Eigg - The Story of an Island

It was natural for island folks, as in all other traditional communities, to set all aspects of their life to music. That there was an appropriate song for each activity was in itself a ritual reassurance against an uncertain outcome, and the protection of the saints and the Holy Trinity was always called for. It was also that rhythm and rhyme greatly lightened the drudgery of repetitive work, bringing it the pleasure of ear and hand harmony. Much entertainment was provided by those singers quick at inserting an improvised reference to a topic of actuality within the songs. And there were enough tunes to put new words to them whenever those who had a mind for composition fancied a try……

One activity in particular where singing took pride of place was the waulking of home-spun cloth. Such cloth, the dark blue striped iomairt reserved for women's skirts or the tweed for men's clothes, was generally woven up to 33 yards long and would be shrunk to 30 yards during the fulling that took place a the waulking. As the cloth was steeped in fish oil and tallow to waterproof it, it was also cleansed at the same time. Whenever waulking was called for, the women of the house assembled a company of girls with a few experienced matrons alongside a wooden board, the cleith, 12 to 20 feet long and 2 feet wide with a groove in its middle. The waulking women worked in pairs across the board, having first measured their arms against each other so that they would be evenly matched for the long energetic task to follow. At the foot of the board sat the woman whose role it was to fold up the cloth, which had been unrolled and laid across the board. She also had to keep it wet after is initial soaking urine and warm water for thorough cleansing. At the head of the board presided the most experienced woman of the company, the lead singer. Her role was to measure the sloth for shrinkage and to judge how many songs were needed for the complete fulling. Passing the cloth sunwise down the board, she started the songs, singing one verse at a time for the women to repeat it after her and adding the chorus after each line. Thus the thumping of the women on the board was kept regular by the repetition of the melody, it rhythm increasing as the women warmed up to the singing and the fulling.