| Manx | English | |
|---|---|---|
| COAMREY DEINEY MANNINAGH | THE MANKSMEN'S CLOTHING | |
| Va'n çhenn choamrey ny deiney va jaggad çheet hug yn shleayst echey (sic), as va'n famman gollan-gheayee roshtyn sheese gheu-chooylloo as crammanyn prash orroo. | The ancient garb of the men was a jacket coming [down] to his thigh and there was a swallowtail reaching down behind, and brass buttons on. | |
| Va ny breeghyn oc çheet gys ny glioonyn oc, as cramanyn prash erskyn as fo nyn ghlioonyn, as oashyryn asnee as edd mollagh. | Their breeches were coming to their knees with [lit: and] brass buttons above and below their knees, and ribbed stockings and a soft hat. | |
| Va shen yn coamrey share oc, foddee son Jedoonee; va’n eaddagh dy chooilley laa perree-bane as breeçhyn glioonagh, oashyryn as carraneyn. | That was their best clothes, perhaps for the Sabbath; the everyday garb was a white perree and kneebreeches, stockings and carranes. | |
|
Note by Paton:
[Perree; a short tailless jacket.]
| ||
| Va meer dy çheh goit dy chiangley ny carraneyn er mullagh yn chass. V’ad cha moyrnagh ass ny carraneyn oc as yn sleih t’ayn nish ass ny braagyn oc. | A bit of the hide was taken to bind the carranes over the top of the foot. They were as proud of their carranes as the folk nowadays of their shoes. | |
| [Carrane; a sort of slipper or rough hide sandal.] | ||
| COAMREY NY MRAANE | THE CLOTHING OF THE WOMEN | |
| Ve oanrey, jeant jeh lieen as ollan, as beg-goon roshtyn sheese gys ny sleaystyn oc. | It was a petticoat made of linen and wool, and a bed-gown reaching down to their thighs. | |
|
Note by Paton:
[A bed-gown was a short jacket with a broad collar — a day garment not for night wear.]
| ||
| Va apyrn kiangley my geayrt yn vean, as quoif vane er ny ching oc. | An apron was bound about the middle, and a white coif on their heads. | |
| Ny keayrtyn v’ad ceau edd goll-rish dooinney. | Sometimes they were wearing a hat like a man. | |
| Va ny mraane ceau carraneyn ayns shenn traaghyn goll-rish ny deiney, as bwoailley arroo lesh soostyn ayns soalt marish ny deiney; as fasney yn arroo lesh dollan, as yn gheay sheidey yn choau ersooyl ass yn arroo. | The women were wearing carranes in old times, like the men, and threshing corn with flails in a barn with the men, and winnowing the corn with a dollan, [lit; and] the wind blowing the chaff away out of the corn. | |
|
Note by Paton:
[Dollan; a round shallow tray with wooden rim and skin bottom.]
| ||
| Va ny mraane jannoo ymmodee dy obbraghyn elley ayns shenn traaghyn. | The women were doing many other [kinds] of work in old times. | |
| YN OBBYR OC AYNS NY OIEGHYN GEUREY | THEIR WORK IN THE WINTER NIGHTS | |
| Va shlig as ymmyd jeant jeh. | They used a shells [lit: there was a shell and use made of it]. | |
|
Note by Paton:
[The shell was usually that of a scallop, Manks ‘tan-roagan’ —The ‘tan’ is S. Gaelic
[tein] ‘fire’, indicating this use of it.]
| ||
| Ny keayrtyn veagh ooill-aane gobbag ayns shlig son soilshey daue. | Sometimes there would be liver oil of the dog-fish in a shell for light to them. | |
| Va shuinyn scryssit oc, currit ayns yn ooill. | They had peeled rushes put into the oil. | |
|
Notes by Paton: peeled
[lit: scraped], rushes put into the oil
[for wicks].
