Blarmacfoldach
Encyclopedia
Crofting
Crofting is a form of land tenure and small-scale food production unique to the Scottish Highlands, the Islands of Scotland, and formerly on the Isle of Man....
settlement in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, in the Mamore Hills
Mamores
The Mamores are a group of mountains in the Lochaber area of the Grampian Mountains in the Scottish Highlands. They form an east-west ridge approximately fifteen kilometres in length lying between Glen Nevis to the north and Loch Leven to the south....
between Fort William and Kinlochleven
Kinlochleven
Kinlochleven is a village in Lochaber, in the Scottish Highlands and lies at the eastern end of Loch Leven, a sea loch cutting into the western Scottish Highlands. To the north lie the Mamores ridge; to the south lie the mountains flanking Glen Coe...
. In past centuries, Blarmacfoldach was mainly a Clan Cameron
Clan Cameron
Clan Cameron is a West Highland Scottish clan, with one main branch Lochiel, and numerous cadet branches. The Clan Cameron lands are in Lochaber and within their lands is the mountain Ben Nevis which is the highest mountain in the British Isles. The chief of the clan is customarily referred to as...
settlement.
Historically, the area spoke Lochaber
Lochaber
District of Lochaber 1975 to 1996Highland council area shown as one of the council areas of ScotlandLochaber is one of the 16 ward management areas of the Highland Council of Scotland and one of eight former local government districts of the two-tier Highland region...
Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic language
Scottish Gaelic is a Celtic language native to Scotland. A member of the Goidelic branch of the Celtic languages, Scottish Gaelic, like Modern Irish and Manx, developed out of Middle Irish, and thus descends ultimately from Primitive Irish....
, which had a number of distinctive features.
In the 19th century, Blarmacfoldach had a population of over 800. Reflecting the tragedy that gradually befell the Highlands
Scottish Highlands
The Highlands is an historic region of Scotland. The area is sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Highlands". It was culturally distinguishable from the Lowlands from the later Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands...
as a whole, the population has gradually fallen to around 50, the last native dying in 2000. This was exacerbated by the cholera
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
epidemic
Epidemic
In epidemiology, an epidemic , occurs when new cases of a certain disease, in a given human population, and during a given period, substantially exceed what is expected based on recent experience...
of the 19th century, when a ship in Loch Linnhe
Loch Linnhe
Loch Linnhe is a sea loch on the west coast of Scotland....
brought contaminated linen.
The Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic language
Scottish Gaelic is a Celtic language native to Scotland. A member of the Goidelic branch of the Celtic languages, Scottish Gaelic, like Modern Irish and Manx, developed out of Middle Irish, and thus descends ultimately from Primitive Irish....
etymology
Etymology
Etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time.For languages with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts in these languages and texts about the languages to gather knowledge about how words were used during...
of the name is not clear. Blàr typically refers to a field, often a battlefield, whereas the faoltaich are the cold early months of the year, corresponding to January (Faoilleach
Faoilleach
Faoilleach or Faoilteach, anglicised as Fulteachs, futtick, furtock etc, is a Scottish Gaelic term which originally referred to a certain period in the agricultural calendar and which refers to the first month of the year, January, in modern Scottish Gaelic.Nowadays, the term has fallen out of...
) in modern Gaelic.
Blàr mac Faoltaich is one of the 'four blars' in the area, comprising Blàr mac Faoltaich, Blàr A'Chaorainn, Blàr nan Cleireach, and Blàr Mac Droighnigh (also spelt Mac Droighneach, Mac Druineach, and nan Druineach, and meaning the field of the wise men).
The river Cìochnis (Cìoch Innis) which originates from the greatest island of the British isles in Lochan Lùnn dà
Bhrà, and passes through Blàr Mac Faoilteach, was the source of
hydro-electric power for the first electric street lighting in
Scotland, in nearby Fort William high street.
The West Highland Way
West Highland Way
The West Highland Way is a linear long distance footpath in Scotland, with the official status of Long Distance Route. It is 154.5km long, running from Milngavie north of Glasgow to Fort William in the Scottish Highlands, with an element of hill walking in the route...
passes through the clachan
Clachan
A clachan is a type of small traditional settlement common in Ireland and Scotland until the middle of the 20th century. It is usually defined as a small village lacking a church, post office, or other formal building. Their origin is unknown, but it is likely that they are of a very ancient...
near one of
its two endpoints.
Blar Mac Faoilteach was known locally as one of the last places to
celebrate the old Highland New Year on January 12.