Gàidhlig / English
Bonnach Luirg

Bonnach Luirg

Posted by Shelagh on Thursday 26 February 2015

It may not feel as if Spring is on the way, but this Sunday will be the first day of March. Therefore, this week, we’re thinking about new life and our chosen word is bonnach-luirg. It was collected in South Uist and means “a reward, a cake or some kind of food given to person who found or reported the sighting of a young animal such as a lamb or calf.” It also appears in Dwelly’s dictionary with the following definition “Bannock given as a reward to a boy who finds a new calf.”

Bonnach-luirg also appears in a poem by the Skye poetess Mary Macpherson (Màiri Mhòr nan Òran) called ‘Na Thriall Uainn’, from her collection Dàin agus Òrain Ghàidhlig le Mairi Nic-A-Phearsoin, published in 1891. In the poem, she talks about a grandmother making and distributing the ‘bonnach-luirg’.

The same word was also collected in North Uist, but with a slightly different meaning – here people would ask “An robh bonnach luirg aice fhathast?” meaning has the cow calved yet.

Did you ever receive or make a bonnach-luirg? If so, please let us know on Facebook or Twitter.

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