice Knakill, _alias_ Moor, of
Kirk Lonan, confessed to a charge of having taken up some earth from
under a neighbour’s door, and burnt it to ashes, which she gave to her
cattle, “with an intention, as she owns, to make them give more milk.
Also another woman declares that the said Alice Knakill cut a piece out
of her petticoat and burnt it to powder, which she drank with a design,
as she confessed, to recover her health, and procure sleep. Both which
charms she owns to have been taught her by an Irishwoman.” She was
sentenced to three Sundays’ penance in the neighbouring churches. In
the following year, Alice Cowley, of Ballaugh, a regular dealer in
charms, and known as such far and wide in the Island, was brought
before the Consistory Court. It was then deposed that this old crone,
“addressed herself to a youth, and told him, if he would give her a
ninepenny piece, she would give him something that would make a young
woman fall in love with him, which proves to be a powder in a paper,
which he believes to be the powder of some of the bright stones that
are at Foxdale.” Her dealings with married women, under the pretence
of removing barreness; with farmers for procuring a crop of corn, or
making the herd fruitful; with young women for procuring lovers; and
with parents for the recovery of a sick child were also deposed to;
the mischief in each case being implied to be the Witch’s doing, and
thought to be remedied by drawing blood from her. All these charges
were proved, and Alice was sentenced, by the Bishop and Vicars-General,
to “thirty days’ imprisonment, and before releasement to give
sufficient security to stand two hours in a white sheet, a white wand
in her right hand, and these words, ‘for charming and sorcery,’ in
capital letters on her breast, in the four market towns of this Island,
at the public cross, in the height of the market; and afterwards to do
penance in Ballaugh Church.”
In 1716, a woman from Jurby complained to Vicar-General Walker that
she and her husband had been “suspected to have been out early in the
morning last May-Day, walking on the dew in their neighbours’ fields,
with a design to prejudice them in the increase of their crop”, and
that though this calumny had been disproved by evidence, it was
still repeated. It was, therefore, ordered by the Court, in order
“to discourage such vile and unchristian thoughts of one neighbour
receiving damage from another, by any trivial, foolish customs of that
kind, which betray great weakness of faith and trust in God”, that a
fine of £3, and imprisonment for forty days, besides further punishment
at the Ordinary’s discretion, should be imposed on anyone reviving the
story.
Bishop Wilson evidently viewed the practice of charming with
abhorrence, as we find him writing about it, in 1741, as
follows:—“There is a cursed practice carried on secretly by Satan and
his instruments, which I beseech you, my brethren, take this proper
occasion[50] to speak upon: both to terrify those that practice it, and
to confirm people’s faith in God, against any hurt the devil or his
agents can do them. Many complaints have been brought into our courts
against people using foolish and wicked charms and arts, either to
injure their neighbour in his goods, or to transfer them to themselves,
to the great dishonour of God, who alone can increase the fruits of the
earth to our comfort, or withhold them for our sins; and, indeed, it
is for want of a true faith in God’s power and goodness that makes men
afraid of what such wretched instruments of Satan can do....”
There are many other similar presentments to be found in the Records
during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, but we will content
ourselves with mentioning two cases which have come into the Courts in
the present century. In the _Manx Sun_ newspaper of the 5th of January,
1838, it is reported that “a case of sorcery was recently brought into
and solemnly heard in one of the Courts of Law.” About the same time
the then Deemster McHutchin was applied to for a warrant against a
Witch on the charge of depriving cows of their milk, and causing them
to sicken. He, however, wisely asked a veterinary surgeon to supply a
remedy, and thus put a stop to the prosecution.
The following account was published in the _Mona’s Herald_ newspaper
of the 10th of January, 1844, concerning the proceedings against a
suspected Witch:—“A farmer in the parish of Marown, having lost in
succession, a heifer, a cow, and a horse, attributed the death of these
animals to the influence of witchcraft. Consequently he obtained a
trespass warrant from one of the Deemsters, under authority of which
a jury was sworn, and a number of persons summoned as witnesses and
examined. Such questions as the following were put: ‘Did you ever witch
Quine’s cattle?’ ‘Do you bear malice against Quine?’ ‘Did you hear
anybody talking about Quine before his cattle died, and seeming to
grudge him what he possessed?’ Among those who were sworn was Quine’s
sister-in-law, and on being asked if she ever came _in any shape or
form_ to do Quine or his goods an injury, she confessed ‘that she had
once passed through Quine’s fields without leave.’ The poor woman was
frightened into paying the costs in consequence of this. While the
case was going on someone let loose a wild rabbit in the room. On the
appearance of this unexpected visitor all became terrified, crying,
‘The Witch, the Witch!’ This continued for several minutes, till one of
the party, more courageous than the rest, seized the supposed Witch,
and, while depriving the harmless creature of existence, triumphantly
exclaimed, ‘You shall not trouble poor Quine again.’”
The stories which follow relate to the various practices of MAGIC,
ENCHANTMENT, SORCERY, and WITCHCRAFT. A list of the CHARMS most in
vogue is also given.
THE MAGICIAN’S PALACE.
