Gàidhlig / English
Bodach-Sàbhaidh

Bodach-Sàbhaidh

Posted by Abi on Thursday 28th May 2015

Whilst the adults were working hard on the land, there was sometimes time for their children to play with toys, if they were at all lucky! The bodach-sàbhaidh was one of the toys the children had on the Isle of Lewis and somebody from the island wrote:

“Cudthrom freagarrach sam bith dheanadh e a’ chùis. Nuair a chuireadh sibh am bodach air gluasad, bheir e ùine mhór ag [?] air an t-sàbhadh mus stadadh e. Meud a’ bhodaich: 9” no na bu mhotha, an cumantas. E dèanta de fhiodh.”

[Any suitable pendulum would manage. When you set the man moving, he would spend a long time spinning before stopping. Size of the man: 9” or bigger, usually. Made with wood.]

There is a long history of the bodach-sàbhaidh or spinning-top in Scotland. “Teetotem” was the name of the most primitive version. It was a thing spun with the fingers, with four different sides and letters so that a game of chance could be played, like a dice. Similar examples were to be found in Scotland, Japan and Poland.

(Oliver, V. ‘History of the Top’ Spintastics Skill Toys, Inc. 2003)

There is more information about bodachan-sàbhaidh here.

Did you ever have a toy like the bodach-sàbhaidh or something similar? If you did (or still do) we would be interested to hear your stories through Facebook or Twitter.

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