Brollachan

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The Brollachan (Scottish Gaelic: brollachan , German "something entwined, entangled, interwoven") is a feared demonic creature in the Scottish highlands . The Brollachan is shapeless and takes on the appearance of the person or object on which it sits or which it touches. Nobody knows his true form. The only things you can see of him are the eyes and the mouth. Furthermore, he can only say "I" or "you" (Scottish Gaelic: mi-fhèin - "I myself" or thu-fhèin - "yourself"), which makes it extremely difficult to talk to him.

etymology

The term brollachan can mean different things in Scottish Gaelic . The masculine noun "brollachan" initially means something "entwined, entangled, interwoven". The lexeme "brollach" on the other hand is translated as "disorder" and "breast, bosom". The term could also refer to the fact that the being creates disorder or, with the negation particle "chan", forms the combination "brollach + (ch) an" with the meaning "bodiless, formless", which would describe its shapeless being quite well.

Appearance and Appearance

The special thing about the Brollachan is that it has no shape because it is still so young and has not yet learned how to maintain a fixed form. It appears as a dark, nebulous unit with two bright eyes and a mouth in the middle. Supposedly, one should be able to evoke a Brollachen through magical rituals in this form. Its size varies from 60 centimeters to two meters. He is not a brave being and loves to hide in the shadows. However, he prefers the bare hills to the dense forests. Because of his descent from the Fuath , whose son he is said to be, he often spends time near water.

Appearance and behavior

The Brollachan is said to be in secluded places in the Scottish highlands on the edge of human civilization. Sometimes it is also associated with the kelpie and the each uisge (water horse). Since it is shapeless, it often takes the form of other beings. If given the opportunity, he will invade any creature of appropriate size with his formless form. A person obsessed with a Brollachan has a dark complexion and glowing, red eyes. Most of the time these people stand out for their wild and uncontrolled behavior, as if they were trying to shake off the intruder. It is especially dangerous for children. The Brollachan cannot reside in a single being for a very long time. Due to the intensity of his work, people die within a few days and he has to find a new host. With the help of the dying, he attracts other living beings nearby.

Expulsion

Driving a Brollachan out of a possessed person is very difficult. This can only be done through traditional herbs. The expulsion is supported by ritualized chants. However, it is extremely difficult to get the herbs you need. You often need the help of other magical creatures. If the Brollachan had to exorcise the body of a possessed person, he is unspeakably dangerous. He will try to penetrate the exorcist and if he fails, he will curse him. Bright light is the best way to get rid of it. He also fears fire, despite his shapelessness, as he can be burned. The Brollachan should not be harmed or harmed, as this can draw the rampant anger of his family upon people.

The Brollachan in Literature

Tales of the Brollachan serve one purpose in traditional Scottish highland culture: to warn children not to leave the yard too far and to prevent them from wandering the dark and swampy areas of the highlands alone. Furthermore, they should protect the children from being too trusting to meet lonely hikers or stray animals. Fear of the Brollachan likely protected people from contracting rabies . The described behavior of the possessed is reminiscent of an infection with rabies. Another important aspect is dealing with strangers. On the one hand, there is an obligation to receive the traveler in a hospitable manner, as he could die outside in the hostile Scottish highlands. On the other hand, every stranger must be closely watched so that he does not turn out to be an enemy. In some stories, the Brollachan is said to feel the cold in the body of its host. A person who helps a Brollachan and gives him warmth and protection overnight will receive gratitude from the creature and live safely in the future. Since the Brollachan is a being guided by instincts , it is advisable to hide on the night that the Brollachan is present.

Current novels

  • Kate Lowe published The Case of the Brollachan (The Riley Pope Case Files Book 3) in 2016 , which is about the cryptozoologist Riley Pope, who tracks down shape shifters and other mystical beings.
  • Peter Gray published the third book in the Avalon series in 2017: James Avalon in The Brollachan . It is a mysterious criminal case from the Scottish Highlands, in which the legend about the mythological figure of Brollachan plays a role.

The Brollachan today

Although most Scottish children nowadays live in urbanized areas and towns where the old stories are no longer retold, the Brollachan stories linger in the rural areas, which still have the oral storytelling tradition as they used to. These stories are still being told in the northern regions, especially in the Gaelic-speaking areas. These stories about the Brollachan come from oral tradition and have rarely been recorded in modern books or documented in folk poetry. However, the character appears quite often in fantasy books and fantasy games.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://enctype.de/Daemonen/frame.htm
  2. ↑ Malcolm Macleannan: Gaelic Dictionary. A Pronouncing and Etymological Dictionary of the Gaelic Language, Edinburgh 1993, p. 53
  3. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from February 21, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / petergrayauthor.co.uk
  4. ↑ http://www.spookystuff.co.uk/scottish-folklore-brollachan.html

Sources on the net

literature

  • James MacKillop: A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology, Oxford University Press 2004
  • Malcolm Maclennan: A Pronouncing and Etymological Dictionary of the Gaelic Language. Acair and Mercat Press, Edinburgh 1993, ISBN 1-873644-11-6