by slices from the plough, different metals, eating a stolen raw
salt herring, sprinkling corn in front of the bed, etc., etc. These
observances can hardly be characterised as superstitions; they proceeded
from a spirit of fun more than from any belief in their efficacy. There
are in every community many weak and simple people who are easily
imposed on, and made to believe almost anything; but the divinations of
Hallowe’en left an abiding impression on few minds.
_Feill Fionnain._
St. Finan’s Eve is the longest night in the year, and hence it is said of
a very stupid person, “he is as dark as the night of St. Finan, and that
night is pretty dark” (_Tha e co dorcha ri oidhche Feill Fionnain, ’s tha
’n oidhche sin glè dhorcha_). The shortest day is called, in the Mackay
country, the extreme north of Sutherlandshire, “The Day of the Three
Suppers” (_Latha nan trì suipeirean_).
On this night it was said “the rain is wine and the stones are cheese”
(_Tha ’n t-uisge na fhìon ’s na clachan nan càise_), and it was
considered a joke to persuade boys to go out and see. “I remember,” says
one who is a shrewd intelligent man, “about fifty years ago, when I was
a little boy, sitting quite contentedly on the Eve of St. Finan’s Day
sipping with a spoon from a big tub of water, in the full hope that the
next spoonful would prove to be wine.”
The name is derived from St. Finan, confessor, Bp. of Clonard, in
Ireland, in the sixth century. This day is now fixed as the 12th
December, but in the Highlands it is the shortest in the year, whatever
day of the calendar that may fall upon. In olden times it was much
esteemed, as the rhyme shows:
“St. Finnan’s night of festivities,
And Christmas night of great cheer.”[74]
Besides giving a name to the days of the calendar the saints were
employed to designate local markets, St. Kessock’s Day (_Fèill mo
Cheasaig_) at Callander has been already mentioned. St. Connan’s Day
(_Feill Connain_) is the autumn market in Glenorchy; _Feill Fhaolain_
is held at Killin; _Feill Ceit_ at Kenmore; and in other places we
have _Feill Peadair_, _F. Aindreis_, etc. Old men spoke of _Feill an
Diomhanais_, the festival of St. Idleness, a holiday frequently observed
by a great many people. _Latha na Sluasaid_, Shovel Day, means the day
of one’s burial. _Bliadhna na Braoisge_, Grinning Year, and _La Luain_,
Moon-day (_i.e._ Monday come-never), mean the same thing, the Greek
Kalends. _Bliadhna nam Brisgeinean_, the Year of Silverweed roots,
was shortly after Culloden, and is remembered in Tiree as a year of
great scarcity. The land had been neglected in previous years from the
disturbed state of the country, and in spring the furrows were white with
roots (_brisgeinean_), and people made meal of them.
DAYS OF THE WEEK.
These play a more important part in Highland superstition than even the
seasons of the year. The names by which they are known are not Celtic;
two, Wednesday and Thursday, are of Scandinavian or Teutonic origin, and
the rest are from the Latin. The superstitions, as might be expected, can
in most cases be traced directly to incidents in Scripture history. The
division of time into weeks was introduced with the Christian religion
from Ireland, and the Irish must be held responsible for the names
adopted. Neither in the names nor in the superstitions is there any trace
of an age anterior to Christianity.
_Dĭ_, which is prefixed to each name, in the sense of _day_, is kindred
with the Latin _dies_, and occurs in slightly modified forms in all the
Celtic dialects. It is curious that in Gaelic it occurs in no other form
or combination in the sense of “day,” and a suspicion is thereby created
that it is merely an adaptation of the Latin word, an easier adaptation,
because there are words of similar sound and kindred meaning in Gaelic.
_Di-dòmhnaich_, SUNDAY (_dies Domini_).
The name _Dòmhnach_ for our Lord is not common. It is evidently derived
from the Latin _Dominus_. It occurs in the proper name _Maol-Dòmhnaich_
Ludovic, lit. the bald one (_i.e._ the shaven priest) of our Lord, a name
still to be found in Skye, and formed like _Maol-Mhoire_, Miles (lit.
the priest of St. Mary), _Maol-Ciaran_, _Maol-Ruainidh_, etc. There is
a streamlet near Strowan, in Blair Athole, called _allt Dòmhnach_, the
streamlet of our Lord; and a _Tobar an Dòmhnach_, the well of our Lord,
in Balmeanach, in the west of Tiree. In a charm for fulling cloth the
expression occurs, “if he (the wearer of the cloth) enter field or fight,
the full succour of our Lord be his” (_Slàn chomraich an Dòmhnach da_).
The day is also known as “_an Dòmhnach_” without the prefix of _di_.
Other names are those occurring in Scripture, Sabbath, etc.
The plant pulled on Sunday is, according to a proverbial expression,
without good or harm (_luibh an Dòmhnach gun mhath gun chron_).
_Di-luain_, MONDAY.
_Luain_ is said in dictionaries to be a Gaelic name for the moon,
agreeing in origin with the Latin _luna_. It is used only in the name of
this day, and in the expression _la luain_, a poetic phrase for Monday
come-never, _i.e._ “never more.” The adjective _luaineach_, restless, is
supposed to be derived from it, but is a word never applied to the moon.
It applies to whatever moves restlessly by fits and starts, from place
to place, without staying long in one place, and never to anything on
account of change of shape or form. Its derivation from _la uaine_, green
day, is absurd, and there are grounds for suspicion, that _luain_ is a
word manufactured by ancient Gaelic grammarians from the Latin.
It was deemed unlucky to commence ploughing (stretching the team, as it
was called, _sìneadh na seisrich_), or any kind of work on Monday. It
will be proceeded with too quickly or too slowly, according to the adage,
“Work commenced on Monday,
Will be (too) quick or will be (too) slow.”[75]
It was deemed, however, a good day for removing or “flitting” upon, just
as Saturday was the reverse.
“Saturday removal is to the north,
Monday removal to the south,
Though I had but a lamb
On Monday I would it remove.”[76]
Old men called it “the key of the week” (_iuchair na seachdain_).
_Di-màirt_, TUESDAY.
The name is obviously enough from _dies martis_, the Latin name.
This was a good day to begin ploughing upon, and it was ominous of good
luck if any of the harness broke and the ploughing was stopped for the
day. Such a belief could exist only in the easy-going olden days.
_Di-Ciadain_, WEDNESDAY.
