DASG Blog

“Uamh an Òir”, “Uamh a’ Phìobaire” agus “Beowulf”

Bay of the two doors; Saint Ciaran’s Cave, Cave of the Gruagach: It is clear that we have a very interesting placename-folklore on the face of the Scottish landscape in terms of caves in the ages of old, with beast, creatures, history and practices included to the old Gaels. It is interesting to see that we have many “Uamh a’ Phìobaire” [“Cave of the Piper”] in Scotland that we have little knowledge of but we have loads of stories and folklore about them.

Regarding stories where a cave is involved there isn’t a story that comes close to “Uamh an Òir” [“The Cave of Gold”] no “Uamh a’ Phìobaire” [“Cave of the Piper”], caves guarded or settled by a monster or an awful creature. Months ago I was speaking with a friend at the University and we started to talk about Beowulf and it occurred to me just how similar the story about the cave in that story the Vikings and the English of old is similar to the story we have about “Uamh an Òir” on the Isle of Skye, close to Bornesketaig. (I had better say that I have found the placename “Uamh an Òir” as well to the west of Greshornish. It is likely that there are other places in Scotland with the same name). In the two stories there is a Dragon protecting a big treasure of gold and a man going inside for it hoping to take the treasure from the dragon. It is a little different with the version we have because it is a piper that goes in instead of a warrior.

We have a lot of music and songs connected to this story, with waulking songs and lullabies such as “Uamh an Òir” and Pibrochs, with the ground “Dà làimh sa phìob” [“Two hands on the pipe” See below]. There is a variation of this story in the book “The Antiquities of Gigha: A Survey and Guide”, by Reverend R.S.G. Anderson talking about a cave in Gigha. According to this version, a piper goes in piper goes into a cave with his dog, to never return at all. In another old-tale the dog returned but with his hide scorched and naked. According to oral tradition, music can be heard from clefts and notches of the cave to this day, with piping reporting the piper’s struggle, fighting against the monster:

“Dà Làmh sa phìob, làmh sa chlaidheamh...
’S truagh an-diugh bhith gun trì làmhan”.
[“Two hands on the pipe...
It’s a shame today to be without three hands”].

This verse means that he piper wishes he had another hand to play his pipes while he fights the monster! The same story and the words above can be found in the book “Folksongs and Folklore of South Uist”, by Margeret Fay Shaw.

It is believed that the piper wrote a song before he went in to the cave, the song is sung today as a lullaby, “Uamh an Òir”, singing that many years will go past before he returns from the cave:

“Bidh na fir-uchda nam fir fheachda,
Mun till mi à uamh an òir...”

[“The 'babes of the chest’ will be a regiment
Before I return from the cave of gold...”]

According to folklore the caves can be as long and as deep that the path can be followed to another place entirely, even to another part of the country. That is recorded in the book “The Antiquities of Gigha: A Survey and Guide”, who reported about a cave at the south of Gigha that apparently ends in Killeonan, in Kintire! The same sort of story can be found in the south of Kintyre; It is believed that in Achnaclach, close to Killellan, that there is a tunnel under the slabs of the kitchen that leads miles to chapel to a chapel five miles away. Pipe music can be heard coming from the tunnel at Halloween, according to oral tradition.

There we have it about “Uamh an Òir”, do you have any folklore or stories about the cave, or do you have any stories about other caves that are similar to this? Let us know on facebook, twitter and our own website!