In visionary glory rear’d,
The gorgeous castle disappear’d;
And a bare heath’s unfruitful plain
Usurp’d the wizard’s proud domain. _Warton._
In the days of enchantment a certain great magician had, by his art,
raised for himself the most magnificent palace in the Isle of Man that
eye ever beheld; but none who, either out of curiosity or a desire of
being entertained there, went to it but was immediately converted into
stone, or at least had the appearance of it, so implacable an enemy was
the wicked master of it to all his own species, being served only by
infernal spirits. He became at length so much the terror of the whole
Island that no person would venture to live or pass within several
leagues of his habitation, so that all that side of the country was
in a manner desolate, to the great loss and detriment of the place
in general. This had continued for the space of three years, when
an accident, or rather the peculiar direction of divine providence,
was pleased in mercy to deliver them from the terror of so cruel a
neighbour.
A poor man, whom one may justly term a pilgrim, having nothing to
subsist on but what he procured by imploring the charity of those
able to afford him succour, happening to travel on that side of the
Island, not knowing anything of the fame of this enchanter, and
perceiving no house inhabited, nor any cottage even, where he might
get a lodging, and it growing dark, he was in terrible apprehensions
of being under the necessity of taking up his lodgings on those bleak
mountains, yet wandering on as long as light permitted, in hopes of
better fortune, he, at last, came within sight of this palace, which
filled his heart with much joy. Coming near it, he beheld large
piazzas, which surrounded that magnificent building, and believing
these might serve him for a resting-place, without being troublesome
to any of the servants, whose churlish disposition in other places
did not always afford a ready welcome to strangers, he chose rather
to content himself with resting his wearied limbs on the marble floor
than entreat a reception into any of the barns, which, perhaps, might
be denied. In a word, he sat down on a bench in one of these piazzas,
and, finding himself hungry, he took out of his pouch a piece of meat
and bread, which he had begged at the last town he had passed through.
He had also a little salt, which, by dipping his meat in the dark,
he happened to spill some on the floor, on which he presently heard
the most terrible groans to issue from the earth beneath, vast winds
seemed to be let loose from every quarter of the element, all the face
of heaven was deformed with lightning, the most dreadful thunder
rattled over his head, and in less than a moment this fine palace,
with all its proud and lofty piazzas, porticos, and brazen doors,
vanished into the air, and he found himself in the midst of a wide,
desert, mountaneous plain, without the least appearance of anything he
had formerly seen. Surprised as he was, he instantly betook himself
to his prayers, nor removed from his knees till day began to break,
when, after thanking God for bringing him safe through the dangers of
the night past, he made what speed he could to the next village, and
relating the adventure just as it was to the inhabitants, they could
not at first give credit to what he said, but, going in great numbers
towards the place where the palace of the necromancer had stood, they
were convinced, and all joined in prayer and thanksgiving for so great
a deliverance.
It was presently concluded, from what the pilgrim said, that the salt
spilt on the ground had occasioned this dissolution of the palace, and
for that reason salt has ever since been in such estimation among them
that no person will go out on any material affair without taking some
in their pockets, much less remove from one house to another, marry,
put out a child, or take one to nurse, without salt being mutually
interchanged; nay, though a poor creature be almost famished in the
streets, he will not accept any food you will give him unless you join
salt to the rest of your benevolence.—_Waldron._
Salt has borne a conspicuous part in many superstitious ceremonies.
The high priest of the Jews was ordered to season all offerings with
salt.[51] The Egyptians and Romans also used it in their sacrifices.
In Ireland, before the seed is put into the ground, salt is sent into
the field for the purpose of counteracting the power of the witches
and fairies. So in the Isle of Man, salt was placed in the churn lest
the fairies should prevent the production of butter. Salt was formerly
placed on the breast of a corpse in the Isle of Man, as elsewhere, as
an emblem of the immortality of the soul. The dread of spilling salt
was a general superstition.
ORIGIN OF KING WILLIAM’S SANDS.
They tell you that the Island was once much larger than it is at
present; but that a magician, who had great power over it, and
committed many wonderful and horrible things, being opposed by one
who was a friend to the place, and at length, overcome by him, he, in
revenge, raised a furious wind, not only in the air, but also in the
bosom of the earth, which, rending it, tore off several pieces, which,
floating in the sea, in process of time were converted into stone,
and became those rocks which are now so dangerous to shipping. The
smaller fragments, they say, are sands, which, waving up and down, are
at sometimes to be seen, and at others, shift themselves far off the
coast. They maintain that it was on one of these that the late King
William had liked to have perished, and strengthen this suggestion by
the trial of the pilot, who must infallibly have been hanged, if on
strict examination of all the charts there had been in any of them the
least mention made of any such sands, but, however, these floating
ruins have ever since remained, and from thence are called, King
William’s Sands.—_Waldron._
THE DEVIL’S DEN.
“Deeper than plummet ever sounded.”—_Shakspeare._
About a league and a half from Barrule, there is a hole in the earth,
just at the foot of the mountain, which they call “The Devil’s Den.”
They tell you, that, in the days of enchantment, persons were there
confined by the magicians, and that it now contains a very great
prince, who never knew death, but has for the space of six hundred
years been bound by magic spells; but in what manner he lies, or in
what form, none had ever courage enough to explore. They add, that if
you carry a horse, a dog, or any other animal to the mouth of this
hole, its hair will stand on end, and its eyes stare, and a damp sweat
cover its whole body. Strange noises are also said to have been heard
to issue from this place, and I knew a man once, who positively averred
that his great-grandfather saw a huge dragon, with a tail and wings
that darkened all the element, and the eyes that seemed two globes of
fire, descend swiftly into it, and after that, heard most terrible
shrieks and groans from within.—_Waldron._
THE SUBMERGED ISLAND.
