Fuath
A Fuath ( Scottish Gaelic "am fuath", pronunciation [fuə], plural fuathan , German: Haß ) is an evil, Gaelic water spirit . The name is also sometimes used regionally for the Kelpie or the Each Uisge in Northern Ireland or the Bean-Nighe . The Scots use the name to refer generally to water spirits that inhabit the sea, rivers, or lakes (the Scottish lochs). Sometimes the name is even given to highland and nature spirits, but all beings with this name are malicious.
Appearance and behavior
In some descriptions they are covered with a shaggy, yellow fur, in others they only have a long mane along their back. They have webbed toes, a tail with spikes, and no nose. They usually wear green, the color of the fairies , be it a robe, a robe or a smock ( kirtle ). They sometimes marry people (usually a woman) whose offspring then also have a mane, tail and / or webbed fingers. Sunlight or cold steel will kill them instantly if they come in contact with it.
relative
In English, the fuath are sometimes called "vough" in the anglicised form. Other terms are Scottish Gaelic "arrachd" (German: spirit, despicable person) or "fuath-arrachd". A "fuath" is the mother of Brollachan , a shapeshifter who takes on the appearance of people and objects on which he is sitting. Further subspecies of the "fuath" living in the Scottish highlands include the " beithir ", " fideal ", "peallaidh" and "ùruisg". Another descendant of the "fuath" is the Nuckelavee , one of the most feared monsters in the Scottish highlands.
References on the web
literature
- Carol Rose: Giants, Monsters and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend and Myth. Norton, 2000, ISBN 978-0874369885
- A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology, by James MacKillop, Oxford University Press 2004.