Sluagh facts for kids

The Sluagh ( Old Irish slúag, Scottish Gaelic Slúagh; English: 'host, army, crowd'), or Sluagh na marbh ('host of the dead'), were the hosts of the unforgiven dead in Scottish Gaelic folklore. In the words of British folklorist Lewis Spence, "In the Western Isles of Scotland the Sluagh, or fairy host, was regarded as composed of the souls of the dead flying through the air, and the feast of the dead at Hallowe'en was likewise the festival of the fairies." Usually taking a crescent form, similar to a flight of grey birds, they were said to be able to approach and pick up a person from any direction and then transport them far away through the air, from one island to another. Although they could sometimes rescue humans from dangerous rock clefts, they were generally portrayed as dangerous to mortals.

Etymology

The Scottish Gaelic name Slúagh stems from the Old Irish slúag (≈ slóg), meaning 'host, army; crowd, assembly'. Variant forms include slógh and sluag. It derives from the Proto-Celtic root *slougo- (cf. Gaul. catu-slougi 'troops of combat', Middle Welsh llu 'troop', Old Bret. -lu 'army'), whose original meaning may have been 'those serving the chief', by comparing with Balto-Slavic words that probably emerged from early linguistic contacts with Celtic speakers in Central-Eastern Europe: e.g. Lithuanian slaugà ('service, servitude'), or Old Church Slavonic sluga ('servant').

See also

In Spanish: Sluagh para niños