Scottish folklore Scottish folklore (Scottish Gaelic: ''Beul-aithris na h-Alba'') encompasses the folklore of the Scottish people from their earliest records until today. Folklorists, both academic and amateur, have published a variety of works focused specifically ...

, sunwise, deosil or sunward (

clockwise Two-dimensional rotation can occur in two possible directions. Clockwise motion (abbreviated CW) proceeds in the same direction as a clock's hands: from the top to the right, then down and then to the left, and back up to the top. The opposite ...

) was considered the “prosperous course”, turning from east to west in the direction of the sun. The opposite course, anticlockwise, was known as ''

widdershins Widdershins (sometimes withershins, widershins or widderschynnes) is a term meaning to go counter-clockwise, to go anti-clockwise, or to go lefthandwise, or to walk around an object by always keeping it on the left. Literally, it means to take ...

'' ( Lowland Scots), or ''tuathal'' (

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well a ...

). In the Northern Hemisphere, "sunwise" and "clockwise" run in the same direction, because

sundial A sundial is a horological device that tells the time of day (referred to as civil time in modern usage) when direct sunlight shines by the apparent position of the Sun in the sky. In the narrowest sense of the word, it consists of a fl ...

s were used to tell time, and their features were transferred to clock faces. Another influence may have been the right-handed bias in many cultures.

Irish culture

During the days of

Gaelic Ireland Gaelic Ireland ( ga, Éire Ghaelach) was the Gaelic political and social order, and associated culture, that existed in Ireland from the late prehistoric era until the early 17th century. It comprised the whole island before Anglo-Normans ...

and of the

Irish clan Irish clans are traditional kinship groups sharing a common surname and heritage and existing in a lineage-based society, originating prior to the 17th century. A clan (or ''fine'' in Irish) included the chief and his patrilineal relatives; howe ...

s, the

Psalter A psalter is a volume containing the Book of Psalms, often with other devotional material bound in as well, such as a liturgical calendar and litany of the Saints. Until the emergence of the book of hours in the Late Middle Ages, psalters we ...

known as was used as botha rallying cry and protector in battle by the Chiefs of Clan O'Donnell. Before a battle it was customary for a chosen monk or holy man (usually attached to the Clan McGroarty and who was in a state of grace) to wear the Cathach and the

cumdach A (, in Irish "cover"Joynt (1917), p. 186) or book shrine is an elaborate ornamented metal reliquary box or case used to hold Early Medieval Irish manuscripts or relics. They are typically later than the book they contain, often by several c ...

, or book shrine, around his neck and then walk three times sunwise around the warriors of Clan O'Donnell. Stokes, Roy. ''A Bibliographical Companion''. Scarecrow Press, 2011. , p. 80 According to

folklorist Folklore studies, less often known as folkloristics, and occasionally tradition studies or folk life studies in the United Kingdom, is the branch of anthropology devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currenc ...

Kevin Danaher Kevin Danaher ( Irish, ''Caoimhín Ó Danachair'') (30 January 1913 – 14 March 2002) was an Irish folklorist with a special interest in ethnography and military history. Danaher is the author of 10 books about Irish traditional customs an ...

, on St. John's Eve in

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label=Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...

and

Connaught Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms ( Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and De ...

, it was customary to light a

bonfire A bonfire is a large and controlled outdoor fire, used either for informal disposal of burnable waste material or as part of a celebration. Etymology The earliest recorded uses of the word date back to the late 15th century, with the Cath ...

at sunset and to walk sunwise around the fire while praying the

rosary The Rosary (; la, , in the sense of "crown of roses" or "garland of roses"), also known as the Dominican Rosary, or simply the Rosary, refers to a set of prayers used primarily in the Catholic Church, and to the physical string of knots or ...

. Those who could not afford a rosary would keep tally by holding a small pebble during each prayer and throwing it into the bonfire as each prayer was completed. Kevin Danaher (1972), ''The Year in Ireland: Irish Calendar Customs'',

Mercier Press Mercier Press is a publisher based in Cork, Ireland. It is the longest established independent Irish publishing house. History The company was founded in 1944 by Seán Feehan, and initially published religious books. In 1946 they published ''Th ...

Cork City Cork ( , from , meaning 'marsh') is the second largest city in Ireland and third largest city by population on the island of Ireland. It is located in the south-west of Ireland, in the province of Munster. Following an extension to the c ...

. Pages 134-153.

Scottish culture

This is descriptive of the ceremony observed by the

druid A druid was a member of the high-ranking class in ancient Celtic cultures. Druids were religious leaders as well as legal authorities, adjudicators, lorekeepers, medical professionals and political advisors. Druids left no written accounts. Wh ...

s, of walking round their temples by the south, in the course of their directions, always keeping their temples on their right. This course (''diasil'' or ''deiseal'') was deemed propitious, while the contrary course is perceived as fatal, or at least unpropitious. From this ancient superstition are derived several

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

customs which were still observed around the turn of the twentieth century, such as drinking over the left thumb, as Toland expresses it, or according to the course of the sun.

Martin Martin Martin Martin (Scottish Gaelic: Màrtainn MacGilleMhàrtainn) (-9 October 1718) was a Scottish writer best known for his work '' A Description of the Western Islands of Scotland'' (1703; second edition 1716). This book is particularly noted for i ...

says:

"Deosil" and other spellings

Wicca Wicca () is a modern Pagan religion. Scholars of religion categorise it as both a new religious movement and as part of the occultist stream of Western esotericism. It was developed in England during the first half of the 20th century and w ...

uses the spelling ''deosil'', which violates the Gaelic orthography principle that a consonant must be surrounded by either broad vowels (a, o, u) or slender vowels (e, i). The ''

Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a com ...

'' gives precedence to the spelling "deasil", but also acknowledges "deiseal", "deisal", and "deisul".

Other cultures

This distinction exists in traditional Tibetan religion.

Tibetan Buddhist Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...

s go round their shrines sunwise, but followers of

Bonpo ''Bon'', also spelled Bön () and also known as Yungdrung Bon (, "eternal Bon"), is a Tibetan religious tradition with many similarities to Tibetan Buddhism and also many unique features.Samuel 2012, pp. 220-221. Bon initially developed in t ...

go widdershins. The former consider Bonpo to be merely a perversion of their practice, but Bonpo adherents claim that their religion, as the indigenous one of Tibet, was doing this prior to the arrival of Buddhism in the country. The Hindu ''

pradakshina Parikrama or Pradakshina is clockwise circumambulation of sacred entities, and the path along which this is performed, as practiced in the Indic religions - Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism. In Buddhism, it refers only to the path alo ...

'', the auspicious circumambulation of a temple, is also made clockwise. A similar preference may inform the left-hand drive found in England, India, and Japan. Any temple or shrine in the middle of a road must be passed to its left.

References

Sources