大象传媒

Am faca sibh na fir-chlis am bliadhna? Sin a鈥� Gh脿idhlig air na solais a ch矛 sibh, bho 脿m gu 脿m, anns an adhar air oidhche gheamhraidh. 鈥橲 d貌cha gum bi sibh e貌lach orra mar the northern lights. Ann an Laidinn, canaidh daoine an aurora borealis riutha. Chunnaic mi-fh矛n aon turas iad air a鈥� gheamhradh seo. Bha iad coltach ri fras-uisge dearg anns na speuran dorcha.

Tha mi air na fir-chlis fhaicinn gu tric, ach tha e annasach nach e an aurora borealis a bu mhotha a ch貌rd rium, ach an fheadhainn aig ceann thall an t-saoghail 鈥� an aurora australis. O chionn m貌ran bhliadhnaichean, chunnaic mi iad anns a鈥� bhaile mh貌r as fhaide deas ann an Astr脿ilia 鈥� Hobart. Bha mi a鈥� fuireach anns a鈥� bhaile sin aig an 脿m agus, oidhche a bha seo, bha mi a-staigh leis na c霉rtairean d霉inte. Sheirm am f貌n. Thog mi e agus 鈥檚 e caraid dhomh a bh鈥� ann.

鈥淎n robh thu a-muigh a-nochd?鈥� dh鈥檉haighnich e.

鈥淐ha robh airson greis,鈥� fhreagair mi.

鈥淯ill, cuir am f貌n s矛os,鈥� thuirt e, 鈥渁gus thalla a-mach.鈥�

Rinn mi mar a dh鈥檌arr e orm, agus abair an sealladh a bha a鈥� feitheamh rium air an taobh a-muigh. Bha e mar gu robh cuideigin air a bhith a鈥� peantadh c霉rtairean m貌ra 鈥� purpaidh is uaine - anns na speuran, agus gu robh e fhathast ann, 鈥檚 gan crathadh gun sgur. Bha iad a鈥� falbh 鈥檚 a鈥� tighinn, 鈥檚 a鈥� falbh, 鈥檚 a鈥� tighinn. Purpaidh is uaine, thairis air na speuran gu l猫ir. Bha e iongantach. Agus b貌idheach.

Nuair a thill mi a-staigh, thug mi taing do mo charaid, agus chaidh mi a-mach a-rithist. Choimhead mi air na fir-chlis airson 鈥檚 d貌cha leth-uair a th矛de eile. Chan fhaca mi a-riamh cho math iad, 鈥檚 a chunnaic mi iad air an oidhche sin. Agus tha sin iongantach, oir chan eil Hobart idir cho fada gu deas air crios meadhan an t-saoghail 鈥檚 a tha Alba gu tuath air. Agus, mar as fhaide air falbh a tha thu bho chrios meadhan an t-saoghail, 鈥檚 ann as fhe脿rr a tha an sealladh agad dhen fhir-chlis, mar as trice. Chunnacas iad aig crios meadhan an t-saoghail d矛reach d脿 thuras anns an fhicheadamh linn, fhad 鈥檚 is fiosrach leamsa co-dhi霉. Bha sin ann an naoi ceud deug 鈥檚 a naoi (1909) agus naoi ceud deug 鈥檚 aon ar fhichead (1921). Ach ch矛thear gu math tric iad faisg air na p貌laichean, tuath agus deas.

