Cailleach

A Cailleach is a Scottish mythological figure.

The term Cailleach is somewhat ambiguous in regards to mythology of Scotland, as it is also used heavily in the Isle of Mann and Ireland. Regionally, it also applies to different creatures and characters. Although it can be said that a Cailleach does hold properties throughout its descriptions which can be used universally, such as it always being a woman, or a hag, typically she is an ancestral deity or a creator entity. In modern Scottish Gaelic, Cailleach means “old hag”.

Within regards to Scotland, Cailleach is often accredited with creating a number of hills, mountains and other anomalies in the landscape. In Scotland, the Cailleach is also known as the Queen of Winter, Beira. Part of the history of her persona is that she formed many Scottish mountains when she accidently dropped rocks out of her apron whilst traversing Scotland. She is also said to have shaped some formations with her hammer, although these were meant to be used as stepping stones for her. As this character, the Cailleach is also said to be charged with the length of the winter. Tradition dictates that if the weather is good on the 1st of February, the Cailleach has made it such so that she can gather more firewood for the winter, contrarily, if the weather is bad, it means that the Cailleach is asleep and will therefore soon end winter when her firewood runs out.

Because of the nature of the Cailleach character and all that she is attributed with doing, there are a number of locations around Scotland bearing her name or associated with her mythos. Probably the best known and certainly one of the most interesting is the Whirlpool of Coire Bhreacain, between the islands of Jura and Scarba, in which she is said to wash her plaid.