Much ingenuity has been spent on the etymology of this word by those who
delight in recondite meanings, and believe that every word in Gaelic
must be traced to a Gaelic origin. What Lhuyd says of radicals and
primitives is equally applicable to other words. It is a very common
error in etymology to endeavour to derive all the radical words of our
Western European languages from the Latin or Greek; or indeed to _derive
the Primitives of any one language from any particular tongue_. When we
do this we seem to forget that all have been subject to alterations, and
that the greater and more polite any nation is, the more subject they are
(partly from improvement, and partly out of a luxurious wantonness) to
remodel their language. Nearly all words connected with ecclesiastical
affairs both in English and Gaelic have been imported from the Latin
and Greek, undergoing only such changes as the difference of language
requires. When or why the name of a Scandinavian deity, and not a Roman
name, was adopted by the British and Irish churches to designate this
or any other day is a different question. We must seek (and this is a
rule lamentably neglected by Gaelic etymologists), the true explanation
of words in any language that offers one that is probable and rational;
otherwise we make “a useful art ridiculous,” and the etymologist
degenerates into “a trifling conjecturer.”
The Latin name of this day is _dies mercurii_, which name was adopted in
the Welsh, Cornish, and Armoric, but the Teutonic names are derived from
the Scandinavian deity _Odin_ or _Woden_, who was supposed to correspond
to Mercury. This was the designation adopted in Gaelic, both Irish and
Scottish. Like the French the Gaelic has no _w_, and represents that
sound by _g_ or _c_. Thus, _gad_, withe; _gul_, wail; _cosd_, waste;
_clòimh_, wool; _cnuimh_, worm; _curaidh_, warrior, etc. Sometimes, as
pointed out under Whitsuntide (_caingis_), the corresponding English
sound is _wh_. So _Woden’s_-day, Wednesday, became _Di-ceden_.
The derivation _ciad aoin’_, first fast, is open to the objection that
there was no fast on Wednesday in the Celtic or any other church,
that the use of the word _aoin’_, to denote a fast, is secondary, and
derived from Friday (_di-haoine_), the true fast day, and that the final
syllable, being the essential one, would with such a derivation, be
heavily accented, instead of falling away into a mere terminal syllable.
The grave _ia_ in _Di-ciadain_ is accounted for by the _o_ in Woden being
long.
There was a malediction used to young women, “The disease of the woman
be upon you, who put the first Wednesday comb in her head” (_Galar na
tè chuir a chiad chìr Chiadna na ceann_). The disease was that she died
childless.
Many would not begin sowing seed in spring, but on this day or Thursday.
It was also counted a lucky day to begin ploughing upon.
A witch, in the island of Coll, being asked by a person, who had detected
her in her unhallowed pranks, to visit a farm-house in shape of a hare,
said, that as the day was Wednesday she could do nothing. Why her power
was limited on this day does not appear.
_Di’rdaoin_, THURSDAY.
The Latin name, _dies Iovis_, has been similarly followed, with slight
alteration, by the Cymric branch of the Celts; while the Gaelic names
are taken from _Thor_, _Tor_, and in some dialects _Thordan_, the
Scandinavian deity, son of Odin.
This is a lucky day for a calf or lamb to be born upon, for beginning
the weaving of cloth, and on which the hair should be cut, as the rhymes
testify:
(1) “Thursday the day of benign Colum-cill
A day to take possession of sheep,
To put cloth in warp, and settle cow on calf.”
(2) “Cut your hair and beard on Thursday,
And blunt the nail on Saturday.”[77]
It is unlucky if Beltane day, the first of summer, falls upon a Thursday,
according to the saying, “Many a woman will be without an infant son,
when Beltane falls on Thursday” (_Is iomadh té bhios gun mhacan baoth dar
is ann air Di’rdaoin bhios a Bhealltainn_). M’Intosh (_Gael. Prov._, 146)
has it, “Woe to the mother of a wizard’s son, when Beltane falls on a
Thursday.” A similar prejudice existed against Hallowmas (_Samhain_), the
first of winter, falling on a Wednesday.
_Di-haoine_, FRIDAY, DIES VENORIS.
Here the Gaelic names revert to the Latin. Venus is etymologically
connected with the Gael, _bean_, a wife, as _Friga_ is with the German
_frau_. In Armoric the name of the day is _dar guener_, and says
Lhuyd (p. 9) “’Tis observable that the initial _gu_ is common to the
Britons, with the French, Spaniards, and Italians; and that the Romans
frequently begin such words with an V consonant.” The Gaelic word would
be pronounced in the same manner, though spelled _di-Fhaoine_, which
probably is the more correct form. _Aoine_ is said in dictionaries to
mean a fast, but in that sense never came into popular use, and is not
found in song or proverb.
The number of superstitions attached to the day were very numerous, and
this origin is to be traced to Friday, being the day of the Crucifixion.
On Good Friday (_Di-haoine na Ceusa_), the anniversary of our Lord’s
Passion, the various beliefs had twofold force. So much was it a belief
that the powers of evil have more power on this day than on any other,
that it was a common saying, “Friday is against the week” (_Tha Di-haoine
an aghaidh na seachdain_).
On Friday and on Sunday it was not deemed proper to go and see a sick
person. Most took such a visit in anything but good part, and many would
as soon see death coming to the house as a sympathising friend. In their
opinion there was little difference.
The more superstitious would not allow iron to be put in the ground, and
consequently no graves were dug and no ploughing was proceeded with.
Commonly, however, ploughing was abstained from only on Good Friday.
It was not lucky (_sealbhach_) on Friday to cut one’s hair or nails,
to sharpen knives, commence work, count animals, or go near the fire.
In Argyllshire and the Highlands generally it is deemed unlucky for
marriages, but in the south it is a favourite day, and in Appin,
Perthshire, people did not care to be married on any other day. The
aversion of seafaring men to leave on this day is well known.
On Fridays the fairies visited men’s houses, and people were careful not
to say anything to give them offence. Friday was not called by its own
name, but “the day of yonder town” (_la bhaile ud thall_), and if any
one unfortunately mentioned the proper name, the evil was averted by the
bystanders adding “on the cattle of yonder town.” Old women in Tiree
averted the evil consequences of sharpening knives on Friday by saying
“on the farm of Clark,” alluding to a big strong man of that name to whom
a general dislike was entertained, and who was said to have entered a
fairy hillock and compelled the inmate to give him a cure for his sore
leg.
The aversion of the elves to iron was a prominent feature in their
character, and dislike to putting iron in the ground was perhaps aversion
to disturb (especially with what the elves disliked so much) the earth
under the surface of which that easily offended race lives. The “little
folk” are quick to take offence, and dislike hearing the name of Friday,
seeing iron sharpened, or the earth disturbed with it. When there was any
occasion to mention the creatures, all danger of evil consequences is
averted by saying, “A blessing on their journeying and travelling, this
is Friday and they will not hear us.”
