#gaelic — Public Fediverse posts

The land doesn't hold its shape that way. Two breaths, then: in through the nose, a second short sip stacked on top, out long and ragged. Three times.
That second sip is the part that actually reaches the nerve.

Cùm do chasan air an talamh — keep your feet on the ground.

What am I still asking permission to call mine? Ask me...
#Phenology #Nature #Autumn #Gàidhlig #Gaelic #MastoDaoine #Alba #Druid #Folklore #Herbalism #Mindfulness #GardensOfMastodon → https://thistleandmoss.com/subscribe?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=fedica-Wendy-New-RSS
3/3

The land doesn't hold its shape that way. Two breaths, then: in through the nose, a second short sip stacked on top, out long and ragged. Three times.
That second sip is the part that actually reaches the nerve.

Cùm do chasan air an talamh — keep your feet on the ground.

What am I still asking permission to call mine? Ask me...
#Phenology #Nature #Autumn #Gàidhlig #Gaelic #MastoDaoine #Alba #Druid #Folklore #Herbalism #Mindfulness #GardensOfMastodon → https://thistleandmoss.com/subscribe?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=fedica-Wendy-New-RSS
3/3

Your body has been braced since somebody said the small mean word at a fairground. Bracing isn't weakness — it's a nervous system doing the job it evolved for. The trouble is nobody ever tells the body when the thing is over, so it holds that shape into September, into a jaw that clicks and a shoulder that will not come down.
#Phenology #Nature #Autumn #Gàidhlig #Gaelic #MastoDaoine #Alba #Druid #Folklore #Herbalism #Mindfulness #GardensOfMastodon
2/3

Your body has been braced since somebody said the small mean word at a fairground. Bracing isn't weakness — it's a nervous system doing the job it evolved for. The trouble is nobody ever tells the body when the thing is over, so it holds that shape into September, into a jaw that clicks and a shoulder that will not come down.
#Phenology #Nature #Autumn #Gàidhlig #Gaelic #MastoDaoine #Alba #Druid #Folklore #Herbalism #Mindfulness #GardensOfMastodon
2/3

An Lanntair: Join children’s author Louisa MacDougall to celebrate her new book The Ugly Puffling and other stories. There will be story time, crafts and wildlife-themed games for primary-aged children. Pop in at any time between 12.30 and 2.30pm
The post https://lanntair.com/events/event/the-ugly-puffling-and-other-stories-book-launch/ appeared first on https://lanntair.com.

Source: https://lanntair.com/events/event/the-ugly-puffling-and-other-stories-book-launch/

#Gaelic #Gàidhlig

An Lanntair: In a special edition of our monthly social gathering for all creative islanders, we’re setting up a big screen to share two films by island artists, Jill Smith and the late Ron Coleman.
This is a limited capacity event so book early!
An Avebury Journey by Jill Smith
A pioneering performance artist, Jill Smith’s work was recently recognised by the Fruitmarket Gallery in Edinburgh, who commissioned her for a year-long project, Zodiac Journey (in collaboration with photographer Mhairi Law) for the gallery’s 50th anniversary. An Avebury Journey, filmed on Super 8 in the early 1980s, marked the beginning of her transition from Jill Bruce, creative partner and wife of artist Bruce Lacey, to creating work on her own as Jill Smith. Unfinished at the time, the silent footage has now been edited by Izzy McEvoy and Jill Smith, and will be screened in public for the first time tonight, accompanied by an improvised live score by Andrew Eaton Lewis and Ralph Tonge.
Caught in this Moment of Time
Adapted from Ron Coleman’s play which toured Scotland, this short film directed by Ian Bustard is Ron’s final piece of work, and part of his remarkable legacy. Ron was a pioneering mental health and dementia activist who later became a playwright and poet. Caught in this Moment of Time dramatises his experiences as a writer with dementia, and his relationship with his AI home help, Alexa. In his final performance, Ron plays…

Source: https://lanntair.com/events/event/artist-gathering-film-night/

#Gàidhlig #Gaelic

Niall O’Gallagher reads “Crindreas”, for National Poetry Day 2022

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szSy4H7Aplk&t=1s

#Scottish #literature #Gaidhlig #Gaelic #poem #poetry #autumn

An lùib na droighne
anns an dris-choille
tha meas an fhoghair
toradh mo ghràidh…

—Niall O’Gallagher, “Crindreas”

https://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poem/crindreas/

#Scottish #literature #Gaidhlig #Gaelic #poem #poetry #autumn

The question I asked in today's issue, and I mean it as a real one: what have you actually turned your face toward this week, and what did it cost you to keep looking? I'm answering every one of these in the comments under the piece.

