|
Force-fire
The force-fire ( gd, teine-éiginn), or a fire produced by friction, was used in folk magic practice in the Scottish Highlands until the 19th century. Believers considered it an antidote against bewitching, as well as the plague, murrain and all infectious diseases among cattle. In Scotland and elsewhere it is also known as Need-fire or Neatsfire from an old word for cattle retained in the name "neatsfoot oil". Method The Scottish writer Martin Martin described the force-fire's use. According to him, all the fires in the parish were extinguished and 81 married men, being deemed the proper number for effecting this purpose, took two planks of wood, and nine of them were employed by turns, who by their repeated efforts, rubbed the planks together, till the heat thereof produced fire, and from this forced fire, each family was supplied with a new fire. No sooner was the fire kindled than a pot filled with water was afterwards sprinkled on people who had the plague, or on cattle tha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Need-fire
Need-fire, or Wild-fire (german: Notfeuer, goh, nodfyr, gd, tein'-éigin, russian: Живой огонь) is a term used in folklore to denote a superstition which has survived in the Scottish Highlands until recently. Like the fire-churning still customary in India for kindling the sacrificial fire, the need- or wild-fire is made by the friction of one piece of wood on another, or of a rope upon a stake. Need-fire is a practice of shepherd peoples to ward off disease from their herds and flocks. It is kindled on occasions of special distress, particularly at the outbreak of a murrain, and the cattle are driven through it. Its efficacy is believed to depend on all other fires being extinguished. In one case, the kindling of the need-fire in a village near Quedlinburg was impeded by a night light burning in the parsonage. In another account, in the Highlands of Scotland the rule that all common fires must be previously extinguished applied only to the houses situated between the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Uist
"Uist" is a group of six islands and are part of the Outer Hebridean Archipelago, part of the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. North Uist and South Uist ( or ; gd, Uibhist ) are two of the islands and are linked by causeways running via the isles of Benbecula and Grimsay. From south to north, the inhabited islands in the island group are (Eriskay), (South Uist), Grimsay (South), (Benbecula), ( Flodaigh), ( Grimsay (North)), , (North Uist), (Baleshare) and ( Berneray). The islands, collectively, have a population of 4,723. Major settlements The main settlements in Uist are: South Uist * (Daliburgh) * (Lochboisdale) * ( Snishvale) * (Stoneybridge) * (Eochar) * ( Polochar) * (Eriskay) Benbecula * (Balivanich) * ( Creagorry) * ( Liniclate) North Uist * ( Carinish) * ( Bayhead) * (Sollas) * (Lochmaddy) * (Balemore) 16th century Geography Writing in 1549, Sir Donald Monro, High Dean of the Isles stated of "Ywst" that it was a fertile country full of hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Martin Martin
Martin Martin (Scottish Gaelic: Màrtainn MacGilleMhàrtainn) (-9 October 1718) was a Scottish writer best known for his work '' A Description of the Western Islands of Scotland'' (1703; second edition 1716). This book is particularly noted for its information on the St Kilda archipelago. Martin's description of St Kilda, which he visited in 1697, had also been published some years earlier as ''A Late Voyage to St Kilda'' (1698). Life Martin was a native of Bealach, near Duntulm on Skye and he was born around 1660. He was a son of Donald Martin, who served with the MacDonalds of Sleat under James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose, and his wife Màiri, who was a niece of Dòmhnall Gorm Òg MacDonald, 1st Baronet of Sleat. He is thought to have had at least two brothers, Withers, Charles W.J. (1999), Introduction to ''A Description of the Western Islands of Scotland circa 1695'' by Martin Martin, Birlinn, Edinburgh, pp. 1 - 12, one of whom may have been tacksman at Flodigarry on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition point, flames are produced. The ''flame'' is the visible portion of the fire. Flames consist primarily of carbon dioxide, water vapor, oxygen and nitrogen. If hot enough, the gases may become ionized to produce Plasma (physics), plasma. Depending on the substances alight, and any impurities outside, the color of the flame and the fire's Intensity (heat transfer), intensity will be different. Fire in its most common form can result in conflagration, which has the potential to cause physical damage through burning. Fire is an important process that affects ecological systems around the globe. The positive effects of fire include stimulating growth and maintaining various ecological systems. Its negative effects include hazard to life and pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spinning Wheel
A spinning wheel is a device for spinning thread or yarn from fibres. It was fundamental to the cotton textile industry prior to the Industrial Revolution. It laid the foundations for later machinery such as the spinning jenny and spinning frame, which displaced the spinning wheel during the Industrial Revolution. Function The basic spinning of yarn involves taking a clump of fibres and teasing a bit of them out, then twisting it into a basic string shape. The spinner continues pulling and twisting to make it longer and longer, and to control the thickness. Thousands of years ago, people began doing this onto a stick, called a spindle, which was a very lengthy process. The actual wheel part of a spinning wheel does not take the place of the spindle, instead it automates the twisting process, allowing one to "twist" the thread without having to constantly do so manually, and also the size of the wheel lets one more finely control the amount of twist. The thread still ends up ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Badnjak (Croatian)
