Ghillie Dhu

Edit links
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

In

Highlands of Scotland. Ghillie Dhu is the eponym for the ghillie suit.[1]

Etymology

Ghillie is an English equivalent of the

lexicographer, lists gille as a "lad", "youth" or "boy"[3] with dubh translating as "dark" or "dark-haired".[4]

Folk beliefs

Description and common attributes

According to

folklorist and scholar Katharine Briggs the Ghillie Dhu was a gentle and kind-hearted mountain spirit,[5] or a "rather unusual nature fairy."[6] The Ghillie Dhu was an individual male modern day fairy described by Osgood Mackenzie, a Scottish landowner and horticulturist, in his memoirs that were published in 1921.[5][7] The fairy was generally timid, yet he could also be "wild".[8]

Residing in the birch woods near Loch a Druing,[9] in the north-west Highland area of Gairloch,[10] he was mainly seen in the latter part of the 18th century.[5] The woods are in a dip alongside a hilly area[11] around 2 miles (3.2 kilometres) from where Rua Reidh Lighthouse was later built.[9] One summer evening a local child named Jessie Macrae wandered into the woods and became lost.[9] Jessie was found by the Ghillie Dhu who looked after her until the next morning when he took her home.[9] Over a period of four decades the fairy was frequently seen by many people but Jessie was the only person he conversed with.[9] Generally of a dishevelled appearance,[12] he used green moss and leaves taken from trees as clothing.[9] As implied by his name, he had black hair;[9] he was of a small stature.[13] His fondness of children is similar to that displayed by the little known Hyter sprite of English mythology.[14]

Attempted hunt

Shortly after the Gille Dhu rescued Jessie, a group of Mackenzie dignitaries were invited by the landowner, Sir Hector Mackenzie of Gairloch, to get together to hunt and capture the Ghillie Dhu.[9] The team of five hunters congregated at the home of one of Mackenzie's tenants where they were provided with a complimentary evening meal before setting off on their mission to shoot the child-rescuing, kind Ghillie Dhu.[9] Despite searching extensively throughout the night, the hunters could not find their prey;[15] according to Patricia Monaghan, a writer on Celtic mythology, the Ghillie Dhu was never seen again.[12]

Origins

After researching folklore traditions gathered primarily from Gaelic areas of Scotland,[16] an authority on congenital disorders, Susan Schoon Eberly, has speculated the tale of the Ghillie Dhu may have a basis in a human being with a medical condition;[17] other academics, such as Carole G. Silver, Professor of English at Stern College for Women,[18] agree and suggest he was a dwarf.[13] Eberly maintained several other solitary or individual fairies, including the Brownie and the Manx Fenodyree, could also have a medical, rather than supernatural, explanation.[19]

See also

References

Citations

  1. ISBN 978-1-250-11368-9
  2. ^ MacKillop, James (2004), "ghillie", A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology (online ed.), Oxford University Press, retrieved 12 September 2014
  3. ^ Dwelly (1902), p. 492
  4. ^ Dwelly (1902), p. 367
  5. ^ a b c Briggs (2002), p. 49
  6. ^ Briggs (1961), p. 517
  7. ^ Mackenzie (1921), p. 233
  8. ^ Briggs (2002), p. 284
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i Mackenzie (1921), p. 234
  10. ^ MacKillop, James (2004), "gille dubh", A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology (online ed.), Oxford University Press, retrieved 13 September 2014
  11. ^ Dixon (1886), p. 334
  12. ^ a b Monaghan (2009), p. 214
  13. ^ a b Silver (2000), p. 120
  14. ^ Rabuzzi (1984), p. 74
  15. ^ Mackenzie (1921), p. 235
  16. ^ Black (2005), p. liv
  17. ^ Eberly (1988), p. 72
  18. ^ Strange and Secret Peoples, Oxford University Press, archived from the original on 7 March 2016, retrieved 15 September 2014
  19. ^ Black (2005), p. liii

Bibliography

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ghillie_Dhu&oldid=1215459002"