Gàidhlig / English
Dronnag

Dronnag

Posted by Shelagh on Thursday 14th May 2015

This week, we’re looking at the word dronnag and other words connected to peat-working.

Although the word dronnag is mainly used to mean either ‘ridge’ or ‘back’, it was collected in both Kintyre and the Isle of Lewis with a different meaning: a coarse skirt which was rolled up around the waist of someone transporting peat and arranged as a cushion below the creel (the basket used to carry the peat). Dronnag was the word used for this cushion and the skirt itself was called còta-dronnaig.

As can be seen in the illustration, the person carrying the creel would also wear an osan and an iris. The osan was a stocking with the sole cut out of it, designed to keep women’s feet warm while they were working barefoot and to protect their legs from rough heather. The iris was the ‘creel-strap’, a piece of rope used to keep the creel securely on the bearer’s shoulders.

Have you heard or used any of these terms? If so, we’d be interested to hear your stories on Facebook or Twitter.

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