There was supposed to be a submerged island near Port Soderick which
appeared every seven years. Train relates the story of one of these
appearances as follows:—“Many a time and oft had Nora Cain heard
her old grandsire relate the tradition of the enchanted island at
Port Soderick, while sitting spinning by the turf fire on a winter’s
evening. It was in the days of the Great Fin MacCooil, that mighty
magician, who, for some insult he had received from the people who
lived on a beautiful island, off Port Soderick, cast his spell over
it, and submerged it to the bottom of the ocean, transforming the
inhabitants into blocks of granite. It was permitted them, once in
seven years, to come to the surface for the short space of thirty
minutes, during which time the enchantment might be broken if any
person had the boldness to place a Bible on any part of the enchanted
land when at its original altitude above the waters of the deep.
On one occasion, it was about the end of September, on a fine moonlight
night, Nora was sauntering along the little bay in sweet converse with
her lover, when she observed something in the distance which continued
to increase in size. It struck her to be none other than the enchanted
isle she so often had heard of. It continued gradually rising above
the surface of the water, when, suddenly disentangling herself from
the arm of her lover, she hastened home with all the speed she could,
and rushed into the cottage, crying out, and breathless with her
haste, “The Bible, the Bible, the Bible!” to the utter amazement of
the inmates, who could not at the moment imagine what had possessed
her. After explaining what she had seen, she seized hold of the coveted
volume and hastened back to the beach, but, alas! only just in time to
see the last portion of the enchanted isle subside once more to its
destined fate of another seven years’ submersion.
From that night poor Nora gradually pined away, and was soon after
followed to her grave by her disconsolate lover. It is said from that
time no person has had the hardihood to make a similar attempt, lest,
in case of failure, the enchanter in revenge might cast his club over
Mona also.
TEHI-TEGI, THE ENCHANTRESS.
“With lips of rosy hue,
Dipp’d five times over in ambrosial dew,
She led them to their destruction.”—_Old Poet._
A famous enchantress, sojourning in this Island, had by her diabolical
arts made herself appear so lovely in the eyes of men that she ensnared
the hearts of as many as beheld her. The passion they had for her so
took up all their hearts that they entirely neglected their usual
occupations. They neither ploughed nor sowed, neither built houses,
nor repaired them; their gardens were all overgrown with weeds, and
their once fertile fields were covered with stones; their cattle died
for want of pasture; their turf lay in the bowels of the earth undug
for, and everything had the appearance of an utter desolation, even
propagation ceased, for no man could have the least inclination for any
woman but this universal charmer, who smiled on them, permitted them to
follow and admire her, and gave everyone leave to hope himself would be
at last the happy He. When she had thus allured the male part of the
Island, she pretended one day to go a progress through the provinces,
and being attended by all her adorers on foot, while she rode on a
milk-white palfrey, in a kind of triumph at the head of them. She led
them into a deep river, which by her art she made seem passable, and
when they were all come a good way in it, she caused a sudden wind
to rise, which, driving the waters in such abundance to one place,
swallowed up the poor lovers, to the number of six hundred, in their
tumultuous waves. After which, the sorceress was seen by some persons,
who stood on the shore, to convert herself into a bat, and fly through
the air till she was out of sight, as did her palfrey into a sea hog or
porpoise, and instantly plunged itself to the bottom of the stream.
To prevent the recurrence of a like disaster, it was ordained that the
women should go on foot and follow the men henceforth, which custom
is so religiously observed, that if by chance a woman is seen walking
before a man, whoever sees her cries out immediately, “Tehi! Tegi!”
which, it would appear, is the name of the enchantress who occasioned
this law.—_Waldron._
CAILLAGH-NY-GHUESHAG.
_Caillagh_ was the name given to an old woman, and, from the ugliness
associated with old women, it came to mean a hag or witch. The most
famous _Caillagh_ was an old woman called _Caillagh-ny-Ghueshag_,
“old woman of the spells”, or the Sorceress. She was an adept
at chiromancy—_Faaishlaght_—and could perform a charm or
incantation—_pisag_; but her posthumous reputation arose mainly from
her having foretold certain things, which, she said, were to happen
before the end of the world. Such of her predictions as have been
recorded certainly related to very trifling events. There was a small
treen chapel called _Cabbal-keeill-Vout_, between the Foxdale river
and Slieau-whallin, concerning which she is said to have predicted as
follows:—
_Tra Vees Cabbal-keeill-Vout ersooyl lesh-y-hooilley,
Cha bee cleïn Quirk Slieau-whallin veg sodjey._
_i.e._, “When the Chapel Keeil-Vout shall be taken away by the flood
the Quirk family will be no longer in Slieau Whallin.” It is said that
about 70 years ago the last fragment of the chapel and the last of the
Quirks of Slieau Whallin disappeared simultaneously. The following
sayings are also attributed to her:—_Dy beagh chimlee caardagh ayns
chooilley hie roish jerrey yn theill_—“That there would be a smithy
chimney in every house before the end of the world;” and that _Dy nee
ass claghyn glassey yoghe sleih nyn arran_—“People would get their
bread from grey stones.” Like many other prophecies, these decidedly
require an interpreter! Another saying that was attributed to her was
that “the Manx and the Scotch will come so near as to throw their
beetles at each other.” Certainly, the Point of Ayre is extending
slowly towards Scotland, but thousands of years would have to elapse,
even if the same process continued steadily, before it could get
there.—_Harrison._
THE GLENCRUTCHERY WELL.
