School: Béal na Carraige, Béal Átha Fhinghín (roll number 10739)

On this page

1. (no title)

   “Long ago in this district no one would give a mare to remove a corpse or green flax...”

   

   Share Share Post

   Long ago in this district no one would give a mare to remove a corpse or green flax. The people believed in the "evil eye", and were convinced that some envious people had power to cause the death of livestock or to render them useless in one way or another.
   A certain farmer once had a valuable mare. Suddenly she was seized by a strange illness, the nature of which no one could diagnose. There lived in the district some individual who had great knowledge, and he asked the farmer who owned the mare if he had any enemies. The farmer replied that he had no ill-will for anyone, but he knew of one woman who nevertheless hated himself. On hearing this the man of knowledge told the farmer to go to this woman and to bring her - by force if necessary - to the stable, and compel her to cast a spit upon the mare and to say "God bless the mare." The woman first refused to do this. Whereupon she was brought forcibly to the stable, and after much threatening she cast the spit and repeated the words, and then the mare became alright immediately.

   Such "piseógs" were very common. The "cleas na péiste" was known locally until very recent times. It was used commonly as a cure for horses suffering from ... . It consisted in making two knots with a piece of twine in such a way that by pulling the two ends of the twine the knots

   (continues on next page)

   

   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Topics

   1. genre
      1. belief (~391)
         1. folk belief (~2,535)

   Languages

   Irish

   English

   Collector

   John Hayes

   Gender

   Male

   Address

   Ballynacarriga, Co. Cork

   Informant

   Mrs J. J. Crowley

   Gender

   Female

   Address

   Inchafune, Co. Cork