B, beithe, birch. The second let ter in the Ogham. The tot em bird for this letter is besan, the pheasant; colour ban, white; dates, December 24 to January 20. Associated with Di-domhnaich, the Day of the House of Don and the creator- god.
B\u00c0. B\u00c0TH, obs. good, simple-minded; now: foolish; deadly
talk, gossip,
from b\u00e0s, death. Confers with Lat. faut. See
bas. Cf . Lat . fat uus.
BACH, drunkeness, from Latin god Bacchus. Alcoholic beverages were considered to be full of god-spirit and were adjuncts of fertility rites.
BACHALL, BACHUILL BUIDHE, AN, bachall, a shepherd's crook, a crozier, old shoe or slipper, from the Latin baculum, a rod of power. Confers with G. bac, a crook and bacach, lamed; buidehe, yellow, Latin badius, the English bay. The yellow staff of magic. Confers with bach, drunkenness and the Lat. Bacchus, t he st aff-carrier, and a not ed drinker.
Wooden crooks were often carried by the Celtic gods, by druids and by the Daoine sidh as symbols of power and as devices for directing the gisreag, or \u201cfire-magic.\u201d In more recent times the aoghaire, or \u201cshepherds\u201d have been considered uncanny because the carried the crooked staff preferred by Cromm \u201ct he Crooked.\u201d The goddess Macha, the Befind of future events, carried one of these in her guise as the Cailleach Bheurr, or \u201cWinter Hag.\u201d Those who saw her pass said that the staff of power shed snow and storms of ice, and when she point ed it at men, her energies discharged
t hrough it as life-t aking light ning.
The crooked rods of the ancient Gaels were seen to be too potent to destroy, so Christian "saints" confiscated them, re-dedicated them to the use of An Tighernmas, "The One God", and represented them as pastoral staffs. Because they were remnants of "living-wood", housing the totem- spirits of their carriers, these rods had a limited life span and only a few rem ain.
One of their number was obtained by Saint Filian, who died in Scotland about the year 703 A.D. It was considered so highly as a relic it was entrusted to the Dewar family, the traditional keepers of magical implements. There were once five hereditary Dewars of Saint Filian, whose descendants include the millionaire peer Evelyn Dewar, third Lord Fortevoit, of Perthshire.
When Filian's staff began to crumble under use, the crooked head was encased in bronze, and t his was re-encased in silver.
In 1336 the head of Clan Menzies declared Donald MacSobreil, dewar Cogerach, the magic staff then being known as Coigreach, "A Stranger," "one who comes from a neighbouring province." This was because the staff was often carried into remote parts, for it was law that any inhabitant of the parish of Glendochart could call for its help if his property was stolen. The Dewar of Coygerach was required to have it come and "sniff out" the thief. It was well known that the crozier had the ability to follow the goods, or cattle, wherever they happened to be taken wit hin t he bounds of Scot land.
In return for carrying the staff, the dewar was given a yearly supply of meal by the parish, and each applicant rewarded him with four pence, a pair of shoes, and food for the first night on the trail. Apparently the fee was never adjusted to allow for increases in the cost of living for the dewar who carried it in the reign of Charles II was so reduced, he sold the Coigreach itself to Macdonnell of Glengarry, who venerat ed it as a Cat holic relic.
Succeeding Dewars were not at rest until this thinly disguised pagan device came back to Breadalbane. In 1782, the official dewar was a day-labourer but as late as 1795, Presbyterian highlanders were in the habit of coming in from the hills to the town of Killin to procure water that had been in touch with the crozier. In 1818 Archibald Dewar emigrated to Canada and took the magic rod along with him. In this country he was persuaded to produce the magic-water which seemed helpful in treating the diseases of cattle and men.
In 1876, this dewar consented to transfer the old pagan staff to the Society of Antiquities of Scotland, "on trust to the benefit and enjoyment of the Scottish nation." All that remains for the current Dewars is their heraldic insignia, featuring a pair of crossed pastoral rods. Another of this kind is the Bachuil Mor, or \u201cGreat Staff,\u201d picked up at an early date by Saint Moluag and entrusted to the dewars of Lismore in northern Scotland. It was, for many years, encased in corroded copper, thus its nick-name Bachuil Buide, the \u201cYellow Staff." At the old Samhuinn (Nov. 1) the Barons of the Bachuel , the Livingstones of the Isle of Lismore, hosted a gathering at which spring-water was solemnly stirred using this staff. "...thereafter the water was carefully decanted into bottles which were distributed to the relat ives present. The belief was current that this was "holy water" which would serve as a talisman against all ills t hroughout t he year."
Interestingly, Molaug was a nick-name for Saint Lughaidh, a Christian who died among the northern Picts in 592 A.D. His name is a combination of Lugh and Aod, two patently pagan sun-deities.
It seems apropos that his "light" was extinguished on June 25 at an eclipse of the sun. His name translates, roughly as "the gleaming light of day." St . Molaug' s bachuel was ent rust ed t o t he dewars of t he clan Macleay or Livingst one.
BACHAILLE NAN EILEANAN, "bachuill carriers of the islands."
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B, Beithe, Birch. the Second Letter in the Ogham. The
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