A story is told of a girl who was going to the Glencrutchery well
for water, and met an old man, who had the reputation of being a
sorcerer,[52] on her way. He asked her where she was going. “Going to
your well for water”, she said. “Is there no water in your well?” said
he. She replied that there was, but that her mistress had sent her to
get water from his well. He then gave her some money, and told her to
take the water out of their own well. The girl took the money, which
confirmed the charm, and went to the fair, which was going on that day,
after fetching the water home. When she returned home in the evening
her mistress asked her where she had got the water, as she had been
churning all day without getting any butter.—_Oral._
THE EFFIGY.
In a lonely part of the northern district of the Island stood the
cottage of an old woman, who had been long suspected of being a
practitioner of the “black art”, to the detriment of many of her
neighbours. A person of great courage having had occasion to pass that
remote dwelling one night, at a late hour, and seeing a strong light
within, on peeping through a chink in the door, perceived distinctly
the old beldame busily turning an image before a large fire, and
sticking pins into it occasionally, on which she muttered a cabalistic
rhyme which he could not understand. Next morning, on hearing that the
minister had been suddenly seized by a chronic disease on the preceding
evening, which lasted till midnight, the man who had seen the crone
at work at the very time the minister was tortured by racking pains,
publicly charged her of being the sole cause of his indisposition,
which was seemingly confirmed by the Captain of the Parish finding in
her possession the image or supposed effigy of the minister, with an
old bladder containing rusty nails, pins, and skewers. After having
been tried and found guilty, she walked seemingly quite unconcerned to
the common place of execution, and just before she was bound to the
stake, confessed the crime for which she was about to suffer.—_Train._
THE WITCH OF SLIEU WHALLIAN.
They say,
Lamentings heard i’ the air! strange screams of death.
—_Shakspeare._
About two miles from Peel, opposite to the Tynwald Mount, there is
a hill called Slieu Whallian, said to be haunted by the spirit of a
murdered witch, but, however, it does not appear to mortal eyes, but
every night joins its lamentations to the howling winds. This woman was
put into a barrel with sharp iron spikes inserted round the interior,
pointing inwards, and thus, by the weight of herself and the apparatus,
allowed to roll from the top of the hill to the bottom.
Many other persons have suffered here in a similar manner, one of whom
was a man named Thomas Carran, who died protesting his innocence of
the crime of which he was accused. In proof of this, as he is said to
have predicted, a thorn-tree has since grown, and marks the fatal spot
on the summit of the hill, where the cask, in which he was enclosed,
in fulfilment of the sentence awarded against him, was pushed over the
brow, to roll, and bound, and dash with headlong speed to the plain
below.—_Train._
THE BURNT BESOM.
The following story was told last year by a man who is now living:—One
morning as he was returning from courting—courting it should be
mentioned was, and still is in the country districts, carried on at
night—he saw a woman, who was a reputed Witch, at the four cross-roads,
near Regaby, sweeping a circle round her as large as that made by
horses when threshing. He kicked her, and took her besom (broom) from
her, and hid it till mid-day, when he and some boys collected some dry
gorse, fired it, and put the besom on top. Wonderful to relate, when
burning it made reports like guns going off, which could be heard at
Andreas Church. This besom had on it “17 sorts of knots.” Soon after
its destruction the woman died.—_Rhys._
BUTTER BEWITCHED.
One day a woman who was a reputed Witch, called at the door of a
neighbouring farm-house when churning was going on, and asked the
dairy-maid for some buttermilk. Not having any, she refused and went
on churning; but from that moment it was of no avail, as the butter
refused to come, and she got none at all, while the Witch, who kept
only one cow, took sixteen pounds of butter to sell, the produce of her
dairy, which was a common event with her when the farmers near her were
unsuccessful.—_Oral._
The following extract from a poem by the Rev. T. E. Brown, of Clifton,
entitled “The Manx Witch”, gives an excellent idea of the usual Manx
notions about these creatures:—
THE MANX WITCH.
A wutch,[53] of coorse she was a wutch,
And a black wutch, the wuss that’s goin’—
The white is—well, I’m hardly knowin’.
Is the lek in[54]: but these ould things
That’s sellin’ charms to sailors—rings,
Papers, ye know ...
I spose the most of ye’s got the lek
Somewhere hung about your neck.
But there’s odds of charms; for some is just
A sort of a blessin’; but some is a cuss,
Most bitter—brewed in the very gall
Of spite and hate, and’ll creep and crawl
Over your body and over your sowl,
Aye, man! aye! at laste so I’m tould;
And through and through, and making you sick,
And making you mad—aw, they know the trick!
Cussin’ your fingers and cussin’ your toes,
Cussin’ your mouth and cussin’ your nose,
Every odd jint, and every limb,
And all your inside—that’s the thrim—
Cussin’ your horse and cussin’ your cow,
Cussin’ the boar and cussin’ the sow—
Everything that’s got a tail.
Aye, and your spade, and your cart and your flail,
Plough and harras[55] stock and crop,
Nets and lines—they’ll navar stop.
. . . You’ll be passin’ by,
And not a word, but the evil eye.—
There ye are! Your stuck, they’ve done ye!
They’ve got ye—you’re tuck! they’ve put it upon ye!
. . . And harbs! they picks them
The right time of the moon, and they’ll take and mix them.
Divils! divils! that’s what they are!
And should be tuk and burnt the way
They used to be.
