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Taboo words and redheads outlawed at sea.

Contributors
Date 1958
Track ID 34934
Part 1

Track Information

Original Track ID

SA1958.188.4

Original Tape ID

SA1958.188

Summary

Taboo words and redheads outlawed at sea.

Fishermen were formerly very superstitious, and had many taboo words not to be used at sea. Peter Manson's father went to the fishing at the Broch [Fraserburgh] as a young man, and any boy seeking a berth would be turned away if he had red hair, which was considered the height of bad luck.

Examples of taboo terms and the sea words used instead:

cat: scaavin or fittin,
the moon: da licht (still used sometimes),
knife: skean (something like the Highland pronunciation),
minister: da upstander,
kirk: benny hoose.

Yonsi (hen) was used anywhere, land or sea, as was rakki (dog).

Item Notes

Foula 'skean' corresponds to the General Scots word (from the Gaelic). Elsewhere in Shetland the form 'skunie' (with unexplained vowel) is usual. The terms 'yonsi' and 'rakki' are listed as sea-taboo terms in 'The Scottish National Dictionary'. Like many of these terms they are of Norn origin: Norn lingered longest in sea usage.

See:
'The Scottish National Dictionary' (available online [[http://www.dsl.ac.uk/dsl/]], accessed 19 January 2009)

Recording Location

County - Shetland

Parish - Walls and Sandness

Island - Foula

Item Location

County - Shetland

Parish - Walls and Sandness

Island - Foula

Language

English, Scots, Norn

Genre

Information

Collection

SoSS

Source Type

Reel to reel

Audio Quality

Fair