| Reference Number | 13 |
| Title | Iasgach: Taghadh de dh’uidheam iasgaich às na h-Eileanan an Iar |
| Author | Anon., for Museum nan Eilean |
| Editor | N/A |
| Date Of Edition | 1991 |
| Date Of Language | late 20c |
| Date Of Language Ed | 1950-1999 |
| DateMacro | Late 20th c. |
| Date Of Language Notes | |
| Publisher | Acair |
| Place Published | Stornoway |
| Volume | N/A |
| Location | NLS |
| Geographical Origins | Western Isles |
| Geographical Origins Ed | Western Isles |
| GeoMacro | Various |
| GeoX | |
| GeoY | |
| Geographical Origins Notes | |
| Register | Education, Prose (Material Culture, Fishing) |
| Register Ed | Education, Prose |
| Genre | Information |
| Medium | Prose |
| Rating | B
Poster containing pictures of 16 implements used in fishing, along with their Gaelic names and uses.
Terminology from the Western Isles.
Alternatives given for some items of equipment.
Some useful terms are contained in the descriptions of the equipment.
Some publication information is given in Gaelic. |
| Alternative Author Name | N/A |
| Manuscript Or Edition | Poster, Ed. |
| Size And Condition | 60cm x 43cm |
| Short Title | Iasgach |
| Reference Details | NLS: S.Sh.S.2.92.3 |
| Number Of Pages | Single leaf poster, printed on one side only |
| Gaelic Text By | N/A |
| Illustrator | MacFhearghais, Dòmhnall |
| Social Context | Unknown. The poster was published jointly by Acair and Museum nan Eilean. |
| Contents | Single leaf poster, printed on one side, containing black and white sketches of 16 different fishing implements or parts of implements. Beside each implement is its Gaelic name with a short explanation in Gaelic of what it is. At the bottom right hand corner is a numbered key to the implements on the poster and to the left of this, at the bottom of the page, is a list, in English, giving a brief description of each of the implements. The Gaelic names and descriptions of the implements and the English explanations, as printed, are as follows:
Dorgh, sreang le dubhain air a ceann, air a suaineadh mu chlàr fiodha, airson a draghadh an dèidh eathrach.
Hand line used for boat fishing.
Bascaid, de chuilc airson lìon mòr a chumail no sgadan a thomhas.
Herring basket, used to hold nets and as a measure for weight.
Lìon beag; sreang làidir mu dhà cheud meatair a dh’fhad, le cruaidh agus puta air gach ceann. Tha na snòdaichean mu dhà mheatair bho chèile agus meatair a dh’fhad le dubhan air ceann gach fir.
A 200m length of line with hooks attached.
Sgùil, bascaid airson lìon beag a chumail.
Basket for holding fishing line.
Slat chuilce, airson iasgach creagaich.
Bamboo rod for rock fishing.
Driamlach, an t-sreang eadar an dubhan agus an t-slat air a dèanamh de ròineagan à earball eich.
Horsehair fishing line.
Dubhan, airson iasg a ghlacadh.
Hook.
Tàbh, airson iasgach bhàrr nan creag.
Hand held spoon net used for rock fishing.
Biast-dhubh/Dòbhran, bòrd fiodha le cudthrom air an oir ìosail a bheireadh dubhain tron uisge air ceann ròpa.
Otter board. Locally made fishing implement.
Bata chliabh/Botag, bata le dubhan air a cheann airson breith air ròpan chliabh à eathar.
Hook for pulling in boats, buoys, ropes, etc.
Cutag, sgian beag gheur airson iasg a sgoltadh.
Small knife used for gutting fish.
Puta, de chraiceann chaorach le teàrr air uachdar agus àrca no fiodh na thùc ann.
Buoy made of sheepskin and tar, plugged with cork.
Cliabh ghiomach, air a dhèanamh de chuilc agus lìon, airson giomach a ghlacadh.
A creel made of cane and baited to trap lobsters.
Lìon sgadanach, le mogaill chumhang airson sgadan a ghlacadh.
A section of net used to catch herring.
Snàthad lìon, leis am bithist a’ dèanamh agus a’ càradh lìon.
Needle for making and mending nets.
Baraille sgadain, anns am bithist a’ sailleadh sgadain. Tha comharr a’ chiùrair air ceann a’ bharaille.
Barrel for pickling herring showing the curers stencil. |
| Sources | The terms given here can be found in a number of Gaelic-English and English-Gaelic dictionaries. |
| Language | Although the terms given here can be found in a number of Gaelic-English and English-Gaelic dictionaries, this is still a valuable source of terminology relating to fishing, particularly as the focus is on terms used in the Western Isles. It is interesting that in some cases more than one name is given for a piece of equipment, presumably reflecting dialectal differences, e.g. biast-dubh/dòbhran and bata chliabh/botag. Unfortunately the poster does not specify in which areas particular terms are used. It is also useful that the poster provides not only the name of the implement, but a physical description and an explanation of what it is used for. The English descriptions are also helpful as are the sketches.
In addition to the Gaelic names, the Gaelic descriptions also contain a number of interesting terms, for example snòdaichean ‘tippets on fishing lines’, cruaidh ‘anchor’, mogal ‘mesh’, ròineagan, the plural of ròineag ‘a small hair or fibre’, tùc ‘a plug (usually in a boat)’, and comharr a’ chiùrair ‘the curer’s mark’. There are also one or two terms of interest that are not confined to fishing, e.g. teàrr ‘tar’, àrca ‘cork’, the Gaelic version of the English verb ‘draw’ draghadh, and the Gaelic version of the English ‘basket’ bascaid. The genitive form of eathar is given here as eathrach, whereas it is eathair in some other texts. The text also includes two references indicating the size of something, using the terminology a dh’fhad, e.g. meatair a dh’fhad, rather than a dh’fhaid as is often found. Also of interest is the use of the form bithist, the imperfect impersonal (passive) form of the verb ‘to be’, which is elsewhere found as bìte or bìthte. The poster does not indicate whether nouns are masculine or feminine.
As with the poster on ‘Croitearachd', the information provided at the bottom of this poster contains useful vocabulary relating to publishing, containing terms such as foillsichte, deilbhte, clo-bhuailte, and Earranta. |
| Orthography | |
| Edition | First Edition. The poster is good quality, the sketches are useful and informative, the text is well-laid out and the Gaelic appears to be accurate. |
| Other Sources | |
| Further Reading | Campbell, J. L., ed., Gaelic Words and Expressions from South Uist and Eriskay (Dublin, 1958: Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies).
Dwelly, Edward, The Illustrated Gaelic-English Dictionary (Glasgow, 1977: Gairm). |
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| Download File | |
| NumWords | 396 |