#Gàidhlig #Gaelic #Alba #MastoDaoine #Druid #Folklore #Lùnastal #Blessing #Solidarity #QueerNews #Seasons

https://thistleandmoss.com/p/what-survives-the-morning-another-week-that-wont-sit-down-2d2398dcba465b14?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=fedica-Wendy-New-RSS
3/3

The goldenrod does not check the roll call, and tonight neither do you. Carry what's yours.

Set the rest down at the door like muddy boots — because it is muddy, and it isn't yours, and you've been hauling it up the stairs all week like a martyr with a subscription.

#Gàidhlig #Gaelic #Alba #MastoDaoine #Druid #Folklore #Lùnastal #Blessing #Solidarity #QueerNews #Seasons

2/3

Tha sinn fhathast an seo, agus tha an talamh a' cuimhneachadh — we are still here, and the earth remembers.

Put one hand flat on the nearest solid thing. Table, wall, tree, floor. Leave it there for one whole breath before you read another headline.

The empire can schedule its shabby little votes for four in the morning if it wants. #Gàidhlig #Gaelic #Alba #MastoDaoine #Druid #Folklore #Lùnastal #Blessing #Solidarity #QueerNews #Seasons

1/3

An Lanntair: Songwriters Circle is our monthly gathering for island songwriters, to try out ideas on each other with no pressure, no expectations, an no audience except a group of kindred spirits who can offer encouragement and ideas.
It’s a chance to share unfinished songs, get feedback, and find people to collaborate with. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced musician, new members are always welcome!
The post https://lanntair.com/events/event/songwriters-circle-18/ appeared first on https://lanntair.com.

Source: https://lanntair.com/events/event/songwriters-circle-18/

#Gaelic #Gàidhlig

I enjoyed this program presented by Michael Rosen. Someone whose writing and broadcasting I have long enjoyed. He is not a #Gaelic speaker (although Roddy Maclean who takes a prominent role in the discussion is) but for I presume mainly speakers of English it is great.

Bruidhinn Gàidhlig. Bruidhinn mu dheidhinn na Gàidhlig.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0030n9z

#Gaidhlig #Gaelic #language #Scotland #bbc

Call for Applications: Crossing Tongues Poetry Residency

Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature invites a Scottish poet writing in English, Scots &/or Scottish Gaelic to undertake a 7-day residency in Nigeria, alongside the Hausa International Book & Arts Festival, December 2026

Applications open until 30 September

https://cityofliterature.com/opportunities/call-for-applications-crossing-tongues-poetry-residency/

#Scottish #literature #poetry #Nigeria #Scots #Scotslanguage #Gaidhlig #Gaelic #residency

The land doesn't hold its shape that way. Two breaths, then: in through the nose, a second short sip stacked on top, out long and ragged. Three times.
That second sip is the part that actually reaches the nerve.

Cùm do chasan air an talamh — keep your feet on the ground.

What am I still asking permission to call mine? Ask me...
#Phenology #Nature #Autumn #Gàidhlig #Gaelic #MastoDaoine #Alba #Druid #Folklore #Herbalism #Mindfulness #GardensOfMastodon → https://thistleandmoss.com/subscribe?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=fedica-Wendy-New-RSS
3/3

Your body has been braced since somebody said the small mean word at a fairground. Bracing isn't weakness — it's a nervous system doing the job it evolved for. The trouble is nobody ever tells the body when the thing is over, so it holds that shape into September, into a jaw that clicks and a shoulder that will not come down.
#Phenology #Nature #Autumn #Gàidhlig #Gaelic #MastoDaoine #Alba #Druid #Folklore #Herbalism #Mindfulness #GardensOfMastodon
2/3

NAMING THE SNAKES: New Writing Scotland 44
Glasgow launch
8 September, Waterstones Sauchiehall St, Glasgow – £5 / £12 with book

Celebrate the latest issue of NEW WRITING SCOTLAND with a mix of readings of poetry, short fiction & non-fiction in English, Gaelic & Scots – all welcome!

https://www.waterstones.com/events/new-writing-scotland-44-launch/glasgow-sauchiehall-street

#Scottish #literature #Gaidhlig #Gaelic #Scots #Scotslanguage #poetry #shortfiction #newwriting #booklaunch #Glasgow

💁🏻‍♀️ TIL: ✍️🏛️ At Cicero’s request, his freed slave and secretary Marcus Tullius Tiro devised Tironian notes, a #shorthand system of roughly 4,000 symbols for #Latin.

Used to transcribe the orator’s speeches, it expanded to 14,000 signs before emperors suppressed it as diabolical. The symbol ⁊ survives today as the Tironian et in #Unicode, preserved by #Irish and #Gaelic #typography.

