Annotation:Hag at the Churn (The)

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HAG AT THE CHURN. THE (Cailleach 'sa Mhaistrim). AKA and see "Killina Jig (The)," "Merry Woodsman (The)," "Old Hag at the Churn." Irish, Single Jig. D Mixolydian. Standard tuning (fiddle). AB (Mallinson): AAB (Sullivan). A highly regarded pipe tune, according to the Bothy Band. Caoimhin Mac Aoidh says a correct translation of the Irish title would be "Hag in the churn." This refers, he maintains, to the folk superstition that witches would inhabit a churn to steal butter. They could not abide this particular tune, however, so it would be played as a ward when the chore of churning butter was done. It was a terrible and telling mark if a woman left the house during this ritual. See also the related "Church Hill (2) (The)."

The original sense of 'hag' was a wizened old woman, and in Scottish and Irish mythology the cailleach was goddess concerned with creation, harvest, the weather and sovereignty [1], who may or may not be malevlent. Nowadays, our associations with 'hag' is to an old, witch-like woman, and some hag-titled tunes occasionally appear with the word 'maid' substituted for 'hag'. "Maid at the Churn (The)" is a similarly titled (but musically unrelated) tune.

Source for notated version:

Printed sources: Breathnach (CRÉ II), 1976; No. 43 (appears as "Gan ainm/No title"). Mallinson (100 Enduring), 1995; No. 50, p. 21. Sullivan (Session Tunes), vol. 2; No. 27, p. 11.

Recorded sources: CCF2, Cape Cod Fiddlers - "Concert Collection II" (1999). Green Linnet SIF 3013, Bothy Band - "Out of the Wind, Into the Sun" (1977)

See also listing at:
Alan Ng's Irishtune.info [2]

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