The Lordship of the Isles

The fascinating subject of Gaelic mythology has puzzled scholars since the dawn of time, from the mists of antiquity in a pre-Christian world to modern experts trying to find out why Highlanders, on the eve of the 20th century, called their precious talking stones.

We know quite a lot about some parts of Gaelic mythology, such as kelpies, and almost nothing about others, such as Rocabarraidh. But I think I'll start with one ancient myth we have all heard of, that lives in a loch near Inverness.

The Loch Ness Monster

Far from being a modern invention by tourist companies trying to make a fortune, the Loch Ness Monster is an ancient myth which dates from the time of the Saint Columbus.

The story goes that the creature emerged from the water, and attacked a Pict as he tried to cross. The Gaelic saint then banished the creature with his cross and a brief command, and it recoiled, vanishing into the River Ness (according to most sources, the monster did not live in the loch at all).

The Lords of the Isles guarded many sacred relics from the Christian missionaries, and it is impossible for them not to have known of the tale of the Loch Ness Monster. Indeed, the Clanranald Macdonalds claim to have their own monster, Morag, who appears to warn their clan of danger, and they can trace their ancestry back to the Lordship of the Isles.

The explanation for this myth, then? A theory which the writer of most of this site came up with is that Nessie is a cultural monster.

Pictish art shows us that they had an obsession with combined creatures, such as the lizard fish, and water. The Loch Ness Monster, then, is a charicature of their beliefs, and by attacking a Pict it betrays them. For a saint sent to convert the Picts to save one of them from the Loch Ness Monster means that Saint Columbus saved the Picts as a race from their beliefs. It is simply a story that the Picts would have found entertaining, and believed in the message whether they wanted to or not. It seemed to be quite effective at converting them, as well.

Rocabarraidh

Whether this island existed or not is a mystery. When it entered the folktales of the Lordship of the Isles is also unknown - it may have been inherited from Dal Riada or the mythology of the Gaels in Ireland. It may even be prehistoric.

All we know of Rocabarraidh is that it was an enchanted island far to the west of Barra, only seen by privileged sailors who had long lost sight of the Hebrides or Ireland. No-one knows what actually happened to it, or exactly where it was.

The most commonly accepted theory is that it is in fact Rockall - a tiny rock in the remote Atlantic, which is indeed invisible from Ireland or the Hebrides. But there are two problems with this theory. The first is that Rockall is well within the reach of the birlinns that sailed from the Lordship of the Isles, and would have been nothing extraordinary. Any rumours about it being an enchanted island paradise would quickly have been proven wrong. The second is that Rockall is not west of Barra, instead being two hundred miles to the west of St Kilda.

In the theory's favour, however, is the fact that the inhabitants of St Kilda did indeed call the island Rocabarraidh. Whether this was confusion between mythology and reality (by this time no birlinns had sailed from St Kilda for two hundred years) it is unknown.

Another theory is based on the fact that Rocabarraidh may be a prehistoric myth. Plato, the Greek writer who came up with the tale of Atlantis, was something of an expert of the ancient Celts, writing much about them, their society, and their achievements. Could Rocabarraidh be his inspiration for Atlantis, only related to current affairs in Greece?

Some suggest that Rocabarraidh did indeed sink into the sea, as Hebridean islands have been known to do. Others suggest that, because it was so distant to the second greatest maritime race on earth, it may even have been the northern shore of Canada.

Kelpies

Probably the most famous Highland myth, the kelpies are also ancient, but unlike the Loch Ness Monster and Rocabarraidh their is absolutely no argument for their existence.

Kelpies apparently have the appearance of a horse with a long mane, and would only emerge from the water to lure travellers towards them. When the traveller mounted them, they would gallop back into the water and drown their rider.

It is said that if you somehow placed a bridle with the shape of the cross on the kelpie, then it would enslave it.

Other stories tell of kelpies having human forms as well, but this may be scholars getting confused with selkies.

Selkies

The selkies more peaceful creatures of the water, although did not live alongside the kelpie in lochs, and stayed in the waters of the Atlantic.

They were seals, who would shed their skins and appear as humans when they came onto the beaches. Many poems tell tales of how stealing a selkie's skin meant that it could never return to the water (usually these poems end with the selkie being forced to marry the man who stole the skin).

It was said the female selkies were very beautiful.

Seonaidh

Seonaidh is the modern Gaelic word for 'Johnny,' and was a water spirit on the Isle of Lewis. He was often worshiped, even after the medieval era, in the same way as a pagan god would have been, with one difference - he was worshipped in what appears to have been a Christian church. It is commonly accepted that this water spirit is Saint John.

He would be given offerings that would be brewed into ale, which was then thrown into the sea to Seonaidh in the hopes that he would give the inhabitants of the Isle of Lewis a good year of harvesting the ocean.

When this was done, the ceremony was continued in church, and celebrations continued throughout the night.

This is undoubtedly an ancient ceremony, and when it ceased to be practised is unknown. Whether it arrived with the Gaels, the Norse, or it isn't Saint John at all but an earlier Gaelicised Pictish god is unknown.

Folk Magic

In the nineteenth century, it was recorded that Highlanders still continued the practice of force-fire. This was a fire produced by friction that was supposed to defend believers against bewitching.

All local fires were extinguished before many married men (according to Màrtainn MacGilleMhàrtainn the exact number was eighty-one) had to rub planks of wood together until they produced fire. Each family was given a fire, and then water would be poured over someone who had been bewitched. Apparently the process was invariably successful.

There are differing accounts of this, which may be to do with location, although they are all on North Uist (although this was practised all over the Hebrides).

It is curious that the Highlanders who were exiled in the Clearances may have taken this custom with them when they settled amongst native American tribes.

Talking Stones

Nothing is known of the talking stones that Highlanders referred to, except that they were likely of Pictish origin. They may have been the standing stones that are often seen in northern and eastern Scotland, but why the Highlanders treasured them until the First World War is unknown. They seem to have been of almost sacred importance, however.