👉 https://www.openculture.com/2026/08/discover-the-ancient-roman-shorthand-writing-system-with-4000-symbols-commissioned-by-cicero.html

#cicero #history #rome #writing #language #linguistics #typing #ancientrome #science

An talamh fodhad — the earth beneath you, keeping its own record of what this summer was.

What's the plant in your ditch that hasn't opened yet?
#Phenology #Nature #Gaelic #ScottishGaelic #Druid #Pagan #Herbalism #Summer #Goldenrod #Weather #Solidarity #Writing
Today's Gathering, whole → https://thistleandmoss.com/p/what-survives-the-morning-trump-is-dying-and-we-all-get-to-watch?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=fedica
2/2

The tulip poplars started dropping yellow leaves in August. Not autumn. Thirst.

The ground went dry and the tree made a decision about it.

Fanaidh an talamh — the earth waits.

What's quitting early where you are?

#Nature #Phenology #Gaelic #Druid #Summer #Trees
thistleandmoss.com/p...

Fanaidh an talamh — the earth waits. It has done this before. It will do it again after every one of us is finished arguing.

What's gone early where you are this year?

#Nature #Phenology #Seasonal #Trees #Summer #Gaelic #Gàidhlig #Druid #NatureWriting #Georgia #Kudzu #Cicadas

Today's Gathering → https://thistleandmoss.com/p/firesale-everything-blanche-must-go-also-the-uss-lincoln-is-an-awolfest?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=fedica
2/2

The tulip poplars have begun dropping yellow leaves in August. Not autumn — thirst. The ground went dry and the tree made a decision about it, ahead of schedule, the way anything does when the season asks too much.

Kudzu in bloom on every roadside, smelling absurdly of grape soda. Cicada shells still gripping the pine bark where the bodies climbed out.

#Nature #Phenology #Seasonal #Trees #Summer #Gaelic #Gàidhlig #Druid #NatureWriting #Georgia #Kudzu #Cicadas
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Расследования ФБК Алексея Навального
документы, оффлайн
#Расследования #ФБК #Алексей Навальный #Навальный
#документы, #оффлайн
t.me/scilib_yura15cbx/898

English Books Graded Readers Collection
Английский язык, книги на английском языке 🇮🇴
t.me/scilib_yura15cbx/897

Португальский язык, Portuguese
Português, Португальська мова 🇵🇹
t.me/scilib_yura15cbx/896

Голландский язык, Nederlandse taal en letterkunde in het Nederlands,
Dutch language and literature in Dutch, нидерландский, Голландська мова 🇳🇱
t.me/scilib_yura15cbx/895

Old English, Древнеанглийский язык, Ænglisc, Anglisc, Englisc
#Old English, #Древнеанглийский язык, #Ænglisc, #Anglisc, #Englisc
Давньоанглійська мова, англосаксонский, Anglo-Saxon ⚔
t.me/scilib_yura15cbx/894

Латышский язык, latviešu valoda
Latvian language, Латвійська мова, Латвийский язык 🇱🇻
t.me/scilib_yura15cbx/893

Эстонский язык, литература на эстонском
#Eesti keel, eestikeelne kirjandus, eesti raamatud, eesti kirjandus, eesti õpikud, Eesti, Естонська мова, література естонською, Естонські книги, естонська література, підручники естонської, #Естонія Estonian language, literature in #Estonian, Estonian books, Estonian literature, Estonian textbooks, #Estonia Эстонские книги, эстонская литература, учебники эстонского, Эстония 🇪🇪
t.me/scilib_yura15cbx/892

Норвежский язык, литература на норвежском языке
Norsk språk, litteratur på norsk, norske bøker, norsk litteratur, norske lærebøker, Norge, Norwegian language, literature in Norwegian, Norwegian books, Norwegian literature, Norwegian textbooks, Norway, Норвезька мова, література норвезькою мовою, норвезькі книги, норвезька література, норвезька підручники, Норвегія, норвежские книги, норвежская литература, учебники норвежского, Норвегия 🇳🇴
#Норвежский язык,
#Norsk språk, #litteratur på norsk, #norske bøker, #norsk litteratur, #norske lærebøker, #Norge, #Norwegian language, #literature in Norwegian, #Norwegian books, #Norwegian literature, #Norwegian textbooks, #Norway
t.me/scilib_yura15cbx/891

Вьетнамский язык, Tiếng Việt, sách bằng tiếng Việt.
книги на вьетнамском языке. Vietnamese language, books in Vietnamese. В'єтнамська мова, книги в'єтнамською мовою. 🇻🇳
#Вьетнамский язык, #Tiếng Việt, #sách bằng tiếng Việt.
t.me/scilib_yura15cbx/890

