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ESTABLISHED IN THE YEAR MDCCCLXXVIII. ^^ PUBLICATIONS OP THE FOLK-LORE SOCIETY. XLVII. [1900] THE GAMES ^ DIVERSIONS OF ARGYLESHIRE COMPILED BY ROBERT CRAIG MACLAGAN, M.D " " Aibainn bheadarrach ! LONDON PUBLISHED FOR THE FOLK-LORE SOCIETY BY DAVID NUTT, 57-59 LONG ACRE 1901 1&73SG Printed by Ballantyne, Hanson dr" Co. At the Ballantyne Press — — A 6,. PREFACE When the Folk-Lore Society suggested the collecting of count}' folk-lore, the writer sent a circular (August 1893) to all clergymen, school-teachers, and some others in Argyle and its attached islands, asking if they would assist. Headings for the various subjects and hints on the best methods of collecting and noting information were given. One of the first answers, on the specimen collecting-sheet sent out, was : " In two volumes, by . viz., . and . published by William Paterson, Edinburgh (now Paterson <^ Company, Paternoster Row, London). Dr. Maclagan will find all that could be collected of any interest in the ' Superstitions and Folk-Lore of the West Highlands,' September ist, 1893." Though unsigned, and without locality' of origin, this was not encouraging, but all hope of finding something worth re- cording was not abandoned. That much was yet to be done has been proved by the work of Gregorson Campbell of Tirec, and Malcolm MacPhail of Kilmartin. This is a further en- deavour in the same direction, and it is hoped, while it is, so far as known, the only collection of nothing but Scottish games, that it may, even if imperfect, form a groundwork for a complete exposition, probably by other observers. This is the age of co-operation, and of my fellow-workers I wish to acknowledge specially the assistance of: Miss Elizabeth M. Kerr, till recently' of the F. C. Manse, Port Charlotte, Islay, a colleague without whose enthusiastic assistance this collection would never have appeared. Also Miss Jessie Macleod, Auchoish, Ardrishaig. vi PREFACE The Rev. Neil Campbell of Kilchrennan. Mr. Peter MacDonaid, New Selma House, Ledaig. Mr. Colin MacDonaid, Public School, Lochbuy; and Mr. Ian Macdougall, now Secretary to the Clan MacDougall Society. The airs to which the rhymes are sung were noted in Sol-fa by Mr. Donald Macfadyen, Port Charlotte, Islay, and translated into the older notation by Miss Effie Maclagan, Edinburgh, No hard and fast line has been drawn, but the contents arc simply pastimes found in use in Argyleshire at the present day. There has been no attempt to connote games played elsewhere in Britain. The student who desires to do this has the necessary material in Mrs. Gomme's "Traditional (British) Games" (2 vols. London, 1894-98, forming the first section of her " Dictionary of British Folk-Lore "), a monumental work, to which this may be considered an appendix. The Gaelic critic will no doubt find weak places, but if, c.^., he attacks the frequent use of the word cailleacJi for a "den," we admit the word should be callaidh, but if the chil- dren will call it " the old wife," we accept their joke as par- takers in their fun. R. C. M. SCHEME OF CLASSIFICATION Activity (General) . 1. Straicean for lomairt an Geat. 7. Straicean for "Ball Spiel" and "An 2. 8 Pinneachan an Geat. Toll." 3. Stannard. 8. Strac for Cat and Dog. 4. Camain. Shinty sticks, the lower one 9. Two Cats ; the right-hand one has the a single-handed Kintyre club. sides numbered. 5. Wooden shinty ball. 10. Siomad. 6. Ball-speil. 