Gàidhlig / English
Caise Calluinn

Caise Calluinn

Posted by Shona on Tuesday 23rd December 2014

If you are planning to indulge (or over-indulge!) on cheese over the Festive period, then this week’s word of the week, ‘caise Calluinn’, is for you!

‘Caise Calluinn’ is a special cheese made during the Christmas period. A slice cut off, or a piece of rind, if preserved and with a hole through it, was thought to have special qualities and was called a ‘laomacha’.

According to the book ‘Witchcraft & Second Sight in the Highlands & Islands of Scotland: Tales and Traditions Collected’ by the Rev. J. G. Campbell, if a person had lost their way and looked through the hole in the ‘laomacha’ they would see their way clearly.

An even stranger power attributed to the cheese was if a person scrambled to the top of the house and looked down the ‘far-lus’ (the hole in the roof that served as a chimney), they would be able to ascertain the name of his or her future husband or wife!

The words ‘caise Calluinn’ and ‘laomacha’ were collected in  Ardveenish on the Isle of Barra in 1988.

Have you heard the words ‘caise Calluinn’ or ‘laomacha’ before, or eaten a piece of the cheese? Or maybe a ‘laomacha’ helped you find true love? If so, we would be pleased  to hear from you on Facebook or Twitter.

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