Bodach and Cailleach
The menhirs ( English Standing stones ) Bodach and Cailleach (also called Man and Woman ) are two small menhirs near the Achamore Farm near Ardminish in the south of the island of Gigha (English pronunciation ˈɡiːə , Scottish Gaelic Giogha ( )) ; possibly from the old Norwegian Guðey ("good island") or Gud-øy (" God's island ") in Argyll and Bute in Scotland .
163 inhabitants live on Gigha, an island in the Inner Hebrides (as of 2011). Old rites and ceremonies continued there until recently. A writer reported some fascinating events that were connected with the little-known place and spoke of pagan rites.
It is known that the rites existed until the beginning of the 19th century, when Irish fishermen climbed the small hill “Moinean Sitheil” in the “holy moor of peace” to find the “Old One of Gigha”, a legendary stone pair known as Bodach and To pay homage to Cailleach who have stood on the low green hill from time immemorial.
Each is about two feet tall, one is boat-shaped with a deep keel and flat rectangular top, and the other can-shaped with a wide protruding lip. Through the centuries, the little Bodach with the strangely elongated head and his wife, as well as a surrounding stone family, have watched over Gigha: Their mysterious aura is said to guarantee continued fertility and prosperity. In the past, people would have honored them with food or milk, and they still have considerable local significance and respect now, although this is now less clearly expressed in pagan ways.
literature
- F. Hood: Survey of Gigha , Glasgow Archaeol Soc Bull, Vol. 33, 1994 p. 7
- Graham Ritchie , Mary Harman: Argyll and the Western Isles (= Exploring Scotland's Heritage. ). 2nd edition. HMSO, Edinburgh 1996, ISBN 0-11-495287-6 .
Web links
- Description Engl. and picture
- Description Engl. and picture
- Entry on Bodach and Cailleach in Canmore, Historic Environment Scotland's database
- image
Coordinates: 55 ° 39 ′ 41.4 " N , 5 ° 45 ′ 23.8" W.