| ||
| V’ad tayrn yn shuin lesh freeney magh ass yn ooill er son soilshey daue. | They were drawing the rush with a pin out of the oil for light to them. | |
|
Note by Paton
[ie. trimming the wick.]
| ||
| Va ny mraane snieu kennip son snaie-jeebin, as ny jannoo er yn yeebin, ooilley-lesh un soilshey. | The women were spinning hemp for netting-yarn, and working on the net, all with the one light. | |
| Va’n sleih Manninagh feer jeean as tarroogh as kiaralagh ayns yn vea oc. Va graih smoo oc son y cheilley na yn sleih ta ayns yn laa ain. | Manks people were very earnest and thrifty and careful in their living. They had more love for one another than the folk that are in our days. | |
| My va dooinney laccal yeeassaghey argid voish fer elley, yinnagh ad goll çheu elley jeh’n cleigh. | If a man were wanting a loan of money from another man they would go to the other side of a hedge. | |
| Cha row ad laccal fys ve ec pyagh dy row ad yeessagh, da y cheilley va’n ockle oc cha shickyr as ta’n scrieu yn sleih nish. | They were' not wanting anyone to know that they were lending to one another—their word was as sure as the bond of the present-day folk. | |
| SHENN CHLIAGHTEY VANNINAGH | ANCIENT MANKS CUSTOMS | |
| Va ny Manninee gheddyn yn aile veih tynder. | Manks people were getting fire from tinder. | |
| Va kishtey beg oc lesh daa ghamyr ayn. Va’n aanrit-losht ayns un ayrn, yn steillyn as claghhenney ayns yn ayrn elley. | They had a little box with two compartments in [it]. The tinder was in one part, the steel and flint in the other part. | |
|
Notes by Paton: tinder
[lit: burnt linen] flint
[lit: fire-stone]
| ||
| V’ad cummal yn steillyn ayns un laue as bwoilley lesh yn laue elley yn chlagh-henney. | They were holding the steel in one hand and beating the flint with the other hand. | |
| Va ny smaleyn tuittym er yn aanrit-losht, as eisht goaill aile. | The sparks were falling upon the tinder and then taking fire, | |
| Va’d sheidey lesh nyn ennal dy chur eh goaill aile, eisht v’ad cur kione shiune ny kainle-slut hug eh [huggey] son soilshey. | They were blowing with their breath to make it take fire then they were putting the tip of a rush [light] or a slut-candle to it for a light. | |
|
Note by Paton:
[Slut-candle. A rough candle moulded by hand on a rag wick.]
| ||
| Ta mee er chlashtyn ad gra my yinnagh ad fakin jaagh jeh thie, yinnagh ad goll raad liauyr dy gheddyn aile. | I have heard them say that if they would be seeing smoke of a house they would go a long way to get fire. | |
| Va shen roish va spollag-aileagh ry-akin. Va kistey-spollag jeant jeh fuygh. | That was before a match was [ever] seen. A match-box was made of wood. | |
|
Note by Paton:
[spollag-aileagh; a match
[lit: fire-splinter]]
| ||
| Va’n skall tuittym sheese er yn chistey goll-rish barrel cadjin. | The lids shut down on the box like a common barrel. | |
|
Notes by Paton: shut
[lit: was falling],
[Skall — Moore translates this as ‘lid’. S. Gaelic has ‘sgail’ —Not in the Manx Dictionaries.],
[The early match boxes were more or less barrel shaped, or oval, with the matches head-upwards.]
