Evil eye in the western HighlandsMaclagan, Robert Craig
Religion
Evil eye in the western Highlands
Maclagan, Robert Craig
Evil eye; Folklore; Superstition
Two men, each having but one horse, were in the habit of doing their
ploughing by uniting the pair in one team. One day both horses took
ill and the Evil Eye was diagnosed. One of the owners sent for _eolas_
and his horse began to recover; the other man, who at first expressed
disbelief, seeing his neighbour’s horse improving while his own did
not, sent his niece, on the “sly,” to the same practitioner, Bean A.,
for _pisearachd_. It is the niece who gives us the information. “Well,
I went, and I told her my errand. I had a shawl on my head. When she
heard my errand she went and put her hand up the lum and took something
from there, and then she went into a corner and took out three wee
pokes as black as soot and took something out of them. She was in the
dark, but I knew that there were stones in the pokes, for I heard them
rattling. She then gave me a paper with something in it, and told me
that I was on no account to open the paper or let light or air into
it till I would reach home. As soon as I would reach I was to tell my
uncle to put what was in the paper into a bottle of water, and that
he was to sprinkle the water over the horse, repeating its name three
times while sprinkling it. He was then to pour a little into each of
its ears, and the rest, if there should be any over, he was to put in
its food. These were her directions, and I went away with the paper;
but two people met me on the road and spoke to me. I did not answer
them properly, for I was afraid, but just said I ‘_iim_,’ keeping my
mouth shut all the time. I had a strong wish to see what was in the
paper, but was afraid if I would let in light or air it might be of
no use. I resisted the temptation till I was nearly home, and then,
getting behind a dyke, I put the shawl over my head in such a way
that neither light nor air could get into the paper, as I thought.
When I opened the paper what I saw were three wee black balls, black
as soot, just like balls of soot. I never let on at home that I had
opened the paper, and my uncle did all as he was ordered to do, and
after a while the horse began to get better. I do not know whether it
was the bottle that cured it, but it took a good while before it came
to be quite well. People used to say that when a beast or body was
_air a’ cronachadh_ it would take as long to complete the cure after
the application of the _eolas_ as had been between the injury and the
application of the cure. Bean A. assured my uncle afterwards that it
was a person of the name of Stewart that had done the harm, and there
were only three of that name in the place at that time. Suspicion fixed
on one of them, and by-and-by they began to cast it up to her. She got
angry and went to check my aunt for reporting a thing of the kind about
her. This was the first my aunt had heard of the cure, for my uncle
wanted to conceal it from her, and she was very angry with him for
having sent to the _eolas_ woman.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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