In the western islands it was a bitter curse to wish that “the number of
Friday” or “the cross of the number of Friday” might come upon a person
(_crois àireamh na h-aoine dh’ amas ort_). To count three times cattle,
chickens, men, etc., on this day was followed as a certain result by none
of them being alive at the end of the year. Many in Tiree remember that
in their youth a sure method of putting an old woman in a rage was to
begin counting her chickens on a Friday. She seldom allowed them to get
beyond three or four. The superstition probably arose from a belief that
it was on Friday King David numbered the Children of Israel.
People did not like to kill a cow, a sheep, or other beast, or cut or
mark calves or lambs on Friday, and there were many who would not allow
their cattle to be shifted from one place to another. They would not
alter their fold. If, _e.g._ the day was come for removing cows to the
summer hill pastures, the more superstitious would not allow it to be
done if the day was Friday.
As work commenced on Monday proceeded too quickly or too slowly, work
began on Friday was said to be always hurriedly done, “it will be
running” (_bi i na ruith_). “A person born on Friday is always in a
hurry” (_Bi neach a rugadh Di-haoine driopail_); hence the malediction,
“The running, or hurry, of Friday be upon you” (_Ruith na h-aoine ort_).
“A threatening Friday makes a tearful Saturday” (_’Si ’n Aoine bhagarach
ni ’n Sathurna deurach_), and if it came on to rain early on Friday,
or (as the saying was) if Friday caught the rain “in its mouth” (_Nan
glacadh an t-aoine na bhial e_), it would be wet all day.
_Di-sathuirne_, SATURDAY (_Dies Saturni_).
This, as might be expected, was not deemed a lucky day to begin work
upon. It was not deemed of much consequence whether ploughing began or
not, but the manufacture of cloth should on no account be begun. “The
warp prepared on Saturday will have the delay of the seven Saturdays upon
it” (_An rud theid a dheilbh Di-Sathuirne, bi stad nan seachd Sathurn’
air_). No spinning was to be done after sunset, but other work might
proceed as usual. All work should stop at 9 p.m. It is still considered a
bad thing among the old people in Kintail to work past that hour.
There is a man in Tiree who will not allow a newly-engaged servant to
come home to enter on his service on Saturday. On one occasion, when the
term-day happened to be Saturday, he persuaded the servant man to come
on Friday, though only to stand in the house for a few minutes, that the
evil omen might be averted.
New moon on Saturday was deemed a presage of stormy weather. “Saturday
light goes seven times mad before it goes out” (_Solus Sathurna gabhaidh
e na seachd cuthaich mun d’ theid e mach_).
An evil wish is “The end of the seven Saturdays be upon you” (_Deire nan
seachd Sathurn’ ort_), Macintosh’s _Prov._, p. 78; and in Cowal it is a
vicious saying of one woman to another, “Worse than that will come upon
you, the disease of the seven Saturdays will come upon you” (_Thig na ’s
miosa na sin ort, thig galar nan seachd Sathurn’ ort_).
The objection to removing on Saturday has been already mentioned under
Monday.[78] The same objection is entertained in Ireland.
The end of the week is very grateful to the labouring man. “Alas! and
alas! is Monday, but my love is Saturday” (_och is och! Di-luain, ach ’s
e mo luaidh Di-Sathuirne_).
WEATHER WISDOM, ETC.
Expressions denoting high wind are: “the blowing of hillocks out of their
places” (_seideadh nan cnoc_), “a wind to take the tails off horses”
(_Bheireadh i na h-earbuill bhar nan each_), and “blow the barn over the
house” (_chuir an t-sabhuill thar an tighe_); heavy rain takes “pieces
out of the ground” (_mìrean as an talamh_), and gives “milk to the
whales” (_bainne do na muca mara_), it being supposed that in heavy rain
whales lie on the surface to cool themselves; heavy snow “confines the
infirm to their cots” (_chròdhadh e na giùigirean_), strong robust men
can go about their business. A dead calm is called “the calm of birds”
(_fia’ nan ian_); on days when not a hair is moved by the wind, and
the sea is unruffled, the young fry of fish come to the surface, and
sea-birds, themselves also conspicuous in such weather, can look about
them for their prey.
The first breath of wind after a calm comes from the south, hence “When
the wind is lost look for it in the south” (_Nuair a bhios gaoth air
chall iarr a deas i_). After a heavy fall of rain the wind comes west, as
is told in the saying, “West wind after fat rain” (_Gaoth ’n iar ’n déigh
uisge reamhar_). If frost comes on, when rivers and pools are swollen,
and the ground is very wet, it does not last long; “the freezing of the
full pool does not rest long” (_reodhadh an lodain làin, cha mhair e
fada_). The heaviest rain comes from the north (or rather north-east),
and the longest drought from the south; “there is no rain but from the
north, or lasting dry weather but from the south” (_Cha-n uisge ach o’n
tuath, ’s cha turadh buan ach o’n deas_). The frequency with which the
violence of the wind moderates after a shower of rain has given rise to
the proverb “after wind comes rain” (_an déigh gaoth mhor thig uisge_),
to denote that after loud merriment and laughter come sorrow and the
cares brought by reflection. “It is north wind that dissipates mist”
(_’s i gaoth tuath sgaoileas ceò_); “the first day of south wind, and
the third day of north wind” (_chiad latha de ’n ghaoth deas ’s an treas
latha de ’n ghaoth tuath_), _i.e._ they are moderate then, and are best
for crossing ferries on. “A speckled chequered summer makes a white,
sunny harvest” (_ni samhradh breac riabhach fogharadh geal grianach_).
The south-west, being the direction from which rain commonly comes, is
known in the Hebrides as “_Cachlaidh na Buigeuisg_,” the gateway of soft
weather.
THE MOON.
Both the sun (_a Ghrian_) and moon (_a Ghealach_) are feminine in Gaelic,
and the names are simply descriptive of their appearance. There is no
trace of a Sun-God or Moon-Goddess. The root _gr_ in _Grian_ denotes
horrent or bristling, and alludes to the sun’s rays. It is said by
some writers, that the name is connected with Apollo Grannua, but the
connection is a mere accidental similarity in the initial letters. The
root _gr_, denoting what is streaming or bristling, occurs in _gruag_,
a wig, flowing hair; _greann_, a surly look, a bristling of the hair as
on an enraged dog; _grāin_, aversion, from the turning up of nose and
stomach and bristling appearance of one much disgusted, so ab_horr_ence,
etc. _Gealach_, the moon, is from _geal_, white. The names _luan_,
_easga_, or _easgann_ are given in dictionaries, but have disappeared
from common use. With the former is supposed to be connected _luaineach_,
restless, and _luaisg_, to move. _R’_ denotes any planet.