The following stories refer to the popular antidotes to the effects
of witchcraft, which, as stated above, are mainly the use of fire and
dust, the former being used partly as a preventive to witchcraft,
and partly as a means of detecting the Witch, while the latter is
an antidote only. The sacrifice of cattle by burning, as a means of
preventing witchcraft, has been common even in the present century, and
is secretly practised in the remote districts even now:—
The cattle of a farmer, in the Parish of German, having been, in
about 1834, attacked by a kind of murrain, which he attributed to
witchcraft, he sought to stay the spreading of the disease by offering
up a living calf as a burnt sacrifice. The ashes of this unfortunate
beast were collected and applied to the rest of the herd. A small
chapel was afterwards built near the spot where this disgusting
sacrifice took place, and was consequently called _Cabbal yn oural
losht_, “Chapel of the burnt offering.”—_Oral._
A similar case occurred near the Union Mills in 1843.
The _Manx Sun_ newspaper describes the sacrifice of a calf in the
Parish of Maughold, in 1853, as follows:—“The calf was dragged to an
eminence not far from the highway, a large quantity of peat and straw
was provided, and, a light having been applied, the calf and pyre were
consumed.”
There was an _oural losht_ in the Parish of Jurby in 1880, and even
within the last five years there have been several sacrifices, but it
is difficult to obtain any particulars. One of them was that of a young
horse which was supposed to have been bewitched to death, which was
burned in order to see the Witch come by, and she was, accordingly,
seen through the smoke.
Some thirty years ago, cattle which were afflicted with “black-leg”
were thrown into the sea at the _Lhen-vuirr_, in the hope that, as the
tide carried them out, so would the disease be prevented from seizing
their fellows.
It was not only on land that burning some animal or thing to detect
or exorcise witchcraft was resorted to, but at sea also, for when
a boat was unsuccessful during the fishing season, the cause was
ascribed by the sailors to witchcraft, and, in their opinion, it then
became necessary to exorcise the boat by burning the Witches out of
it. Townley, in his journal, relates one of these operations, which
he witnessed in Douglas harbour in 1789, as follows:—“They set fire
to bunches of heather in the centre of the boat, and soon made wisps
of heather, and lighted them, going one at the head, another at the
stern, others along the sides, so that every part of the boat might be
touched.” Again he says, “there is another burning of witches out of an
unsuccessful boat off Banks’s Howe—the flames are very visible to the
top of the bay.” Feltham, writing a few years later, also mentions this
practice.
We now come to some stories relating to the use of dust, the great
antidote to the effects of witchcraft. “If a person”, says Train,
“wishes to purchase an animal, but will not give the price demanded,
the disposer lifts earth from the print made by the person’s right foot
on the ground, where he stood to drive the bargain, and rubs the animal
all over with it, to prevent the effects of what is called by the
Islanders, ‘overlooking.’” The following stories will illustrate this:—
A farmer and his neighbour were in treaty for the purchase of a
pony; but, differing about the price, his neighbour, vexed at his
disappointment, put an evil eye upon the beast, who instantly, and
without visible cause, became so lame as to be wholly useless, and so
continued for twelve months; when, by extraordinary good luck, another
person called on him, who had on his part the power to discern these
unrighteous influences, and to do away with them by a counter-charm. No
sooner had this man cast his eye on the animal than he pronounced his
lameness to have originated with the malignant purchaser, and, after
performing certain ceremonies, he assured the farmer that the spell
was broken, and that within a few hours, the pony would be restored
to perfect soundness and strength, all which, in course, happened as
foretold.—_Waldron._
A farmer in the parish of Braddan sold a calf to a Douglas butcher; but
his wife, not being aware of this, had sold the same calf to another
person of the same trade, who, upon concluding the bargain, paid the
price agreed on, and then took away the calf and killed it. As soon
as the farmer discovered the mistake made by his wife, he called on
the butcher to whom he had sold the calf, and, after explaining the
circumstances, offered to refund the price which his wife had received
from the other butcher, which was more than the price which the first
butcher had agreed to pay. This he not only refused; but instituted an
action against the farmer for the unlawful disposal of his property.
During the continuance of this law suit, the mother of the disputed
calf ceased to give milk, and became hide-bound, as did all the rest of
the farmer’s cows. This led to the belief that they were all bewitched,
and they were not cured till a servant maid was obtained, from the
north of the Island, who was skilful in applying the antidotes to
witchcraft.—_Train._
Mr. Karran, the late Captain of the Parish of Marown, had a fine colt,
to which a person in Baldwin took a particular fancy, and was very
anxious to purchase it, though Mr. Karran had no intention of parting
with the animal. On the evening of the last refusal, the colt became
suddenly ill; and although every possible means were resorted to for
its recovery, it continued to grow worse. On the third day, a friend
accidentally called at Mr. Karran’s house, and on being told the
circumstance thus related of the colt, undertook the cure of it. He
immediately started off for Baldwin, in the hope of meeting the person
whose _evil-eye_ had infected it; he did so; and when the person with
the evil eye had passed Mr. Karran’s friend, the latter gathered the
dust of the road out of his footsteps, and returned with it in his
pocket-handkerchief. On rubbing the colt all over with the dust, it
presently partook of food and rapidly recovered, to the surprise of the
proprietor and many of his neighbours.—_Train._
In the following there is no purchase:—A hare, or rather a Witch in
the shape of a hare, was crossing a field and stood still to stare at
a team of horses employed in ploughing, when, to the horror of the
ploughman, they instantly dropped dead on the ground. Fortunately,
however, he retained his presence of mind, and, remembering that what
had occured was doubtless the result of the “Evil Eye”, he collected
some of the dust from where the hare had stood and threw it over the
horses, who were at once restored to life.—_Oral._
The use of dust against the influence of the “Evil Eye” has not been
uncommon during the last fifty years. Quite recently a man on the south
side of the Island, finding his calf suddenly taken ill, and observing
an old woman crossing a field where it was, hurried after her, took
up the dust from the place where she had passed, and then rubbed the
calf with it till it recovered. It should be remembered that touching
or lifting the earth was in many countries considered a remedy for
diseases, especially for those of the eye. Earth taken from the spot
where a man was slain was prescribed in Scotland for a hurt or an ulcer.
