General MacDonald: A Fairy Tune

In Gaelic cosmological tradition music and fairies have had a very long association. There a hundreds of anecdotes and stories of how fairies are said to have bestowed musical gifts and/or taken them away. Calum Maclean himself took an interest in fairy tradition and wrote an article upon the subject about fairy traditions that he collected from the redoubtable John MacDonald of Highbridge, Brae Lochaber. Fairy lore and traditions were once a common feature among storytellers and Calum Maclean found a great deal when collecting in the Southern Hebrides. Here, for instance, is one such tradition about a fairy tune and its origin recorded from Peter MacCormick (1891–c. 1966), styled Pàdruig mac Alasdair or Pàdruig Beag, who belonged to Hacklett, Benbecula. During the First World War he served as a piper and after demobilisation returned to Benbecula to become a crofter/postman. In addition to his musical skills, MacCormick was also a very talented storyteller and raconteur. He was married to Kate MacCormick née MacPhee styled Catrìona styled Catriona nighean ’illeasbuig Ghriomasaigh who had an extensive repertoire of Gaelic song. The following entitled Port Sìdhe (‘A Fairy Tune’) was recorded on the 4th of April 1950:

 

Bha dithis thall às an Àird Fhada agus bha iad a’ falbh a Mhuileann na Buaile Glaiseadh thall faisg air an eaglais sin ann an Cnoc Fraochaig. Agus bha iad a’ falbh e bleith air oidhche. Agus thall air a’ mhuileann ann a shineach, bha e air a chantail gun robh sìdhean ann, Sìthean na Buaile Glaise. Dh’fhalbh iad co-dhiù dhan mhuileann agus nuair a bha iad a’ tilleadh, chuala iad an Sìdhean ag obair agus fear a’ gabhail phort ann. Agus ’s e am port a bha e a’ gabhail, tha e coltach – ’s ann mar seo a bha e a’ dol:

 

Ithinn deila othinn deila,

Ithinn deila is gorra-ghrithich,

Ithinn deila othinn deila,

Mac a’ bhodachain marbh.

Ithinn deila othinn deila,

Ithinn deila is gorra-ghrithich,

Ithinn deila othinn deila,

Mac a’ bhodachain marbh.

Ithinn deila, othinn deila,

Ithinn deila is gorra-ghrithich,

Ithinn deila, othinn deila,

Mac a’ bhodachain marbh.

Iod

Iod

Id odaran o ro,

Iu bhil sodaran,

Id odaran o ro,

Is dithis a chur leis air falbh

Mac a’ bhodachain marbh.

Id odaran o ro,

Iu bhil sodaran,

Id odaran o ro,

Is dithis a chur leis air falbh.

 

Nuair a chuala à-san seo tharrainn iad cho luath is a rinn iad riamh is chuir iad a-staigh na dorsan rompa agus chan fhacas duine a’ tighinn as an deaghaidh. Agus sin mar a bh’ air fhàgail a chuala iad am port a bha as an t-sìdhean. Is dhealaich mise rithe sin.

 

[Tha am port seo air a sheinn aig Lachlann Bàn MacCarmaig agus e air a chur sìos air fhitean Eidifiòn. General Macdonald an t-ainm a th’ air’ phort. Calum MacGilleathain.]  

 

There were two men over in Àird Fhada and they were leaving to go over to Muileann na Buaile Glaiseadh near the church in Cnoc Fraochaig. They were leaving to get grain at night. And over by the mill they say there is a fairy mound, Sìthean na Buaile Glaise (‘The Fairy Mound of the Green Cattle Fold’). They set off in any event to the mill and when returning they heard something from the Fairy Mound and one of them was singing a tune. And the tune that he was singing, it appears, went like this:

 

Ithinn deila othinn deila,

Ithinn deila and a heron,

Ithinn deila othinn deila,

Son of the little old man is dead.

