Scottish folklore Scottish folklore (Scottish Gaelic: ''Beul-aithris na h-Alba'') encompasses the folklore of the Scottish people from their earliest records until today. Folklorists, both academic and amateur, have published a variety of works focused specifically ...

the Ghillie Dhu or Gille Dubh () was a solitary male

fairy A fairy (also fay, fae, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Celtic, Slavic, Germanic, English, and French folklore), a form of spirit, ...

. 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 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'' cont ...

wood within the

Gairloch Gairloch ( ; gd, Geàrrloch , meaning "Short Loch") is a village, civil parish and community on the shores of Loch Gairloch in Wester Ross, in the North-West Highlands of Scotland. A tourist destination in the summer months, Gairloch has a go ...

and Loch a Druing area of the north-west

Highlands of Scotland 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 ...

. Ghillie Dhu is the

eponym An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

for the

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 ...

.David Amerland (2017), The Sniper Mind: Eliminate Fear, Deal with Uncertainty, and Make Better Decisions, St. Martin's Press, p. 53,

Etymology

''Ghillie'' is an English equivalent of the

Scottish 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 as ...

word ;

Edward Dwelly Edward Dwelly (1864–1939) was an English lexicographer and genealogist. He created the authoritative dictionary of Scottish Gaelic, and his work has had an influence on Irish Gaelic lexicography. He also practised as a professional genealogist ...

, a Scottish

lexicographer Lexicography is the study of lexicons, and is divided into two separate academic disciplines. It is the art of compiling dictionaries. * Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionaries. * Theoretica ...

, lists ''gille'' as a "lad", "youth" or "boy" with ''dubh'' translating as "dark" or "dark-haired".

Folk beliefs

Description and common attributes

According to

folklorist Folklore studies, less often known as folkloristics, and occasionally tradition studies or folk life studies in the United Kingdom, is the branch of anthropology devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currenc ...

and scholar Katharine Briggs the Ghillie Dhu was a gentle and kind-hearted mountain spirit, or a "rather unusual nature fairy." The Ghillie Dhu was an individual male modern day fairy described by

Osgood Mackenzie Osgood Hanbury Mackenzie (1842–1922; Scottish Gaelic: Osgood MacCoinnich) was a Scottish landowner and the creator of a famous garden at Inverewe, near Poolewe in Wester Ross. Origins Mackenzie was born on 13 May 1842, at the Chateau de Talh ...

, a Scottish landowner and horticulturist, in his memoirs that were published in 1921. The fairy was generally timid, yet he could also be "wild". Residing in the

woods near Loch a Druing, in the north-west Highland area of

, he was mainly seen in the latter part of the 18th century. The woods are in a dip alongside a hilly area around from where

Rua Reidh Lighthouse Rua Reidh Lighthouse stands close to the entrance to Loch Ewe in Wester Ross, Scotland. History The name "Rua Reidh" is a semi-anglicisation of "Rubha Rèidh" meaning a flat headland. A lighthouse on Rubh'Re Point was first proposed by David ...

was later built. One summer evening a local child named Jessie Macrae wandered into the woods and became lost. Jessie was found by the Ghillie Dhu who looked after her until the next morning when he took her home. Over a period of four decades the fairy was frequently seen by many people but Jessie was the only person he conversed with. Generally of a dishevelled appearance, he used green moss and leaves taken from trees as clothing. As implied by his name, he had black hair; he was of a small stature. His fondness of children is similar to that displayed by the little known Hyter sprite of English mythology.

Attempted hunt

Shortly after the Gille Dhu rescued Jessie, a group of Mackenzie dignitaries were invited by the landowner, Sir Hector Mackenzie of Gairloch, to get together to hunt and capture the Ghillie Dhu. The team of five hunters congregated at the home of one of Mackenzie's tenants where they were provided with a complimentary evening meal before setting off on their mission to shoot the child-rescuing, kind Ghillie Dhu. Despite searching extensively throughout the night, the hunters could not find their prey; according to

Patricia Monaghan Patricia Monaghan (February 15, 1946, – November 11, 2012) was a poet, a writer, a spiritual activist, and an influential figure in the contemporary women's spirituality movement. Monaghan wrote over 20 books on a range of topics including Go ...

, a writer on Celtic mythology, the Ghillie Dhu was never seen again.

Origins

After researching folklore traditions gathered primarily from Gaelic areas of Scotland, an authority on congenital disorders, Susan Schoon Eberly, has speculated the tale of the Ghillie Dhu may have a basis in a human being with a medical condition; other academics, such as Carole G. Silver, Professor of English at

Stern College for Women The Stern College for Women (SCW) is the undergraduate women's college of arts and sciences of Yeshiva University. It is located at the university's Israel Henry Beren Campus in the Murray Hill section of Manhattan. The college provides progra ...

, agree and suggest he was a

dwarf Dwarf or dwarves may refer to: Common uses *Dwarf (folklore), a being from Germanic mythology and folklore * Dwarf, a person or animal with dwarfism Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Dwarf (''Dungeons & Dragons''), a humanoid ...

. Eberly maintained several other solitary or individual fairies, including the Brownie and the Manx

Fenodyree Fenodyree (also phynodderee, phynnodderee, fynnoderee or fenoderee; or ) in the folklore of the Isle of Man, is a hairy supernatural creature, a sort of sprite or fairy ( gv, ferrishyn), often carrying out chores to help humans, like the brown ...

, could also have a medical, rather than supernatural, explanation.

References