| ||
| GOLL HUG YN SKEDDAN | GOING TO THE HERRING | |
| Va ny shenn gheiney eirinee goll hug yn skeddan ayns shenn traaghyn. | The old farming men were going to the herring in old times. | |
| Veagh yn baatey mennick lesh yn çheshaght. | The boat would often belong to the crew. | |
| V’ad goll gys y skeddan mysh meanagh June, as scuirr jerrey fouyr. | They were going to the herring about the middle of June, and left off at the end of harvest. | |
| V’ad eisht tayrn ny baatyn seose ass danjeyr voish yn keayn. | They were then drawing the boats up out of danger from the sea. | |
| V’ad tayrn paart jeh ny baatyn ec Purt Çhiarn fo yn broogh, eddyr yn chabbal as thie yn spooyt. | They were drawing some of the boats at Port Erin under the cliff, between the chapel and the spout-house. | |
| Lurg yn imbagh skeddan veagh ny eeasteyryn dy mennick chionnaghey mart eddyr oc. | After the herring season the fishermen would often buy an ox between them. | |
| Ny keayrtyn veagh kiare ny queig goaill mart eddyr oc, as sailjey eh ayns stoandey. | Sometimes four or five would take an ox between them and salt it in a barrel. | |
| V’ad myrgeddin rheynn yn çheh; lurg shen v’ad cur yn çheh ’sy çhymley dy hyrmaghey. | They were dividing the hide also; after that they were putting the hide in the chimney to dry. | |
| Tra v’eh çhirrym dy liooar eisht v’ad goaill sheese eh as cur eh ayns ushtey dy yannoo bog. | When it was dry enough then they were taking it down and putting it into water to make [it] soft. | |
| Eisht v’ad goaill towsan yn chass oc, as jannoo ad hene ny carraneyn oc hene. | Then they were taking measure of their foot, and they [would] make their own carranes themselves. | |
|
Note by Paton:
[Mr.
Moore told me that they would kill the ox and cut it up for division by the roadside. They set their foot on the bit of hide, and pricking round it with a knife, marked out the future carrane. Sir Walter Scott gives a similar description of the making of these ancient shoes.]
| ||
| V’ad ny s’aasagh na braagyn er y chass dy hooyll ayns ny magheryn geiyrt er y cheeaght. | They were easier than shoes on the feet to walk in the fields following the plough. | |
| YN OUYR AYNS SHENN TRAAGHYN. | THE HARVEST IN OLD TIMES | |
| Va ny beayneeyn cur lesh nyn gorran oc hene gys yn vagher. | The reapers brought their own sickle to the field. | |
| Va’n chied chorran ta mee er n’akin va feeacklyn echey goll-rish saaue, as va foyr currit er goll-rish ny corranyn ta ayn nish. | The first sickle that I saw had teeth like a saw, and there was an edge put on it like the sickles that are now in. | |
|
Notes by Paton:
[that I
[ever] saw],
[had teeth
[lit: were teeth at it]],
[now in
[existence]]
| ||
| Tra veagh ny beayneeyn ec kione yn vagher goaill aash, feer vennick v’ad ooilley goaill jaagh jeh’n phiob. | When the reapers at the end of the field would be taking a rest, very often they were all taking a smoke of the pipe. | |
|
Note by Paton:
[the end
[lit: head]]
| ||
| Choud’s v’ad goaill aash va’n fer va kiangley ny bunneeyn cur foyr er ny corranyn oc. | Whilst they were taking a rest the man who was binding the sheaves was putting an edge on their sickles. | |
| Va mennick ooilley ny mraane goaill tayrn jeh’n phiob ayns ny traaghyn shen. | Often all the women were taking draw of the pipe in those times. | |
| Veagh ny beayneeyn mennick jannoo eab quoi beagh ec kione yn vagher toshiaght. | The reapers would often contend who would be at the end of the field first. | |
|
Notes by Paton
[contend
[lit: make effort]],
[the end
[lit: head]]
| ||
| My veagh yn gart mooie roish yn furriman v’eh dy chur greddey da, as cur tarnoil da. | If the gart were before the ‘furriman’ he was to give him a slap, and give him a knock down blow. | |