Непальский язык, नेपाली भाषा, नेपाली भाषामा पुस्तकहरू।
книги на непальском языке. Непальська мова, книги непальською мовою. Nepali Language books in Nepali language. 🇳🇵
#Непальскийязык, #नेपालीभाषा, #नेपाली #भाषामा #पुस्तकहरू।
t.me/scilib_yura15cbx/889

Icelandic Language
Исландский язык Íslensk tunga Ісландська мова Исландия 🇮🇸
t.me/scilib_yura15cbx/888

Celtic languages (Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Welsh, Breton)
#Celtic languages (#Irish, #Scottish #Gaelic, #Welsh, #Breton)
Кельтські мови (ірландська, шотландська гельська, валлійська, бретонська). Кельтские языки (ирландский, шотландский гэльский, валлийский, бретонский), книги на кельтских языках, Шотландия Ирландия. Keltnesk tungumál (írska, skosk gelíska, velska, bretónska), bækur á keltneskum tungumálum. Cànanan Ceilteach (Gaeilge, Gàidhlig na h-Alba, Cuimris, Breatannais), leabhraichean ann an cànanan Ceilteach. 🇮🇪
t.me/scilib_yura15cbx/887

Датский язык, датская литература
книги на датском языке. Danish language, Danish literature, books in Danish. Deense taal, Deense literatuur, boeken in het Deens. Датська мова, датська література книги датською мовою. 🇩🇰
t.me/scilib_yura15cbx/886

Люксембургский язык
Luxembourgish Language, Люксембурзька мова Lëtzebuergesch 🇱🇺
t.me/scilib_yura15cbx/885

Литва. Литовский язык, литовская литература, книги на литовском языке. Учебники, история, философия, литература, архитектура.
Lietuva. Lietuvių kalba, lietuvių literatūra, knygos lietuvių kalba. Vadovėliai, istorija, filosofija, literatūra, architektūra, dvarai. Li

Шэнизм
Кита‌йская наро‌дная рели‌гия (кит. трад. 中國民間信仰, упр. 中国民间信仰, пиньинь Zhōngguó mínjiān xìnyăng, палл. Чжунго миньцзянь синьян) или шэни‌зм (от кит. 神, пиньинь shén, палл. шэнь «божество, дух») — комплекс религиозных представлений, сложившихся в ходе исторического развития китайской цивилизации. Является эклектическим сочетанием религиозных верований и практик, основанных, прежде всего, на почитании предков и сил природы, добрых и злых духов, а также Неба; примерно к XI веку сложился синкретизм, основанный на буддийских представлениях о карме и перерождении, а также даосском учении об иерархии богов.
религии, верования, учения, religions, beliefs, teachings, Китай, China, релігії, вірування, вчення
t.me/scilib_yura15cbx/873

Эсперанто, Esperanto, Есперанто
foreign languages, fiction, world foreign language foreign literature, иностранные языки, художественная литература, мировая иноязычная зарубежная литература, іноземні мови, художня література, світова іншомовна зарубіжна література, fremdaj lingvoj, fikcio, monda fremdlingva fremda literaturo.
#Эсперанто, #Esperanto, #Есперанто
t.me/scilib_yura15cbx/872

Книги на испанском языке Libros en español
зарубежная литература, художественная литература, испанская литература, испаноязычная литература, испанский язык, Испания, латинская америка, мировая литература, испанский, literatura extranjera, ficción, literatura española, literatura en lengua española, lengua española, españa, américa latina, literatura mundial, español, Books in Spanish, foreign literature, fiction, Spanish literature, Spanish-language literature, Spanish language, Spain, Latin America, world literature, Spanish, Книги іспанською мовою, зарубіжна література, художня література, іспанська література, іспаномовна література, іспанська мова, Іспанія, латинська америка, світова література, іспанська 🇪🇸
t.me/scilib_yura15cbx/871

Книги на испанском языке Libros en español архивы архіви archives archivo
зарубежная литература, художественная литература, испанская литература, испаноязычная литература, испанский язык, #Испания, #латинскаяамерика, #мироваялитература, #испанский, #literatura extranjera, #ficción, #literatura española, literatura en lengua española, #lengua española, #españa, #américa latina, #literatura mundial, #español, Books in Spanish, #foreign literature, fiction, #Spanish literature, Spanish-language literature, Spanish language, #Spain, Latin America, world literature, Spanish, Книги іспанською мовою, #зарубіжналітература, #художнялітература, #іспанськалітература, іспаномовна література, #іспанськамова, #Іспанія, #латинськаамерика, #світовалітература, #іспанська 🇪🇸
t.me/scilib_yura15cbx/870