The moment the moon begins to increase is called _gob soillse_ (lit. the
bill or beak of the light). The height of the tide, which follows his
changes, is _bolg reothairt_ (lit. the swollen womb of spring tide). The
moon’s increase is _fās_, and when waning she is _san earra-dhubh_ (lit.
in her black boundaries).[79]
At the instant the moon begins to increase, (_air gob na gealaiche_) the
horns of cows are loose on their pith (_slabhagan_), and may be pulled
off and stuck on again. It is told that a dispute having arisen on one
occasion as to the correctness of an almanac, about the moon’s change,
the old man who raised the question proved himself to be in the right by
turning round and drawing the horn from one of his cows, as a sheath is
taken from a knife, and sticking it on again. The story is told of a man
who lived in Sconser, Isle of Skye, of more than one person in Tiree, and
was doubtless told of people in various places.
It was said that there is never any north wind at _gob gealaich_.
The first time an unmarried person sees the new moon, he should stoop
down and lift whatever meets his hand. If, on taking it to the light, any
hair be found among it, its colour will prove to be that of the future
husband or wife. It is unlucky to see the new moon for the first time
when washing one’s hands, or with the hand on the face.
In olden times great regard was paid to the increase and wane of the
moon. Garden seeds, as onions, kail, etc., if sown in the increase, ran
to seed, but if sown in the wane, grew as pot-herbs. Withies or slender
twigs (_Caol_) intended for creels and baskets were cut only in the wane.
Twigs cut in the increase proved brittle. Trees cut in the increase were
believed to bud again, but not those cut in the wane. Eggs laid during
the wane were preserved for hatching, rather than those laid during the
increase. Hens came from the former; cocks from the latter. Birds hatched
in the increase were deemed difficult to rear, and it was doubtful if
any of them would ultimately survive. Hence _Eòin an fhàs_, birds of the
increase, is a name given to weakly pining children. They are worthless
for hatching.
Many would not cut (_i.e._ castrate) an animal, calf, or foal, or pig,
during the increase of the moon, and it was a belief that cows seek the
bull only in the first and third quarters of the moon, and never at neap
tides. A man in Islay pretended to tell, from the time the cow paid her
visit to the bull, whether her offspring would prove a bull-calf or a
cow-calf. If in the first quarter, the former; if in the wane, the latter.
The second moon in autumn, the harvest moon, or first after the autumnal
equinox, was variously known as _Gealach an abachaidh_, “the ripening
moon,” from a belief that crops ripen as much by it as they do during
the day; _Gealach bhuidhe nam broc_, “the badger’s yellow moon,” these
wary animals being engaged, it was said, in taking home their winter
supplies; _Gealach an t-sealgair_, “the hunter’s moon”; and the last moon
in harvest, extending for a month before Hallowmas (_Samhain_). The first
of winter was known as _Gealach a ruadhain_, “the reddening moon,” during
which vegetation grew as much by night as in the day.
It was said there was no north wind at the exact period of the appearance
of new moon (_gob gealaich_).
FOOTNOTES
[1] Gheibh baoth ’guidhe ach cha-n fhaigh a h-anam tròcair.
[2] _Prov._, p. 143.
[3] Is mairg is màthair do mhacan baoth, dar is ann air Di’rdaoin bhios a
Bhealltainn.
[4] In Germany it was a common belief that witches met on the night
before first May (_i.e._ Beltane night) on the mountain called the
Blockberg, to dance and feast with devils.
[5] The crook or pot-hanger seems to have been an important article of
the witch’s paraphernalia. A shepherd in Mull, coming in late from the
hill, with his feet wet, placed his stockings to dry on the pot-hanger.
An old woman present pulled the stockings down again, saying to the
shepherd, “Don’t do that; remember you are a person that travels the hill
night and day.” (Cuimhnich gur duin’ thus’ tha siubhal a mhonaidh latha
’s a dh’oidhche.) He never could ascertain what she meant.
[6] The ancient churn was broader at one end than the other, and its
narrow end, or mouth, was secured with a prepared sheepskin covering,
called _fùileach_ in Mull, _iomaideil_ in Morven and on the mainland
generally. The cross or hoop, that secured this covering in its place,
should also be of mountain ash. The churn was worked by the small end
being lifted up and let down repeatedly.
[7]
Badan de ni ’chaorruinn
Thig o aodunn Ealasaid,
Cuir snaithn’ dearg ’us sreang as
Cuir sid an ceann a chrathadair;
’S ged thigeadh buidseach Endor
Gun ceannsaicheadh Ailein i.
The rhyme was composed by the bard Ailein Dall.
[8] De’n riabhach thug a’ so sibh?
[9]
Di-luain a dh’éirich a ghaoth,
’S thog i orra fraoch us fearg,
Us innis do mhathair mo chuirp,
Gur h-e na h-uilc a rinn an t-sealg.
[10] The tale has this much truth in it, that one of the ill-fated
Spanish Armada was blown up in Tobermory Harbour, A.D. 1589. The wonder
would be, in those days when public news travelled slowly or not at all,
if the history or object of the Spanish fleet should be known in the
Highlands, or that it should be known to the Mull people that there was
any ship in the fleet but the one that came to their own coasts.
[11] A family of this name has had down to the present day a reputation
for witchcraft. The last of them was known to the writer as a poor woman
of much shrewdness and inoffensive character. She professed great skill
in healing cattle by means of charms and such-like _white_ witchcraft.
[12] _Cùl a’s aghaidh mo spòige ri Macillduinn._
[13] Tha m’iteagun’s m’atagun ag atadh ris na h-eibhleagun.
[14]
“’Sann a nochd a thorchanaich leinn
Mharbhadh an urchuill earchaill mhòr.”
“An do mharbhadh Maol Meanachan nan cat? Mar bhi na h-uile oidhche fhuair
mi biadh ’us bainne na d’theaglach, bhiodh do sgòrnan fada riabhach ann
am ìnein. Innis do Bhruc Riabhach gun d’eug Bladrum.”
[15] Mhami, mhami! tha mo sheanair ag éiridh.
[16] Cotta, _Short Discovery of Unobserved Dangers_, 1612. Quoted by
Beand, iii. 3.
[17] The author wrote this chapter in 1874.—ED.
[18]
Dia bheannachadh do shūil
Deur muin mu d’ chridhe,
An luchaidh san tom
’S an otm ri theine.
[19] Al. Early on Sunday, to a level stone on the shore.
[20]
Teine dé air do bhus,
Rug do mhàthair chéil ubh,
’S thug thu fhéin mach an gur.