|
Notes by Paton:
[the gart
[the last reaper, to the right-hand side of the field]],
[the ‘furriman’
[usually the best reaper, took the left-hand side]]
| ||
| Ta’n lane doarn s’jerree jeh’n arroo enmyssit yn Vheillea. | The last handful of corn is called the Mheillea. | |
| T’eh kianglt lesh rybbanyn, as ny beayneeyn yllagh dy çheet ayns sheshaghtyn cooidjagh gys yn vheillea. | It is tied with ribbons, and the reapers calling to come in companies to the mheillea. | |
|
Note by Paton: the mheillea
[harvest-home]
| ||
| Lurg da shibber va harrish v’ad goaill toshiaght dy ghaunsin. | After supper was over they would begin dancing. | |
| Veagh cloieder viol oc dy chummal traa roue daunsin. | There would be a fiddler at them to keep time to them dancing. | |
| V’ad freayll eh goll gys oor anmagh. | They were keeping it going to a late hour. | |
| Va liggar goll dy palçhey— ‘Rum’ —cha row eie er whisky ayns ny traaghyn shen | Liquor was going in plenty—rum—they didn't meddle with whisky in those times. | |
| Tra va ghaa ny three goll dys thie oast dy iu, goaill jough cooidjagh, yn fer s'jerree yinnagh folmagh yn kaart v’eh dy lhieeney yn kaart reesht ; va shoh yn çhenn chliaghtey oc, as cur jerrey lesh yn iu lesh ‘jough y dorrys.’ | When two or three were going to a public-house to drink, taking a drink together, the last man that would empty the pot, he was to fill the pot again; this was their old custom, and they would end the drinking with a ‘drink of the door.’ | |
|
Note by Paton:
[‘jough y dorrys; ‘drink of the door.’, the Scotch-Gaelic ‘deoch an doris’].
| ||
| Bollagh yn sleih Manninagh cuirr rass-lieen, as tra veagh eh lesh gaase va yn blaa yn cullyr s’bwaagh ren me rieau fakin. | The Manks people used to sow flax-seed, and when it was growing the flower was the most beautiful colour that I ever saw. | |
| Tra va’n lieen buinnit v’ad cur eh ayns towl ’sy thalloo, as lieent dy ushtey as faagit son shiaghtyn ny jees dy yannoo yn lieen brishlagh. | When the flax was harvested they were putting it into a hole in the ground and [the hole was] filled with water and left for a week or two to make the flax brittle. | |
|
Notes by Paton:
[The woody part of the flax was made brittle and beaten—not the fibre contained in it.],
[There is, or was, some years ago, a hole in a corner of Maughold churchyard, where I was told flax used to be steeped]
| ||
| V’ad kinjagh cur yn snaie er thalloo dy hyrmagh. Keayrtyn ’sy çhiaghtyn v’ad raasey yn snaie as cur lhieu eh er nyn ghreeym gys y thalloo. | They were frequently putting the yarn on the ground to dry. [Several] times in the week they were gathering up the yarn and bringing it on their back to the ground. | |
| Va snaie jeant jeh kennip. | Yarn was made of hemp [also]. | |
| V’ad goaill eh eisht as kerey eh lesh kerey-yiarn, lurg da’n coonlagh ve brisht lesh maidjey. | They were then taking it and carding it with a carding-iron after the straw was broken with a stick. | |
|
Note by Paton:
[the straw
[woody part]]
| ||
| Va’n kerey-yiarn as feeacklyn liauyr echey dy ghlenney ny strawyn ersooyl. | The carding-iron had long teeth to clear the straw away. | |
| Va’n greie va jannoo yn obbyr enmyssit heckle. | The tool that v was doing the work was called a heckle. | |
| Eisht v’ad snieu yn lieen ayns nyn dhieyn oc. | Then they were spinning the flax in their houses. | |
| Eisht v’ad cur yn snaie da’n fidder dy fee ayns eggey. | Then they were giving the yarn to the weaver to weave into a web. | |
| Shen va keint dy lheeintyn va ec deiney ayns shenn traaghyn roish nish. | That was the kind of shirts men had in old times before now. | |