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The totem
bird for this letter is besan, the pheasant; colour ban,
white; dates, December 24 to January 20. Associated with
Di-domhnaich, the Day of the House of Don and the creator-
god.
BAL, BALL, bala, obs, Lord, The Sun, young, a dance, member,
limb, member of a group, dress, a tool, a globe, spot or plot
of ground, stud, nail, bowl, cable, rope; obsolte, a skull; cf.
Cy. bala, budding, root. Similar to balach, clown and bach,
playing the clown, drunkenness, perhaps cf. Latin Bacchus.
Note G. balbh, dumb as well as ball, a white or shining spot
(whence the English bale-fire); also, ball, a member of a
larger body (hence the English phallus). Similar to bail,
thrift, a collection of valuables; MIr. bail, goodness all from
the root bhel, to swell in size, bud; hence bailceach, a
strong man, EIr. balc, strong, god-like; baile, a strong
member, a supporting ridge or beam, possibly also baile, a
township held by a particular god-king. From this we have
many place names: Bail'-an-luig, Lugh's township; Baile-
nan-cailleach, Town of the winter-hag; Bail'-uaine, Baille
of the green-ones (the Daoine sidh); Baile-sgait, Place of
the sea-skate. Thus, bal or baal, one of the elder- day gods,
especially Bilé, the god of death. The master of ceremonies
reincarnate at fire-festivals. Notice also bealltuinn, May-
day, the date when the Bal was most active . See Bil. Note
that the ON. god Balder was the preferred son of Odin and
Frigga.. See Bil, Lugh, Dagda.
This being the case, Baldar may confer with the Old
Norse god Balder, an agricultural deity, the god of sun and
summer, and the preferred son of Odin. Notice also that
Skadi, or Scoti, was smitten with the looks of this god and
bargained, unsuccessfully, to marry him. Balder was killed
by his own brother at the contrivance of Lokki. Odin
bargained for his return to earth, but was only partially
successful, the sun being, even yet, confined in the
Underworld each night and for a disproportionate number of
hours during the winter months.
BALG, belly, bag; seed of an herb, belly, womb, quiver for
arrows, blister on the skin; OIr. bolc; Cym. bol; Gaul. nulga.
The Goth. balgs, a wine skin; the Norse, belgr, a skin or
bellows. Perhaps after the thunder-goddess Bolc, the leader
and matron of the Firbolgs, or “Bolt-men.” See separate
entry. Note the Quarter-Day known as the Imbolc, literally,
“the time to smear the stomach,” perhaps having reference
to the painting of the body or the sexual excesses
associated with this holy day. Note the related balgum, a
mouthful, and the god Beul, the “Mouth.”
Balor was the son of Dot and Net, (some say his father
was Buarainnech) and was the chieftain-ruler of Torry
(Tower) Island, off the northwest coast of Ireland, and one
of those called to battle by Breas, king of the Tuathans,
when he attempted to regain the high-kingship of Ireland.
He is believed to have been the first individual to bring the
craft of "overlooking" to a high art. Like many possessors
of the “evil-eye,” he came upon the power to bring death by
accident: As a child he was passing by a house where his
father’s druids were enacting spells, and drawn by the
chants, looked in at them through an open window. The
smoke of poisonous spells rising from their work went
directly into his eye and from that time he had to keep it
closed unless he wished to visit death on the person he
observed. Adrian Loaghrian has suggested that Balor may
have lost one of his original two eyes to his wife Caitlin
(little Cat) or Cethleen, who has been described as “a
slinger and thruster.”
BAN-FHAIDH, prophetess.
5Macleod, Kenneth, The Road To The Isles, Poetry, Lore, and Tradition
of the Hebrides, Grant, Edinburgh, 1927, pp. 223 -224.
beyond her deep in Gaeldom, Doideag of Mull, Laorag of
Tiree, Maol-odhar of Kintyre, Luideag of the Bens and
Corrgags and Corrag and Cas a’Mhorgain Riabhaich of
Glencoe. Before them there existed others of similar
powers. In the latter days
11Fraser, Mary L., Folklore Of Nova Scotia, np, nd, pp. 65-66.
12as told to Joe Neil McNeil, Tales Told Until Dawn, Toronto (1987) p.
212.
been used to sink ships, one of these being the "Favourite"
which brought Scottish settlers to Pictou township from
the port of Ullapool in 1803. As the "Favourite" stood
loaded, ready to sail, a herdsman spotted a small hare-like
animal moving from cow to cow, suckling away the milk. He
attempted to shoot at it but was prevented from doing so by
a spell which immobilzed him. Knowing that he dealt with a
boabh, the man shaved silver from a six-pence and placed
this as shot in his gun. The next time he spotted the
familiar he was able to blaze away at it, and it limped off
leaving a trail of blood. Inquires made about the parish on
the following morning found an old lady, supected of
druidheachd, laid up with a damaged leg. When this old
crone became aware that her nemesis intended to sail on
the "Favourite" she openly declared that the ship would
never reach the New World. Fearing the boabh might take
some physical act against the sea-worthiness of the vessel,
the owners had her arrested and placed under guard until the
ship was at sea. The craft sailed without incident carrying
her passengers to port on the third day of August.
