Fachan

DemonScotland · Western EuropeLegendFear 9/10

Description

스코틀랜드 설화에 등장하는 Demon. In Scottish folklore, the fachan (or fachin, fachen, Direach Ghlinn Eitidh or Dithreach (dwarf of Gl

The Legend

In Scottish folklore, Fachan (or Pachin, Pahen, Direach Ghlinn Eitidh or Dithreach) is a monster or giant described by John Francis Campbell in 'Popular Tales of the West Highlands'. This being is characterized by having a single eye in the center of its face, a hand protruding from its chest instead of arms, and one leg emerging from its central axis. At the top of its head is a tuft of hair, and Campbell noted that 'it would be easier to uproot a mountain than to bend that tuft of hair'. Campbell pointed out similarities with the nasnas or shiqq from Arab tradition, which are also described as 'half-human' and said to hop on one leg.

Variants

Douglas Hyde quotes Campbell's description in his Irish folklore collection 'Beside the Fire', mentioning an Irish manuscript that describes a similar monster. In this manuscript, it is said that 'he held a very thick iron club in his thin hand, from which twenty chains emerged, each with fifty apples hanging from them, and each large apple contained a spell of poison. Surrounding his body was a belt made of deer and roe deer skins, and on his black face was a single eye on his forehead, with a bare, hard, hairy hand protruding from his chest, and a thick, sinewy leg supporting him. Protecting his body was a dark blue cloak woven from thick, sturdy feathers. He was clearly closer to a demon than a human.' Hyde suggests that the two descriptions represent a common branch of Gaelic tradition, noting that the word 'Fachan' may be a diminutive of the Irish 'fathach' (giant) and could be related to the Scottish 'famhair' (giant).

This article is based on the Wikipedia article "Fachan" (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikipedia