295 APPENDICES APPENDIX A ORIGIN OF TOTEMISM In the following village sobriquets from the south-western counties of England the people are styled 'eaters of' this or that.1 Compare with these the following sobriquets of Siouan old totem kins, counting descent in the male line. SIOUAN NAMES OF GENTES Eaters Eat the scrapings of hides Eat dried venison Eat dung Eat raw food Western Antiquary, vol. ix., pt. ii., p. 37, August, 1899. Among the Sioux we have also noted the sobriquets Non-Eaters of Deer Buffalos Swans Cranes Blackbirds, etc. These sobriquets of non-eaters are probably totemic: the Deer kin does not eat deer, nor does the Crane kin eat cranes, and so on. Totem kins are named from what they do not eat; many totem kins with male descent are nicknamed from what they do eat, or are alleged by their neighbours to eat. GROUP SOBRIQUETS IN ORKNEY. In the following letter, which I owe to the kindness of Mr. Duncan Robertson, we read that, in Orkney and Shetland, local sobriquets are derived from what the people are alleged The tradition is, Mr. Robertson informs me, that each group is named after the edible plant or animal which it brought when engaged in building the Cathedral of Kirkwall. to eat. Crantit House, St. Ola, Orkney, Dear Mr. Lang,—My tyrannical doctor won't let me out yet, so that I have not been able to collect all the information I should like to get for you about the Orkney nicknames—or byenames,' as they are called here. Here follows the list as taken from Tudor's The Orkneys and Shetland, with alterations: These are all the names I know or can hear of in Orkney. I wrote to Mr. Moodie Heddle of Cletts on the subject, as I knew him to take a great and intelligent interest in all such topics; and I have a most interesting letter from him, of which I shall give you the gist. He says he has no doubt that the origin of the names is that which you suggest, though some of the names do not at first sight appear to bear this out. Kirkwall Starlings' are easily accounted for, assuming that there have always been as many starlings about Kirkwall as there are now. They may well have been eaten by the townsfolk. I have tried them, and their breasts are not at all bad. Skerry-scrapers.-The allusion here is to men who live off shell fish, 'dilse,' etc. off the skerries. There are or were-excellent oysters on the St. Andrews skerries. Mr. Heddle tells me he has heard a woman insulting a man by saying she supposed he would soon leave no limpets in a certain bay, meaning that he was too lazy to work for his living. Skate-rumple is, of course, the skate's tail. Deerness is the nearest land to a famous piece of water for skate, known as 'the skate-hole.' Holm Hobblers' I do not understand, but shall make some further inquiries. I have an idea it is a reference to some bird; Mr. Heddle thinks it has something to do with seals, but neither of us knows. Yearnings are, of course, the dried stomachs of calves used for making cheese. Oysters.-The bay of Firth was famous for its oysters till the beds were overfished and destroyed some thirty years ago. Stromness Bloody-puddings.'-Mr. Heddle suggests that the people bled their cattle twice or thrice a year and made 'puddings' of the blood. This, of course, was done in the Highlands at one time. Assie-pattles.-Either those who lay in the ashes or, Mr. Heddle suggests, who ate cakes baked in the ashes. Before iron girdles came much into use cakes were baked on flat stones; and there is a hill, known as 'Baking-stone Hill,' where the people used to come for stones that would not split in the fire. The peats used in Sandwick have a very red ash, which colours all persons and things near it. Harray Crabs.'-Harray is the only parish in Orkney which does not touch the sea, and the name is given in irony. The old 'tee-name' is said to have been 'sheep.' The story is told that some fishermen passing through Harray dropped a live crab. The men of Harray could not make it out at all, and sent for the oldest inhabitant, who was brought in a wheel-barrow. After gazing at the monster for a few moments he exclaimed: 'Boys, hid's a fiery draygon; tak' me hame!' I suspect there is some other tee-name than 'sheep-thieves' for the Rendall people, but will try to find out and let you know. Hoy Hawks.'--Mr. Heddle, who was formerly proprietor of Hoy, says he thinks 'auks' must have been the original word, as he believes 'tammy-nories' was the old name. 'Auk' is Orcadian for the common guillemot, and a 'tammy-norie' is a puffin. Both of these birds abound in Hoy. Mr. Heddle also tells me that the old name of 'Lyars' for the people of Walls was to a great extent replaced by 'Cockles.' The 'lyars' were very common in Walls at one time, and were esteemed a great delicacy, but, Mr. Heddle tells me, were to a great extent killed out by the brown rat. He himself remembers men being bitten by rats when putting their hands into holes to look for young 'lyars.' Some three generations back enormous numbers of cockles were taken and eaten by the people of Walls, and they seem to have been called Cockles'—or, I presume, 'eaters of cockles'-in consequence. Oily Bogies. I hardly see how this can have been 'eaters of.' There might have been some old story to the effect that the Burray men stole and ate these buoys, but I never heard it. South Ronaldshay has names for every district, which no other island but the Mainland has. Gruties is, Mr. Heddle says, equivalent to 'Skerry-scrapers 'people who get their living from the 'grut' or refuse left in bights by the tide. (Grut,' see Norse gröde = porridge or gruel.) Scouties may be derived from the skua, though Mr. Heddle gives an unpresentable derivation. The word Birkies he did not know the meaning of, but asked two or three people, who all said the Sandwick people were so called 'because Sandwick was such a place for tangles coming ashore, and the people had such a habit of eating what they called "birken" tangles, i.e. the stout or lower ends of the large thick tangles.' Burstin Lumps are a sort of preparation of oatmeal, once a very favourite dish in the Isles. RousayMares.—There is an old tale of a Rousay man who, being a coward, killed his mare and hid inside her from his Mr. Heddle sends me an old rhyme on the subject: enemies. As the Rousay man said to his mare: 'I wish I were in thee, for fear o' the war; I wish I were in thee without any doubt, Were it Martinmas Day before I cam' out.' The North Ronaldshay people did eat seals. Why Hides I do not know. Mr. Heddle here suggests it may have had to do |