Evil eye in the western HighlandsMaclagan, Robert Craig
Religion
Evil eye in the western Highlands
Maclagan, Robert Craig
Evil eye; Folklore; Superstition
In the above an express proviso was that while sprinkling the water
over the horse its name was to be repeated three times. The necessity
for this was expressly laid down by a Sutherlandshire reciter who said,
“The person or beast to be cured is made to drink some of this (silver
water), and is also sprinkled all over with some of it. The sprinkling
is done in the name of the Trinity, and the name of the person or beast
being operated upon must also be mentioned. This is all that is needed
if it is a case of Evil Eye.”
Of course there is a certain amount of pure swindle in some of these
performances.
A lad was sent some miles in Islay for _eolas_ for a sick cow. He gave
his account of the case to the man, who then promised him a bottle.
Having got the bottle and directions for its use, the messenger put it
in his pocket and took his way home. Before he had got quite half-way,
he fancied he heard a “commotion” in the bottle, which was still in his
pocket. He then discovered that the bottle had burst (?) and what had
been in it had all gone. Thinking this was not as it should be, after
standing for a minute or two wondering what he should do, he made up
his mind to go back and tell the scientist what had happened. Back
he went, made his report, and the man said to him: “Did they manage
to do that to you? I’ll give you a bottle they cannot break.” He got
another bottle ready, waved his hands over it before giving it to the
lad, saying as he did so, “Here, _they_ cannot break this one, but
the cow will not be saved.” He told the boy who had injured the cow.
_They_ were the doers of the evil, evidently supposed to be acting with
intention to do injury; so this case might be considered as one of
witchcraft by those concerned in it.
WATER, WHERE APPLIED
There has been already occasion to mention that the instruction given
with the healing water was to make the animal swallow some of it,
but yet more frequently to sprinkle it on the beast. The most usual
locality, however, to which it is ordered to be applied is that of the
ears.
A reciter’s father-in-law had a sick horse which was supposed to have
eaten or drunk nothing for some days. A woman in the neighbourhood was
consulted, who, when she came into the stable, put some water (?) in
the ear of the horse, saying some words at the same time. The horse,
which was lying down, rose to its feet, began to eat, and recovered.
Another reciter told of her own husband, who got something in a bottle,
which he was ordered to put a portion of in the horse’s ears, and to
sprinkle some all over its body. As soon as he came home he did what he
had been ordered, the sick horse rose to its feet, began to eat, and
completely recovered.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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