Having given an account of the remedies against witchcraft made use of
by amateurs, we will now proceed to describe the skill of the regular
practitioners, or Charmers, in the same direction. The two following
stories relate to two of the best known of them, the first being about
the famous Teare, of Ballawhane:—
In the spring, when the doctor is called professionally to more places
than he can accomplish in the time required, many respectable farmers
will suspend for days the operation of sowing, although the land should
be fully prepared, and even in the most precarious weather, rather than
run the risk of committing the seed to the soil without his accustomed
benediction. Seer Teare had power over the birds of the air as well as
over the beasts of the field. In July, 1883, the great Fairy Doctor had
just entered the house of Mr. Fargher, innkeeper, of Laxey, and seated
himself in an old arm-chair, when he was greeted by the landlord,
“Well, Ballawhane, I am glad to see you; my little field of wheat is
nearer ripe than any grain in the glen, and the sparrows feed on it in
such flocks, notwithstanding all I can do to prevent them, that they
will have all the grain carried away before the straw is fit for the
sickle.” “I am quite aware of that”, replied Mr. Teare, “and I am just
come to try if I can put them away for you.” After returning from the
cornfield, where he had performed some ceremonious rites, he remarked
to the innkeeper “these sparrows know well to take advantage of corn
that has not been seen by me before it was sown, but I have sent them
all away now, and I think they will not again venture into your field
this season.” This singular exorcism of the sparrows soon became known
throughout Laxey; the paper-makers and the miners in the neigbourhood
were the only persons who had any doubt as to the doctor’s power in
such matters, and, for the purpose of satisfying themselves, they
narrowly watched the field during the remaining part of the season. To
their great surprise, however, though the sparrows flocked round Mr.
Fargher’s field in greater numbers than before, casting many a wistful
eye to the waving grain, yet not one of them dared to enter the charmed
precincts.—_Train._
Another of these Charmers, who lived in Ballaugh, was specially noted
for his skill in bringing luck in fishing to those who applied to him.
One of these was told by the old fellow that he could not put the fish
in their nets; but he could remove anything that might cause him to be
unsuccessful. He then gave him a lot of herbs, which he was to pound
and boil, and mix with a pint of whisky. Of this compound, a glass was
first to be taken by the captain of the boat, and then by each man in
it, and the rest was to be sprinkled over the boat and nets. On one
occasion he was sent by his fellows, after a spell of ill-luck in the
fishing, to see the old charmer; but, being somewhat sceptical, he
spent the charmer’s fee in drink, and compounded the nostrum himself,
though quite ignorant of the proper herbs, the result was a magnificent
haul that night; but he never dared tell his comrades of the trick he
had played on them.—_Rhys._
But these powers may be taken away for having been made use of when
unnecessary, as witness the following story:—A man near Laxey had
the power of being able to stop any effusion of blood by a charm he
possessed. On one occasion he was taunted by an unbeliever with being
unable to stop the bleeding of a pig which he was about to kill. The
moment the creature’s throat was cut, the incantation was pronounced;
but the power of the charmer was gone from henceforth.—_Oral._
We now append a list of such of the charms as we have been able to
discover.
CHARMS.
YN CHIED PHISHAG DY GHEDDYN FUILL.
_Farraneagh yn uill ghoo, myr doo naght jiarg; goym’s eh, as bee eh
aym, as cha derrym geill da ny smoo._
THE FIRST CHARM TO GET BLOOD.
“The black blood running, as black as red; I will take it, and it shall
be mine, and I will take no further heed of it.”
YN NAH PHISHAG.
_Phillip va Ree ny Shee, as Bahee yn ven echey; yinnagh ee Brearey
gys Jee, nagh beagh dy bragh lackal er aeg ny shenn. Goym’s spyrryd
firrinagh, as jiooldym voym yn doo spyrryd; as goym’s eh, as bee eh
aym, as cha beem dy bragh yn drogh spyrryd._
THE SECOND CHARM.
“Philip was the king of peace, and Bahee his wife; she would vow to
God, that there never would be want to young or old. I will take the
true spirit, and cast from me the black spirit; and I will take it, and
it shall be mine, and I shall never be the evil spirit.”
A CHARM TO STAUNCH THE HORSE’S BLOOD.
_Three Moirraghyn hie dyn Raue, ny Ke imee as ny Cughtee, Peddyr as
Paul, dooyrt Moirrey jeu, shass, dooyrt Moirrey jeu, shooyl, dooyrt
Moirrey elley, Dy gast yn uill shoh, myr chast yne uill haink as lottyn
Chreest: mish dy ghra eh, as mac Voirrey dy chooilleeney eh._
“Three Maries went to Rome, the Spirits of the Church stiles and the
Spirits of the houghs,[56] Peter and Paul, a Mary of them said, stand;
a Mary of them said, walk; the other Mary said, may this blood stop[57]
as the blood stopped which came out of the wounds of Christ: me to say
it and the son of Mary to fulfil it.”
