Cailleach

Cailleach [ ˈkalʲəx ], Irish pl. Cailleacha [ ˈkalʲəxə ], Scottish Gaelic pl. Cailleachan [ kaʎəxən ] refers to a group of Gaelic legendary figures from Scotland , Ireland and the Isle of Man in Celtic mythology . The cailleacha are witch-like giantesses and are mostly associated with the weather.

meaning

Most cailleachan are considered to be the embodiment of winter, others are the cause of storms, protect animals or create certain lakes, rivers, mountains or islands. Features of older Celtic local and earth goddesses were transferred to the Cailleach figures . Related figures are the Black Annis or Gentle Annie, Gwrach y Rhibyn , Banshee , Bronach and Mal. According to Max Dashu, Irish oral tradition links the Cailleach to monuments from the Neolithic period. Some passage tombs bear her name, others are said to have built them. Examples are Calliagh Birra's House at Slieve Gullion in County Armagh , Leabhadh Chailligh and the “Crone's Bed” in County Cork , but it is particularly associated with Loughcrew .

etymology

The term Cailleach means 'nun', 'the veiled', 'witch' or 'old woman' and is derived from the Latin word pallium ('veil' or church garment worn by women). In Old Irish, the noun caillech ('the veiled') can be found to caille ('veil'). Differentiated terms in today's Gaelic are cailleach dhubh (nun), cailleach oidhche ('owl' - literally 'night woman ') and cailleach feasa ( diviner ) and cailleach phiseogach ('sorceress'). With cailleach modern Scottish Gaelic lexemes are caileag (young woman ', girls') and Scots carline / carlin (old woman', 'witch') related.

Ceann na Cailleach ( Hags head , "witch's head "), southwest tip of the Cliffs of Moher in County Clare , one of the many places named after the Cailleach

More cailleachan

• Cailleach Beinne Bric or Brice (Scottish Mountain Witch)
• Cailleach Bérri, also Senainne Bérri ("The old woman of Beare", ancestor)
• Cailleach chearc (fortune teller from Lough Erne)
• Cailleach Dhubh (Irish Cave Witch)
• Cailleach Mhor (weather witch in Scotland)
• Cailleach Mhor A Chilibric (the great witch of Clibric)
• Cailleach Mhor Nam Fiadh (Sea Witch in Kilmorack, Scotland)
• Cailleach na Deannach (Scottish dance figure)
• Cailleach na Mointeach (Scottish Moor Witch)
• Cailleach na Montaigne (Scottish Mountain Witch)
• Cailleach uisge (Water Witch of the Scottish Highlands)
• Cailleach Uragaig (Winter Witch of the Isle of Colonsay in Scotland)
• Caillagh ny Groamagh (Isle of Man Season Witch)
• Caillagh ny Gueshag (Fortune Teller Witch of the Isle of Man)
• Caillagh Groarnagh (Isle of Man Weather Witch)

See also

• List of Celtic gods and legendary figures
• Bodach and Cailleach

literature

• Alexander Carmichael : Carmina Gadelica. Lindisfarne Press 1992, ISBN 0-940262-50-9 .
• John Gregorson Campbell: The Gaelic Otherworld. Ronald Black, Edinburgh 1900, 1902, 2005, ISBN 1-84158-207-7 .
• Eleanor Hull: Legends and traditions of the Cailleach Bheara or Old Woman (Hag) of Beare. 1927.
• Gearóid Ó Crualaoich: The Book of the Cailleach: Stories of the Wise-Woman Healer. Cork, Cork UP 2003, ISBN 1-85918-372-7 .

Web links

• The cailleach in the Irish megalithic tradition

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Malcolm Maclennan: A Pronouncing and Etymological Dictionary of the Gaelic Language . Acair and Mercat Press, 1993, ISBN 0-08-025713-5 .