DASG Blog

Teine-aighir

Teine-aighir is a word that many Gaelic-speakers will know which means a ‘bonfire’, an outside fire used for celebrations. Another word that could be used with the same meaning is ‘teine-èibhinn’.

Bonfires are of course built around this time of year for Guy Fawkes Night on the 5th November, but this wasn’t celebrated in Gaelic tradition, or at least not until fairly recently. Instead, teintean-aighir were made particularly on Halloween, as well as New Year’s Day, and a ‘samhnag’ — referring to ‘Oidhche Shamhna’, Halloween — is also a bonfire; a word found in Glenlyon and Barra.

William Walker from Killin in Perthshire describes how a ‘bonfire’ or teine-aighir would be built every year in Coire nam Bonnach on Halloween up to the First World War. But in his youth Halloween was celebrated on the 11th November, following the old calender.

I’m not sure if William spoke Gaelic — Perthshire is an interestingly bilingual place in the 20th century — but Margaret McDiarmid from Glenlyon, not far from Killin, certainly did. She also gave an account of the importance of a bonfire on Halloween, about which people would dance, as well as other familiar customs such as guising and playing tricks.

Teintean-aighir would also be built long ago to celebrate good news. After a brief search for the word we can find examples of it used to celebrate a new landlord or factor, a victory in war, and in support of Charles Fraser-Mackintosh for the Crofters' Party.

A good word for a large, roaring blaze is ‘braidseal’. As Angus Campbell (Am Puilean) says, ‘Braidseal math teine ri sradadh ’s a’ smùideadh’, A big roaring blaze crackling and smoking.  Dwelly says, however, that the word originally referred to a ‘Hill used as a beacon’ or signal fire.

An example of such a ‘braidseal’ or signal fire can be found in a surprising story by Rev. Norman MacDonald. In Mull about the early 19th century, fires would be lit on the hills if there was need of a doctor or minister to come from the mainland. On one occasion, a Mull woman was in labour and needed a doctor. Fires were lit to send for the famous Rahoy Doctor, i.e. John MacLachlan of Rahoy, to come from Morvern. But he couldn’t find a boat to take him across. As the story goes:

Chaidh e a-null far an robh [...] tarbh agus chuir e sìos roimhe e a dh’ionnsaigh a’ chladaich. Thug e air an tarbh a dhol a-mach air a’ mhuir. Chaidh e fhèin casa-gobhlach air muin an tairbh, agus stiùir e null an tarbh gu cladach Mhuile. Agus bha e ann an àm gu leòr airson freastal air a’ bhean a bha ri saothair cloinneadh.

[He went to where there was a bull and he got it to go down towards the shore. He managed to get the bull into the sea. And then he leapt onto its back, and he steered it over the short strait to the other shore in Mull. He finally arrived in enough time to attend to the woman as she was giving birth.]

Believe it or not.

Like other subjects on this blog, ‘Is tric a bheothaich srad bheag teine mòr’. Often a small spark starts a big fire.


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