Buaile and Sheiling: Gaelic Summer Pastures

(Left, a Kerry cow, an ancient breed. Photo © Copyright 1999 Shae Clancy.)

By Francine Nicholson

In older times, the beginning of May was when many groups in Scotland and Ireland took their flocks and herds to higher pastures for the summer. There were several practical reasons for making this move. First, sheep do this by instinct. Second, the newly planted crops needed protection from the grazing animals. Third, the practice made good use of land that was not suitable for farming but sufficient for grazing. In Ireland, going to the upper pastures was called buaile or booley; in the Highlands, it was known as the sheiling. In both cases, the same term referred to the huts used in summer.

Myself, my spouse, and my children,
My tender children and their beloved mother at their head.
On the fragrant plain, on the gay mountain sheiling,
On the fragrant plain, on the gay mountain sheiling. (Carmina, #73)

In the Highlands, communities gathered together and traveled as a group to the sheiling. Certainly, all the Bealtaine customs to protect the home, kin, and animals would be would have been completed before the move to the sheiling or booley took place. In some communities, the fire rituals were done at Midsummer, instead.

Everything within my dwelling or in my possession,
All kine and crops, all flocks and corn,
To Samhain Eve from Beltaine Eve,
With goodly progress and gentle blessing,
From sea to sea, and every river mouth,
From wave to wave, and base of waterfall. (Carmina, #73)

In the Carmina Gadelica (first published in 1899) Alexander Carmichael states that the island of Lewis was "probably the only place in Britain" where people still took their flocks and herds to higher ground for summer pasturing on the heathery moorland or, as it was known on Lewis, sheiling. Carmichael vividly describes the whole community—people and animals—gathering to migrate to the sheiling.

What time the kine shall forsake the stalls,
What time the sheep shall forsake the folds,
What time the goats shall ascend to the mount of mist,
May the tending of the Triune follow them,
May the tending of the Triune follow them. (Carmina, #73)

The trip consisted of six to fourteen miles of hiking over rough terrain and wetlands. Not only was it tough walking for all, but the humans also had to make sure that the animals, especially the young ones, did not stray into trouble on the way.

Closed to you be every pit,
Smooth to you be every hill,
Snug to you be every bare spot,
Beside the cold mountains. (Carmina, #364)

Sometimes the sheiling was located on another, smaller island across a channel. The cows could manage to swim across, but the calves were ported over in boats. Those escorting the animals had to quickly catch the calves before they followed their mothers into the water where the strong current might sweep them away.

Keep thine eye every Monday and Tuesday
On the bearing kine and the pairing quays;
Accompany us from hill to sea,
Gather thyself the sheep and their progeny. (Carmina, #74)

Once the young women and older children were settled in, the older people and young men returned to their villages to manage the crops growing there. All summer, the women lived largely out of doors, but they also spent time knitting socks for winter. They milked the cows several times a day, turning the milk into butter, curds, and soft cheese (known as crowdie in the Highlands).

Give the milk, my treasure,
Give quietly, with steady flow,
Give the milk, my treasure,
With steady flow and calmly. (Carmina, #374)

The sheiling diet was supplemented by herbs and flowers such as wood sorrel (often mistakenly called shamrock) and primrose.

Primrose, primrose
And wood-sorrel,
The children’s food
In summer…. (Carmina, #402)

Churning butter was an uncertain business in those days, since the fat level of the milk varied according to the nutrition of the cows. Charms were chanted to promote successful output from the churn.

Come, ye rich lumps, come!
Come, ye rich lumps, come!
Come, ye rich lumps, masses large,
Come, ye rich lumps, come! (Carmina, #382)

As their responsibilities permitted, the young men would visit the sheiling to spend all night in a ceilidh under the stars with the young women. Weddings that took place the following winter often resulted from courtships that began at the sheiling.

Why is not come the calf of my delight,
The calf of my delight, the calf of my delight,
Why is not come the calf of my delight,
To keep the visit with me?

I’ll be this night in the Meads of the Kine,
The Meads of the Kine, the Meads of the Kine,
I’ll be this night in the Meads of the Kine,
Eating the May-time crowdie. (Carmina, #513)

At midsummer, the ewes were separated from the lambs to encourage them to breed again. Some of the women and children probably returned to the main community at Lughnasa to help with the harvest. By Samhain, all the members of the kin-group had re-assembled and preparations for the winter were complete. Round the fire in winter, they gathered to tell stories and recall the light and warmth of summer.

Honey under ground
Silverweed of spring.
Honey and condiment
Whisked whey of summer.
Honey and fruitage
Carrot and autumn.
Honey and crunching
Nuts of winter. (Carmina #398)

Sources

Alexander Carmichael, ed., Carmina Gadelica: Hymns & Incantations, Lindisfarne Books: 1992; ISBN: 0940262509

Kevin Danaher, The Year in Ireland: Irish Calendar Customs, Irish Books & Media: 1972; ISBN: 0937702137

Nerys Paterson, Cattle Lords and Clansmen, Univ. Notre Dame Press, 1994; ISBN: 0268008000

This article in the Celtic Well E-Journal is © Copyright 1999 by Francine Nicholson. Sections may be freely quoted, provided the author is properly cited with the URL and the words"electronic version." You may link to this site, but please do not copy this web page and its dependent web pages without contacting one of the Celtic Well List moderators.