Interestingly, she made the crossing in five weeks and three
days, a record which stood for many years. The five hundred
passengers embarked in perfect safety and the cargo was
removed. Suddenly, and swiftly, without rational cause, it
sank to the bottom of Pictou Harbour. The witch had been
released from behind iron bars at exactly that time.
BAOBHANTE, elf-like.
BASCALL, obs., bas, death; coill, the woods; one who brings
death in the woods, a wild man or savage.
BAT, BATA, a stick, from MEng. batte, now bat. Confers with
bas, death. An implement of destruction through physical or
magical use.
BEANN, top, horn, peak, summit, Cy. ban, MBry. bann, Eng.
knoll, Scot. knowe. A place sought for the enactment of
pagan magic. See next. From this the Scottish ben, the
summit of a mountain.
"When the door is first opened in the morning one should say
:- "May God bless what my eye may see and what my hand
may touch (this day)." "An old man in Erisky used to say, on
leaving his cattle, after leading them to the hills:- "Closed
be every hole (into which they might stumble), clear be
every knowe (knoll, of obstacles) and may the herdship of
Columcille be upon you till you come again home." "One does
not hear of dogs and pigs being blessed, though they are
animals of great value to their owners. This is perhaps
because the demon, or evil thing, sometimes takes their
form, as it does that of the cat or hare. I only heard one
story of a dog being so utilized, and that was one belonging
to a priest. Whether the atmosphere was overcharged with
piety, or for what reason does not appear, but the dog, lying
on the hearth, suddenly started up, saying, "If you liked me
before, you never will again," and disappeared in a shower
of sparks." (Celtic Monthly, 1901, p. 143).
BENNACHAN, a cuckhold.
BEANSITH, BEAN-NIGHE, BEAN SHITH, BAN SITH, bean + sith,
a wife of the side-hill folk. A general name given a
weregild, but particularly the prototypical Mhorrigan who
still appears to announce the deaths of those of Clan Morgan
or Mackay. “The close association of the fairies (i.e. the
Daoine sidh) with the spirits of the dead is illustrated in
the use of the anglecized Gaelic name banshee which means
literally “fairy woman,”
BEC FOLA. The wife of King Diarmuid, who “left him one
morning” spending one day and one night in the Otherworld.
On her return she found her husband just stirring from sleep
and completely unware of her seemingly protracted noctural
adventures. See alp.
Enemy druids now drew near, asking for his spears and
threatening to satirize him in their poems if he did not
grant their requests. He complied by throwing one into the
body of each man. Less uncanny warriors approached, and Cu
Chullain was cut down at the age of twenty-seven, leaving
Mebd to relish another pyrrhic victory for Ulster was intact.
BEL. obs. Oir., the chief speaker for a group of folk. the
"mouth" of the tribe; the leader. bi, to be, to exist, In
Gaelic. the word continues in several forms, notably beul,
mouth, derived. Certainly it is related to balgum, a
mouthfull, and bailceach, a strong man, the chief of a baile,
or township. Also note: bealltuinn, or balefire, the fires of
Be-al and the time when they were lit, i.e. May Day. The
wordsmith, Alexander Macbain adds that the word confers
with the Anglo-Saxon bael white (like intense fire) and
with the Gaullish god-names Belenos and Belisama.
BEL-AIN, The circle of Bel, i..e. The Sun. The latter part of
the compound is ann, circle or revolution from the
matriarchal goddess Anu or Dane. The word also implies a
living object.
BEUL-DHRAOIDHEACHD, the“druidic-mouthings,”incantation,
enchantment. beul-dhruid, silence, to shut the mouth using
magic.
BEUM SUL, the varied effects following use of the evil eye,
any optical illusion or delusion, a disease of the eye.
BHLIADHN UR, A', (a vlean oor), bliadna, year; ur, fresh, new;
the New Year, new style, commencing January 1. The New
Year, old style, is still celebrated in some places eleven to
fifteen days after this date. The first of the Laithean
araidh (special days) celebrated as the beginning of a new
year was at first the Samhainn, which fell on November
first, but was a continuing part of a five or ten-day fire-
feast.
The New Year's Day, Old Style, was at first named the
Samhainn or Samthain, and this followed Oidhche Challainn.
literally the "night of the dog." The Christians preferred to
call that holiday All Saint's Eve, All Hallow's Eve, or
Hallowe'en thus avoiding unpleasant reminders of gods
whose day had passed.
Calluinn a bhuilg,
Calluinn a bhuilg,
Buail am boicionn,
Buail am boicionn...
Hogamanay of the sack (the scrotum),
Hogamanay of the sack,
Strike the goat-skin.
Strike the goat skin...
BÓ, a cow; Cym. buw; OBr. bou; Lat. bos; Skr. go. As an
interjection the word means starnage, wonderful. May
infrequently be used in the sense of “a fawn.” See combined
forms below.