Ithinn deila othinn deila,

Ithinn deila and a heron,

Ithinn deila othinn deila,

Son of the little old man is dead.

Ithinn deila, othinn deila,

Ithinn deila and a heron,

Ithinn deila, othinn deila,

Son of the little old man is dead.

Iod

Iod

Id odaran o ro,

Iu bhil sodaran,

Id odaran o ro,

And two men have put him away,

Son of the little old man is dead.

Id odaran o ro,

Iu bhil sodaran,

Id odaran o ro,

And two men have put him away.

 

When they heard this they fled as quickly was they had ever done and they shut the doors behind him and they didn’t see anybody coming after them. And that his how they learned the tune they heard in the fairy mound. And I parted from it.

 

[This tune was played by Lachlan Ban MacCormick and he recorded it on an Ediphone wax cylinder. General Macdonald is the name of the tune. Calum Maclean.]

 

Another version of this anecdote was recorded in 1953 by Calum’s brother, Dr Alasdair Maclean, from the same reciter. It’s not quite as detailed as the earlier version but it does show how important it is to record variations of the same material from the same reciter over a period of time, even years as in this case. Here’s the transcription and translation of this interesting anecdote:

 

Uill, bha e air a ràdh gun deachaidh triùir o chionn fada am Beinne na Faoghla gu muilleach, bha iad a’ dèanamh bleith. Agus bha iad air a ràdh seo gun robh sìthean ann aig a…am muillean ghlas. Agus air a bha dithist a bha sin a’ dol seachad chuala iad port às an t-sìthein. Agus ’s e am port a bha iad a’ gabhail…tha e air a ràdh gur h-ann mar sin a bha e a’ dol:

 

Ithinn deila othinn deila,

Ithinn deila is gorra-ghrithich,

Ithinn deila othinn deila,

Mac a’ bhodachain marbh.

Id odaran o ro,

Iu bhil sodaran,

Id odaran o ro,

Is dithist a chur leis air falbh.

 

Agus bha an dithist às a sineach agus thill iad cho luath is bha iad riamh dhachaigh agus iad air an clisgeadh agus smaoinich iad gur h-e iad fhèin a bha a’ cur air falbh leis a’ bhodachain agus sin mar a chuala mise an stòraidh agus chan eil ann ach stòraidh bhig.

 

Well, it is said that three men a long time ago in Benbecula went to a mill, they were getting the grain ground. And they say here that there is a fairy-hill at Muilean Glas. And when two of them were going by they heard a tune from the fairy-hill. And the tune that they were playing…it’s said that it went something like this:

 

Ithinn deila othinn deila,

Ithinn deila and a heron,

Ithinn deila othinn deila,

Son of the little old man is dead,

Id odaran o ro,

Iu bhil sodaran,

Id odaran o ro,

And two men have put him away.

 

And the two men got out of there and they returned home as quickly as they could as they were shaken with fright for they thought it was they who were going to be put away by the little old man and that is how I heard the story but it’s just a wee story.

 

It’s intriguing to note that the tune was recorded by Lachlan Bàn MacCormick and it’s very much hoped that the wax cylinder recording made by Calum Maclean remains extant and will be discovered at some future point. Why the reel became known as General MacDonald appears not to be known but Peter MacCormick gave a good version of it in canntaireachd which is available to hear on the Tobar an Dualchais / Kist o Riches website. Some sources attribute the reel’s composition to Neil Gow (1727–1807), the famous Perthshire fiddler and composer.

