Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 23, 1912.djvu/524

 500 In Memoriarn : Alexander Carmichael.

St. Bride's or Brigii's Day. — In the Highlands and Islands this day seems to be connected with serpent worship, perhaps dating from the Norse period, as the serpent is called the daughter of Ivor. The serpent is then supposed to emerge from the hollow of the hills, and the following propitiatory hymn is sung : —

'* To-day is the day of Bride, The serpent^ shall come from the hole, I will not molest the serpent, Nor will the serpent molest me."

Another version is : —

"The Feast Day of the Bride,

The daughter of Ivor shall come from the knoll, I will not touch the daughter of Ivor, Nor shall she harm me."

It is said that the serpent will not sting a descendant of Ivor who made tabhar agus tins (offering and incense) to it, thus securing immunity from its sting for himself and his seed for ever. On this day peat from the hearth is put into a stocking and pounded upon the doorstep, while chanting the above, but the meaning of this custom has been lost.

Death customs. — Several of the "death blessings" refer to "the time of the balancing of the beam," " the time of the bringing in the judgment," indicating a belief in the weighing of the soul similar to that of Egypt. According to old Scottish custom a wax candle, gold coin, hammer, and pair of scales were buried with a corpse, — the candle to light thar abhuinn diibh a bhais (across the black river of death), the coin to pay duais a asgair (the services of the ferryman), the hammer choti bualadh dorus tiam flathas (to knock at the door of heaven), and the scales chon cothromachadh an anama (to weigh the soul). Such hammers and scales have been found in graves.

Circuiting the burial ground {Cuartachadh a chlaidh) on St. Michael's Day is perhaps a relic of ancestor worship, and dot deiseil a chlaidh (going sunwise round the burial-ground) represents sun worship.

Hogmanay lads (vol. i., p. 149). — The gillean Callaig carollers perambulate the town-land at night, one man being enveloped in a

^ In other versions, " the Queen will come from the mound."