[21]
Beairt ribeach
Dubhan bradach
Slat cham chaoruinn.
[22]
Buainidh mise a mòthan
An luibh a dh’òrduich Criosd
Chaneil eagal losga—teine dhuit
No cogadh nam ban shìth.
[23]
Achlusan Challum Chille,
Gun sireadh gun iarraidh,
Cha d’thoir iad as do chadal thu,
Is cha ghabh thu fiabhrus.
Buainidh mis’ an donn duilleach,
Luibh a fhuaradh an taobh bearraidh,
Cha tugainn e do dhuine
Gun tuilleadh air mo bheannachd.
[24]
Buainidh mis’ an t-achlasan,
’S e luibh nam ban fionn e,
’S e chuirm eireachdail e
’S a chuirt shòghail.
Luibh fhirionn e, luibh bhoirionn e,
Luibh bh’aig eòin an allt e,
Luibh bh’aig Ni Math na eiginn
’S aig Chrisd air aineol,
’S b’fhearr a dhuais do’n laimh dheas,
Am bitheadh e.
[25]
Buainidh mis’ an t-iubhar àigh
Roimh chòig aisneam croma Chriosd
An ainm an athar, a Mhic, ’s an Spioraid Naoimh
Air bhàthadh, air ghàbhadh, ’s air ghriobhadh.
[26]
Buainidh mis’ a chathair làir
Mar bhuain Moire le da làimh,
Buainidh mi le m’ neart i,
’S buainidh mi le m’ ghlaic i, etc.
[27]
“_A’v a chuis a choinneal_
_Thuair mi an’am laimh ga cumail_
_Um sheasamh a’ s an deathaich_
_’S cha be sin m’ abhaist_
_Un tigh mo mhathar ’s m’ athar._”
“A’r a shocair a bhuinneag
’S math a b’aithne dhomhsa chuideachd
Aona mhart air thri sinnean
’S naoinear do mhuinntir.”
“Cha be sin an gnathas
Bha ’n tigh m’ athur no momhathar
Cha robh aona mhart air thré sinnean
Na naoinear ’a mhuinntir
Ach naoi slabhrinnean òir
An crocha ’n tigh Righ Sionnach.”
[28] Others say his servant man saw her first, a tradition which finds a
ready explanation for the whole account, in an attempt to discourage Hugh
by means of a prevailing superstition.
[29] After his victory Dowart made prisoner of his brother, Lochbuy, and
sent him to Kerneburg, a stronghold of which the Dowarts became heritable
keepers, on one of the Treshinish Islands, near Staffa, west of Mull. He
sent “Black Sarah Macphie” (_Mòr dhu nic a Phì_), from _Suidhe_, in the
Ross of Mull, the most ungainly woman he could get, so ugly that she was
nicknamed “The Pack-saddle” (_an t-srathair_), to take care of him. Black
Sarah, however, became the mother of _Murcha Gearr_, who ultimately made
himself master of his paternal acres.
[30] Campbell of Islay’s _West Highland Tales_, ii. 83.
[31] An old man in Aharacle, in the north of Argyleshire, was shaved, his
face was washed, his hair combed, and his personal appearance attended
to in anticipation of his speedy dissolution. When an attempt was made
to cut his nails, he told his friends to let them alone: “They are, he
exclaimed, but slight weapons for myself, seeing I don’t know where I am
going to.” (_’S beag an t-armachd dhomh fhìn iad, ’s gun fhios ’am cean’
tha mi dol._)
[32] MacGlumag na mias, o liath tarrang shìoda, burrach mòr.
[33]
’S gum b’ainm do’n fhuath nach robh tiòm
A mhuireartach maol, ruadh, muing-fhionn;
Bha-aodunn du-ghlas, air dhreach guail;
Bha-deud a carbaid claon-ruadh;
Bha aon sùil ghlogach na ceann,
’S gum bu luaith i na rionnach maghair;
Bha greann glas-dhu air a ceann
Mar choille chrionaich roi chrith-reothadh.
M. S.
[34] North Morar is known as _Mòrair mhic shimidh_ and South Morar as
_Mòrair mhic Dhùghaill_.
[35]
Dar chaidh Fionn don Bheinn
Thachair ris Colann gun cheann.
[36]
Colann gun cheann,
Thig a nall ’s thoir leat mi.
[37] Fhaic thu ’n t-sean bho liath, ’s i gun bhiadh, a thàillear.
[38] Sgòrnan fada riabhach, ’se gun bhiadh, a thàillear.
[39] Chì-sa, mhic, chì-sa, mhic, chì-sa sid ’s fuaigheam so an dràsda.
[40] Gairdean fada riabhach ’s e gun fheòil gun bhiadh, a thàillear.
[41] Spòg mhòr liath gun fhuil, gun fheòil, gun fhéithean, ’s i gun
bhiadh, a tháillear.
[42] Spòg mhòr liath, ’s i gun bhiadh, a thàillear.
[43] In connection perhaps with this is the saying, “Ask everything of a
Cameron, but ask no butter from a Cameron” (_Iarr gach ni air Camsrhron
ach, ach na iarr ìm air Camsrhronach_). The clan are also called “The
soft Camerons of the butter” (_Camsrhronaich bhog an ime_).
[44] This is the origin, at least an illustration, of the saying, “Take
a wife from hell, and she will take you to her own house” (_Thoir bean a
ifrinn, ’s bheir i gu tigh fhein thu_).
[45] It was in the house of this man, tradition says, that Allan Breac,
the true murderer of Colin Campbell of Glenure, when making his escape,
stayed the night after the murder. James Stewart of Ardsheal was hung in
chains for the murder in 1752.
[46] The excessive use of wine by the West Highland chiefs is borne
witness to by the distich:
“Neil, son of Rory, fast travelling,
Who gave wine to his horses,
That they might avoid the meadow waters.”
[Nial Mac Ruaraidh ’n astair
Bheireadh fiòn da chuid eachaibh
Air son bùrn an lòn a sheachnadh.]
[47]
Bha mi’n Dun-Eideann an raoir,
Tha mi’m thalla féin a nochd;
’S fiach an, dadum ud ’sa ghréin
Chaneil annam féin do neart.
[48]
Mar bhi na gathannan caol giuthais
Bhiodh so gu d’phuthar-sa, Dhò’uill Ghuirm Oig.
[49]
Bhean, thug mo thriubhas dhiom
’S mo bhrògan grinne dubha bhuam,
’S an léine thug mo phiuthar dhomh,—
Thuige, thuige, chasan fuara,
’S ioma cuan a shiubhail sibh.