 

References:

Anecdote:  http://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/fullrecord/13383/1

Canntaireachd: http://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/fullrecord/32007/1

NFC 1181: 114–115. Courtesy of Cnuasach Bhéaloideas Éireann, Coláiste Ollscoile Baile Átha Cliath / National Folklore Collection, University College Dublin

 

Image:

Peter MacCormick, 1960s. Courtesy of the School of Scottish Studies Archives

Kate MacDonald: Bean Eairdsidh Raghnaill

Kate MacDonald (née Campbell) (1897–1977), styled Bean Eairdsidh Raghnaill (the wife of Archie, son of Ronald) as well as Ceit Nìll, was born and raised at Garryheillie (Gearraidh Sheilidh) in South Uist, the first child of a family of three to Neil Campbell (c. 1856–1951) and his wife Mòr (Marion) MacLellan (1868–1971), styled Mòr nighean Aonghais ’ic Eachainn. She was fortunate to have been born into a family where the rich seams of music, song, and storytelling were still strong and from whom she was to gain an extensive knowledge.

Her mother, Mòr Campbell was one of the most remarkable sources of traditional Gaelic song ever to have been recorded by the School of Scottish Studies. She was highly intelligent and had a wide-ranging knowledge in her traditional culture. Despite, or perhaps because of this, she only had a smattering of English and she is perhaps one of the last monoglot speakers of Gaelic from South Uist. Kate’s mother was the main source of her songs and, indeed, became known in the family as “The Dictionary” for she was the ultimate authority to be consulted on points of Gaelic words where there was matters of doubt or misunderstanding.

Kate’s maternal uncle was none other than Angus MacLellan (1869–1966), styled Aonghas Beag mac Aonghais ’ic Eachainn ’ic Dhòmhnaill ’ic Chaluim ’ic Dhòmhnaill, from Poll Torain, Loch Eynort. His autobiographical reminiscences entitled The Furrow Behind Me, translated from recordings made by Dr John Lorne Campbell of Canna, were published in 1962, and the original Gaelic text appeared under the title Saoghal an Treobhaiche in 1972. Selections of his vast repertoire of tales and stories, also recorded, transcribed, translated and edited by Campbell, were published in 1961 as Stories From South Uist. MacLellan had the distinction of being awarded the MBE in the 1965 New Year’s Honours List for his contribution to the preservation of Gaelic oral tradition. This feat has yet to be equalled.

Kate’s father, Neil Campbell, was well known throughout Uist as a piper. He passed away in 1951 in his mid-nineties. Pipe music was, indeed, an ever present factor in Kate’s upbringing and her younger brother Angus Campbell also became a fine exponent of both ceòl mòr and ceòl beag, having been for some time a pupil of the eminent Pipe-Major John MacDonald of Inverness.

On leaving school at the age of fourteen, Kate found employment in the household of Ronald MacKinnon, the piermaster at Castlebay in the neighbouring island of Barra. She stayed there for the next two years before finding a post at Askernish House in South Uist, the residence of John MacDonald, the resident factor to the South Uist Estates at that time. She worked there for two to three years before taking up her new job at the Lochboisdale Hotel where she worked for the next eight to nine years.

At the age of twenty-nine, Kate married Archibald MacDonald, styled Eairdsidh Raghnaill ’ic Ruairidh ’ic Raghnaill (Archie son of Ronald son of Roderick son of Ronald) in Garryheillie, who claimed descent from the MacDonald aristocracy of Clanranald. The couple settled down to the usual run of life on the croft in Garryheillie. Kate’s husband supplemented their income by working as a ghillie at the Lochboisdale Hotel. Archie MacDonald was a fine piper. He joined the pipe band of the Lovat Scouts before the first World War, in which he served throughout from 1914 to 1918 – and he was again involved from 1939 to 1945 though this time in a non-combatant capacity.

Kate and Archie had seven children – four boys and three girls. There were two sons Ronald who died – one while still a schoolboy and the other, tragically, in a car accident as a comparatively young man. The rest of the family were Morag, John Angus, Mary Flora, Neil and Rona. Rona Lightfoot, especially, has inherited the family talent for piping and is probably one of the finest female player that Scotland has ever produced. Her brother Neil was also a gifted player.