Only three men were allowed there, the king and his
two cupbearers. Boann ridiculed this taboo, and feminist
that she was, walked round the well in the contemptuous
left-hand fashion. At this the spirits of water rose against
her, pursued her eastward, and drowned her in the newly-
formed river that was given her name. In an alternate
version of prehistory, Boann is given as the wife of Elcmar.
Wishing to sleep with her, the Dagda sent the husband off on
a nine months errand which was made to seem as the
business of a single day. The child of there cohabitation
was Angus the Young, so called because he was conceived
and born between morning and evening. Christian monks
often represented this goddess as the “wife” of the Dagda.
34Fraser, Mary L., Folklore of Nova Scotia, np, nd, pp. 46-47. Twenty-
five years later railway tracks were run through this region and the
"bochdan" was seen to be the forerunner of a locomotive and train.
"the combined fertility and destructive functions of female
deities", but the case is simpler than that. Just as men, or
women could gain spirit by eating food, they might rob vital
energies from one another by the virtual consumption of
bodies. Coupling was considered to pass god-spirit in one
direction or the other and the movement was always toward
the more "spirited" person. With this in mind, Mebd is
known to have said: "Were my husband a coward it would be
unfit for us to be married, for I by myself and alone break
battles and fights and combats, and it would be a reproach
to my mate should his wife by more full of life than myself,
while there is no failing in being equally bold. Further,
should he be jealous (and hence of less spirit) that too
would not suit me, for there was never a time when I had a
man but another stood ready in his shadow." Although it
might seem extreme, some claimed that Mebd required
thirty men a day to service her sexual needs and that she
kept no lover who was not her equal in virility.
40MacNeil, Neil, The Highland Heart In Nova Scotia, New York (1948),
pp. 82-83.
that he was a Christian bodach, and one elderly lady
insisted that he lay hands on their sick cow to drive off the
evil spirit that was causing it to be ill.
no man could see, but the sigh could pass through them
as if they were air.” Manann also arranged the Feast Against
Aging for them so that they became almost immortal. As a
result of this, many of the side-hill folk wanted Manann as
their king, but there were other contenders: Ilbrech of Ess
Ruadh; Manann mac Ler himself, the king of, the “Hill of the
White Field,” situated on Slieve Fuad ; Midhir the Proud,
from Bri Leith; Aonghas Og mac Dagda; the Dagda and Bodb
Dearg mac Dagda whose residence was Sidhe Femen. Five of
these men went into council to choose the next leader and
came out supporting Bodb Dearg because he was the oldest
son of the Dagda.
The great Bragi was a mortal god the child of Odin and
the giantess named Gunlod. In the Norse lands poetry was
entitled bragi and the scalds (bards) were named bragimen
and bragiwomen. Bragi was particularly remembered at
funeral feasts and the Yule when toasts were drunk in his
memory. Each person present was expected to pledge
himself to a deed of valour executed within the coming year.
The first pledge-makers were usually sober but those
furthest removed from the king tended to make rather far-
fetched promises, thus the English verb-form "to brag".
BRAN, obs. poor, black, Currently, the raven, Cy. bran and Br.
brenn, a crow. A further root is gra, whence the English cry
and crane. Much used in personal and river names as this
animal was the totem of the sea-people or Fomors, most
notably that of the Bafinn, the goddess of fate.
One thing is certain, the ships that went out for the
second round carried full holds of salt, an indication that
they were headed for a fishing ground. There were similar
expeditions by other Bristol mariners through the next
decade and John Cabot, who lived briefly in London, was one
of those who commanded ships purportedly looking for
Brazil in 1491 and 1492. Pedro de Ayala, a Spanish envoy to
London in 1498, told his government that the Bristol
merchants were strangely interested in the empty ocean,
sending out two to four ships a year “in the seven years
just past.”
BRIDE, FRIDE NAM BRAT, Bride of the Holy Mantle. Like gods
of the sea the Bride was frequently represented as golden
haired and clothed in a blue mantle. She is seen in this form
in the Hebrides. See above entries.
BUI. BOI, yellow. One of the names given the Winter Bear or
Winter Hag. She is frequently described as the off-season
“wife” of the sun-god Lugh. Perhaps from her dried and
yellow skin. See Cailleach bheurr, Dige, Morgan, Samh.
There were even victims in the New World, the best known
being the sixteen executed at Salem Massachusetts. Like
most people of our century, folklorist Helen Creighton
preferred to believe that the Maritime Provinces had "no
history of witch burnings, drownings, or hangings" although
she admitted that "enemies real or imagined have often been
dispatched through torment by sympathetic magic." A well
documented case of death by magic occurred at Belleisle
Bay, N.B., when an accussed witch named Mrs. Tennant was
ritually harassed to death by her neighbours in the early
seventeenth century. Unfortunately, we did have a death by
more direct means during the French colonial period; which
explains why a peninsula near Charlottetown was
afterwards called Pointe de Flamme.