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Folklore of the Aberdeenshire Stone Circles

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Folklore of the Aberdeenshire Stone Circles I. FOLKLOR ABERDEENSHIRE TH F EO E STONE CIRCLE STANDD SAN - ING-STONES. BY THE LATE JAMES RITCHIE, CORRESPONDING MEMBER, F.E.I.S. The mysteriou a fascinatio s e humaha th s r nfo n y mindAn . phenomenon beyon e comprehensiodth challengen ma o fin t f n o d m hi s an explanation of it that will satisfy his restless intellect. And as time passes and the once sufficient explanation becomes inadequate, it s replacei y furtheb d r attempt a solutio e problemt a th s f e o n Th . tracing of such folklore has become a recognised branch of the study of human races ;s clea i fo t i rr tha t reveali t s trait f mentalito s y which otherwise fail to leave much mark in human progress. The tracing is t alwayno s easy r beforfo , e writin s inventegwa d memore solth e s ywa repository of these traditions, and many factors, particularly the move- ment f populationso s , militate against their permanence. Nevertheless, a considerable numbe e purposth s ri f thi remaint eo i s d papean , r o gathet r together those whic e stilar h l curren n Aberdeenshiri t e in connection with stone circles and standing-stones, so that they may e altogetheb t no r forgotten traditionaw fe A . l storie e includear s d which, although not strictly belonging to the bounds of Aberdeen- shire, fall withi e samth n e geographical district. They have taken many yeard mucan s h patient inquir o e gathersubject yth s s a i ,t one on which many people are reticent. The tradition s thea s y hav enoticy comm o et e show more variety than might have been expected t ther substratua Ye s .ei f similaritmo y n mani y which permit f theio s r being range a serie n di f group o s s FOLKLORE OF THE ABERDEENSHIRE STONE CIRCLES. 805 each wit a hcommo n motif, althoug t i hmus e admitteb t d thao n t classificatio regardee b n e followin ca ns th har dfasta d n I dan . g pages I grou Aberdeenshire pth e traditions under these heads:— (1) The Influence of Good and Evil Spirits. (2) The Notion of Worship. (3) The Idea of Buried Treasure. (4) Human Associations. (5) Animal Associations. These groups are not of equal import. Of the first three it may be said that they hav generaea l significanc e exceedinglar d an e y common d widespreadan , wherea shav5 Groupd e an rathe 4 s n individuaa r l significance, which tends to be of local instead of general interest. (1) THE INFLUENCE OP GOOD AND EVIL SPIRITS. The idea thae stonth t e circle d standing-stonean s e undear se th r special care of the spirit-world is widely prevalent, and has had a grea t o wit e d preservatiodea th ho t l f theso n e monuments from destruction at the hands of the utilitarian. Many years ago some of the stones of Mains of Hatton Circle, Auchterless, were remove o fort d m gateposts e spiritsth s i t t i ,bu , said, resented human interferenc s onlewa y wit t i e circle th hd an , with great trouble that horses could eve inducee b r paso t d s through farmee gatee th littlo th s S r.e wa prepare encounteo dt e spirituath r l enmity thus clearly indicated, that he decided to replace, on their original site, the stones which had been taken away; but it was remarked that whil o horsetw e s with difficulty dragged each stone downhill to the gate, one only found it easy work to pull a stone uphill from the gate to the circle. A somewhat similar story is told of e Drumeth Nothd l e farOl Ston th f , mo n nea eo r Gartly e stonTh e. was taken to the farm to make a lintel over a doorway in the steading, but thereafter the steading door was so often found open, and the interned animals wandering about the countryside, that at last it was e stonth decide t e pu bac o dt k again. When dons thi e troublswa eth e ceased. Near Auchleven e paristh f Premnayn o i h, , there once stooa d stone circle now completely destroyed. The farmer who removed the stones, shortly afterwards lost s cattlemanhi f yo froms diseaswa d ean ruined. Disease and ruin have visited farmers before and since that time, but nevertheless many of the good man's neighbours considered VOL. LX. 20 306 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, MAY 10, 