Blair Collection > Carmina gadelica > Volume 1

SEASONS 167
is placed over the heart of the figure. This is called ' reiU-iuil Bride,' the
guiding star of Bride, and typifies the star over the stable door of Bethlehem,
which led Bride to the infant Christ. The girls call the figure ' Bride,'
' Brideag,' Bride, Little Bride, and cany it in procession, singing the song of
' Bride bhoidheach oigh nam mile beus,' Beauteous Bride, virgin of a thousand
charms. The ' banal Bride,' Bride maiden band, are clad in white, and have
their hair down, symbolising purity and youth. They visit every house, and
every person is expected to give a gift to Bride and to make obeisance to
her. The gift may be a shell, a spar, a crystal, a flower, or a bit of greenery to
decorate the person of Bride. Mothers, however, give 'bonnach Bride,' a
Bride bannock, 'cabag Bride,' a Bride cheese, or ' rolag Bride,' a Bride roll
of butter. Having made the round of the place the girls go to a house to make
the ' feis Bride,' Bride feast. They bar the door and secure the windows of the
house, and set Bride where she may see and be seen of all. Presently the
young men of the community come humbly asking permission to honour Bride.
After some parleying they are admitted and make obeisance to her.
Much dancing and singing, fun and frolic, are indulged in by the young men
and maidens during the night. As the grey dawn of the Day of Bride breaks
they form a circle and sing the hymn of ' Bride bhoidheach niuime chorr
Chriosda,' Beauteous Bride, choice foster-mother of Christ. They then
distribute ' fuidheal na feisde,' the fragments of the feast — practically the whole,
for they have partaken very sparingly, in order to have the more to give —
among the poor women of the place.
A similar practice prevails in Ireland. There the churn staff, not the corn
sheaf, is fashioned into the form of a woman, and called ' Brideog,' little Bride.
The girls come clad in their best, and the girl who has the prettiest dress gives
it to Brideog. An ornament something like a Maltese cross is affixed to the
breast of the figure. The ornament is composed of straw, beautifully and
artistically interlaced by the deft fingers of the maidens of Bride. It is
called ' rionnag Brideog,' the star of little Bride. Pins, needles, bits of
stone, bits of straw, and other things are given to Bride as gifts, and food by
the mothers.
Customs assume the complexion of their surroundings, as fishes, birds, and
beasts assimilate the colours of their habitats. The seas of the 'Garbh
Chriocha,' Rough Boimds in which the cult of Bride has longest lived, abound
in beautiful iridescent shells, and the mountains in bright sparkling stones, and
these are utilised to adorn the ikon of Bride. In other districts where the figure
of Bride is made, there are no shining shells, no brilliant crystals, and the girls
decorate the image witli artistically interlaced straw.
The older women are also busy on the Eve of Bride, and great preparations
are made to celebrate her Day, which is the first day of spring. They make an
oblong basket in the shape of a cradle, which they call ' leaba Bride,' the bed of
Bride. It is embellished with much care. Then they take a choice sheaf of