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The Needfire Ritual

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Thomas Davidson
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Extract

The purpose of this paper is to give a brief survey of the Needfire ceremony and its variants as they occurred in various parts of Scotland. As the introductory example we take the case of a Morayshire farmer. ‘In the year 1850 a murrain decimated the herd of a farmer in the parish of Dallas. He proceeded at once with all ceremony to kindle the needfire. Then digging a pit in the ground he sacrificed an ox’ (1). This is fairly representative of the practice which was common all over Scotland. From time immemorial fires of different kinds have been kindled on certain days of the year. But besides these regularly recurring celebrations farmers resorted to fire rituals in seasons of distress above all when their cattle were attacked by epidemic disease, or, to ward off the devils of witchcraft. The general name by which they are known is needfire, Gaelic teine-éiginn, ‘churned’ or ‘forced fire’. It was by needfire that fire was originally produced at all fire festivals. Of the primitive ways of kindling fire the commonest was by the friction of wood, and two methods of producing friction in this way was clearly distinguished, the fire-drill and stick and groove or fire-plough. In its simplest form the fire-drill consists of two sticks, one of which is pointed and held upright with its point pressing on the other, which was laid flat on the ground; the upright stick, or drill proper, is twirled rapidly between the palms of the hands till the point bores a hole in the other stick and the continued friction generates first heat and then fire which is nursed into a flame by dry leaves or other suitable tinder. In the fire-plough a pointed stick is rubbed vigorously along a groove or depression in a piece of wood laid flat on the ground.

Type
Research Article
Information
Antiquity , Volume 29 , Issue 115 , September 1955 , pp. 132 - 136
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd 1955

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References

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