Ossian Collection > Carmina gadelica > Volume 1

.A HOUR .'511
THE CONSECRATION OF THE CLOTH
Ma dli' imich tint null thar chuan If thou art gone beyond the sea,
(iu inn luadh thig thu dachaidh. Prithee hasten home to me.
Cuimhnich thoir leat bannal ghruagach, Remember, bring a band of maidens,
A luaidheas an clo-ruadh gu daingean.' Who will waulk the red cloth firmly.
When the women have waulked the cloth, they roll up the web and place it on
end in the centre of the frame. They then turn it slowly and deliberately sunwise
along the frame, saying with each turn of the web : —
' Cha 'n ath-aodach seo. This is not second clothing.
Cha 'n f haoigh seo. This cloth is not thigged.
Cha chuid cleir no sagairt seo.' This is not the property of cleric or priest.
Another form is : —
' Roinn a h-aon, roinn a dha, roinn a tri, Division one, division two, division three,
roinn a ceithir, roinn a coig, roinn a sia, roinn division four, division five, division six, divi-
a seachd, roinn a seachd. sion seven, division seven.
' Cha'n aodach seo do shagairt no chleir, This is not cloth for priest or cleric,
Ach 's aodach e do mo Dhomhllan caomhach But it is cloth for my own little Donald of
fein, love,
Do m' chombanach graidh 'sdodh' Iain an For my companion beloved, for John of
ai gh> joy,
'S do Mhuiril is aillidh sgeimh.' And for Muriel of loveliest hue.
Each member of the household for whom the cloth is intended is mentioned by
name in the consecration. The cloth is then spat upon, and slowly reversed end by
end in the name of Father and of Son and of Spirit till it stands again in the centre
of the frame. The ceremony of consecrating the cloth is usually intoned, the
women, hitherto gay and vivacious, now solemn and subdued, singing in unison.
The woman who leads in the consecration is called ' coisreagan/ consecrator or
celebrant. After the cloth is waulked and washed it is rolled up. This is called
' coilleachadh ' — stretching, — 'coilleachadh an aodaich ' — stretching the cloth, — a
process done with great care in order to secure equal tension throughout the web.
The operation of waulking is a singularly striking scene, and one which High-
landers cherish wherever situated.