632 REPORT—1896. 
rigidly excluded from the ceremony.'! This is a clear recognition of the 
blood bond, because the early ties of relationship still hold their place 
against the later ties of locality, a mere resident not being recognised as a 
person fitted to take part in the ceremony. Secondly, the clavie must be 
lighted by a burning peat, the custom being that no form of modern 
lighting is allowed to approach the precincts.2, The next point is that 
the smoking embers of the clavie were scattered among the assembled 
villagers, by whom they were eagerly caught at, and with them the fire on 
the cottage hearth was at once kindled.’ 
The date fixed upon for the ceremony, namely, New Year’s Eve, is the 
next important element to note, it being obvious that a fire kindled on the 
last day of the old year, and allowed to burn into the first morning of the 
new year, has carried on its flame from one year to another, though actually 
only through one year’s end into another year—a fiction which may very well 
stand for an original perpetual burning. And, finally, there are details of 
ritual in this custom which are as significant of archaic origin as they could 
well be. The object of the ceremony is the perambulation, with the sacred 
fire, of the bounds of the village and of the fishing boats. At certain houses 
and at certain street corners a halt was made, and a brand whipped out 
of the clavie and hurled among the crowd. He who seized the brand was 
the favourite of fortune during the months of the coming new year. After- 
wards the fire was carried to a small artificial promontory, where a circular 
heap of stones, called the ‘ Durie,’ was built up for the purpose, and the 
still burning clavie was placed in the hollow centre, from which it was 
distributed to the villagers.* The whole community joined in the ceremony 
as an act necessary to its welfare and prosperity during the year. If the 
bearer stumbled it was looked upon as a dire calamity foretelling disaster 
to the place, and certain death to the bearer in the course of the next 
year. As the ceremony was therefore a sacred one, those who took 
part in it, especially those who acted as carriers of the fire, would be 
honoured above their fellows by the distinction. Accordingly, in the 
clavie custom, ‘the first lift is an honour,’ and was usually conferred upon 
some member of the community who had recently been married. As soon 
as one bearer gave signs of exhaustion, another took his place, and should 
any of them meet with an accident during the journey ‘the misfortune 
excites no pity even among his near relatives.’ ° 
Injury in the service of the fire is clearly not a misfortune, but a 
sign of recognition of dutiful service; and it is just possible that 
the prominence given to the recently married member of the community 
may represent some early recognition of the service thereby rendered in 
securing a future mother of the kindred. In entire keeping with these 
very significant facts are the details attending the construction of the fire- 
pile. ‘Unwritten but unvarying laws’ regulate every action, one of 
which laws is that every article is borrowed, nothing bought. And in 
this we have, I think, a clear indication of the time when personal 
property in the nature of tools was not the subject of barter —a time, 
that is, before the days of commercial economics, and consequently coinci- 
dent with tribal society. This indication of a prehistoric date for the 
origin of the custom is confirmed by one other detail, namely, that although 
1! Folklore Journal, vii. 12. 2 Trans. Soc. Antig. Scot. x. 649. 
3 Folklore Journal, vii. 12. * Proc. Soc, Antig. Scot. x. 649. 
5 Yolklore Journal, vii. 12, 13. 