A CHARM TO BANISH ALL EVIL SPIRITS.
The following is a printed form having blank spaces for the insertion
of names by the Charmer:—
PISHAG DY STHAPPAL ROIE FOALLEY.
_Three deiney chranee haink voish y Raue—Chreest, Peddyr, as Paul. Va
Creest y Chrosh, yn uill echey shilley, as Moirrey er ny glioonyn yn
ec liorish. Ghow for jeu yn er-obbee ayns e lau yesh, as hayrn Creest
crosh † harrish eh. Three mraane aegey haink harrish yn ushtey, dooyrt
unnane jeu, seose, dooyrt, nane elley, fuirree—dooyrt yn trass-unnane
sthappyms fuill dooinney ny ben. Mish dy ghra eh, as Chreest dy yannoo
eh, ayns ennym yn Ayr, as y Vac as y spyrryd Noo._
_N.B._—On repeating “crosh”, you are to draw a cross with the thumb of
your right hand over the bleeding part.
CHARM TO STOP BLOOD.
“Three godly men came from Rome—Christ, Peter, and Paul. Christ was on
the cross, his blood flowing, and Mary on her knees close by. One took
the enchanted one in his right hand, and Christ drew a cross † over
him. Three young women came over the water, one of them said, ‘up,’
another one said, ‘stay,’ and the third one said, ‘I will stop the
blood of man or woman.’ Me to say it, and Christ to do it, in the name
of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost.”
PHISHAG SON Y ROIG.
_Ta mee dy rheynn eh ayns ennym yn Ayr as y Vac as yn spyrryd Noo,
eddyr eh ve roig shee, ny roig Ree, dy jean yn chrou rheynnit shoh
skeayley’n dourin shoh er geinnagh ny marrey._
CHARM FOR THE KING’S EVIL.
“I am to divide it in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of
the Holy Ghost; whether it be a sprite’s evil, or a King’s evil, may
this divided blemish banish this distemper to the sand of the sea.”
TO CURE THE TOOTHACHE.
The following charm, written on a scrap of paper or parchment, and
stitched securely into the inner garments, is a certain means of
prevention as well as cure:—
Saint Peter was ordained a saint
Standing on a marble stone,
Jesus came to him alone,
And saith unto him, “Peter, what makes thee shake?”
Peter replied, “My Lord and Master it is the toothache.”
Jesus said, “Rise up and be healed, and keep these words for my sake,
And thou shalt never more be troubled with toothache.”
A CHARM TO STOP BLEEDING.
Sanguis mane in te,
Sicut Christus in se;
Sanguis mane in tuâ venâ,
Sicut Christus in suâ pœnâ;
Sanguis mane fixus,
Sicut erat Christus,
Quando fuit crucifixus.
The consequence of interpreting this would be that its efficacy would
be lost for ever! The same charm was in use in the West of England, and
is to be found in Pepys’s Memoirs.
CHARM TO REMOVE NUMBNESS OR “SLEEP” IN THE FEET.
(This is called in Manx, _Cadley-Jiargan_.)
“_Ping, ping, prash,
Cur yn cadley-jiargan ass my chass._”
A translation of this would spoil the effect.
Another charm to stop blood is as follows:—_O Hiarn eaisht rish my
phadjer! Ayns dty ynrickys cur geill da my aghyn! As ayns dty ynrickys
jean hoilshaghey mieys; son cha vel dooiney bio oddys ayns dty hilley’s
ve ynrick as er ny heyrey gys yn jerrey.* Ta mee credjal dy ren Adaue
as Eve chur er hoshiaght yn cheid peccah. Ayns ennym Adaue ta mish eisht
cur fo harey dagh giarey as bine jeh fuill yn, {dooiney} shoh
{ ben }
dy scuirr. Amen. Amen._
“O Lord hear my prayer! In Thy faithfulness give heed to my petitions!
And in thy faithfulness manifest goodness; for no man living in Thy
sight can be perfect and justified to the end. I believe Adam and Eve
did begin the first sin. In Adam’s name I then do charge each gash and
drop of this {man’s } blood to stop. Amen. Amen.”
{woman’s}
A CHARM AGAINST THE FAIRIES.
_Shee Yee as shee ghooinney,
Shee Yee er Columb-Killey,[58]
Er dagh uinnag, er dagh ghorrys,
Er dagh howl joaill stiagh yn Rehollys,
Er kiare corneillyn y thie,
Er y voayl ta mee my lhie,
As shee Yee orrym-pene._
“Peace of God and peace of man,
Peace of God on Columb-Killey,
On each window and each door,
On every hole admitting moonlight,
On the four corners of the house,
On the place of my rest,
And peace of God on myself.”
* * * * *
NOTE—It will be observed that in this charm the name of the famous St.
Columba, Columcille or Columb-Killey, is mentioned. There are two
_Keeills_ dedicated to him in the Island.
* * * * *
One of the most efficacious charms to prevent milk being bewitched, was
to place a branch of the _cuirn_, or Mountain-Ash, in the cow-house on
May-eve. Written charms were believed to prevent people from taking
diseases if they were carried about sewn in the clothes. Great virtue
was supposed to attach to red flannel for curing coughs. The virtue lay
in the colour, not in the flannel.
The following charms are for curing warts:—Take a halfpenny and smear
it over with fat bacon; then rub the wart with the halfpenny; after
doing this, bury both the bacon and the halfpenny, and by the time the
bacon has decayed the wart will have passed away.