[50]
Thàinig ceathrar a nall,
Gun bhàta, gun long,
Fear buidhe, fionn,
Fear slatagach, donn,
Fear a bhualadh na sùisde,
’S fear a rùsgadh nan crann.
_Toimhseagan._
[51] Highland Society’s Dictionary, _sub voce_.
[52] _Am fear nach dean a Nollaig sunndach ni e chàisg gu tursach
deurach._
[53] _Chaneil Nollaig gun fheòil._
[54]
A challuinn a bhuilg bhuidhe bhoicinn
Buail an craicionn (air an tota)
Cailleach sa chill,
Cailleach sa chùil,
Cailleach eile ’n cùl an teine
Bior na da shùil
Bior na goile
A challuinn so,
Leig astigh mi.
[55]
Gaoth deas, teas is toradh
Gaoth tuath, fuachd is gaillionn,
Gaoth ’n iar, iasg is bainne,
Gaoth ’n ear, meas air chrannaibh.
[56]
B’ fhearr leam a chreach thigh’nn do’n tìr
Na mhaduinn chiùin ’san Fhaoilleach fhuar.
[57]
Faoilleach Faoilleach, cruth an crios
Faoilte mhòr bu chòir bhi ris;
Crodh us caoraich ruith air theas,
Gul us caoidh bu chòir bhi ris.
[58]
“Nead air Brithid, ubh air Inid,
’S eun air Càisg,
’S mar bi sin aig an fhitheach
Bithidh am bàs.”
[59]
“Feadag, Feadag, màthair Faoilleach fuar,
Marbhaidh i caoraich us uain,
Marbhaidh i ’n cro mòr mu seach,
’S an t-each ris an aon uair.”
[60]
“Thuirt an Gearran ris an Fhaoilleach,
C’àit an d’ fhàg thu ’n gamhuinn bochd!
Dh’ fhàg mi e aig an Fhear rinn na dùilean,
’S dhà shùil air an t-sop.
Ma bheireas mis’, thuirt a mios Màigh,
Air an anail am barraibh a chluas,
Cuiridh mi ruideis air an tràigh e,
’S fheaman air a ghualainn.”
[61]
“Sin thuirt an Gearran gearr,
Ni mi farran ort nach fhearr,
Cuiridh mi bhò mhòr sa pholl,
Gus an d’ thig an tonn far a ceann.”
[62]
“Buailidh i thall, buailidh i bhos,
Buailidh i eadar a da chois;
...
Thilg i e fo ’n chraoibh chruaidh chuilinn,
Air nach do chinn gas feur no fionnadh riamh.”
[63]
An linge làn air chionn a Mhàrt,
’S tugha nan tighean an claisean nan iomairean.
[64]
Leig seachad a chiad Mhàrt
S an dàrna Mhàrt màs fheudar e,
Ach olc air mhath gan d’thig an t-sìd,
Cuir do shìol san fhior Mhàrt.
[65] Campbell’s _Superstitions of the Scottish Highlands_, p. 296.
[66]
Thuirt an Inid ris a Chàisg,
C’àit am faigh mi àite cluich?
Thoir thusa dhomhsa pàilliun geamhraidh
’S togaidh mi tigh samhraidh dhuit.
[67] This derivation has been derived from, and others have been
confirmed by Lhuyd (_Archæologia Britannica_, publ. at Oxford, 1707). The
work is folio size, and contains many curious and sensible philological
observations. Its principal defect is, that what is valuable is buried in
pages of uninteresting glossaries.
[68]
Reothairt na Feill Moire
’S boilich na Feill Pàruig.
[69]
Mas a bailc Bhealltainn bhlàth,
Mas a turadh an treas là,
’S mas a gaoth an ear a rithis,
’S cinnteach gum bi meas air chrannaibh.
[70] In the Hebrides, the name St. Brendan’s Eve for the Whitsunday term
is entirely unknown. It is told of a Tiree man of the last generation,
that he was promised a croft, or piece of land, by the then chamberlain
of the island, who was a native of the mainland, and said, “Your name
will be put on the rent-roll on St. Brendan’s Day.” The Tiree man went
home and consulted his godfather (_goistidh_) as to what day the factor
meant. “I really don’t know,” said his godfather, “unless it be the day
of judgment.”
[71]
Bròg thana, ’s i gun mheas,
Gun fhios co chaitheas i.
[72] Campbell’s _Superstitions of the Scottish Highlands_, p. 260.
[73]
Togaidh mise chlach,
Mar a thog Moire da Mac,
Air bhrìgh, air bhuaidh, ’s air neart;
Gun robh a chlachsa am dhòrn,
Gus an ruig mi mo cheann uidhe.
[74]
Feill Fionnain nam fleadh
S’ oidhche Nollaig na mòr bhladh.
[75]
Tinnste (tionnsgnadh?) nitear Di-luain,
Bithidh e luath no bi e mall.
[76]
Imrich an t-sathurna mu thuath,
Imrich an Luain mu dheas,
Ged nach biodh agam ach an t-uan
’S ann Di-luain a dh ’fhalbhainn leis.
[77]
(1) Di’rdaoin, latha Challum-chille chaoin
Latha chuir chaorach air seilbh,
A dheilbh, ’s a chuir bo air laogh.
(2) T’ fhalt ’s t’ fhionna Di’rdaoin,
’S t’ ionga mhaol Di-sathuirne.
[78] _V._ page 293.
[79] When hid in her vacant interlunar cave, _i.e._ when she is waning
and late of rising, the dark period of the night is called _rath dorcha_
(dark circle). “Son of the moon’s dark circle” (_mhic an rath dorcha_) is
an expression of mild objurgation.
INDEX.