1926. e fat f Auchleveth o e judgmena n r destroyint fo upo m n hi e circlegth . The devastation of his cattle herd by disease fell also upon the farmer of-Cairnfauld, in Durris parish, following upon his removal of some of e stonee circlth th f eso near-by. The notion that ill-luck attends the destruction of the circles is not t altogetheye r deads appareni s a , t fro n incidenma t which occurred in recent times at Corrydoun. Some alterations were being made e faroth nm buildingse masoth d n e an wor,employe th ko d o t d reckoned that he could make good use in his building operations of the stones in the stone circle. So he set to work to trim one of them, but, finding the stone harder than he had supposed, made little progresse dinner-houth t A . returnee h re farm th o ,dt s wherwa t i e noticed that he had damaged one of his fingers badly, an injury of whic wase t conscioush no . Someone suggeste s dunluck thawa t i t y to interfere with the stones, and the workman, agreeing, made no further s tool-markattemp theme hi t us bu o ;t t s still remain. The spirit influence was not always exerted to protect the ancient monuments. It was sometimes, though this is a rarer belief, antagonistic to their preservation. Probably this belief pictures a e everlastinphasth f eo g warfare betwee e spirite th nth f gooo sd an d spirits of evil. Thus the Sunken Kirk marks the site of a stone circle on Tofthills e parisfarmstona th t f n Clatti heno ,o t remainsbu ; d an , e absencth e storaccountes ei th yy b tha e spiritr th dfo t s have caused the circle to-sink underground. A similar tale accounts for the name of Chapel o' Sink on the farm of Westerton, Fetternear. In the large and almost complete circle at Cothiemuir, in the parish of Keig, the recumbent stonf peculiao s ei r rounde dnumerous shapeha d an , s hollows upo s surfacenit , cause y weathering b d e outside f thesth o o n eo ,Tw . rather larger than their fellows, are known as the " Devil's Hoof- marks," their shape resembling the mark of a cloven hoof. NOTIOE (2TH ) WORSHIPF NO . The notio f associatino n g worship wit e stonth h e monuments i s interlinked with the idea of spirit influence, for both meet in the beliesupernaturaa n i f l world e powerth , f whico s h guard thein ow r d mus an e propitiatedb t e belieTh .f thae circleth t s were user fo d purpose f worshio s s veri p y prevalen d veran t y firmly established. Throughout Aberdeenshire thee almosar y t universally knows a n " Druids' Circles" and " Druids' Stones," and by these names are more readily recognise e countrth y db y peopl othey e an tha ry nb nam e eth FOLKLOR E ABERDEENSHIRTH F O E E STONE CIRCLES. 307 inquiring archaeologist may care to use. A word of caution, however, is necessary: "Druid" to the archa?ologist and to the Aberdeenshire countryma e t archaeologismeath no e same o th o nT d n . e terth tm connotes a definite cult, associated with the oak tree and mistletoe, doubtfuis it thi in sif land sens Druidthe e eveconnectiohad sany r n wit e stonhth e countryma th circles t Bu . n use e tera ver th sm n i y wide sense—to mean anything pagan or heathen. Thus a "Druid Circle" means no more than a circle or temple employed in heathen worship lon w e ter s beegth Ho m ha .impossibls common i ni t i e nus e to say. Its origin has been attributed to John Aubrey, who derived s knowledghi t i fro r f JamemD o e s Garden, appointed Professof o r Divinit King'n yi s College, Aberdeen r Garden'D t 1680n i , Bu s. letter o Aubreyt , dated 15th June 1692, showe us s n i thae nam s th t wa e before his time. It is too deeply rooted among a class not given to reading archaeological works to be of modern origin. The circle at Druidstone, Premnay, gives its name to the farm, and pillar-stoneo tw e th s near Montgarrie, Alford e Druidsar , Stones,d an their site Druidsfield. In addition to the names Druids' Circle or Druids' Stones numbea , f theso r e erection e alsar so know s Druidsna ' Temples or simply Temples. The recumbent stone and pillars of what must originally have been a fine e homcirclth n eeo far f Pottertonmo , about five miles nort f Aberdeenho e locallar , y knowe Druidth s a n Temple, and the field in which they stand as the Temple Field.
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