Dùthchas na Mara Dúchas na Mara Belonging to the Sea

dèanamh cinnteach gum bi iad a’ dol deiseilnuair a bhios eathar ga tionndadh aca.A’ cur ris an ainmeachadhSan dà chuid ann an Arainn Mhòr agusann am Barraigh, thathar fhathast a’ curri ainmeachadh àiteachan anns a’ mhuir,ged a tha na h-ainmean ùra seo buailteacha bhith car falbhanach, air nach eil achtaghadh beag de dhaoine eòlach le càilàbhachdaislàidir nan lùib - a’ toirt tarraingaig amannan air clibist a dh’èirich doneach sònraichte. Rud eile a tha cumantasan dà eilean, ‘s e an claonadh a th’ anngun a bhith a’ meas nan ainmean seo marainmean ‘ceart’. Thathar a’ gabhail ris arèir choltais nach seas na h-ainmean ùraseo fada. Tha seo a’ leigeil fhaicinn mar atha spèis do na h-ainmean as sine ach thae cuideachd a’ togail na ceiste an deachfeadhainn de na seann ainmean stèidhichtea chruthachadh leis an aon fhaireachdainnde dh’fhalbhanachd.Ann an Arainn Mhòr, chaidh a ràdh muaon ainm “nach robh e fìor” seach gu bheile mar chuimhneachan air nuair a chaidheathar air na creagan, agus chan eil achbuidheann bheag dhaoine aig a bheil fiosair an t-seanchas ga chleachdadh. Chaidha ràdh mun ainm seo gu bheil e “mar fharainm,aon uair ‘s gu bheilear air a thoirtseachad….”Ann am Barraigh, chaidh innse dhuinn lefear de na h-iasgairean gu bheil sgeirbhàthteair a bheil dà ainm. Thuirt e gunrobh “ainm ceart” air, a tha a’ toirt tarraingair fear de na comharraidhean-stiùiridh athathar air a bhith a’ cleachdadh bho sheangus a shuidheachadh, agus cuideachd ainma bhios buidheann bheag de dh’iasgairean a’sealgaireacht, iascaireacht, cur an tsíl ismar sin ar aghaidh. I nGaeilic na hAlbana,tá oiread tábhachta ag baint leis an ghnáthseo is go mbíonn duine ag rá, fiú sa lá atáinniu ann go bhfuil siad réidh le chun tús achur ar rud inteacht: “Tha mi deiseil” [Tá méullamh]. Féachann cuid de na seaniascairíchuige fós go ngabhann siad deiseal nuair abhíonn an bád á tiontú acu.Ag leanstan ar aghaidh leisan ainmniúIn Árainn Mhór is Oileán Bharra beirt,leantar den nós a bheith ag ainmniú réimsíis comharthaí ar farraige inniu, cé gurbéas leis na hainmneacha úra seo a bheithsealadach, gan a bheith ar eolas ach agscaifte roghnaithe daoine agus le féithan ghrinn go láidir mar fhoinse leofa - inamannaí ag tagairt do bhamba a déirighdo dhuine inteacht.. Rud eile atá comóntasa dá oileán an nós gan na hainmneachaseo a mheas mar ainmneacha ‘cearta’. Deréir chosúlachta, déantar talamh slán denach bhfuil na hainmneacha is úire achsealadach. Nochtann sé seo an-mheasar na seanainmneacha ach cuireann séan cheist fosta ar múnlaíodh cuid de naseanainmneacha bunaithe leis an talamhslán céanna fá dtaobh de shealadacht..In Árainn Mhór, cuireadh síos ar ainmamháin “gan a bheith fíor” ós rud é gobhfuil sé mar chuimhneachán ar eachtranuair a chuaigh bád ar na clocha ann, agusní bhaintear feidhm as ach le díorma beagdaoine a bhfuil fios an scéil acu. Cuireadhsíos ar an ainm seo a bheith “mar leasainm,chomh luath is a thugtar é….”[I am ready]. Some of the old fishermenstill make sure they go sunwise whenthey are turning the boat.Continuing the tradition ofnamingIn both Arranmore and Barra thetradition of naming areas of the seaand features in it continues today,although these newer names tend to betransient in nature, known to a selectgroup of people and with a strong senseof humour underlying their creation— sometimes referring to a particularcharacter’s misadventures. Also commonto both islands is the tendency to regardthese names as not ‘real’ names. Thereseems to be an assumption that therecent names are transient in nature.This reveals a real respect for the oldernames but also begs the question as towhether some of the older, establishednames were formed with a similarassumption of transience.On Arranmore one name was describedas “not true” because it commemoratesan incident where a boat ran agroundon the rocks there, and is only used by asmall group of people who are ‘in’ on thejoke. This name was described as being“like a nickname, once it’s given….”On Barra we were told by one of thefishermen that there is a reef whichhas two names. He said there was a“proper name” for it, which refers to oneof the geographical landmarks that hastraditionally been used to locate it, and21