My Journal Assignment for Class-Scottish Folklore

This weekend we had a wonderful time. Nine of us from the house took a three hour… I mean a three day tour with Macbackpackers to the Isle of Sky. Most of the fun was because of our guide, Graem- we called him G. He apparently was just filling in because they were short some people for the weekend. I don’t believe I have ever heard anyone who is able to tell stories as well as he did. His timing was so good that if he was telling about a battle between the Scottish and the English, right when he got to the battle scene he would say, “and it was done right here.” We of course would then look out the window in awe, almost believing that we would see the mighty Scottish men fighting right before us.

I realized the importance that Scottish people have in verbally communicating their history. When I listened to him I knew that he had been told these tales by his parents and his parents from their parents before them. It was as though he himself was part of the history of the land.

One of the stories that I particularly liked was one near the Cuillin mountain range. At the beginning of our day, Saturday, Graem told us that he had an amazing gift for us today. That some would need it more than others, but it was going to be great and we would love it. We stopped in an open area that had a wonderful view of the mountains. We drove over old bridge that was over a beautiful rushing river. He had us all climb out and we walked down by the shores of the river. It was here that he told us the story of Skea and Cuillin.

Skia was a woman who was an extremely skilled fighter with the staff. She was so great that people from all around heard of her, and men from all over came to be trained by her. She had a place in the far off glen where she had her training center. Eventually her fame spread to Ireland where Cuillin, a man of massive strength and height, heard of her and could not believe it was true. He did not believe that a woman could have as much skill as a fighter as they said she did. He decided to travel to the glen on the Isle of Skye and find out for himself. Cuillin arrived in the area and called out her name loudly. The noise of it echoed through the mountains. She heard it and sent one of her apprentices to find out who it was. The man grew angry that the woman of the glen would not come out herself. He cut the throat of the man she sent, enough to draw blood and sent the man back to her. The apprentice came back and fell Skea’s feet. She grabbed her staff and went to find the person who wanted to see her so badly.

Skea arrived and without a word they both started to fight. The battle was intense but neither gained the upper hand. The sound of the sword clashing against the staff echoed throughout the land. The woman’s daughter heard the sounds and came to find her mother. She saw the intense battle and was frightened.

In her haste to run away she fell and cut her cheek. She ended up crying by the stream of water, which was the very river we stood by with Graem. It was there that she was visited by faerries. It was said that water is where they come and go from the spiritual world. The faerries cheered her up and encouraged her on what she could do. The girl saw the laughing beautiful faerries and took heart. They splashed her with the water and her cut was healed, her red eyes from crying were gone, and she was a beautiful young girl once again with no blemishes. They encouraged her about gaining the knowledge she needed to help her mother. It was then that she had an idea.

She then went to her house and cooked a wonderful meal. Finally Cuillin and her mother stopped fighting. They were so evenly matched that they both were exhausted and needed substance. They came back to the woman’s house and found a wonderful meal set before them. They all sat down and had dinner together. It was then that the man admitted that she was his equal in skill of fighting, and praised her for her accomplishments. His mind was changed about woman and realized that they too can have skill in areas that men were usually dominant. The young girl who was splashed by the water of the magical stream never lost the beauty that was gained to her.

Graem then told us that where we were standing was the same place and if we put our faces in the water for seven seconds we would then be blessed by eternal beauty. I now understand what he said about some of us needing it more than others. I did not really believe in such things, but for the weekend I decided that I would go along with everything that we were doing. It was hilarious as we watched everyone, two by two put their faces in the water. It was actually quite refreshing. If nothing else my face felt very clean and it tingled from the icy coldness. All of us girls laughed because our makeup was smeared. One girl declared later that she thought she was breaking out in pimples because of it. We all just laughed, that pure water could do our faces no harm. It was a fun experience. I enjoyed all the stories that were told, and how we learned even more about Scotland and the people through out the years who have lived here.