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Superstitions of the Highlands & Islands of Scotland / Collected Entirely from Oral Sources cover

Superstitions of the Highlands & Islands of Scotland / Collected Entirely from Oral Sources

Chapter 77: THE FAIRY CHURNING.
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About This Book

A collection of oral traditions from the Scottish Highlands and Islands, recorded and arranged thematically to present popular beliefs about fairies, changelings, banshees, tutelary beings, witchcraft, and related customs. The material combines narrative tales and descriptive entries that show regional variants, accounts of sightings and interactions, and practical measures for protection or repair. Gaelic expressions are translated with emphasis on literal meaning and authentic usage, and the compiler relied solely on spoken testimony gathered across multiple districts to preserve the vernacular form of these folk beliefs.

THE FAIRY CHURNING.

A woman, near Portree, in Skye, was coming home in the evening with her milk pails from the cattle fold, accompanied by a dog, which went trotting along before her. Suddenly the dog was observed to run to a green hillock, fall down on its knees, and hold its ear to the ground. The woman went up to see what the matter was, and on listening heard a woman inside the hillock churning milk, and singing at her work. At the end of every verse there was a chorus or exclamation of . The song was learnt by the listener, and became known as the “Song of the Hillock” (Òran a chnuic). The writer has not been able to fall in with a copy of it. The incident occurred three generations ago.