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B, beithe, birch. The second letter in the Ogham. The totem 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 creatorgod.

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. fatuus. 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, the staff-carrier, and a noted 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 \u201cthe 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 pointed it at men, her energies discharged

through it as life-taking lightning. 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
totemspirits of their carriers, these rods had a limited life span and only a few
remain. 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 this 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 within the bounds of Scotland. 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 venerated
it as a Catholic 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 relatives present.
The belief was current that this was "holy water" which would serve as a talisman
against all ills throughout the 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
entrusted to the dewars of the clan Macleay or Livingstone. BACHAILLE NAN
EILEANAN, "bachuill carriers of the islands."

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