Fairies frequent a well on a Shetland island.

Original Track ID

SA1956.129.4(b)

Original Tape ID

SA1956.129

Summary

Fairies frequent a well on a Shetland island.

In one of the islands of Shetland are two high hills and on the eastmost is the Fairy Well, the water of which is crystal clear and ice cold even in the middle of June. Fairies were supposed to frequent the well on the eight Helly [festive] Days of Yule: Maunsemas E'en and Maunsemas Night, Tulya's E'en and Tulya's Night, Tammasmas E'en and Tammasmas Night and Yule E'en and Yule Night. The fairies would wave wands over the well, making it alternately wine and water. Bad fairies would get drunk and create havoc.

There was a township of four houses below the well and every time there was a birth in the district, the fairies could be heard playing and dancing in the gullik [gulley] below the well. Brucie Henderson considers it a pity they could not have got some of the fairy tunes.

Item Notes

Tammasmas is St Thomas's Day; Maunsemas is St Magnus' Day; Tulya's E'en and Tulya's Night are named after Thorlak, "Bishop of Skalholl in Iceland, died 1193 and canonized irregularly by the Icelandic Althing ('The Scottish National Dictionary' s.v. Tolyig).

See:
'The Scottish National Dictionary' (available online [[http://www.dsl.ac.uk/dsl/]], accessed 31 January 2008)

Recording Location

Item Location

Language

Scots

Genre

Story Information

Collection

SoSS

Source Type

Reel to reel

Audio Quality

Good