All Fool’s day, 266
All Saints’ day, 281, 297, 307
Allan of the Faggots, 45
Allophylian, 92
Apparitions of the Dead, 127, 137
Ardvoirlich Stone, 94
Arrow-head, 92
Assumption day, 279
Autumn, 227, 306
Avoiding day, 273
Baal, 224
“Beard Gateway, the,” tale, 189
Beast of Odal Pass, tale, 207
Beckoning Old Man, 187
Beltane, 267, 270, 272
Beltane day, 12, 156, 297
Beltane night, 7
Bereavement of a taïsher, tale, 139
Big Allan of Woodend, 83
Black Duncan of the Cowl, 110
Black Walker of the Ford, 201
Black witchcraft, 1
Black shore, 184
Blind Allan, the Glengarry Bard, 82
Boat of Gortendonald, tale, 161
Boat of Iona, 162
Bocain, 220
Bonfires, 282
Breadalbane’s Warning, 110
Bridewell, 248
Brimstone Betty, 154
Burt’s Story, 36
Calluinn, 230
Cameron of Glenevis, 35
tale, 38
Cameron of Locheil, 198, 200
Campbell and the Battle of Gaura, 206
Candle Day, 244
Cattle cured of sickness, 56,
of murrain, 94
elf-struck, 91
Hairy Donald’s power to hurt or cure, 10
Saining cattle, 257, 272, 277
watched by their dead possessors, 210
Cats, 34
Boy eaten alive by cats, 39
coming to life again, 40
protection against drowning, 35
revenge of a, 38
used in the cure of the evil eye, 61
witches as, 18, 34
woman torn by cats, tale, 39
Celtic Year, the, 224
Charms, 6, 55
against danger, tale, 73
against drowning and dangers in war, 74
counter-charms, 10
Eòlas or, 57
for bruises, 67
for cattle, 71
for conferring graces, 80
for consumption and affections of the chest, 68
for fulling new cloth, 77
for general use, 79
for new-born babes, 77
for preventing a newly-purchased animal going astray, 71
for rheumatic pains, 67
for a sheep, 74
for sprains, 66
for toothache, 69
for young women’s faces, 81
in a lawsuit, 83
love charm, 82
smith’s immunity from bullets, 76
The Gospel of Christ, 79
use of, 55
veteran’s safety, 74
Christmas or Nollaig, 229
Black cuttings of, 244
cheese, 232
Day of Little Christmas, 238
Rhymes, 233
the twelve days of, 243
Cock fighting, 249, 257
Coffin, 151
Contest of a gull and a cormorant, 23
Cormorants, 43
Cows
bewitched, 14
bringing back a cow’s milk, 71
milked to death, 9
old wife’s charm, 73
Cure of
axillary swelling, 99
consumption and leprosy, 100
epilepsy, 97
hiccup, 96
lumbago, 100
miscellaneous cures, 94
stiff neck and toothache, 96
stye and tetter, 95
treatments of madness, 97
warts, 94
whooping-cough, 96
Danger of strong wishes, 140, 143
Daughter of the King of Enchantments, tale, 107
Day of the big porridge, 261
Day of three suppers, 289
Days of the week, 291 to 302
Death, 150
apparitions of the dead, 127, 137
death lights, 169
funeral processions, 155
howling of dogs, 164
legend of the death lights, 171
Spirits seen before a, 172
taïsher seeing his own, 159
warnings, 109
wraiths seen before, 158
Devil’s wiles, tale, 186
Dog Days, 276
Dogs, 163
as spectre-seers, 163
howling, sign of death, 164
Doideag, 26
Donald of the Ear, 48
Donald the Fair-Haired, 140
Doubles, 122, 125, 128, 130, 145, 163
Dowart, 112, 117
Dreag or Driug, 111
Dreams, 27, 209
Spirits appearing in dreams, 179
Drowning, charm against, 74
foreseen by seers, 160
ill-fated boats, 161
sailors’ drowning foretold by screams, 168
Druidism
druid’s glass, 87
relique of, 84
remains of Druid magic, 121
_Dublin University Magazine_, 39
Duncan Ban MacIntyre, 82
Easter, 263
_Easter eggs_, 265
Egyptians, 87, 254
Eddy winds of the Storm month, 251
Elisha, 59
_Ellis’s Brand’s Antiquities_, 239, 243, 244, 248, 271, 280
“Enticing plant, the,” 106
Envy splits the rocks, 63
_Etymological Dictionary of Scottish Language_, 254
Events happening at a distance, 149
Evil Eye, 59
Cure for, tale, 60
dangers of the, 61
danger for a horse, 62
how to detect the victim, 60
incantations to counteract, 63
precautions against, 59
stone for the cure of the, 93
Ewen M’Corkindale or Ewen of the Dirk, tale, 190
Ewen and the Carlin Wife, tale, 198
Ewen and the Skull, tale, 200
Fairies, 1
February, 245
Festival of Fools in Paris, 243
“Fetch,” or coffins, 119
Fin MacCoul, 188
Fish procured by witchcraft, 17
Flounders, 18
Friday, 297
Good Friday, 262, 298
Frog Stone, 89
Fulfilment of visions, 157, 158, 159, 160
Funeral processions, 128, 155, 156
Gaelic customs on festivals, 229
etymologies, 224
divisions of time, 225
Gaelic months and seasons, 224 to 307
Games to divine the future, 282
Gaura, battle of, 205
Hero of battle, 206
Gelding season, 251
Ghosts
Donald Gorm’s Ghost, tale, 211
Drowned man’s Ghost, tale, 214 and 215
“Gospel,” 94
Hidden ploughshare, tale, 213
Laying a, 222,
in name of Duke of Argyle, 223
of the living, 124
Shadows, 221
Song of a, 179
Silent horseman, 221
Glen Erochty, 203
Goblins, 220
Good Friday, 262, 298
_Gregory’s Western Highlands_, 211
Grey Paw, the, tale, 194
Gulls, 23, 42
Hallowe’en night, 144
Hallowmas, 284, 297, 307
Handsel Monday, 245
Hares, 8, 33
Haunted houses, 217
seer, 137, 148, 161
_Highland Society’s Dictionary_, 226, 244
Henderson’s Gloves, tale, 135
Hobgoblins, 181
Baucan, 181, 182
Bodach, 187, 190
dogs and horses, tales, 185, 215
Etiquette when meeting a, 184
Fuath, 188
Haunts of, 183
precursor of Death, 182
refuge from, 184
safety in a circle against, 185
Hogg’s _Witch of Fife_, 36
Holly whipping, 232
Horses
as spectre-seers, 163
fright of a horse, tale, 165
horse as an omen of Death, 117
men changed into, 49
phantom horse, 111
safe from witches, 13 and 185
saved by incantations, 63
Horse-shoe protection against witchcraft, 12
Hot month, 279
Hugh of the Little Head, tale, 111
Hugh M’Lachlan of Aberdeen, 250
Hugh, son of Donald the Red, tale, 147