Биоакустика и биомагнетизм, Bioacoustics and biomagnetism, Біоакустика
биологическая акустика біологічна акустика biological acoustics, наука, физика, биология, коммуникация животных, звук, science, physics, biology, animal communication, sound,
#Bioacoustics and #biomagnetism, #Біоакустика
#биологическаяакустика #біологічнаакустика #biological acoustics, #наука, #физика, #биология, #коммуникация животных, #звук, #science, #physics, #biology, #animal communication, #sound
t.me/scilib_yura15cbx/869

Акустика Acoustics Acustica
физика звук, аудио фізика, аудіо Acoustics physics sound, audio Fizyka akustyczna dźwięk 🔉
#Акустика #Acoustics #Acustica
#физика #звук, #аудио #фізика, #аудіо #Acoustics #physics #sound, #audio #Fizyka #akustyczna #dźwięk
t.me/scilib_yura15cbx/868

Психолингвистика, Psycholinguistics, Психолінгвістика
психология, лингвистика, психологія, лінгвістика, psychology, linguistics
#Психолингвистика, #Psycholinguistics, #Психолінгвістика
#психология, #лингвистика, #психологія, #лінгвістика, #psychology, #linguistics
t.me/scilib_yura15cbx/867

Книги на каталонском языке
4250 llibres ebooks epubs en catala
Llibres en català Books in Catalan Catalonia, Каталанский язык, каталонский язык валенсийский язык, valencià Libros en catalán Книги каталонською мовою мировая литература, зарубежная литература, художественная литература, каталонская литература, зарубіжна література, художня література, каталонська література, foreign literature, fiction, Catalan literature, literatura estrange

Старославянский язык
Old Slavonic language
языки, лингвистика, филология славянский
#языки, #лингвистика, #филология #славянский
t.me/scilib_yura15cbx/858

Архитектура Architecture
журналы, периодика Architecture magazines, periodicals 🏠
t.me/scilib_yura15cbx/857

IRC bookz archives архивы

Художественная литература на английском языке
англоязычная художественная литература, Художня література англійською мовою, Fiction in English (это ужасно), Ficsean sa Bheurla, Ficsean i mbéarla
t.me/scilib_yura15cbx/856

IRC bookz Художественная литература на английском языке
англоязычная художественная литература, Художня література англійською мовою, Fiction in English (это ужасно), Ficsean sa Bheurla, Ficsean i mbéarla
#IRC bookz #IRC
t.me/scilib_yura15cbx/855

Художественная литература на английском языке
Fiction in English
англоязычная художественная литература, Художня література англійською мовою, Fiction in English (это ужасно), Ficsean sa Bheurla, Ficsean i mbéarla
t.me/scilib_yura15cbx/854

Книги
книжное дело, библиофилия, книгопечатанье, книги про книги, книги о книгах библиотековедение + архивы, архивное дело библиография библиотечное дело библиотеки 📚
#Книги
#книжное дело, #библиофилия, #книгопечатанье,
t.me/scilib_yura15cbx/853

CA, cellular automata, клеточные автоматы
математика, моделирование самоорганизации, дискретные модели
#CA, #cellular automata, #клеточныеавтоматы
#математика, #моделирование #самоорганизации, #дискретныемодели
t.me/scilib_yura15cbx/852

Радио электроника радиотехника Radio electronics
журнал журналы периодика magazine periodicals Радиолюбитель, Радио всем, Радиофронт HackSpace Practical Wireless Elektronika dla Wszystkich 📻
t.me/scilib_yura15cbx/851

Радио электроника радиотехника Radio electronics
журнал журналы периодика magazine periodicals Радиолюбитель, Радио всем, Радиофронт HackSpace Practical Wireless Elektronika dla Wszystkich 📻
t.me/scilib_yura15cbx/849

“Where are our roots? How do we make ourselves at home? How does the stranger come to feel at home? Maybe we need to remind ourselves of what a family is, what it could be, and what it stands for, to begin to make sense of the wider world.”

Read the editors’ introduction to NAMING THE SNAKES: New Writing Scotland 44:

https://asls.org.uk/publications/books/newwriting/nws-44-introduction/

#Scottish #literature #NewWriting #shortstories #shortfiction #poetry #poems #Gaidhlig #Gaelic #Scots #Scotslanguage #writingcommunity

NAMING THE SNAKES
New Writing Scotland 44
Ed. by Chris Powici, Allan Radcliffe & Anna C. Frater

The best new short fiction & poetry from forty-three writers who are Scottish by birth, residence, or inclination, writing in English, Gaelic, & Scots. Available for preorder now from all good bookshops! (And the evil one too.)