Tha luchd-saidheins ag innse dhuinn gur iad sm霉irneanan dealanaichte ann an ceann shuas an 脿ile a dh鈥檃dhbharaicheas an rud iongantach a tha seo. Chanadh na Gaidheil o shean, ge-t脿, gu robh na fir-chlis nan dannsairean. Agus, uaireannan, thigeadh an dannsa gu sabaid. Chanadh iad 鈥渘uair a bhios na fir-chlis ri mire, 鈥檚 gann nach d猫an iad milleadh鈥� neo, ann am Beurla, 鈥渨hen the merry dancers play, they are like to slay.鈥�

An ath thuras a ch矛 sibh na fir-chlis, thallaibh a-mach air an latharna-mh脿ireach, agus coimheadaibh air creagan faisg air an taigh agaibh, ma tha feadhainn ann. Coimheadaibh air dath a鈥� chrotail. Ma tha e a鈥� coimhead nas ruaidhe nan 脿bhaist, neo fi霉 鈥檚 rud beag dearg, bidh sin na dhearbhadh air na chreideadh clann na Gaidhealtachd o shean. A鈥� coimhead air a鈥� chrotal, chanadh iad 鈥渢hug na fir-chlis fuil 脿 cach a ch猫ile a-raoir鈥�. An turas a chunnaic mis鈥� iad air a鈥� gheamhradh seo, bha iad cho dearg 鈥檚 gu bheil e furast鈥� a chreidsinn gu robh iad a鈥� toirt fuil 脿 cach a ch猫ile anns na speuran fh猫in. Tha mi an d貌chas nach fhada gus am faic sinn a-rithist iad.

speuran: sky (heavens); c霉rtairean: curtains; luchd-saidheins: scientists; dannsairean: dancers; crotal: lichen.

tha e annasach nach e an X a bu mhotha a ch貌rd rium: it鈥檚 strange that it was not the X which I enjoyed most; anns a鈥� bhaile mh貌r as fhaide deas: in the southernmost city; sheirm am f貌n: the phone rang; rinn mi mar a dh鈥檌arr e orm: I did as he asked me; bha e mar gu robh cuideigin air a bhith a鈥� peantadh: it was as if somebody had been painting; gan crathadh gun sgur: shaking them ceaselessly; mar as fhaide air falbh a tha thu bho X, 鈥檚 ann as fhe脿rr a tha an sealladh agad: the further away you are from X, the better your view is; fhad 鈥檚 is fiosrach leamsa co-dhi霉: as far as I know anyway; gur iad sm霉irneanan dealanaichte ann an ceann shuas an 脿ile a dh鈥檃dhbharaicheas e: that it is charged particles in the upper atmosphere which cause it; thallaibh a-mach air an latharna-mh脿ireach:聽go out the next day; bidh sin na dhearbhadh: that will be proof; tha mi an d貌chas nach fhada gus am faic sinn a-rithist iad: I hope it will not be long until we see them again.

Chunnacas iad aig crios meadhan an t-saoghail d矛reach d脿thuras anns an fhicheadamh linn: they were seen at the equator only twice during the 20th Century. Here is another example, as we saw in Litir 82 (22.12.00), of a word 鈥� equator 鈥搘hich English has drawn from an external linguistic source, in this case medieval Latin,while Gaelic has created its own equivalent from native roots. Crios generally means a belt or strap and, derived from that, anything which encircles something else, and it is met with fairly commonly in conversation. It might be, for example, the belt that holds up your trousers or a girdle which controls your figure! A seatbelt in a car is crios-s脿bhalaidh (鈥渟aving belt鈥�) and you might say to a child in a car, 鈥渁 bheil do chrios ort?鈥� (is your seatbelt fastened?). Crios meadhan an t-saoghail means literally 鈥渢he middle belt of the world鈥�. An alternative is Crios na Cruinne (usually written with capitals), 鈥渢he belt of the globe鈥�. A Gaelic term for the zodiac is grian-chrios (lit. 鈥渟un-belt鈥�). And one of my favourite plants 鈥� the lovely meadowsweet, Filipendula ulmaria 鈥� has a wonderful nativename 鈥� Crios Chuchulainn 鈥� Cuchulainn鈥檚 belt, named after the ancient Gaelic hero.

thug na fir-chlis fuil 脿 cach a ch猫ile a-raoir: the merry dancers shed each other鈥檚 blood last night. A phrase, often repeated by children in times past, when they saw red crotal on the rocks, following a night in which the aurora had been active.