The first member of staff of the School of Scottish Studies to make contact with Kate MacDonald was Hamish Henderson – and this, in fact, happened several years before the School was founded in 1951. After his discharge from the army at the end of the Second World War, Henderson’s wanderings took him, among many other places, to the Hebrides in 1946, to follow up his already well-established interest in traditional song and to write poetry. Coincidentally, this was also the same year in which Calum Maclean first visited the Hebrides when he came to Barra in September of that year. Whilst staying at the Lochboisdale Hotel as the guest of the then owner Finlay MacKenzie (a piping aficionada if ever there was one), Henderson first met Archie MacDonald who was then working there at the time. Henderson was invited over to Garryheillie to meet his family and Kate sang a number of songs for him – though she did not yet have a reputation as a singer.

It was five years later in 1951 that Kate was first recorded. Dr Alasdair Maclean who arrived, along with his wife Rena, in South Uist to practice medicine as a GP. One night there was a gathering in their house in Daliburgh and Archie came along with Kate. Even though she was not known for her singing, Archie confided that Kate knew one song. Archie managed to persuade her to sing it which she did and she made quite an impact. Over the next few years, songs would stream for her and such was the quality of her texts that her repertoire of song compared favourably to those found in Òrain Luaidh Màiri Nighean Alasdair, published in 1949 by K. C. Craig from the singing of Mary MacCuish. Indeed, Kate knew virtually everything in Craig as well as much else besides. Her memory for Gaelic song was phenomenal. Dr Alasdair Maclean and his brother, Calum, began to record as much as they could of Kate’s singing. Nearly two hundred songs of all kinds, a good many which were extremely rare, were recorded from Kate’s recitation alone. She is perhaps best known for her knowledge of waulking songs of which she knew a considerable number.

Reference:

Donald Archie MacDonald, ‘Kate MacDonald (Bean Eairdsidh Raghaill), Tocher, vol. 27 (Winter, 1977/78), pp. 129–35

Image:

Mrs Kate MacDonald, styled Bean Eairdsidh Raghnaill. The photograph was taken by Calum Maclean in April 1958. Courtesy of the School of Scottish Studies Archives.

Dr Alasdair Maclean

As resident GP in South Uist for thirty-two years, Dr Alasdair Maclean (1918–1999) became a kenspeckled figure on the island and like his elder brother Calum was a prolific collector in his own right.

 

Like the rest of his family, Dr Alasdair received his early education in the local primary school in Raasay, and later at Portree High School. For there he proceeded to St Andrews University where he studied medicine and graduated in 1941 MB ChB. His brother Norman also graduated in medicine and the both saw active military service in India and Burma with the Royal Army Medical Core.

 

After an engagement lasting a year, Dr Alasdair married Rena MacAskill of Drynoch in 1947 and had a family of five sons. After demobilisation he took up his chosen career, and worked for a time in Dingwall, Dundee, Laggan, Broadford, and Perth, before taking up medical practice in South Uist in 1950. He remained a GP there for the next thirty-two years and was also a medical superintendent of the Sacred Heart Hospital in Daliburgh.

 

Calum had been collecting in the Southern Hebrides some three years before Dr Alasdair came out to South Uist. Here, for example, is a dairy entry from the summer of 1950:

 

