The Illuminated Dog and Other Folklore from the Scottish Islands

According to folklore from the Shetland Islands and the Orkneys, those islands were formed by teeth falling from the mouth of an exploding dragon.

Did you know Scotland includes 900 islands? If you read my last blog, you also know that 118 of those islands are inhabited. If you missed that post, click here to read it. I didn’t detail any folklore from Scotland. I promised, instead, to celebrate it in a different post. So, here is that post!

First, a word about the Scottish Isles. The most prominent archipelagos are the Hebrides (Inner and Outer), the Orkneys, and the Shetland Islands. They lie west of the Scottish mainland in the Atlantic Ocean. The Inner Hebrides are the closest to the mainland. The Outer Hebrides are just to the west of them with the Minch Channel between the two island chains. The Shetlands are a little farther west, lying between Scotland and Norway. Finally, the Orkneys are to the northwest.

The separation of the islands from the mainland—and each other—has resulted in folklore traditions that have their own spin on Celtic and Scottish culture. An example of this is the lore about the illuminated dog. It takes a Scottish folklore creature, the Cu Sith, and embellishes it in wonderful ways. (See below.) The Shetland Islands, in particular, have a folk culture that is distinctive. Because the islands were first inhabited by Celtic Picts, then invaded by Vikings, owned at one point by Norway, then returned to Scottish control, their folk tradition weaves Norse folk elements into the Celtic lore.

Below are just a few of the treasures of insular Scottish culture. Enjoy!

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The Illuminated Dog (Isle of Harris): In Highland folklore, the Cu Sith, or faerie dog, is the size of a calf, covered in green fur, and has a tail that curls upwards. The hair of the tail is braided. This scary faerie is a silent stalker—until it finds its prey! Then the faerie dog lets out three long bays. Anyone who hasn’t reached a safe shelter by the third mournful bay will die.

Okay, do you have goosepimples yet? Wait. The Isle of Harris' Cu Sith self-illuminates and has no eyes!

Before I move on, a quick word about Harris. It is in the Outer Hebrides. The island is often called Lewis and Harris or simply the Isle of Lewis. This can get confusing. It sounds as if Harris and Lewis are two islands. They are not. Harris is a mountainous region on the southern part of the island while Lewis is a flatter region in the north. Lewis takes up about two-thirds of the island, is more highly populated, and certainly has a rich folk culture.

Calanais Stones (Isle of Lewis): The Celtic lands of the British Isles are an archaeologist’s gold mine. Among the many notable remnants from the Neolithic period are the Calanais Stones on Lewis. This stone circle is approximately 2,000 years older than Stonehenge. Inside the circle is a chambered burial cairn. Near the main circle of thirteen standing stones are three other circles of standing stones. Archaeological evidence suggests that the site was the center of religious ritual for at least 1,500 years.

In recent years, Calanais has become famous as the inspiration for the stone circle in the Outlander series.

Waulking (Isle of Lewis): Down through the ages, women have gathered together to do otherwise solitary tasks, such as making and mending clothing. Even today, many women form sewing circles or have quilting bees. My sister is part of a group of weavers who get together once a week to socialize while they work on their projects. The women on the Isle of Lewis are no different—except in the unique way they do their weaving.

The Scottish Isles are an archaeologist’s gold mine, especially when it comes to stone circles.

Waulking is a traditional craft technique applied to tweed that has just been woven. The goal is to soften the cloth and tighten the weave. The assembled women sit in rows across from each other at the waulking table and beat the soaking wet cloth with wooden hammers. While they work, they sing traditional songs. The waulking table turns into a drum on which the women beat out the rhythms to sing by. And Snow White thought whistling while you worked made tasks easier. I’d rather join the communal drum concert!

An Island Dowry (the Shetlands): This is a historical story, but I have to include it because it sounds like a folktale. Also, this historical event affected the cultural heritage of the Orkney and Shetland Islands.

In 1469, King Kristen I of Norway arranged a marriage between the King of Scotland, James III, and Kristen’s daughter, Margaret. She was thirteen. But, hey. She would become the Queen of Scotland and aid her father’s political ambitions. So, what did she have to complain about? A lot from my perspective, but Margaret’s feelings about the marriage are not important in this story. Historically, a princess’ feelings about the marriage the king arranged for her were rarely considered important.

What was important—to the bridegroom and the bride’s father—was money. How much was this diplomatic union going to cost? The agreed upon price was 60,000 Guilders. I can’t give an exact equivalent of this dowry in today’s U.S. dollars but, according to https://lensonleeuwenhoek.net/content/what-was-guilder-worth, in 1460, 314 Guilders equaled approximately 29,297 USD in today’s money. Do the math, that makes Margaret’s promised dowry the equivalent of five million dollars in current USD. So, James was set to acquire a nice chunk of change to put in his coffer.

Except that it wasn’t all to be paid in coin. The first installment due was 10,000 Guilders in cash, with the Orkney Islands as collateral against the remainder of the bride price. Having difficulty raising money for the first payment, the Norwegian king arranged for a loan from the Earls of Orkney, the Sinclairs of Roslin.

Scots and Scots Gaelic are two different languages.