Procure a piece of woollen thread and tie as many knots upon it as
there are warts. Throw it away, or bury it in some place that the
patient is ignorant of, and as the thread rots, the warts will die
away. It is essential that no tie of blood exist between the operator
and the patient.
_Steal_ (the stealing is necessary) a piece of raw beef, and rubbing it
nine times backwards over the warts, secretly bury it in a dry sandy
place, when, as the beef decays, the warts will disappear; but perfect
secrecy must be preserved, not even the patient’s wife is to receive a
hint of it, if a successful result is desired.
The following case of a successful “charming” operation was reported
in the _Mona’s Herald_ newspaper, in 1853:—A man named John Kaighan,
employed at the landing pier works, was hammering an iron rod, when he
missed his stroke, and the iron rod pierced one of the arteries in his
left arm. The blood flowed freely from the wound, and he was taken to
the hospital; but all efforts to stop the flow of blood were fruitless,
and it was feared the man would bleed to death. In this state of
affairs, his relatives had recourse to a certain person who bears the
reputation of being a blood charmer; and when this person had repeated
his incantation over the wound, strange to say the flow of blood
shortly afterwards ceased.
The following extraordinary charm emanated from a woman who was
much better educated than such practitioners usually are. She lived
at Ballasalla, fifty years ago, and produced a number of religious
pamphlets, which for the most part consisted of wild prognostications,
and of invocations to the Deity. Her mind seems to have been affected,
and she was at times subject to hallucinations. She was called the
Prophetess of Ballasalla, and was much respected and feared by her
neighbours:—
“WHERE is the JEHOVAH ELSHADDAI, the LORD GOD of
ELIJAH?” See 2d. Kings, 2d. Chapter, 14th Verse.
“Behold, I give you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and
over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt
you.”—See Saint Luke, 10th Chapter, 19th Verse.
“And, Lo, I am with you alway, even to the end of the world. Amen.”
See Saint Matthew, 28th Chapter, 20th Verse.
In the Name of the FATHER, and of the SON,
and of the HOLY GHOST, In the Name of GOD the
FATHER, and of GOD the SON, and of
GOD the HOLY GHOST, the most HIGH GOD HELION
ELSHADDAI, Whose Name alone is JEHOVAH, and through
the GRACE, and by the POWER of our LORD JESUS
CHRIST, I, a Baptised Papist, and a poor unworthy Servant of the
LORD JESUS CHRIST, do now command all devils, and all damned
spirits, and all evil, wicked and bad spirits, and all Fairies, and
all Wizards, and all Witches, and every evil eye, and each, all and
every evil bad devilish satanick power and powers of evil whatsoever,
Not to hurt, Not to harm, Not to injure, Nor do any devilish evil bad
wicked mischief in anywise whatsoever unto thee [Margaret C——alias
C——, Nor unto thy Husband, Nor unto any one of all your Children.]
Nor unto any thing that ever did, or that now doth, or that hereafter
shall and may both Justly and Lawfully belong in anywise whatsoever
unto thee [Margaret, or unto Thy Husband, or unto your Children, (And
now especially) as unto Thy Child Elizabeth Anna C——] so long as the
_Almighty Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy Son of God with Power_, Liveth
and Reigneth _God over all, God_ blessed for evermore. Amen. Even so
_Lord Jesus_, Amen; if it be Thy _Holy Godly Blessed Will_; for the
alone sake of Thy most Holy Atoneing, Redeeming Propitious Blood, and
justifying Righteousness, and Holy Sanctifying saving Grace of _God_
the _Holy Ghost_, the Blessed gift of _God_ the _Father Jehovah_,
To them that believe through saving Grace.—Wherefore, none of all
the powers of evil, shall not again be able to hurt thee Margaret,
in anywise whatsoever, so long as thou believeth in the _Lord Jesus
Christ_, to be the _Son_ of _God_, with Power. Amen. _Lord Jesus_,
Amen. For thy great Almighty Name’s sake.
May _Jesus_ Help thee [Margaret, and Help all of Them.] May _Jesus_
Save thee, [and Save all of Them;] and, O, May _Christ the Lord
Jesus_, both Bless, Prosper, and Keep thee, both now and forever more,
even forever. Amen. _Lord Jesus Christ_, our _God_ and only _Saviour_.
Let it be so, according to Thy Promise, and our Faith in Thee; and
give us Faith alone in Thee. Amen, Almighty _Lord Jesus Christ_.
[Footnote 45: Poem of Snorro Sturlson (Johnstone’s Translation.)]
[Footnote 46: Polychronicon, A.D. 1487. Rolls Series.]
[Footnote 47: The genitive of this word, _droata_, has been deciphered
by Professor Rhys in the Ogam character on a stone at Ballaqueeney,
near Port St. Mary.]
[Footnote 48: Specimens of these are given at the end of this chapter.]
[Footnote 49: Even now it is no uncommon thing for any one who has a
cut, or a burn, to seek the nearest Charmer and have a charm ‘put on
it.’]
[Footnote 50: During the perambulations of the parishes on Ascension
Day.]
[Footnote 51: Leviticus ii., 13.]
[Footnote 52: There seems to be practically no distinction between
Sorcery, when deprived of the prophetic element, and Witchcraft.]
[Footnote 53: Witch.]
[Footnote 54: If the like exist.]
[Footnote 55: Harrows.]
[Footnote 56: Or, cliffs by the sea.]
[Footnote 57: Or, heal.]
[Footnote 58: These words are almost identical with those of the first
two verses of the 143rd Psalm.]
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