Scottish Folk Tales

The Smith and the Dord Fian

The tale of the Smith and the Dord Fian is one which comes at the close of the tales of Finn MacCumhal and the Fianna. It is a favourite tale still told among the Gaelic peoples of the Western Isles. The Dord Fian was the horn of Finn MacCumhal which was used to call and unite the men of the Fianna into one band.

"At one time there was a Smith who came upon the entrance of a cave which he found was barred by a large, locked door. He resolved to make a key which would open the door and allow him to discover what lay beyond it. So after a while the Smith returned to the cave with a key and a large torch brand to see by.

As the door opened, he found the cave was very large and dark inside and his torch threw long shadows against the high stone walls. Between the shadows, in the centre of the cave, he glimpsed the forms of large men lying deathly still on the floor. He approached them carefully and beside the biggest of these men he found a great horn - it was the Dord Fian, he knew then that these men were none other than Finn and the Fianna.

The Smith took hold of the Dord Fian even though it was as big as himself. As he did so, a small distant voice inside him said "Blow it". With much dread he placed the horn to his lips and sounded a loud, clear note. As he did so the men of the Fianna who had been lying so deathly still, shook from head to foot.

Fear grew stronger within him at the thought of what he was awakening, but again the small distant voice inside him said: "Blow it". At this, the second blast, the men of the Fianna turned to look at him. The Smith could take no more and despite the voice inside him, stronger now, crying out for the Dord Fian to be blown a third time, he ran from the cave. As he did so he locked the door behind him and threw the key away into a nearby loch.

Outside, he could still hear the men of the Fianna cry out after him, "You have left us worse than you found us". Yet, some say the day will come when the Dord Fian will be sounded three times...."

It is this tale as it was told to me which has been running through my mind this past while. My thoughts buzzing like a bee who dances round the honeycomb after having collected nectar from the heather.

There is the Smith himself, who, while working with the elements of fire, water, air and earth, forges the link between inspiration and the will to mould and shape his work into being. It is fitting that Gobhan the Smith is seen as the one who forges the link between this world and the otherworld. We as people work in a similar way when we create a link between the logical and instinctive parts of ourselves so that we may perceive more clearly the path that we tread. Our perception is coloured by that which we focus our attention on. So by giving attention to both these worlds and experiencing what we can from each of them, we open up opportunities, from which we may gain greater understanding and so widen the horizons of our perception.

As with the Smith, we have the ability to create a key which helps to open up these opportunities, like the doorway into the cave. The cave which represents the womb and the tomb, the place of death and rebirth. The source which all things flow from and to which all things return.

Once having gained entrance to a place, such as the cave, it is our own actions or reactions which helps determine the outcome of our experience. In this particular instance there lies the possibility of reawakening the link with the ancestors, in the form of the legendary Fianna. The Dord Fian stirring life into the warriors each time it is blown. The first time their bodies stir, the second time their minds awaken. Yet, when the third blast fails to be sounded, the Fianna say they are worse than before. In this you are reminded of the three levels of body, mind and spirit. Through this we are taught that failing to experience and give expression to life on all levels is worse than not living at all because we deny aspects of our own potential, as in the case of the Smith. It also denies full expression to the link forged with the wisdom of the ancestors, as expressed in the form of the Fianna.

From this part of the tale we are also shown that our actions not only affect ourselves. They affect that which we come into contact with as well. Like islands, we may appear isolated and cut off, however, underneath the surface the land mass connects.

Fortunately, the tale is there for others to learn from and we are reminded that the opportunity remains for the Dord Fian to be sounded three times, with the hope that those who attempt to do so, will not make the same mistake as the Smith. Whatever paths we walk, the two worlds of logic and instinct continuously affect us and in our journeys it is the awakening of the three levels which helps us step closer to the point where we can widen the horizons of our perception.

These are the thoughts the tale unlocked within me. However, it comes nowhere near exhausting its possibilities. Like the bee who collects the nectar, he cannot on his own partake in all the heather has to offer as there are many flowers to gather from.

[(c) Dalriada Celtic Heritage Trust]

[Helen McSkimming DALRIADA MAGAZINE 1991]

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