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A bheil sibh e貌lach air an fhacal gibean? Am measg eile, tha e a鈥� ciallachadh, a r猫ir Faclair Dwelly, 鈥�St Kilda pudding made of ... a mixture of fulmar fat, oatmeal etc. Said to be most sustaining and efficacious against coughs and kindred lung troubles.鈥�

Bha mi ag innse dhuibh an t-seachdain sa chaidh mun chunntas a rinn an Sgitheanach, M脿rtainn MacIlleMh脿rtainn, de Hiort o chionn c貌rr is tr矛 cheud bliadhna. A Late Voyage to St Kilda. Anns a鈥� chunntas, dh鈥檌nns an t-霉ghdar dhuinn mun ghibean. Bha an stuth sin air a chleachdadh mar leigheas airson casadaich a bha a鈥� tighinn air na h-eileanaich gach turas a bha b脿ta a鈥� nochdadh 脿 脿ite eile. Bha an galar a鈥� maireachdainn suas ri ceala-deug.

Mh矛nich MacIlleMh脿rtainn gun robh na Hiortaich a鈥� measgachadh a鈥� ghibein le min-choirce. Rinn iad brochan. Bha iad a鈥� gabhail a鈥� bhrochain mar leigheas airson a鈥� ghalair.聽

Cha do thuig daoine aig an 脿m sin mar a tha galaran a鈥� sgaoileadh. No mar a sheasas anti-cuirp an aghaidh ghalaran. Bha MacIlleMh脿rtainn teagmhach mun sgeul aca mun ghalar. Ach chuir e ceist mun ghnothach air a h-uile duine. Dh鈥檃ontaich iad uile 鈥� sean is 貌g 鈥� gun robh e f矛or. Bha eadhon leanaban air a鈥� bhroilleach a鈥� fulang leis. Bha na h-eileanaich dhen bheachd gun robh iad ga fhaighinn bho luchd-siubhail a bha a鈥� fuireach anns na taighean aca.

Chan e sin a-mh脿in, ach gach turas a bha Hiortaich a鈥� dol gu eilean eile, bha a鈥� chasadaich a鈥� tighinn orra anns an aon d貌igh. Dh鈥檉heumadh iad an d脿rna cuid gibean fhaighinn no falbh dhachaigh a Hiort airson feabhas a thoirt orra fh猫in. O, nam biodh lighichean air 猫isteachd ris na Hiortaich aig an 脿m sin 鈥� 始s d貌cha gun robh iad air m貌ran ionnsachadh mu sgaoileadh ghalaran!

Feumaidh gun do nochd an galar nuair a chaidh MacIlleMh脿rtainn ann. Ach sgr矛obh e, cho luath 始s a bha e air a chur am feabhas le gibean, nach robh casadaich air na daoine tuilleadh. Bha sin, eadhon ged a bha iad uile 鈥� d脿 cheud gu leth duine eadar Hiortaich is coigrich 鈥� a鈥� tighinn cruinn c貌mhla mar choitheanal airson seirbheisean eaglais.

Do you know the word gibean? Among other things, it means, according to Dwelly鈥檚 dictionary, 鈥楽t Kilda pudding made of ... a mixture of fulmar fat, oatmeal etc. Said to be most sustaining and efficacious against coughs and kindred lung troubles.鈥�

I was telling you last week about the account that the Skyeman, Martin Martin, made of St Kilda more than three hundred years ago. A Late Voyage to St Kilda. In the account, the author told us about the gibean. That material was used as a cure for coughing that came on the islanders every time that a boat was appearing from another place. The disease was lasting up to a fortnight.

Martin explained that the St Kildans were mixing the gibean with oatmeal. They made a porridge. They were taking the porridge as a cure for the disease.

People didn鈥檛 understand at that time how diseases spread. Or how antibodies resist diseases. Martin was dubious about their story about the disease. But he asked everybody about the matter. They all agreed 鈥� old and young 鈥� that it was true. Even babies on the breast weres suffering from it. The islanders were of the opinion that they were getting it from travellers that were living in their houses.

Not only that, but every time the St Kildans were going to another island, the coughing was coming on them in the same way. They would either have to take gibean or go home to St Kilda to cure themselves. Oh, if physicians had listened to the St Kildans at that time 鈥� perhaps they would have learned a lot about the spread of diseases!

The disease must have appeared when Martin went there. But he wrote, as soon as it was cured with gibean, that people were no longer coughing. That was even though they were all 鈥� two hundred and fifty people between St Kildans and strangers 鈥� coming together as a congregation for church services.