https://asls.org.uk/publications/books/newwriting/nws44/

#Scottish #literature #NewWriting #shortstories #shortfiction #poetry #poems #Gaidhlig #Gaelic #Scots #Scotslanguage #writingcommunity

“An Eala Bhan” (“The White Swan”) has been performed by a huge number of Gaelic artists from Julie Fowlis to Capercallie & Linda Macleod who grew up in the same part of North Uist as Dòmhnall Ruadh Chorùna. She speaks here to Cathy McDonald about the significance of the song and the man behind it

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p03z41p3

#Scottish #literature #Gaidhlig #Gaelic #poem #warpoetry #Somme #WW1

Gur duilich leam mar tha mi
’S mo chridhe ’n sàs aig bròn
Bhon an uair a dh’fhàg mi
Beanntan ard a’ cheò
Gleanntannan a’ mhànrain
Nan loch, nam bàgh ‘s nan sròm
’S an eala bhàn tha tàmh orra
Gach là air ’m bheil mi ’n tòir…

—Dòmhnall Ruadh Chorùna, “An Eala Ban”

The First Battle of the Somme began #OTD, 1 July, 1916. Dòmhnall Ruadh Chorùna / Donald MacDonald composed “An Eala Bhan” (“The White Swan”) during the battle.

#Scottish #literature #Gaidhlig #Gaelic #poem #warpoetry #Somme #WW1

Uamh an Uisge, Eilean Mhuile.

Larach poite-duibhe ann an uamh mara.

The 'whisky cave' on the coastline in Mull.

#Whisky #WhiskyWednesday #UisgeBeatha #Gaelic #Gàidhlig #Scotland #Scotch #archaeology #MastoDaoine #IsleOfMull #Argyll #photography

@photography

Banshees

A banshee (Bean si in Modern Irish & ben side, in Old Irish, meaning “woman of the fairy mound,” or “fairy woman”) is a female spirit in Irish folklore who heralds the death of a family member. She usually does this by screaming, wailing, shrieking, or keening. Keening is a traditional form of vocal lament for the dead in the Gaelic Celtic tradition. This is known to have taken place in Ireland & Scotland.

Banshees are strongly associated with specific Irish families. The belief is that the banshee is a family spirit attached to a particular lineage. Her mournful wail/cry is heard only by family members as a warning of an imminent death.

Another of the banshee characteristics is their unwavering attachment to certain Gaelic families such as the O’Neills, O’Brians, O’Connors, O’Grady, & Kavanaghs, among others. Some traditions hold that the banshee is the ghost. This is perhaps a mother of a famous poet/singer from the family who died tragically. In this sense, she’s an ancestral spirit tied to the bloodline & the land.

She appears or is heard only to mourn & warn the family of an impending death. Often before anyone has received news of it. This direct, specific role makes her an inherently familiar guardian or omen for that clan/family.

They aren’t family pets, the banshees presence is a known, if terrifying, part of the family’s history & destiny, linking her fate to theirs across generations.

A banshee is an autonomous entity, a powerful fairy-woman (bean sidhe) or ghost, isn’t under the control of any living person.

Sometimes she has long streaming hair, which she may be seen combing, with some legends specifying she can only be keen while combing her hair. She wears a gray cloak over a green dress. Her eyes are red from continual weeping. She’s sometimes dressed in white with red hair & a ghastly complexion.

In Ireland & parts of Scotland, a traditional part of mourning is the keening woman (bean chaointe), who wails a lament. This keening woman may be a professional, in some cases. The best Keeners would be in high demand.

Irish legends talks about a lament being sung by a fairy woman, or banshee. She would sing it when a family member died or was about to die. Even if the person had died far away & news of their death hasn’t come yet. In those cases, her wailing would be the 1st warning the household had of the death.

The banshee is also a predictor of death. If someone is about to enter a situation where it’s unlikely they’ll come out alive, she’ll warn people by screaming/wailing. This gives rise to the banshee also being known as a wailing woman. The banshee was also linked with the death coach. The banshee is said to either summon the death coach with her keening or travel in tandem with it.

When several banshees show up at 1 time, it usually indicates the death of someone holy or great. The story sometimes tells that the woman (though called a fairy) was a ghost. She’s often a specific murdered woman, or a man who passed away in childbirth.

In some parts of Leinster, she’s referred to as the bean chaointe or ban nigheachain (“little washerwoman”) or nigheag na h-ath (“little washer at the ford”). She’s seen washing bloodstained clothes or armor of those who are about to die.

In Welsh folklore, there’s also a similar being known as the cyhyraeth. The cyhyraeth gives a disembodied moaning voice before the person’s passing.

