244: The witch of Ballachly 244: Bana-bhuidseach Bhaile a’ Chlaidh

B1 - Intermediate - The Little LetterB1 - Eadar-mheadhanach - An Litir Bheag

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Tha an litir bheag ag obrachadh leis an fhaclair. Tagh an taba ‘teacsa Gàidhlig’ agus tagh facal sam bith san teacsa agus fosglaidh am faclair ann an taba ùr agus bidh mìneachadh den fhacal ann. The little letter is integrated with the dictionary. Select the tab ‘Gaelic text’ and choose any word and the dictionary will open and you will see the English explanation of the Gaelic word.

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Gaelic & English Text Teacsa Gàidhlig & Beurla

Bana-bhuidseach Bhaile a’ Chlaidh

Gaelic Gàidhlig

Tha dà bhaile ann an Gallaibh air a bheil Baile a’ Chlaidh – the township of the cemetery. Tha Baile a’ Chlaidh faisg air Dùn Bheithe. Tha Baile a’ Chlaidh eile eadar Dùn Bheithe agus Bhatan. ’S ann bhon bhaile bheag sin a tha an stòiridh a’ tighinn an t-seachdain seo. Seo an stòiridh – “Bana- bhuidseach Bhaile a’ Chlaidh”.

Bha boireannach ann uaireigin. ’S e Am Fitheach am far-ainm a bha oirre. Bha droch bheachd aig daoine air a’ bhoireannach. Bha iad ag ràdh gur e bana-bhuidseach a bha innte.

Bha i a’ fuireach ann am bothag faisg air Baile a’ Chlaidh. Cha robh cùisean a’ dol gu math. Cha robh mòran bainne no càise aig cuid de na tuathanaich. Bha iad a’ smaoineachadh gur e a’ bhana-bhuidseach a rinn sin.

Latha a bha seo, air Latha na Bealltainne, thàinig boireannach a chèilidh air a’ bhana-bhuidsich. Bha i ag iarraidh comhairle fhaighinn. Lorg i am Fitheach ri taobh allt. Bha i a’ ràcadh an fheòir le sìoman. Bha fraoch ceangailte ris an t-sìoman. Bha am Fitheach ri buidseachd.

Bha daoine a’ faicinn geàrr am measg a’ chruidh. Cha b’ urrainn do choin a’ gheàrr a ghlacadh. Chuir fear ribe sìos. Chleachd e cnagan de dh’fhiodh caorainn. Bidh fios agaibh gu bheil a’ chraobh-chaorainn ag obair an aghaidh buidseachd.

Bha geàrr air a glacadh anns an ribe. Nuair a ràinig an duine i, ge-tà, cha robh geàrr ann. Bha boireannach ann. Am Fitheach. Bhon latha sin a-mach, bha droch fhortan aig an duine. Chaidh a bhàthadh ann an Uisge Theòrsa.

Tha crìoch neònach air an stòiridh. Bha dà thursa mhòr ann. Chaidh am Fitheach don chiad tursa. Ruith i timcheall air seachd uairean deiseil. An uair sin ruith i timcheall air seachd uairean tuathail.

Dà latha às dèidh sin, bha i a’ coiseachd don cheann a deas. Stad i air àirde. Agus ’s e an t-ainm air an àirde Creag an Fhithich. An uair sin, lean i oirre. Chaidh i a-mach à Gallaibh agus chan eil fhios dè thachair dhi.

The witch of Ballachly

English Beurla

There are two villages in Caithness called Ballachly – the township of the cemetery. There is a Ballachly near Dunbeath. There is another Ballachly between Dunbeath and Watten. It’s from that wee settlement that the story comes this week. Here is the story – “The Witch of Ballachly”.

There was once a woman. Her nickname was The Raven. The people had a bad opinion of the woman. They said she was a witch.

She lived in a wee bothy near Ballachly. Things weren’t going too well. Some of the farmers did not have much milk or cheese. They were thinking that the witch was responsible.

One day, on the day of Beltane, a woman came to visit the witch. She was wanting to get advice. She found The Raven beside a burn. She was raking the grass with a heather rope. There was heather tied to the rope. The Raven was involved in witchcraft.

People were seeing a hare amongst the cattle. Dogs couldn’t catch the hare. A man set a snare. He used a peg of rowan wood. You’ll know that the rowan tree works against witchcraft.

A hare was caught in the snare. But when the man reached it, there was not a hare there. There was a woman. From that day onwards, the man had bad luck. He was drowned in the Thurso River.

The story has a strange ending. There were two large standing stones. The Raven went to the first stone. She ran around it seven times sunwise. Then she ran around it seven times anti-sunwise.

Two days after that, she was walking south. She stopped at a high point. And the high point is called Rock of the Raven. Then she continued. She left Caithness and nobody knows what happened to her.

Gaelic TextTeacsa Gàidhlig