Folk-Lore Record/Volume 1/Divination by the Blade-bone
DIVINATION BY THE BLADE-BONE.
N the curious old French Romance of Eustache le Moine, which M. Francisque Michel edited in 1834, the hero is described as having been at Toledo,
"Ou il ot apris nigremanche;"
and among other powers there acquired,
"Et par l'espaule au monton,
Faisoit pertes rendre à fuison."—lines 21-2.
The learned editor passed over this passage without illustration or comment, and the following note upon this species of divination was written by me about the time the book was published, 1834, when I frequently visited the shop of the worthy bibliophile referred to, who possessed a good deal of curious out-of-the-way information.
Knowing that Mr. Donald McPherson, a bookseller of Chelsea, who was a Highlander born, was well acquainted with the Highland custom of divining by the shoulder-of-mutton bone, I applied to him for information illustrative of the practice, and by his permission transcribed the following note, from a manuscript account by him of the superstitions of his countrymen.
"Among the Druids, as among every other priesthood, Divination was reduced to a system. It is known that Rhabdomancy, Geomancy, and Chiromancy were practised among them. Whether Augury or Divination by the flight and chirping of birds was practised by them we cannot well say, though it is likely it was, as in some old tales we are told 'the birds once spoke Gaelic.' Of Haruspice, or divination by the entrails and other parts of the animals sacrificed, one remnant has come down to us pretty entire. It is unnecessary to quote Scripture in order to show that it was the practice of the Ancients to sacrifice on high places and in graves, as the numerous passages to that effect mentioned in the Old Testament must be familiar to every one. Hence I am inclined to think a high place in the Gaelic is called Aridh, from Ar, to slay; whence also comes Ara, an altar, and Aireach, the superintendent of the chief's cattle, the slayer also or Haruspex, who continued in my time, that is as long as the occupation lasted, to be the family butcher, as well as the general superintendent of a gentleman's live stock, and the remnant of Haruspicy which has come down to us has come through the word Airich, that is, divination by the shoulder-blade. This was called Slinnairachd, from Slinnig, the shoulder. In Badenach, a central and isolated, though large, district of Invernessshire, until lately there were men skilled in this sort of divination. I mention the custom here because the sacrifices offered on Nollig and Callaiwn, i.e. Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, were those from which the knowledge of future events could properly be drawn. The last man in the parish of Laggan who was skilled in Slinnaireachd died about 70 years ago. His name was MacTavish, and he had been many years Aireach to Mr. MacDonald, of Gallovie. There are many wonderful stories told of this man's skill in his art. The following I have often heard related, and once by a man worthy of credit> who averred he had been an eye-witness to it. The fame of MacTavish had travelled to distant parts of the country, and, having come to the ears of a rival diviner, the latter determined to have ocular proofs of his proficiency. For this purpose he took a journey of many miles, and on his arrival at Gallovie announced his errand, and was directed to the house of his brother soothsayer, where of course he was made heartily welcome. Mr. MacDonald invited several of his friends to dine with him on New Year's night, and took care to have the two diviners of the company.
"After dinner a shoulder-blade was presented to the stranger, and he was requested to declare the result of his inspection, be it good or bad. After having pored over it for a certain time he was observed to change colour, and at first he refused to tell what had so affected him; but, when pressed, he positively asserted that some one should be hanged on that domain before morning. The company were of course variously affected by this declaration; some believed it and were alarmed; some did not, but had good manners enough not to turn it into ridicule. They however agreed in one thing, to let MacTavish re-inspect the blade. He did inspect it, and declared his satisfaction at the skill discovered by the stranger, but added that he had made a slight mistake, for that the ill-fated creature that was to be hanged could be no other than the devil himself, for that it had horns and hoofs. 'But,' said he, jocularly, 'no doubt my friend also has discovered these Satanic characteristics, though politeness towards two of the present company has induced him to conceal the fact;' and he bowed to the minister of the parish and to a Catholic priest who happened to be present. The night passed; but early on the next morning, as MacTavish went his rounds, he found a favourite yearling bull hanged and quite dead. He had put his head through between the bars of a ladder, and, as he was struggling to free himself, the heavy ladder fell across a deep foss, over which the animal was left suspended.
"Before the shoulder-blade is inspected, the whole of the flesh must be stripped clean off, without the use of any metal, either by a bone, or a hard wooden knife, or by the teeth. Most of the discoveries are made by inspecting the spots that may be observed in the semi-transparent part of the blade; but very great proficients penetrate into futurity through the opaque parts also. Nothing can be known that may happen beyond the circle of the ensuing year. The discoveries made have relation to the person for whom or by whom the sacrifice is offered."
Mr. MacPherson, who was a good linguist and well versed in Celtic antiquities, told me that when in Greece with his regiment, for he was formerly in one of the Highland regiments, he discovered that the same mode of divination prevailed in that country; and, being himself somewhat of an adept in the art, he had a trial of skill with a Greek priest, who likewise understood it, which ended in his (MacPherson) displaying so much talent as to be ever after looked upon by the simple inhabitants of the village as a sort of conjuror.
Since writing the above, I discovered two passages on this subject of Divination by the Shoulder-blade in that curious book (of which 100 copies were printed in 1815, under the editorship of Sir Walter Scott, from a MS. in the Advocates' Library at Edinburgh), Kirk's Essay on the Nature and Actions of the Subterranean, and (for the most part) Invisible People heretofore going under the name of Elves, Faunes, and Fairies, &c.
"The minor sort of Seers prognosticat many future events, only for a months space, from the shoulder-bone of a sheep on which a knife never came, for (as before is said, and the Nazarits of old had something of it) iron hinders all the operations of those that travell in the Intrigues of these hidden Dominions. By looking into the Bone, they will tell if whoredome be committed in the owners House; what money the master of the sheep had; if any will die out of that House for that moneth; and if any cattel there will take a Trake, as if Planet-struck. Then will they prescribe a Preservative and Prevention."—page 17, par. 13.
"There is another kind of Divination, by looking in the shoulderblade of a sheep, goat, &c. as in a Book, by which some skilfull in that occult science pretend to read future Events, such as the Death of some remarkable Person in a particular tribe or family; foretell general Meetings, Battles, Bloodsheds, etc. and in what quarter of the kingdom or country they are to happen: and besides, will describe what numerate Money is to be found in the custody of the owner of the sheep, &c. I had several instances of this kind told me, that were vouched to conviction, which I omit, as it is beyond my present Purpose to enlarge further on the subject, but leave it to the curious."—Par. lxxxi. p. 83, Appendix: Extracts from a Treatise on the Second Sight, Dreams, Apparitions, &c., by Theophilus Insulanus. 8vo. Edinburgh, 1763.
Let me refer any reader desirous of knowing more of this widespread form of divination to Sir Henry Ellis's edition of Brand's Popular Antiquities, iii. 179-80, ed. 1842, and to much curious information respecting Spatulamancia, as it is called by Hartlieb, and an analogous species of divination, "ex anserino sterno" to Grimm's Deutsche Mythologie, s. 1067-8, 2te, Ausg.