Dimàirt, 15 Lùnasdal 1950

Dh’fhuirich mi a-raoir ann an taigh Alasdair an Dalabrog. Bha seann-duine a-muigh air taobh a deas Loch Baghasdail agus bha Alasdair ag ràdha gun robh naidheachdan aige. Bha e airson gu rachainn a-mach ga choimhead. Bha Alasdair fhèin a’ dol a-mach ann agus chaidh mi a-mach còmhla ris. ’S ann air taobh a deas Loch Baghasdail a tha an duine seo. ’S e Iain MacDhòmhnaill a chanar ris, no Iagan Theàrlaich. Tha an duine bochd dall a-niste. Chaill e aon t-sùil le sgiorrag e chionn fhada agus as t-samhradh seo a chaidh, chaill e fradharc na sùla eile. Tha an duine bochd gu math truagh dheth an-diugh agus chan iongnadh ged a dh’fhairicheadh e an ùine fada. Chan eil e ach mu thrì fichead bliadhna a dh’ aois agus tha e gu math làidir fhathast. Bha taigh-tughaidh beag laghach aige agus tha e glè ghlan eireachdail na bhroinn. Tha a bhean beò còmhla ris agus nighean leis agus i pòsda a-staigh. Tha aon leanbh aca. Bha naidheachdan beaga laghacha aig Iain MacDhòmhnaill, ach chan e sgeulaiche mòr a th’ ann idir. Bha stòiridhean beaga èibhinn aige agus an-diugh agus mi gun an Eidifión agam, ghabh mi beachd air grunn dhiubh. Bha mi còmhla ris mu uair an uaireadair agus sgrìobh mi sìos ainmean nan naidheachd a bh’ aige. Gheall mi dhà gun tiginn air ais a-rithist leis an Eidifión agus gun toirinn sìos iad. Mu chòig uairean as t-oidhche thill sinn air ais gu Dalabrog. Bha dùil againn a dhol suas gu Beinne na Faoghla a-nochd ach dh’fhuirich mi a-bhos còmhla ri Alasdair.
 

Tuesday, 15 August 1950

I stayed last night at Alasdair’s house in Daliburgh. There was on old man out in South Lochboisdale and Alasdair said he had stories. He wanted me to go out to see him. Alasdair was going out and I went with him. This man stays out in South Lochboisdale. He’s called John MacDonald, or John Charles. The poor man is blind now. He lost one eye by accident a long time ago and last summer he lost the sight in his other eye. The poor man isn’t well off today and it’s little wonder that he should feel the time slowly going by. He’s only sixty years of age and he’s still quite strong. He had a neat little thatched house and it’s very clean and tidy inside. His wife is still with him and a married daughter who stays with them. They’ve one child. John MacDonald has nice little anecdotes, but he’s not a great storyteller at all. He had funny, little stories today but I didn’t have the Ediphone so I took a note of a number of them. I was in his company for an hour and I wrote down the titles of his anecdotes. I promised him that I’d be back again with the Ediphone and that I’d take them down. Around five o’clock at night we returned to Daliburgh. We had expected that I’d go up to Benbecula tonight but I stayed here with Alasdair.

 

With so many exponents of history, folklore, Gaelic song, culture, genealogy surrounding him, and no doubt with the encouragement of Calum, Dr Alasdair was inspired to research and write on many of these subjects. In 1982 he wrote his first book, A MacDonald for a Prince, the fascinating story of Neil MacEachen of Howbeg, who shielded Bonnie Prince Charlie and whose son was later to become Napoleon’s Marshall MacDonald and Duke of Tarentum. Jacobite history fascinated him and after his retirement, in 1992, his second book appeared under the title Summer Hunting A Prince.

 

Another book followed in 1994 when Dr Alasdair, edited meticulously, prepared a new edition of History of Skye, the extremely detailed study of the social history of that island written by his uncle, Alexander Nicolson. In addition to these works, he edited and consolidated William MacKenzie’s books Iochdar Trotternish and Old Skye Tales. He also made a contribution to a book about the Nicolsons of Scorrybreac. Genealogy, particularly that of South Uist families, held a particular fascination for him and he contributed a very interesting paper on this very subject to the Gaelic Society of Inverness.

 

He made many other contributions to journals and periodicals, and often contributed to radio and TV programmes. He was also in much demand as a guest speaker.

 

Many of his recordings made by him, mainly Gaelic songs for which he had a great love, are available on the Tobar an Dualchais / Kist o Riches website. Like his brother Norman, Dr Alasdair also had a great love of bagpipe music, and was a regular attender at the Silver Chanter, the Northern Meeting and Blair Castle competitions.