Some sources suggest that the banshees Laments only the descendants of pure Milesian stock of Ireland. The Milesians were the final race to settle in Ireland. The original belief appears to be associated with a number of ancient Irish families. According to tradition, a banshee wouldn’t lament or visit someone of Saxon or Norman descent or those who came to Ireland later.

Most, not all, of the last names associated with banshees have the “O” or “Mc/Mac” prefix. That means people with the last names of Goidelic origin. This means a family native to the Insular Celtic lands. Rather than those of the Norse, Anglo-Saxon, or Norman.

There are some exceptions to the banshee lore. A banshee may lament a person who’s been gifted with music & song.

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#AngloSaxon #BanNigheachain #Banshees #BeanChaointe #BeanNighe #BeanSi #beanSidhe #BenSide #Celtic #Cyhyraeth #DeathCoach #Gaelic #Goidelic #InsularCeltic #Ireland #IrishFolklore #Kavanaghs #keening #KeeningWoman #Milesian #ModernIrish #Norman #Norse #OBrians #OConnors #OGrady #ONeills #OldIrish #Poet #Saxon #Scotland #ScottishFolklore #Singer #WelshFolklore

Still on a high after this the next day! I hope the folks going to see Capercaillie in concert in Aberdeen (tonight) or Edinburgh (tomorrow) also have a fab time. #Capercaillie #Music #Scotland #Aberdeen #Edinburgh #Gaelic

Wowed by Capercaillie in Perth tonight, celebrating 40 years as a band. Karen Matheson’s voice sublime as always. But I loved how their strengths as an instrumental Scottish folk group was also highlighted. I was most stunned by Charlie McKerron‘s epic fiddle playing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OM1NU8dtUZI #Capercaillie #Music #Scotland #Perth #Gaelic

#NowPlaying #BlackMetal #Saor #AmidstTheRuins #Epic #Caledonia #TheScots
#Gaelic If you missed me playing this earlier, you really need to check this out, if it does not bring you to #Tears or an #Emotional breakdown. Then you #MissedTheMark. Stay still. Breathe.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVIFEwa9JZg

Very much enjoyed tonight watching the Skippinish 25th anniversary concert at Edinburgh Castle the other week, recorded and aired on BBC Alba, and available for UK folks on the iPlayer. Also some very special guests. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002173j #Skippinish #Gaelic #Scotland #ScottishMusic #Music #TraditionalMusic #FolkMusic #EdinburghCastle #BBCAlba #Concert #Edinburgh #Capercaillie #Runrig #iPlayer #Gaidhlig

Mar a chunnacas. Seann fhasgadh is An Taghadh sna h-Eileanan.

Old bus stop and election posters in Na h-Eilean Siar.

#Hebrides #IsleOfLewis #Gàidhlig #Gaelic #ge2024 #GeneralElectionUK #Scotland #languages #VoteSNP #YesScotland #Tuesday

Mo chreach! A ghoc ris!

German TV host discover kilt etiquette...

#Scotland #Kilts #Germany #Munich #euros2024 #IsSinneAlba #WeAreScotland #YesScotland #Gàidhlig #Gaelic #Cleachdi

Fonn na bliadhna.

Tune of the year.

#Tunesday #TuneTuesday #Kneecap #Gaeilge #Irish #rap #Gaelic #MastoDaoine #GrianChatten #Palestine

https://youtu.be/KSnF7RaeoXE?si=B0b7AHd6nStzFu3l

Caismeachd airson saorsa na h-Alba. Dùn Èideann, 2022.

March for Scottish independence.

#Edinburgh #Scotland #FotoMontag #PhotoMonday #Gàidhlig #Gaelic #ScottishIndependence #YesScotland #ScottishGreens #SNP #SSP

Ollamh Rìgh Albainn agus an Lia Fàil. A freumhan ann an seann chultar Gaidhealach na h-Alba.

The #StoneOfDestiny or Stone of Scone on which King Charles wants to sit is an ancient remnants of Scottish Gaelic culture. The King of Scots was the 'father' to his tribe, not king of 'the land'.

#Gàidhlig #Gaelic #Scotland #NotMyKing #KingCharles #MastoDaoine

Ended up at the page of a #Gaelic lady poet whose poem I already know well from a sung #Capercaillie version. So then have to dig that out in iTunes! This in the new collection of Scottish #Poetry 1730-1830. It includes a lot of Gaelic poems (Gaelic first then translated version after) and poems by women. #ScottishPoetry #ScottishLiterature #Gaelic #GaelicPoetry #GaelicSongs #Scotland #EighteenthCentury #18thCentury

The thread about the Twelfth Day of Christmas; the Drum and Drum House

This thread was originally written and published in December 2019.

This part in the Edinburgh and Leith themed Twelve Days of Christmas thread is preceded by a post about Pipe Street in Portobello and why it was so named.

