Scottish folklore

There are many regional differences in Scottish folklore, some ancient, and some more modern which, according to James Porter "[stems] mainly from the great watershed of the eighteenth century when agricultural improvement began substantially to alter the character of the region". Additionally, Scottish history has been fraught with transformation due to the Highland Clearances in the nineteenth century and battles over ownership such as the Battle of Culloden. The Battle of Culloden, in 1746, as well as the Battle of Harlaw in 1411 and the Massacre of Glencoe in 1692, were historical traumas which have made their mark in Highland oral tradition and culture through songs and narratives. However, there has been an erosion in the passing of oral history, which noted oral historian J. F. Campbell attributed to "the nature of school education and the proliferation of print culture" as well as "to the rise of technology, the railroad in particular". Campbell noted that the work attributed to the industrial revolution disrupted "communal work in which storytelling often took place," that "the chatter of communal labor was being drowned out by the hum of machinery". Although these beliefs are not as common, collectors such as J. F. Campbell, Andrew Lang, Hugh Miller and others, have dedicated themselves to recording these traditions and stories. Andrew Lang holds the belief that "superstitions contain aesthetic, psychological and cultural elements that are far more than irrational curiosities on the stepladder of civilization from primitive magic to enlightened science". Due to Scotland's regional differences, oral studies have "provided insights into the local and the specific, unique, particular cultures of place… framed in the local context". The Highlands and the Scottish Islands have been particularly isolated due to their location, offering a "wealth of Scottish folklore" for collectors of oral history. Through the study of folklore and folk belief, Scotland's culture "displays a world-view that integrated local history, Gaelic heroism, Christian piety, worldly wit and creativity into a shared vision to inspire, entertain, and educate the community". == Folklore related to place ==

There are various stories, beliefs, and superstitions associated with Scottish folklore, often linked to specific geographical locations, specific stones. According to Porter, "place is both 'internal' and 'external' to the human subject, a personally embedded center of meanings and a physical locus for action." Many of these sacred places are stones, with specific unique features, such as the Clach-na-bhan, which is a large granite rock located on top of Meall-na-gineimh (sandy hill) in Glenavon. This stone's unique feature is that it is shaped like an armchair and has been associated with easy delivery during childbirth. "Women about to be mothers climbed the hill and seated themselves in the hollow believing this ensured them an easy delivery". == Folklore related to water ==

There are a variety of myths, creatures, and superstitions associated with the numerous lochs, rivers, and seas throughout Scotland. According to J. M. Harris, in Scottish folklore, water represents "both a supernatural threat and defense [which] exemplifies the riddle of deciphering the code of the many checks and balances of folk beliefs". There was much cultural transmission from Irish "fishermen, traders, and travelers [who would] cross the North Channel of the Irish sea and carry their own tales along with their wares and catch to Scotland". In many cultures, water is seen as a liminal element, "the threshold between life and death and different sides of spiritual identity." This idea can be seen through the superstition associated with seafaring, that "we find magic where the element of danger is conspicuous". When spotted she is washing the clothes of battle and death shrouds. She is not dangerous and "though hurt follows her appearance, it is not her doing". == Folklore related to land ==

Keener The Keener in Scottish folklore is familiarly known as the Banshee, however the Gaelic language has many similar names for her; Coanteach, Cointeach, Caointeach, or Caointeachan. The literal translation of Banshee means 'fairy woman' but a more accurate definition defines the Keener as "a female spirit attending upon certain families heard 'keening' round the house when some family member is about to die". They are also commonly called "good neighbors" or "seely wights", which translates to "magical beings". warning of their ambivalent state, they may help or harm but to refuse them would be dangerous. A common occurrence between humans and fairies is known as a Scottish wit battle in which the conversations between the two is seen as a game. Harris describes these encounters with fairies as a way in which "the metaphysical borderland of life and death hovered perilously close to acts of speech" and that in these encounters "each of the various categories of utterance can be defined in terms of rules specifying their properties and the uses to which they can be put." Fairies are known to be very protective of wildlife, very aggressive, and "capable of exerting an inescapable compulsion upon mortals". == See also ==