Margaret was delivered and accepted, but the money wasn’t. By 1472, the Scottish King had tired of waiting. The Orkneys and the Shetlands were claimed by Scotland as payment in full of Margaret’s dowry. There’s little to no word from scholars about how the inhabitants of those islands, many of whom were of Norse ancestry, felt about the transfer back to Gaelic control. But the change resulted in a blending of Celtic and Norse folklore and traditions. Also, the people of the Shetland Islands developed their own distinctive version of the Scots language.

*Scots and Scots Gaelic are two different languages. While both are two of the three official languages of Scotland (English is the third), Scots is spoken by a larger percentage of the people than is Scottish Gaelic. For more information about the two languages, see my post, “Scots Versus Scots Gaelic.”

Trow Tricksters: The Orkneys have their own spin on faeries. Like the Irish sidhe, Trows live underground, inside ancient burial mounds. Unlike Irish or other Scottish faeries, the Trows are uniformly short-statured, and they only come out at night. They fear sunlight, iron, and running water. The last one seems a bit odd since there are Trows who live in the sea as well as the underground Hill Trows.

Like all good Celtic faeries, Trows love music, especially fiddle music. Human fiddlers need to protect themselves against being kidnapped by these faeries. As I’ve said many times, humans who return from an apparent overnight stay in the Otherworld often discover they’ve been gone for years. Frequently, they also age rapidly on re-entering this world. Coming back from the faerie world can leave humans in a muddled cognitive state. Sometimes, it leaves them dead.

Trows relish music, but another favorite pastime is playing tricks on humans. Although they are more impish than malicious, Trows can engage in activities that have serious consequences for humans. Like other Celtic faeries, they often steal human babies, replacing them with changlings. Also, they steal livestock and enjoy causing human travelers to end up lost. In other words, they’re faeries.

Celtic faeries come in a variety of shapes and sizes. from tall and beautiful to short and having only one nostril!

Sithchean (the Hebrides): The Hebridean version of faeries are the Sithchean. Like the Trows, these faeries are a small race. The females are about the size of young girls, and they tend to dress in green. Males prefer to dress in red. On average, they are about four feet tall. Folklore from the Isle of Mull (the Inner Hebrides) says they only have one nostril! Otherwise, they are similar to the Seelie Court faeries of Scotland. They love feasting, drinking, dancing, and occasionally playing tricks on humans or stealing things. The Sithchean also are capricious and easily insulted, just as any good Celtic faerie would be.

Loch Monsters (Outer Hebrides): Nessie is not alone (as the title of one of my past posts proclaims). Islanders (pick an island, almost any island) report sightings of strange creatures in local lochs. Sometimes, these monsters are like sea serpents. At other times, they are reported to be water horses. Find out more about Scottish water horses and other Otherworldly loch inhabitants here.

One of the most famous loch monsters is the Searrach Uisge that lives in Loch Suainbhal on the Isle of Lewis. Some reports say it resembles an eel. The most common description is that it looks like a capsized boat. Sometimes, tales say it’s a water horse. The latter makes the most sense because, in Scots Gaelic, searrach uisge means “water foal.” How dangerous or friendly is it? I haven’t been able to get specifics on that. However, local residents used to sacrifice lambs as an offering to the creature. So, draw your own conclusions. Mine would be that the locals considered Searrach Uisge at least potentially deadly.

On the island of Eriskay, in the Inner Hebrides, tales tell of a strange creature in Loch Duvat. What is it? No one has dared to find out. One farmer thought he’d found his missing horse in the loch, but as he approached, the creature gave out a chilling Otherworldly roar. The farmer didn’t stay to explore further!

The poor Stoor Worm! All he asked was to be fed nine people on a regular basis.

Stoor Worm (Orkney): This is one of my favorite Scottish folktales. It tells how the Shetland Islands and the Orkneys were created when the teeth of an exploding dragon (or sea serpent, depending on who’s telling the story) fell into the Atlantic Ocean.

Here is the story: The Stoor Worm demanded to be fed nine people regularly in return for not eating everyone. The victims were chosen by lot. One day, the king’s only daughter was chosen.

Desperate to save her, the king asked the monster for a grace period. Quickly, he sent out word that anyone who killed the dragon would get a magic sword and the princess’ hand as a reward. Many warriors came (the number varies in the telling, anywhere from 12-36). But these big brave warriors turned and ran as soon as they caught sight of the ferocious Stoor Worm.

Finally, a young boy named Assipattle sailed his little boat into the dragon’s mouth. He then journeyed through miles and miles of twisting tunnels until he reached the worm’s abdomen. Once there, he located the monster’s liver, slit it open, and shoved a burning piece of peat into it. (Ouch!)

Suffering in excruciating pain, the Stoor Worm vomited. Assipattle rode that wave of liquid out of the beast’s mouth. Once safely ashore, he and the kingdom’s other citizens watched as smoke billowed from the dragon’s nose. The beast writhed in pain, his mouth open in agony. Teeth fell from his mouth. These became the Shetland Islands and the Orkneys.

Then the Stoor Worm curled up and died, its body forming into a mass that is now Iceland. Poor dragons! They always seem to get the raw end of the deal.

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All artwork for this post (except for the Ukranian flag and the GIF) by Christine Dorman via Bing Image Creator.

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