Ravens & black rain: The story of Highland second sight, including a new collection of the prophecies of the Brahan Seer

by Elizabeth Sutherland

The Highland gift of second sight - spontaneous, unsought vision, foreknowledge of impending disaster, the gift that is accounted an affliction - was first documented in print towards the end of the seventeenth century, but ballads and folk-tales show that it was common in Highland experience for many centuries before that.Here are the visions of generations of Highlanders and the prophecies of past seers together with researches into second sight published from the seventeenth century to the present day.

Genres: Scotland, History

368 pages, Hardcover

First published July 17, 1987

About the author

Elizabeth Sutherland had an Orcadian father and a mother from Fife, which, she claims, makes her a Pict. After training at Edinburgh University to be a social worker, she married an Episcopalian clergyman and lived in four Scottish parishes, ending up in Fortrose, on the Black Isle.

On her late husband's retirement in 1982 she took over Groam House Museum in Rosemarkie and was responsible for its becoming a Pictish Centre. Her work on Coinneach Odhar - the Brahan Seer - established her as a serious historian. The subject was especially relevant, as he ended his days in a burning barrel of tar at Chanonry Point, Fortrose.

Recently she has turned her hand to Black Isle local history in a series of pamphlets for Black Isle Press.

Biography, bibliography and excerpts available at Am Baile: The Highland Council's Literary Landscapes.

Reviews

[Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A weekend in the Black Isle over twenty years ago was my introduction to Coinneach Odhar, the Brahan Seer; gifted (or cursed) with second sight aided by his seeing stone. On the same weekend, we found a flat, smoothed, skimming-sized piece of slate on the beach at Chanonry Point. It’s eye-shaped hole in the centre, a clear sign from our Celtic ancestors not to take this folk tale too lightly. I picked up ‘Ravens and Black Rain’ - a history of second sight in the Highlands - to try and earn the stone’s inanimate respect.

It’s an interesting read with various sections flowing quite differently, sometimes strewn with unattributed anecdotes and gossipy in tone (think Scots Magazine), whilst other parts are more academic and weightily referenced. Some of the oft-quoted 18th century texts can be quite laborious to plough through but the reader will be hard-pushed not to find something of value. The author tackles the wilful entanglement of the myth of the Brahan Seer with the historical figure of Coinneach Odhar, and does an excellent job of separating fact from fiction, at least as far as is possible from the various unreliable sources and perspectives. Before you get this far though, the historical roots of Dá-Shealladh (literally, two sights - or the ability to see normally, alongside the world of apparitions which brings together the dead and living) is painted in some detail - from the Druids to the Picts to the beginnings of organised religion. Interestingly, second sight was originally not seen as contravening Christian beliefs. The book arcs through early Scottish / Celtic history, the beginnings of second sight and the Taibhsear (he who is spectre haunted), through to documented / hearsay examples of second sight, the figure of the Brahan Seer and the Jacobean era’s brutally haunted highlands. It ends with a slightly incongruous exploration of the psychic phenomena (viewed through a definitive 1980s lens) and an interview with the then-living Swein Macdonald and others purporting to have the ‘gift’. As a whole, the book doesn’t quite flow as well as it could but it is richly steeped in folklore, well-researched and definitely worth your time if you want to study the subject in more detail.

[Indigo Crow · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was published nearly 40 years ago as of the time I wrote this review, and in many ways it shows its age. It also seems to be rare. I managed to snag this book at a reasonable price, but I've seen it sold for quite a tidy sum of money. And I think the book is rare for a reason. It kinda sucks.

The book gives the impression that its primary topic is Second Sight among Scottish Highlanders (of which I'm descended). However, that's not really accurate. Rather than focus on Second Sight, the author spends quite a lot of time talking about saints and other Christian figures, speaking of them pleasantly, while at the same time taking a hostile, negative attitude toward pagans and witches. I was highly put off by that.

The best part of the book, in my opinion, was toward the end, after she finished praising the Church and Christians and started talking about the metaphysical theories of why humans are able to see visions, spirits, etc. That was quite fascinating. It's a pity it took up so very little of the book and came at the very end of it.

The book isn't terrible, but due to its rarity and expense, I do not recommend going out of your way to get a copy. If you happen to find it at a reasonable cost, go ahead and grab it, especially if you're a collector of this type of material.

[Sir Robbiethehoo · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

A mixed bag in terms of enjoyment. Some of the introductory chapters were at times a bit of a slog.
My enjoyment peaked during the Brahan Seer chapters as he is so evocative of the highlands and all its mysticism.
Presented within the book is a lot of examples of highland second sight and interesting insights and observations are given about the ability.
The writing style is very easy going and engaging and for anyone with a real interest in the subject of highland second sight I feel that this must be on the must read pile !