Fasts and Feasts

Scope and Contents Custom of horse racing, gathering carrots and celebrations on the Isle of Barra [Barraigh] on saints days including that on La Fheill Barra [St Barr's Day] and St Michael's Day [La Fheill Mìcheil] men would race horses three times round the cemetery at Cille Bharra and at Borve [Borgh] respectively. The man would always have a woman sitting behind him. Also, after mass on the Sunday, girls would dig up wild carrots and collect them in the pockets of a while plaid with red stripes. The cloth...

Scope and Contents Custom of 'Oiche an Da Shuiper' [The Night of the Two Suppers], which was held on 22 June each year. In Cataibh/Sutherland there was a supper at nine o'clock and another at midnight. 'The time between was passed in great festivities dancing and singing'. Text has been scored through as if transcribed elsewhere.

Scope and Contents Field notebook belonging to Alexander Carmichael, which he used to collect material mainly from a Mary MacRae, Dùnan, Letterfearn, Ros is Cromba/Ross and Cromarty, Ciorstan MacLean née Cameron, Leideag, Barraigh/Isle of Barra and Margaret Campbell née Stewart and her husband Andrew, tinkers at Bohespic, Siorrachd Pheairt/Perthshire. There are twenty folios the first fourteen of which contain text. Most of the material was collected from Mary MacRae, who sang several waulking songs and...

Scope and Contents List of saints' days and feast days entitled 'Days' including the date of each occasion and two sayings which read 'La fheill Sheath[ain] is t samhradh, Theid a chuthag da taigh geamh[radh]' and 'La Samhna their Gamhna ris na laigh, La Ill Sheathain theirear aighean rin n dheigh'.

Scope and Contents List of sayings about different saints days on which different manual tasks should be started or carried out such as ' Di daoine La Chal[uim-chille] chaoimh etc' [Diardaoin Latha Chaluim Chille chaoimh], La Bealtain light fires'.

Scope and Contents Note about a banquet which King Edward held when his son received a knighthood in which he vowed 'to devote the rest of his days to exact revenge from the murderer [Robert the Bruce] himself', noted as being taken from 'Green's history, page 205'.

Scope and Contents Assorted sermons given by John Baillie throughout most of his professional life, including a set for Good Friday and another given at the Chapel of Union Theological Seminary.

Scope and Contents Two proverbs relating to Lent and Easter which read 'A chiad Dimairt an tSolus Earraich Dimairt Inid' and 'Seac seacainean o aois gu bas eadar Caisg 'us Inid.'

Scope and Contents Broadcast by John Baillie, examining the meaning of Whitsunday (includes prayers).