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Legends

In Orkney, the birth of a boy

w as said to be foretold by the
appearance of a bright
rainbow in the sky.

On such an occasion the local

w omen w ould w atch to see
w here the end of the rainbow

T
lay. If it fell on a house, this
surrounded by superstition, uncertainty and, w as a sure sign that an infant
abov e all, fear. boy w ould be born w ithin a
month. The impending birth
w ould be declared by:
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 T Because of this, pregnancy and childbirth were
surrounded by a number of spells,
incantations, prohibitions and precautions - a mix ture of
magic and religion aimed at protecting both mother and
w ould be declared by:
"There's a brig fur a beuy
bairn" (There's a bridge for a
boy child)

child. The birth of a girl came

unannounced.

The most common and deeply -rooted Orkney tradition In bygone days, the birth of the
was the absolute requirement to keep a pregnancy community’s children w as the
concealed. This was deemed necessary to av oid responsibility of one or more
w ise w omen w ho acted as
attracting the unwanted, and malicious, attention of midw ives.
either the trows or the fairy folk.
Certain local w omen w ere
If these creatures were to learn of an impending birth, afforded more respect than
even the doctors, and in some
they would be sure to bring harm to both mother and
cases the pow er of the w ise
unborn infant. Because of this, it was ex tremely unlucky w oman even surpassed that
to prepare for the coming of a new baby . Any such of the men of medicine.
activ ity , it was thought, would alert the trows to the
One account tells us that in
woman's condition. Flotta, during World Word One,
a Navy doctor attended the
Precautions taken against the influence of trows birth of a child. The mother's
continued throughout pregnancy , reaching a peak with labour had been long and
the birth of the child. In some accounts, the danger was difficult and resulted in the
unfortunate doctor declaring
only thought to pass after the child had cut its first tooth. that there w as no more he
could do for child or mother.

IRON AND SCRIPTURES The distraught husband ran

from the house and set off to
the dw elling of the island’s
Because of widespread fear of the trows and fairy folk, w ise w oman.
pregnant women were guarded continuously throughout
Upon his arrival he begged the
the labour process. w oman to do w hat she could.
She accepted his payment and
For protection, a knife and Bible were placed in the bed then, w ithout leaving the
beside her. The iron of the knife, together with the power house, w ent to the other room
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 beside her. The iron of the knife, together with the power
of the holy scriptures, was a guaranteed deterrent to any w here she performed a now
forgotten ritual
supernatural interference.
A short time later the infant
Then, immediately after the infant's birth, both knife and w as born w ith no
Bible were transferred to the awaiting cradle. At the same complications and the mother
recovered quickly.
time, the attention of the family switched to protecting
the helpless child.

Following the arriv al of the baby , it was customary for

the women who had been present at the deliv ery to
remain in the house for sev eral day s. These women were
afforded the best food and drink the household could giv e
them. In some recorded cases, as many as six women
were known to remain in the house, their sole duty to
protect the v ulnerable child, and to a certain ex tent, the
nursing mother, from the fairy folk.

"For several nights the neighbours by turns

rocked the cradle all night so that the baby was
not stolen away."
J OHN F IRTH - REMINISCENCES OF AN ORKNEY PARISH

As detailed in section dealing with the trows, if a child

sickened or failed to thriv e, it was declared that the
protectiv e measures had failed. The healthy y oung infant,
it was often thought, had surely been spirited away ,
replaced by a sickly changeling.

"WEETIN' THE HEED"

One tradition that followed an Orcadian birth remains
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 strong today .

"Weetin’ the heed o’ the bern", or Wetting the child’s head,

was an inescapable custom that ensured the infant was
brought luck.

A bottle of whisky was brought out for the occasion and

hastily consumed by the new father and the menfolk of
the area.

It was also not uncommon for the child's first drink to be

from this bottle. A drop of whisky - regarded as "an
infallible cure for all infantile ailments" - was immediately
fed to the baby with a teaspoon.

To ensure the infant's good luck, it was preferable that

this be a silv er teaspoon. Howev er, as most households
could not afford this lux ury , a silv er coin, v ery often
borrowed, was placed in the spoon and was thought to
suffice. Silv er, in the form of a coin, is still giv en to
newborn infants.

The reliance on alcohol during childbirth was recorded

by local author John Firth. Writing his reminiscences in
1 920, the 82-y ear-old Firth remarked:

"It was no uncommon occurrence at an

accouchement for the mother and all her
attendants to be the worse of drink...what with
the want of skill, and the superstitious customs
and drunkenness, it is surprising that more
precious lives were lost."
REMINISCENCES OF AN ORKNEY PARISH - CHAPTER XII
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 REMINISCENCES OF AN ORKNEY PARISH - CHAPTER XII

THE NEWBORN'S 'BLIDE MAET '

Like marriage, the birth of an Orcadian child was
celebrated with a number of specific feasts.

The first of these, known as the "blide-maet" (joy -food),

was serv ed to v isiting family and neighbours who called
to v iew the baby and congratulate the mother. The blide-
maet was passed out at regular interv als and usually
consisted of scones and ale.

During these v isits, it was considered v ery unwise to

audibly praise or admire the infant without first say ing
"Geud sav e hid" (God sav e it) or "Sef bae hid" (Safe be it).
Without these precautions against supernatural
attention, the child was said to be "forespoken" - almost
confirming that it was too good to liv e.

Little is remembered of the second feast - the "Fittin'

Feast".

It is likely that it did ex ist across Orkney , but in

communities that recorded little, it has since been
forgotten.

What we do know of the "Fittin’ Feast" is that it was a

priv ate meal for the child's immediate family and marked
the mother’s return "to the fire" - the time when she was
able to resume her daily household duties.

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 CHRISTENING THE INFANT
The third and final feast was the "Cirsenin’ Feast".

Celebrated immediately after the baptism, this generally

took place within two weeks of the birth, but more often
within the first week.

It should be remembered that any Orkney child that died

without being christened could not be buried in the
consecrated ground of the kirky ard. In an age where
infant mortality was high, christening was considered,
unsurprisingly , a priority .

When it comes to Christenings, one peculiar tradition was

that male children had to be baptised first.

If not, and a female was the first to receiv e the Holy

Water, the y oung girl was doomed to grow a beard, while
the boy s would remain beardless.

C opyright © Sigurd Towrie , 1996-2016

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