11. Pinne a Gheata. II. '.i 1. Crossbow, with bow'and two darts. Bows and arrows. The arrow on the 2. Crann tabhuill. This is generally made left is fitted with a bone barb. The with a double string only. Our illus- other is cut from one piece of wood. tration has a piece of leather intro- They may be accepted as showing the duced to hold the stone against the traditional idea of what an arrow- stick. should be like. They would not 3. Ordinary 'leather sling. stand use. 4. Sgoiltean. ' '^ "^ O 13 M -5 -S Xi c oj :; •- '- . <u O O b/jtiH d ':3 o "So 'K S -r: o Oi z: -r- -n ?J £" -^ 2 £ - ° ri - b« rt o — oj CC '•? ti & r; d •- s „ u "S H 13 io-F, ii o Cc3 •rt^ a. « t",- H %^ . o Srt n!re a, t^od cs d " pi fo 4- 0H rt boc S5.E c.cLS ._ re o-c g 5 X U CA £ f^ <N c»". -r r,vo — — — ARGYLESHIRE GAMES ^ ACTIVITY, GENERAL Of games requiring not so much special practice as general activity of body, we have the following : Hop, Step, and Jump This requires no elucidation, each pace being made in suc- cession in the order named to the utmost of the performer's power, the object, of course, being to see who could go farthest. Another more peculiarly played by boys is called Dinging the Bonnets Any number of boys pile their bonnets on the top of each other, and form themselves into a ring, taking each others' hands, the pile of bonnets being in the centre. They then drag each other, swaying and swerving backward and forward ; the object being to bring one or other into collision with the bonnets, so as to tumble them. When one tumbles them, he goes out of the ring, the pile is made up again, and they go on as before, until the number left in the ring is reduced to the lowest practicable limit. A more purel}' Gaelic amusement and played within doors on winter evenings is An Dribleis (The Afflicted) Or, as the reciter described it, it means "An old man who would in those days (seventy years ago) be carried in a rude barrow from house to house." This game was popular in Balvicar, Argyle, in the early part of the centur}'. A — ARTICULATION A large number of the young folk of the village would be seated round the peat fire on two stones or a peat or some such extemporar}' support. The leader of the company said, ''So an dribleis " (This is the afflicted one), to which another would answer, " Gu de tha an dribleis ag iarraidh ? " (What does the afflicted one want?). The leader would answer, "Do leth chas chuir air chrith mar tha mise, mar tha mise" (You to shake your one leg as I do). All the party round the fire would commence to shake the one leg. The same formula was carried on with each limb till the whole were shaking, all doing this at the same time, any one, of course, stopping being put out of the game. ARTICULATION To test the powers of accurate articulation without stumb- ling there are several phrases. In English the well-known " " one of Peter Piper : Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled pepper off a pewter plate. Where is the peck of pickled pepper Peter Piper picked ? These are used in some cases as a means of getting forfeits. The Gaelic ones are as follows : 1. Uisg' blath, bog, Tighinn mach a gob A cheatail. (Water warm, soft, coming from the spout of the kettle.) 2. Thoir am bord a beul na poit, 's cuir am beul na poit e. (Take the lid from the mouth of the pot and put it in the mouth of the pot.) " 3. Iteag na circe brice fo chiste mo shean-mhathair. (A feather of the spotted hen under my grandmother's chest.) 4. Tha nead na cearca breaca ann an ciste mine mo shean- mhathair. — — — ARTICULATION (The nest of the speckled hen is in the meal-chest of my grandmother.) 5. Tha gob fad air a bhudagochd ; tha 'm budagochd gun ghob. (The woodcock has a long beak ; the woodcock has no beak.) In this latter, if a trip in the pronunciation were made, the sound would probabl}^ be obscene. Budagochd is translated woodcock, of which it is surely a malversation (?) ; but in Mull the word giidabochd is used for a snipe. 6. Chleachd a chearc dhubh bhi breith anns a chliabh ; agus chleachd a chearc liath bhi breith anns a chro. (The black hen used to lay in the creel and the grey hen used to lay in the fold.) The following is said to have been a favourite exercise for his pupils with a former schoolmaster of D., who required it to be repeated with great rapidity and a solemn face.