 

Dr Alasdair Maclean made a great contribution to collecting Gaelic folklore, especially songs, and if it had not been for his dedication in doing so then we would have a far poorer picture of the strength of Gaelic oral tradition in South Uist at that time.

 

References:

NFC 1301: 524–26

William MacKenzie; Alasdair Maclean (ed.), Old Skye Tales: Traditions, Reflections and Memories: With A Selection from Skye: Iochdar–Trotternish and District (Aird Bhearnasdail, Maclean Press, 1995)

Alasdair Maclean, A MacDonald for a Prince: The Story of Neil MacEachen (Stornoway: Acair, 1982)

–––––, ‘Notes on South Uist Families’, Transactions of the Gaelic Society of Inverness, vol. LIII (1984), pp. 491ff.

Alasdair Maclean; John S. Gibson, Summer Hunting A Prince: The Escape of Charles Edward Stuart (Stornoway: Acair, 1992)

W. David H. Sellar & Alasdair Maclean; C. B. Harman Nicholson (ed.), The Highland Clan MacNeacail (MacNicol): A History of the Nicolsons of Scorrybreac (Waternish: Maclean Press, 1999)

 

Image:

Mrs Kate MacDonald, styled Bean Eairdsidh Raghnaill, with Dr Alasdair Maclean. December 1975. The photograph belongs to Ishbel MacDonald. Courtesy of the School of Scottish Studies Archives.

Tom nam Fead: The Knoll of the Whistles

The following story was collected on 22 January 1951 by Calum Maclean from the recitation of Allan MacDonell or MacDonald, then aged around eighty years of age, originally from Bunroy, Brae Lochaber, but latterly staying in Inverlochy, near Fort William. The hill mentioned in this short anecdote may be located near the modern-day British Aluminium factory which is referred to on the modern Ordnance Survey map as An Sìdhean. The story itself is a migratory one and was once fairly common throughout the Highlands and Islands and doubtless elsewhere. This anecdote is based upon a folk etymology for the place-name as it aptly describes that the fairy folk were once believed to have haunted this particular hillock. A more pragmatic explanation for the hillock could be explained by runnels, or underground streams, that when the conditions were right could make whistling or hissing noises just as a babbling brook would do. The alphanumeric code added to the original transcription as well as the translation refers to the Motif Index of Folklore developed initially by an American folklorist, Stith Thompson and a Finnish folklorist, Antti Aarne and improved even further by a German scholar Hans-Jörg Uther. This particular anecdote was transcribed by Calum Maclean as follows:

 

Tom nan Sìdhchean – an t-ainim cear^st a tha air Tom nam Fead. Bha an dithist seo a’ fal^abh dhachaidh as a' Ghearasdan. Bha pige uisge-bheatha
aig gach fear dhiubh anns a’ bhreac(hc)an air son na Nollaig. Is dar a bha iad a’ dol air adhar^st air a’ mhonadh:
“Stad,” thuir^st e, “dé ’n ceòl a tha siod (F262.)?”
Chunnaic iad gun robh an sìdhean fosgailte (F721.2). Bha ceòl is aighear is dannsa. An darna fear dhiubh chaidh e a staigh. A staigh a chaidh e (F302.3.1.) is chaill a’ fear eile e. Chum e air dhachaidh.
Choimhead e thall is a bhos air son an fhir eile is cha robh e ri fhaic(hc)inn. Chaidh e dhachaidh. Dh’ innis e mar a thachair. Bha iad na aghaidh aig an taigh gun d’ rinn e rud air choir eigin air an duine eile (K2116.). Thàinig a’ chailleach bhuidseachd, bana-choimhearsnach dhà far an robh e. Thuir^st i ris (FD1814.1.):
“Théid thu air tòir an uisge-bheatha am bliadhna a rithist.” Théid thu sìos do’n Allt Bhuidhe. Bheir thu gobhlan as a’ chraobh chaorainn (D1385.2.5.). Gheibh thu beagan gaoisid as earaball a’ stallain (F384.3.) a tha sin thall. Fighidh tu a’ ghaoisid air a’ ghobhlan. Dar a bhios sibh a' tilleachd leis an uisge-bheatha bidh an croc(hc) fosgailte, bidh an dorust fosgailte (F211.1.).
Cuiridh tu an gobhlan am bruach^{^bràigh} an doruist agas théid thu a staigh. Abair ris:
"Trobhad, trobhad, a Dhomhnaill." Bi a mach a sin.
Gheibh thu leat dhachaidh e.
’S ann mar seo a bha.
Rinn e na chaidh iarraidh air (F322.5.). Thuir^st Domhnall a bha a staigh ri Alasdair, ’n uair a fhuair e a mach:
“Cha robh mi móran mhineidean a staigh.”
“Bha thu bliadhna a staigh (Z72.1.),” thuir^st Alasdair.
“Cha d’ airich mi ach mar mhineid na dha e (F377),” thuir^st Domhnall.
Tha iad ag ràdha agas bha seann-daoine ag innseadh dhomh-sa gun robh e gu math cinnteach sin.