Hump-backed Blue-eye or Gormla, 23, 26, 50
Ian Garve, tale, 25
Ignes Fatui, 171
Ile, tale, 177
Juniper, 11,
incantations, 105, 242
Kate MacIntyre, 51
King Frog, 89
Lachlan Mor, 139
Lachlan the Wily, 112
Lady day, 261
Laird of Coll, tale, 8, 139, 146, 180
Lent, 258
_Lhuyd’s Archæologia Britannica_, 230, 258, 264, 269, 294
Linlithgow, 279
Little Spring of Whelks, 247
Lochan Doimeig, 208
Lochbuy, 112, 118
Lochlin’s daughter, 100
Loch Ma Nàr, 101
Macaulay, Lord, 198
MacCannel, 173
Macdonald, Lord, 23, 48, 173
Macdonall or MacCuïl and the Headless Body, tale, 191
Macdougall of Lorn, 113
Macfadyens, 113, 194
MacGilvray, freed from witchcraft, tale, 47
MacGregor, 35, 110
MacIain Ghiarr, 47
_MacIntosh’s Gaelic Proverbs_, 297, 301
Maclachlan Clan, 110, 170
Maclaine, 113
MacLean, 118
Maclean, Hector, tale, 30
M’Lean of Coll, 102, 139
MacLean of Dowart, 27, 76, 117, 139
Bewitched clay figure of, 47
his bargain with a shade, 178
clan, 276
Nose of the, 136
Song of the, 115
_M’Leod and Dewar’s Dictionary_, 250
MacNeills, 21
“Macpherson of power,” legend, 20
Macpherson, 206
MacRanald, 21
Magic staff, 6
Malicious spectres, 133, 135
Manaman MacLeth, 83
_Martin’s “Western Highlands”_, 248
Martin of the Bag’s day, 277
Martinmas, 274
Maundy-Thursday, 261
May, 272, 273
May Day, 267
Mountain ash, 11, 242
Meyer, 88
Michaelmas, 281
Midsummer’s Eve, 276
Milk carried in a seaweed, 9
Monday, 292
Moon, 304
Nails, 176
New Year’s Day customs, 238, 241
fire, 237
night, 236
rhyme, 234
Nightly assignations with spectres, 130,
tale, 132
with spirits, tale, 175, 201, tale, 203
Noises
depression of a seer caused by, 151
forerunners of funerals, 154
heard by people not taïshers, 152
wailing, sign of death, 166
Old Wife, 253
Omens, 145
Oswy, King of Northumbria, 263
Otter, 89
Paschal Lamb, 254
_Peacock’s Guide to the Isle of Man_, 70
Pearlwort, 15, 71
its uses, 103
to prevent the return of the dead, 172
Pennant, 89, 243, 271, 274
Pet Ram, the, tale, 217
Phœnicians, 87, 268
Pins, used to free cows from witchcraft, 14
Quartodecimans, 263
“Rag,” the, or the Lakelet of Black Trout, tale, 208
Rats, 42
_Red Book of Appin_, 13
Red-Headed Donald, 216
Red Hector of the Battles, 76
Return of the Dead, 172, 210, 215
Rhymes, 56
New Year, 234
of the wind, 237
Riddle of the Four Seasons, 225
Roman Calendar, 263
Ronag, or ball of hair, 11
Roodmas, 280
St. Brendan’s Eve, 275
St. Brendan the Elder, 274
St. Bride’s Day, tale, 247
St. Bride’s Rhyme, 249
St. Fillan, legend of, 98
St. Finan’s Eve, 289
St. John’s Eve, 276
St. John’s wort, incantation, 104
St. Kessock’s Day, 259, 290
St. Patrick’s Day, 250, 259
St. Swithin’s Day, 277
Scott, Sir Walter, 87, 193
Michael, 200, 256
Second Sight, 120
hereditary, 126, 131
marriage foreseen by, 147
to get rid of, 180
Seed time, 255
Seers, 122,
tale, 138
haunted by a drowned man, 161
the four wives of a, tale, 148
Sharp-billed one, 251
Sheep, 10, 30
Shepherd’s adventure, 35
Shinty, 230, 238, 239
Shore Thursday, 261
Shrovetide, 256
Sinclair, Alexander, and the dairymaid, tale, 135
Spanish Armada, 28
Spectral funerals, 128, 155,
horses, 153
Spectres, 160
of the living, 132
Spirits of the dead, 172
reverence paid to the dead, 176
Secrets revealed by, 173
unholy compacts, tale, 174 f.
Spring, 225, 250, 260
Strong wishes, tales, 141
Stones—
Burial stones, 177
Cruban stone to cure diseases of joints, 92
Fairy-arrow or elf-bolt, 91
frog stone, 89
serpents’ bead, 85, 87
serpents’ egg, 84
snail bead, 88
storm stone, 93
Virtues of the Fairy Spade, 92
Storm of the Borrowing Days, 25
Summer, 226
Sun, 304
Sunday, 292
Swarths, 124
Sweeper, 251
Tailor and the skulls, 176
detected among witches, 50
drowning witches, 15
Grey Paw and the, tale, 194
tailor’s hole, 197
torn by cats, 37
unlucky experiment in witchcraft, 16
Taïsher, 123, 126
moral character of a, 131
tale, 137, tale, 159
Tàradh, or the omens of living men, 124, 125, 144, 146
Tàsg, 166
Threads used in witchcraft, 6, 10, 61
Three hog dogs, 254
Thursday, 296
Translation of Martin, 277
Tuesday, 294
Ulysses of the Highlands, 198
Unbeliever convinced, tale, 169
Unearthly whistle, tale, 204
Waldron, 121
Wallace, Sir William, and the headless body, 193
Weather wisdom, 302
Wednesday, 294
Weight of the dead, 140
Wells
Fian Flag-Stone Well, healing power of, 101
of Stones, 102
of the Heads, 114
of the Nine Living, 102
Sanna Cave, 101
to cure toothache and jaundice, 102
Western Sea poem, 188
Whales, 44
Whistle, 250
Whistling week, 273
White witchcraft, 54
Whitsuntide, 274
Wicken tree, 103
_Wilson’s Prehistoric Annals_, 90
Wine, 211, 212
Winter, 227, 281
games, 283
Witchcraft, Black, 1
White, 54
Witches
as cats, tales, 18, 34
as cormorants, tale, 43
as gulls, tale, 23, tale, 42
as hares, tales, 33
as rats, 42
as sheep, 10, 30
as whales, tale, 44
bribes to, 2
celebrated, 50
definition, 2
delaying birth of child, 45
destruction of Captain Forrest’s ship, 27
disguised as a hare, 8
doings of, 5
etymology, 4
going to sea, 15
how to detect, 53
knots to raise the winds, 19
little witch, the, tale, 22
on Beltane eve, 270
plants and trees as protection against, 103
Portree witches sinking a boat, 22
powerless on Wednesdays, 296
raising storms and destroying people, 19
sinking a vessel by means of a dish of milk, 21
their own belief in witchcraft, 3, 58
transformations of, 6
use of tar, 13
using clay corpses, 46
witches and milk, 7
wounded by silver, 30, 49
Wizard rising after death, 52
head-stone, 53
Year, Celtic, 224
of the Silverweed roots, 290
“Yellow Claws,” 23, 26, 51