Scotland – a land of legend, magic and beauty! Good warming scotch, bagpipes, sexy kilts, legendary warriors, battles, castles and lochs. The most famous of these lochs are without a doubt Loch Ness – famous for sightings of “Nessie” the monster some believe to be some form of prehistoric being and others something a bit more mysterious.
But how many people think of the Cailleach when they think of Loch Ness? How many who have heard of Loch Ness have heard the Cailleach and knows anything about her? Yet the naming and formation of Loch Ness is directly linked to a story about this ancient giantess, who controls the weather, forms the landscape and knows the mysteries of the land more than any other.
The following short extract from the book VISIONS OF THE CAILLEACH (d’Este & Rankine, 2009) recaps the story, one of many which are brought together in this amazing volume:
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“The Cailleach had two wells in Inverness-shire which she had to cap and open every day. Tired of spreading her efforts, she hired a maiden to remove the smaller cap of this well at sunrise in the morning and replace it at sunset. This maid, whose name was Nessa, was late reaching the well one night, and as she approached she saw the water flowing furiously from the well towards her. Nessa ran for her life, leaving the well uncapped.
The Cailleach saw this from the top ofBen Nevis, and furiously cursed Nessa for neglecting her duty. For running from the water she cursed her to run forever and never leave water. Nessa was transformed into a river and Loch, which is where the riverNessand Loch Ness come from.
Once every year, on the anniversary of her transformation, Nessa is said to emerge from the loch in her maiden form and sing a beautiful sad song to the moon, lamenting her misfortune. The song is said to be more beautiful than any other melody you could ever hear.”
(Visions of the Cailleach, Sorita d’Este & David Rankine, Avalonia, 2009. (c) 2009. All rights reserved.)
More info see http://avaloniabooks.co.uk/catalogue/celtic-myth-folklore/visions-of-the-cailleach