On the eleventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me; The Drum. Drum is very common in Scottish place names, and comes from the Gaelic Druim meaning literally a “back” and figuratively a ridge of raised ground; in Edinburgh there are examples such as Drum Brae, Back Drum in Leith, Drumdryan (but not Drumsheugh, which is a shortening of Meldrumsheugh). But the Drum to which I am referring is The Drum, an estate and stately home on the outskirts of Edinburgh near Gilmerton.

The place name here refers to the “back” of high ground south of the city and is recorded as early as 1406. The earliest map to show it is John Adiar’s 1682 Map of Midlothian, and we can see it occupies the space between Edmonston, Woolmet, Sheriffhall and Gilmerton. The entire area was part of a hunting forest dating from the time of King David I and which was known as the Drumselch, or Willow Ridge.

The lands of The Drum came into the possession of Sir Walter de Somerville, Lord Somerville of Linton and Carnwath, when he acquired them through marriage to the daughter of the landowner Sir John Herring of Gilmerton. The Somervilles are yet another Norman noble family brought to pacify and civilise Scotland by King David I. A house was first built at The Drum in 1584 for Hugh Somerville, 7th Lord Somerville, after a court case ruled ownership in his favour over another family branch in Cambusnethan. The 11th Lord , James Somerville (who did not claim the title) wrote of it; “the rooms are few, but fair and large; the entire and staircase extremely ill-placed, neither is the outward form modish, being built all in length in form of a church.”

A tragedy befell the Somerville family in 1589 when William Somerville, heir to the Lord, accidentally shot his younger brother John, while drying and cleaning a loaded pistol that had gotten wet. Their father, in a fit of grief and rage swore vengeance upon his older son, who fled before him before the Lord Somerville came to his senses. King James VI on hearing of this, reprimanded the Lord and “commanded him to send for his eldest son, and be reconciled to him, for he knew he was a sober youth, and the very thoughts of his misfortune would afflict him enough, albeit he were not discountenanced by him“. William Somerville, “the Good Master of Drum“, never got over accidentally killing his brother and when he was stricken with fever two years later he suffered with it for 10 months before passing unhappily away.

The original house was replaced in 1720 by the 13th Lord, also James Somerville, who commissioned William Adam – father of Robert and James – to build a fashionable new Palladian country mansion. Writing of Adam’s masterpiece:

Had he never executed another edifice than Drum House, this alone would suffice to merit his distinction… There is an air of refinement about this residence almost equivalent to that which pervades the “Petit Trianon” at Versailles, where Marie Antoinette sought seclusion from the excitement of French Court and the distractions of the later years of her troubled life.

The Architectural Record, Volume 47, Issue 6, June 1920

The original house was remodelled into a wing pavilion; a matching reflection on the other side was never completed.

The interior of the new house was as fine as the outside, the stucco being by the Dutch master Josef Enzer, who was also responsible for the interior of another of William Adam’s Palladian masterpieces in the Lothians, Arniston House.

From 1756 to 1866, The Drum was the location of the Edinburgh Mercat Cross after its removal to widen the High Street. An alternative reason for removal was that the Merchants of the city had persisted in meeting around it to do business, rather than using the fine new Royal Exchange built at great public expense only yards away! The cross was subsequently relocated back to a spot near its original in 1885, at the expense of William Ewart Gladstone. It was raised up on a reproduction podium and plinth to the designs of Sydney Mitchell. The head of the cross was replaced with a royal Unicorn, the original having been pulled down by the occupying forces of Oliver Cromwell as symbols of the monarchy when the city was occupied after the Battle of Dunbar.

The Drum was sold by the 19th Lord Somerville, Aubrey John, in 1800 to James Hay of Bhagalpur, who worked some of its lands for coal at Drum Colliery. He in turn sold it to Robert Cathcart WS around 1809. It then went in 1820 to Gilbert Innes of Stow and on his death to his sister. On his sister’s death it went to Alexander Mitchell of Stow who sold it in 1862 to John More Nisbett of Cairnhill in Ayrshire. More Nisbett bought back the estate park and farm lands at the same time, which had been gradually split up in the earlier part of that century.

More Nisbett’s second son, Hamilton, became an architect, his work mainly being monuments, church alterations and domestic. He succeeded to the estates of Drum and Cairnhill on the death of his older brother, North More Nisbett, in 1939 at which point he moved his practice from George Street to Drum House. He did much of his own work making improvements and alterations to the estate and its buildings and died there in 1955. He designed the Gilmerton Junior Friendly Society Hall, now Gilmerton Village Hall, which appropriately is on Drum Street. The Drum remains in the hands of the More Nisbett family to this day.

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