Gàidhlig / English
Feamainn-chìrein

Feamainn-chìrein

Posted by Edit on Thursday 21 April 2016

This week’s word, feamainn-chìrein (Chanelled Wrack in English), was first gathered in Harris. According to the Fieldwork Archive, feamainn-chìrein was a special kind of seaweed: in spring, when the hay was dry, feamainn-chìrein was boiled and mixed with the hay and given to cattle. It was thought to make the hay more nutritious – as is mentioned in this recording on Tobar an Dualchais, it was good for the coat and horns of cattle.

It is clear that seaweed in general was quite important in the lives of Highlanders. Apart from being used as a supplement in fodder, it was often used as a fertiliser. This special use of seaweed is mentioned in several traditional songs, such as ’S Bidh Fionnlagh ag Innearadh, Mise a Tha Brònach o Thòisich am Feamnadh and Mhòrag ’s na Hòro-gheallaidh.

The importance of seaweed for Highlanders is also seen in the amount of related vocabulary to be found in the Fieldwork Archive. There are, for example, names for every different kind of seaweed, such as feamainn anachasach (seaweed cut from rocks), feamainn-loibhte (‘rotten seaweed’, which was used as manure for potatoes) and feamainn shiabaidh (‘swept-up seaweed’, seaweed that was thrown on the shore by full tides). There are also many terms to be found connected to different usages of seaweed, such as rà feamainn (a collection of seaweed tied together with a fishing net), sùgh-feamainn (juice that was abstracted from seaweed) and a’ cur fodha na feamainn (the act of putting seaweed into furrow).

If you have any additional knowledge of feamainn-chìrein or the use or significance of seaweed in general (which I’m sure that you have!), why don’t you leave a comment in the comment section below.  



 
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