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An Litir Bheag 841

Litir Bheag na seachdain sa le Ruairidh MacIlleathain. Litir 脿ireamh 841. Roddy Maclean is back with this week's short letter for G脿idhlig learners.

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Sun 27 Jun 2021 16:00

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An Litir Bheag 841

O chionn ghoirid, chuir mi cr矛och air leabhar mu dheidhinn ainmean-脿ite ann an Inbhir Nis agus an sg矛re mun chuairt. Tha mi airson innse dhuibh mu aon ainm-脿ite anns an leabhar. 鈥橲 e sin clach mh貌r ris an canar Clach Cailleach nam Muc. Tha i ann an Srath Narann.聽

Lorg mi cunntas mun chloich le eachdraiche ionadail. B鈥� esan Anndra Cuimeanach nach maireann. Sgr矛obh Anndra gur ann 脿 Eilean Le貌dhais a bha a鈥� chailleach. Bhiodh i a鈥� falbh timcheall Loch Nis le treud de mhucan. Bhiodh i a鈥� faighinn fasgadh fon chloich. Fhuair i b脿s an sin. Bha i air a h-ithe le a mucan fh猫in. Abair sgeul!

Lorg mi cunntasan eile mun chaillich. Tha cunntas air l脿rach-l矛n Tobar an Dualchais anns a bheil dithis a鈥� bruidhinn mu a deidhinn. Tha t猫 ag r脿dh gun robh a seanmhair a鈥� toirt biadh don chaillich agus gun do leig i leatha fuireach anns an t-sabhal aice.

Bha mi gu cinnteach airson a鈥� chlach a lorg! Ge-t脿, cha robh fiosrachadh mionaideach agam mun 脿ite san robh i. Lorg mi clachan a bha m貌r gu le貌r. Ach cha robh cumadh ceart air gin dhiubh.

Bha mi an impis an gnothach a leigeil seachad. Ach thachair mi ri Alasdair Foirbeis, tuathanach 脿 Srath Narann. 鈥極, Clach Cailleach nam Muc,鈥� thuirt e, 鈥榯ha i air an fhearann agam fh矛n. Bheir mi ann thu. Innsidh mi an st貌iridh dhut.鈥�

Air latha sneachdach, thug Alasdair ann mi. Air mullach cnoc creagach ann am meadhan coille, bha clach 脿rd. Bha talamh dubh f貌idhpe far nach robh an sneachd na laighe. 鈥楽in far an d鈥� fhuair a鈥� chailleach b脿s, air a h-ithe le a mucan fh猫in,鈥� thuirt Alasdair. Tha esan dhen bheachd gun do chaochail i gu n脿darrach. An uair sin dh鈥檌th na mucan i.

Fhuair Alasdair an sgeul 脿 beul-aithris. Bha a鈥� chailleach 脿 Srath Fharagaig. Gach bliadhna bhiodh i a鈥� coiseachd a dh鈥橧nbhir Nis le a mucan airson an reic aig margaidh. Ghabhadh an turas aice d脿 latha. Bhiodh i a鈥� stad letheach-slighe gach rathad aig a鈥� chloich. Agus sin agaibh sgeul Cailleach nam Muc agus na cloiche aice ann an Srath Narann.

The Little Letter 841

Recently I finished a book about place-names in Inverness and the surrounding area. I want to tell you about one place-name in the book. That鈥檚 a large stone called Clach Cailleach nam Muc 鈥榯he stone of the old woman of the pigs鈥�. It鈥檚 in Strathnairn.

I found an account of the stone by a local historian. He was the late Andy Cumming. Andy wrote that the cailleach was from the Isle of Lewis. She would go around Loch Ness with a herd of pigs. She would find shelter under the stone. She died there. She was eaten by her own pigs. What a story!

I found other accounts about the cailleach. There is an account on the Tobar an Dualchais website in which two people speak about her. A woman says that her grandmother gave food to the cailleach and that she allowed her to stay in her barn.

I definitely wanted to find the stone! However, I did not have detailed information about where it was. I found stones that were large enough. But none of them had the correct shape.

I was about to give up on the matter. But I met Alasdair Forbes, a farmer from Strathnairn. 鈥極h, Clach Cailleach nam Muc,鈥� he said, 鈥榠t鈥檚 on my own land. I鈥檒l take you there. I鈥檒l tell you the story.鈥�

On a snowy day, Alasdair took me there. On the summit of a rocky hill in the middle of a wood, was a tall stone. There was black ground under it where the snow wasn鈥檛 lying. 鈥楾hat鈥檚 where the cailleach died, eaten by her own pigs,鈥� said Alasdair. He reckons that she died of natural causes. Then the pigs ate her.

Alasdair got the story from oral tradition. The cailleach was from Stratherrick. Every year she would walk to Inverness with her pigs to sell them at market. Her journey would take two days. She would stop at the halfway point each way at the stone. And that鈥檚 the story of Cailleach nam Muc and her stone in Strathnairn.

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  • Sun 27 Jun 2021 16:00

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