Badnjak (), refers to a log brought into the house and placed on the fire on the evening of Christmas Eve, a central tradition in Croatian Christmas celebration, much like a yule log in other European traditions. In Croatian the name for Christmas Eve is derived from the term ''badnjak.'' The log is cut with great ceremony on Christmas Eve morning, which for Roman Catholic Croats is December 24. The cutting, preparation, bringing in, and laying on the fire are surrounded by elaborate religious rituals, with many regional variations. The log is kept burning throughout Christmas Day. With increased urbanization and migrations to cities, the badnjak tradition has recently been limited to more rural areas, as many urban homes do not have a hearth or fireplace, increasing the risk of a fire hazard, along with the fact that it is near impossible to cut one's own log in the city. Instead, some may choose to have a symbolic log kept in the home. Etymology The term ''badnjak'' comes from t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reay
Reay ( gd, Ràth) is a village which has grown around Sandside Bay on the north coast of the Highland council area of Scotland. It is within the historic Parish of Reay and the historic county of Caithness. The village is on the A836 road some west of the town of Thurso and west of Dounreay. Along with Thurso the village grew dramatically in the mid-20th century with the development of the experimental nuclear power facility at Dounreay, where technologies such as fast breeder reactors were developed. The last force-fire in Reay occurred about 1830. Toponymy The origin of the name is uncertain, but possibilities include the Gaelic ''Reidh'' (a flat place) or ''Ratha'' (a fort or enclosure). Possibilities from Norse include ''Ra'' (a boundary marker) or ''Vra'' (a nook or corner). Another possibility is the word ''Ra'', a now obsolete word for the yardarm of a boat. A prehistoric mound at the west end of the beach is called ''Cnocstanger'', which means ''pole hill''. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Helmsdale
Helmsdale ( sco, Helmsdal, gd, Bun Ilidh) is a village on the east coast of Sutherland, in the Highland (council area), Highland council area of Scotland. The modern village was planned in 1814 to resettle communities that had been removed from the surrounding straths as part of the highland clearances, Highland Clearances. Toponymy The River Helmsdale (Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic ''Ilidh'') was noted by Geographia, Ptolemy as ''Ila'', which remains an obscure name. The Gaelic name for the village, ''Bun Ilidh'', means ''Ilie-foot''. Norsemen, Norse settlers called the strath ''Hjalmundal'', meaning ''Dale of the Helmet'', from which the modern village name ''Helmsdale'' is derived. History The remains of Helmsdale Castle were demolished in the 1970s in order to build the new A9 road (Scotland), A9 road bridge. The castle was the location of the murder of John Gordon, 11th Earl of Sutherland and his Countess, Marion Seton, in 1567. They were poisoned by Isobel Sinclair, the wife o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Isle Of Arran
The Isle of Arran (; sco, Isle o Arran; gd, Eilean Arainn) or simply Arran is an island off the west coast of Scotland. It is the largest island in the Firth of Clyde and the seventh-largest Scottish island, at . Historically part of Buteshire, it is in the unitary council area of North Ayrshire. In the 2011 census it had a resident population of 4,629. Though culturally and physically similar to the Hebrides, it is separated from them by the Kintyre peninsula. Often referred to as "Scotland in Miniature", the island is divided into highland and lowland areas by the Highland Boundary Fault and has been described as a "geologist's paradise".Haswell-Smith (2004) pp. 11–17. Arran has been continuously inhabited since the early Neolithic period. Numerous prehistoric remains have been found. From the 6th century onwards, Goidelic-speaking peoples from Ireland colonised it and it became a centre of religious activity. In the troubled Viking Age, Arran became the property of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
North Uist
North Uist ( gd, Uibhist a Tuath; sco, North Uise) is an island and community in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. Etymology In Donald Munro's ''A Description of the Western Isles of Scotland Called Hybrides'' of 1549, North Uist, Benbecula and South Uist are described as one island of ''Ywst'' (Uist). Starting in the south of this 'island', he described the division between South Uist and Benbecula where "the end heirof the sea enters, and cuts the countrey be ebbing and flowing through it". Further north of Benbecula he described North Uist as "this countrey is called Kenehnache of Ywst, that is in Englishe, the north head of Ywst".''A Description of the Western Isles of Scotland Called Hybrides''; Monro, Donald, 1549 Some have taken the etymology of Uist from Old Norse, meaning "west", much like Westray in Orkney. Another speculated derivation of Uist from Old Norse is ', derived from ' meaning "an abode, dwelling, domicile". A Gaelic etymology is also possible, with ' meanin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Birch
A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech-oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 30 to 60 known taxa of which 11 are on the IUCN 2011 Red List of Threatened Species. They are a typically rather short-lived pioneer species widespread in the Northern Hemisphere, particularly in northern areas of temperate climates and in boreal climates. Description Birch species are generally small to medium-sized trees or shrubs, mostly of northern temperate and boreal climates. The simple leaves are alternate, singly or doubly serrate, feather-veined, petiolate and stipulate. They often appear in pairs, but these pairs are really borne on spur-like, two-leaved, lateral branchlets. The fruit is a small samara, although the wings may be obscure in some species. They differ from the alders (''Alnus'', another genus in the family) in th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
