The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures: The Ultimate A–Z of Fantastic Beings from Myth and Magic. John Matthews
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of the miller had an encounter with a Brollachan. One dark night, as he lay beside the fire, a Brollachan who lived in the millstream entered, drawn by the warmth of the fire. It was the child of a Fuath. The Brollachan had eyes and a mouth but could only say two words, ‘Mi-phrein’ and ‘Tu-phrein’, or ‘myself’ and ‘thyself’. It cast itself down by the fire just as Ally was throwing on another log as it had began to burn low. Sparks flew out and burnt the Brollachan who cried out. The Fuath from the millstream rushed in shrieking, ‘Who’s burnt my Brollachan?’ It replied to its mother, ‘Me and thee.’ Giving Ally a hard stare, the Fuath grumbled, ‘Well if it had been anyone else, I’d be revenged on them.’ Ally slipped away with a sack over his head and lay down in the machinery of the mill, hoping he would survive until the morning. He was fortunate because the Fuath had disgustedly gone to seek her revenge elsewhere, chasing a poor woman who had been out that night. Let us hope he never encounters a Brollachan when it has grown up!
BRONTE
In Greek legend, Bronte was one of the horses of the sun who pulled the chariot of Helios. Bronte was harnessed by the Horae, the nymphs who govern time, for the morning circuit of the sun chariot. At twilight, the horses cropped the herbs of the Island of the Blessed all night until the next dawning.
BROWNIE
The brownie (pronounced ‘broony’) is one of the small folk who generally act as house spirits. The brownie is a friendly being, about 3 ft tall, with brown shaggy hair and brown clothes who comes out at night to attend to the unfinished tasks of the housewife and servants. Brownies become associated with households in a very responsible way, attending to the daily running of the place, seeing to the animals, tending the land and giving good advice. In any household, the brownie will attach itself to one particular person and be their confidante. In return for all these duties, the brownie expects a small reward which must not be omitted unless you wish to offend him. A bowl of cream, a glass of milk or a bannock of oats or cake will ensure that your relationship with the brownie is secure. Brownies do not much like being addressed directly, so it is best just to leave your offering where it can be found and enjoyed. If you have cares and worries, then you mention these as you perform some ordinary task in such a way that the brownie can overhear you.
There was a brownie who worked in the house of Maxwell, Laird of Dalswinton. He was particularly close to the old laird’s daughter. He had helped her arrange her marriage and oversaw everything about her welfare. So when she was seized with the pangs of childbirth, it was the brownie who helped that night, which was just as well as the river Nith was in spate and the midwife lived over the opposite bank. Taking his mistress’s fur coat and the best horse from the stable, he rode through the raging waters to the midwife who, in the murk of the night, merely thought that the servant was particularly small. As they rode, she cried, ‘Don’t go by the old pool in case we meet the brownie there.’ ‘Have no fear, good wife,’ cried the brownie in response, ‘You’ve met all the brownies you’re likely to meet.’ The midwife arrived in time to ease the brownie’s mistress. So glad was the old laird that he wanted to reward the brownie with the eternal salvation of baptism. Hiding in the stable with a stoup of holy water, the laird poured it over the brownie as he was about to unsaddle a horse. As soon as the holy water touched him, the brownie disappeared forever.
The sure way to get rid of a brownie is to offer him clothing, as we learn in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books where Dobby the House Elf escapes his servile employment in the home of the unpleasant Lucius Malfoy when Harry Potter slips a sock into the book which Dobby then takes from his master. If you offend a brownie, you may find that you have suddenly got a boggart in the house, for that is what they become if you are not careful. Brownies do not like any kind of meanness, lying or sneaking. There are many stories which tell of how brownies punish servants who are going behind their employer’s back or otherwise misbehaving and not taking the maintenance of the household seriously. The helpfulness of brownies is most admirably seen in the tale on the previous page.
BRUCHA
These Irish monsters with iron bristles over their body and fiery eyes, like to enter orchards and vineyards, trampling down the trees and vines, then roll on the fruit so that it sticks to their bristles. These creatures only do their work against those who violate Sunday observance. Brucha appear to be related to the wingless locust that falls upon ripe harvests and also to the hedgehog or porcupine, of whom the same fruitrolling stories are told in the Physiologus.
BUATA
Among the people of New Britain, New Guinea, the Buata is a huge boar with curving tusks, immensely stronger and more intelligent than the average pig. The Buata speaks and understands human speech, which is useful, since it likes to eat humans. However, a cunning person can distract it by conversing with it and pretend to listen while making a quick getaway.
BUCCA
The bucca is a form of Cornish spirit or hobgoblin from the south-west of England. Buccas kept very much to themselves and need to be respected properly since they are spirits of the land and sea. Fishermen would always leave a fish for the bucca after they had a catch, and at harvest it was essential to leave a piece of bread and some beer when the harvesters had their lunch. From such respect, the bucca rapidly descended in people’s opinions to a mere bucca-boo (from which we get the term bugga-boo or bogeyman). No one now remembers him as being any different than a being with which to scare naughty children. The name bucca shares its linguistic root with creatures as diverse as Puck, Pukis, Pwca, Bwca and Buggane.
BUCHIS
In Egypt, this giant bull had hair that grew in the opposite direction of a normal animal. Its skin was like that of a chameleon, changing colour many times a day. Buchis was the animal of the god Menthu at Hermonthis.
BUCKLAND SHAG
Buckland Shag is the name for a water horse in Devon, England. It emerges from the water to trample its victims to death in a horrible manner. The red-stained rocks of that part of Devon are said to be the bloodstains of its victims. Its depredations ended when the Vicar of Buckland exorcized the beast with bell, book and candle, after which it troubled travellers no more.
BUFFALO
The buffalo is a bovine species most commonly found in warmer latitudes. What people call ‘buffalo’ in North America are really bison. Buffalo, in common with other cows and bulls, share qualities of life-sustaining fertility and gentleness as well as of virile power and wildness. Among the Zulus of Southern Africa, the buffalo is believed to be able to possess the soul of a human. The young men who tend the buffalo herds frequently draw blood from the vein of a living creature in order to partake of the animal’s strength and endurance. In many parts of Africa, it is only the male buffalo that is sacrificed and eaten, and sometimes only once a year. Among the Baule people of the Ivory Coast, Goli is name of the water buffalo, the protector of the village. Among the Senufo of the Ivory Coast, the buffalo Nasolo is an initiator. In Asia, black buffalo were sacrificed to the god of the chase, while the buffalo was one of the forms in which the Buddha chose to appear. In Hindu iconography, the god of the dead, Vana, rides upon a buffalo; in Hindu tradition, the great goddess, Durgha, slays the mighty buffalo, Mahisha. In Chinese lore, the buffalo is seen as a symbol of man’s unregenerate nature, which is why the sage Confucius is shown riding a buffalo, symbolizing his triumph over his animal nature. Taoist tales speak of how the buffalo is green in colour, or changes from black through to white as the spirit increasingly learns how to spurn base desires.
BUGAL
Among