Evil eye in the western HighlandsMaclagan, Robert Craig
Religion
Evil eye in the western Highlands
Maclagan, Robert Craig
Evil eye; Folklore; Superstition
In another case the local practitioner, when sent for, walked round
the cow three times, and our reciter said, she may have done something
more, but in any case she failed to do any good, and the cow continued
ill. They then sent a messenger to another woman of the same sort, but
of greater repute, and who lived at a greater distance. This woman gave
the messenger a bottle of something like water, with instructions that
it was to be sprinkled over the cow. When the messenger returned home
and the stuff in the bottle was sprinkled on the cow, she got up, shook
herself, began to show signs of recovery, and in a short time was all
right.
In another case the woman sent for, “when she came said it was a case
of injury by _cronachadh_, and having repeated some words over the cow,
she sprinkled water she had prepared upon her with the result that the
cow soon got well.”
A male professor made up a bottle for a shepherd whose cow was ill,
and instructed him on reaching home to sprinkle “all that was in the
bottle” on certain parts of the cow. It is not advisable to take too
literally statements which apparently are very exact; “all the water”
in this case may simply mean the water that was in the bottle more
or less in its totality. Or it may have been the instruction was so
worded that if some of the water, even a drop or two, might be supposed
not to have got on the cow that the charm would be ineffective. The
destination of the water for particular parts of the animal was
undoubtedly a usual proviso.
So far the information might lead one to suppose that an incantation
said over water was sufficient in the beliefs of the operators. This
is however not the case, and there can be little doubt that to make
the incantation effective the water should have been in contact with
silver. A native of Harris said that he has heard of the “water of
silver” as a cure for people and beasts affected by the Evil Eye, and
also as a preventative of such injury if apprehended. In one instance
which came under his own observation, a respectable and intelligent
woman, to protect her cow and the milk and butter, first time she went
to milk the cow after calving, put a half-crown piece in the bottom of
the pail and drew the milk on to it. A friend who accompanied her saw
the whole performance.
A native of Islay informed us that for curing eyes of those suffering
from _cronachadh_ you should put “three bawbees in the water”; while a
native of Oban says that in all cases of _cronachadh_ where water is
used as a cure it must be poured on silver.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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