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''Gillie'' or ''ghillie'' is an ancient Gaelic term for a person who acts as a servant or attendant on a
. They are no longer "manservants" or "attendants" and do not carry Chiefs across rivers as in the distant past; today, they "manage the wilderness and guide travellers through it".
''Gillie'' or ''ghillie'' is an ancient Gaelic term for a person who acts as a servant or attendant on a fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...
, hunting
Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, horn/antler, ...
, deer stalking
Deer stalking, or simply stalking, is a British term for the stealthy pursuit of deer on foot with the intention of hunting for meat, for leisure/trophy, or to control their numbers. As part of wildlife management, just as with rabbiting an ...
or hawking
Hawking may refer to:
People
* Stephen Hawking (1942–2018), English theoretical physicist and cosmologist
* Hawking (surname), a family name (including a list of other persons with the name)
Film
* ''Hawking'' (2004 film), about Stephen Ha ...
expedition, primarily in the Scottish Highlands
The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland S ...
or on a river such as the River Spey
The River Spey (Scottish Gaelic: Uisge Spè) is a river in the northeast of Scotland. At it is the eighth longest river in the United Kingdom, as well as the second longest and fastest-flowing river in Scotland. It is important for salmon fishi ...
. In origin it referred especially to someone who attended on his male employer or guests.
This position still exists in some Highland locations , such as the Isle of Skye, according to the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...Etymology
The origin of this word dates from the late 16th century, from theScottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well ...
''gille'', "lad, servant", cognate with the Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
''giolla''.
Historically, the term was used for a Highland
Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally speaking, upland (or uplands) refers to ranges of hills, typically from up to while highland (or highlands) is ...
chief's attendant.
A ghillie-weetfit, a term now obsolete (a translation of "gille-caisfliuch", from the Gaelic ''cos'' 'foot' or 'leg', and ''fliuch'' 'wet'), was the ghillie whose duty was to carry his master over streams. It became a term of contempt among the Lowlanders for the "tail" (as his attendants were called) of a Highland chief.
A changing role
The BBC provided this history of the role in the late 16th century. "Highland chiefs needed attendants and manservants to do the toil, slog and heavy lifting .... they were responsible for knowing the weather conditions for stalking, where the best fishing spots were". One of their duties was to carry chiefs across rivers so they would not get wet. Ghillies remained important in the 19th century although private landlords (not clans) had become owners of much of the land. They "would travel north to estates ... and soon, the Highlands became a holiday hotspot for horse riding, shooting deer and grouse and casting for salmon. Always, ghillies were constant and knowledgeable presences". One well-known example wasJohn Brown (servant)
John Brown (8 December 1826 – 27 March 1883) was a Scottish personal attendant and favourite of Queen Victoria for many years after working as a gillie for Prince Albert. He was appreciated by many (including the Queen) for his competence a ...
who worked for Albert, Prince Consort at Balmoral in the 19th century. One source defines his role as "shooting guide and gun-loader". By 1851, however, Brown was given a "permanent role" as the leader of the Queen's pony, "on Prince Albert's instigation". After Prince Albert's death, he joined Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...
's group of personal attendants and became a confidant of the monarch for some 20 years.
Modern day ghillies
In the Highlands, ghillies were, and are, respected. "While ghillie visibility may have been lost in some cases, they still play a key role in many parts of rural life ... hey are alsooutdoor educators", according to Donald Fraser, head of wildlife management withNatureScot
NatureScot ( gd, NàdarAlba), which was formerly known as Scottish Natural Heritage, is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government responsible for the country's natural heritage, especially its natural, genetic and ...
. One of their tasks is the management of deer population. Some still wear the traditional ghillie outfit. One current example includes "a three-piece estate tweed outfit from neck to grubby boots ... thick wool waistcoat, jacket and breeches ... forest-green tie and coarse-wool checked shirt, with pinned leaping salmon and stag head brooches, a spruce-green fishing hat and mud-flecked gaiters".
The BBC interviewed another ghillie who works on an estate not far from Balmoral, "a life-long fishing ghillie and deer stalker" who much like a "land manager and sustainability officer" and who has gained tasks such as "countryside maintenance, legal species control, sustainable harvest of wild meat, eco-tourism ..."
Businesses that operate salmon fishing tours on the rivers and streams surrounded by private land employ "beat" ghillies who provide advice on maximising the odds of catching salmon. The Gordon Castle Estate, for example, states that all of their River Spey "fishing beats have an experienced ghillie who is able to give advice, support and instruction where needed". One source states that "these salmon river career jobs tend not to be the highest paid in society" and recommends giving the ghillies gratuities. Another source explains that a beat ghillie is not the same as a private fishing guide; the ghillie assists an entire group, and not only a single fisher.
In folklore
In Irish and Celtic folk tales, a character with the name '' Gilla'' or ''Gille'' appears in several tales. The name refers to a lad or youth of low social status, usually dressed in goatskins or in the hide of other animal. The name also appears as anIrish name
A formal Irish name consists of a given name and a surname. In the Irish language, surnames are generally patronymic in etymology but are no longer literal patronyms as, for example, most Icelandic names still are. The form of a surname varies ...
.Curtin, Jeremiah. ''Myths and folk-lore of Ireland''. London: S. Low, Marson, Searle ndRivington. 1890. p. 244.
See also
*Ghillie Dhu
In Scottish folklore the Ghillie Dhu or Gille Dubh () was a solitary male fairy. He was kindly and reticent, yet sometimes wild in character. He had a gentle devotion to children. Dark-haired and clothed in leaves and moss, he lived in a birch wood ...
, a Scottish mythological figure whose name means Dark Servant
* Ghillie suit
A ghillie suit is a type of camouflage clothing designed to resemble the background environment such as foliage, snow or sand. Typically, it is a net or cloth garment covered in loose strips of burlap ( hessian), cloth, or twine, sometimes made t ...
* Harald Gille
Harald Gille (Old Norse: ''Haraldr Gilli'' or ''Haraldr Gillikristr'', c. 1102 − 14 December 1136), also known as Harald IV, was king of Norway from 1130 until his death. His byname Gille is probably from Middle Irish ''Gilla Críst'' "servant o ...
* John Brown
References
* {{angling topics Personal care and service occupations