Gàidhlig / English
Speilean

Speilean

Posted by Shona on Thursday 25th June 2015

This week’s word of the week is ‘speilean’, a game which is quite similar to cat and bat or rounders.

 

To play a game of ‘speilean’, two sides of equal numbers are picked, one fielding and the other batting. A hole is made in the ground and one end of a speil is put in the hole, with a ball on top. The batter strikes the end of the speil and, while the ball is in the air, hits the ball as hard as he can. The fielding team will try and send the batter out of the game, either by catching the ball before it hits the ground, or by trying to throw the ball into the hole or one bat’s length close to the hole. If they do not get the batter out, he will continue to hit the ball until he is out, when another batter will then take his place. This continues until one side counts 100 or is all out, if they do not reach 100 the teams swap roles. If neither team reaches 100 points, the team with the highest score is said to be winner.

In the DASG Fieldwork Archive, informants from Skye, Harris and Lewis mention ‘speilean’. In Lewis, the informant gives the name of the game as ‘speilipan’, and it was this informant who gave the illustration above. ‘Speilean’ also appears in the Dwelly Dictionary, and is known as a Uist game.

 

Have you ever played a game of ‘speilean’? What other games do you like to play? Let us know on Facebook or Twitter.

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