 

The correct name for Tom nan Sìdhchean (‘The Knoll of the Fairies’) is Tom nam Fead (‘The Knoll of the Whistles’). Two men were going home from Fort William and both were carrying kegs of whisky for a Christmas celebration in their plaids. And when they had gone some distance over the hill:
“Stop,” he said, “what’s that music (F262.)?”
They saw a fairy knoll open (F721.2.). There was music, heartiness and dancing. The second man entered. In he went and the other man lost sight of him (F302.3.1.). He went on his way home.
He searched high and low for the other man but there was no sign of him. He went home and told what had happened. Those at home suspected that he had done something or another to the other man (K2116.). An old wise woman, a neighbour of his came to him. She said to him (D1814.1.):
“You’ll go in search of the whisky this year again. You’ll go down to Allt Buidhe and you’ll take a forked twig from the mountain ash (D1385.2.5.). Then you’ll get a little hair from the stallion’s tail over there (F384.3.). You’ll then tie the hair to the forked twig. When you return with the whisky, the knoll will be open and the door ajar (F211.1). You’ll put the forked twig in the lintel of the door and you’ll enter. Say to him:
“Come on, come on Donald.” Get out of there and you’ll take him home with you.
And so it turned out.
He did as he was advised to do (F322.5). Donald, who had been in the fairy knoll, said to Alasdair when he got out:
“I was only a few minutes inside.”
“You were in a whole year (Z72.1),” said Alasdair.
“I only felt it as if a minute or two had passed (F337),” said Donald.
They say, and old people used to tell me, that it was actually true. The fairies used to whistle (F262.7) and that’s why it was called Tom nam Fead (‘The Knoll of the Whistles’).

References:
SSS NB 5, pp. 385-87
For more on motifs, see wiki entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motif_(folkloristics)

Image:

Fairy piper

Taxonomy:

F22, Man Goes into Fairy Dwelling and Spends Year or more there Dancing with Cask or Basket on Back

Motifs:

F262. Fairies make music.
F721.2. Habitable hill.
F211.1. Entrance to fairyland through door in knoll.
F302.3.1. Fairy entices man into Fairyland.
D1385.2.2. Ash (quicken, rowan) proof against spells and enchantments.
D1814.1. Advice from magician (fortune-teller, etc.).
D1385.2.5. Ash (quicken, rowan) protects against spells and enchantment.
K2116. Innocent person accused of murder.
F322.5. Rescue from fairyland.
F377. Supernatural lapse of time in fairyland. Years seem days.
F384.3. Iron powerful against fairies.
F262.7. Fairies whistle.
Z72.1. A year and a day.