The Aran Islands, Coioi/y Calway. 307 



such as the representatives of the Government and the spiritual 

 and secular instructors. 



A family usually consists of six or seven children. These 

 go to school regularly, and are intelligent and make fair 

 progress. They early help their parents in various wa>s. The 

 girls marry early, seventeen is quite a common age. There is 

 no courting, nor do the young people ever walk together. 



The dress of both sexes is for the most part home-made, 

 being largely composed of homespun, either uncoloured or of 

 a speckled brown or blue grey, or bright red colour. The 

 people appear not only to be warmly clad, Init, as a rule, to be 

 over-clothed. Both sexes wear sandals made of raw cowhide, 

 the hair being outside. These "pampooties," as they are 

 called, are admirably adapted for climbing and running over 

 the rocks and loose stones. Some of the men are now taking 

 to wearing leather boots. 



The houses of the better class consist of three rooms — a 

 central kitchen, and a bedroom at each end ; but many houses 

 have only a single bedroom. The walls are built of irregular 

 stones, and may be placed together with or without mortar. 

 There are always two outside doors opposite one another in 

 the kitchen. Very often there is a small pen by the side of 

 the large fire-place for the pigs, which are very clean both in 

 their bodies and habits. The kitchen floor may be the bare 

 rock or clay, or it is very rarely boarded. The thatch is tied 

 on with straw ropes. 



Twenty years ago there was not a wheeled vehicle in the 

 islands. Even now there are no roads worthy of the name in 

 the Middle and South Islands, and till lately there were not 

 many in Aranmore. Carts are still ver}- rare, and the carrying 

 is done by human porterage or by donkeys and horses. All 

 the well-to-do men own a mare. A poor man will have only 

 a donkey. 



We were not able to collect much in the way of folk-lore. 

 In common w4th a large part of Ireland, the Aranites believe 

 in fairies, banshees, ghosts, the evil eye, etc. When a funeral 

 is passing down the road the front door of a house is always 

 closed. The corpse is carried out through the back door. 

 Some days are considered unlucky upon which to begin any 

 w^ork of importance, to get married, or even to bury the dead. 

 If they have occasion to bury a corpse on one of these days, 



