The peat-fire flame : folk-tales and traditions of the Highlands & Islands

THE PEAT-FIRE FLAME
harvest was made up into what was known as the Harvest
Maiden. This figure was suspended somewhere in the
farmer's house, to act as a protection against the faeries'
wiles until the following harvest, when it was replaced by a
new one.
By the same token, sprigs of holly were used for
decorative purposes on the last day of the year. And one
reason why water-stoups were filled at night and brought
into the house was that the faeries might have plenty of
liquid with which to slake their thirst, without their having
to seek other sources of liquid at the expense of mankind.
Both the Women of Peace, as female faeries were called,
and their masculine counterpart, the Men of Peace,
according to tradition, lured members of the human race
into their subterranean retreats, and regaled them
sumptuously. Both, likewise, wore green garments, and
were believed to take a spite against ordinary mortals who
presumed to wear their colour. Among Highlanders, as
doubtless among other peoples, there is a tendency to avoid
selecting clothing of a green colour. Indeed, many women
of our own day definitely refuse to wear anything that is
green, on the ground that it is the colour in which the
faeries specialise, and is, therefore, unlucky. Dundee's
misfortune at Killiecrankie was attributed by the Highlanders
to his having been dressed in green on that fateful
occasion. And to this day many of the name of Graham
regard this colour as being of evil omen; and on no account
will they wear it.
The faeries, moreover, tempted mortals to partake of
their food, and to join in their merriment. When ordinary
mortals did so, they forfeited their power to remain
members of human society, and were tied down irrevocably
to observing the constitution governing the affairs of the
Men of Peace.
The story is told of a woman who was transported into
the secret recesses of the Men of Peace, where she was
recognised by one of their number, who claimed to have
known her when he himself was an ordinary mortal. This
faery apparently retained a modicum of benevolence, since
he counselled her to abstain from eating and drinking with
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