Blair Collection > Carmina gadelica > Volume 2

NOTES 231
'A nigheau righ nan roiseal 'lliou daughter of the king of the regions of
soluis, light.
An oidhche bhios oiruue do bhanais, On the night that thy wedding is on us,
Ma 's fear beo mi an Duntuilm If living man I be in Duntulm
Theid mi toirleum da d'earrais. I will go bounding to thee with gifts.
Gheobh tu ciad bruicean taoghal Thou wilt get an hundred badgers dwellers in
bruach, banks,
Ciad dobhran doun, dualach allt, An hundred brown otters native of streams,
Gheobh tu ciad damh alluidh nach Thou wilt get an hundred wild stags that will
tig not come
Gu innis ard ghleannaidh. To the green pastures of the high glens.
Gheobh tu ciad steud stadach, Thou wilt get an hundred steeds stately and
luath, swift,
Ciad brae bruaill an t-samhraidh. An hundred reindeer intractable in summer,
'S gheobh tu ciad maoilseach maol. And thou wilt get an hundred hummelled red
ruadh, hinds,
Nach teid am buabhall am Faoileach That will not go in stall in the \\'olfmonth of
geamhraidh.' winter.
A few miles south-west of Inveraray there is a hill called ' Barr nam brae,'
' Barr a bhrac ' — Ridge of the deer, ridge of the reindeer.
Brdchd, putrescence, putrefaction, effervescence, fermentation. ' Braich,' malt ;
' braicheadh,' malting; 'brachadh,' ' brachach,' ' brachag,' and other forms.
' Brachd ' assumes the form of ' bruchd,' a term applied in the Outer Isles to the
red seaweed cast on the shore and collected in heaps and allowed to ferment.
' Bruchda dubh,' ' bruga dubh,' black putrefaction.
Brachd, fat, rich, generous.
Bradan, salmon. The simple term is confined to the salmo ferojc, but qualified it is
applied to the turbot and the sturgeon. The turbot is called ' bradan brathain,'
round salmon, quern-like salmon, while the sturgeon is called 'bradan leathann,'
broad salmon, 'bradan bacach,' halting salmon, and ' bradan cearr' or ' gearr,'
left-sided or broad salmon. 'Stirean' and ' stiorasg ' are modifications of the
English sturgeon. Like the salmon proper, the sturgeon ascends rivers to
spawn.
' Bradan breithinn ' — the salmon of knowledge touched by Fionn.
It is ominous to see a dead fish when going to fish, to see a dead bird when
going to shoot, or to see a dead beast when going to hunt. (Vol. i. p. ,'ìiy.)
Even sickly, weakly, maimed, or old persons were shunned when going to fish,
shoot, or hunt, and men otherwise shrewd and sensible would turn iiome in
displeasure if such crossed their path. Were a woman with red hair to meet
them their mutterings would be deep and long. This is the colour of hair
attributed to Judas Iscariot, for whom the people have a personal hatred.
Bnlth, fire, conflagration, everlasting, eternal, without end. ' Gu brath,' for ever ;