A proverbial Phrase.
Dɛa dombvɩdla vōga dɛa vɩdla vōga pēsa (or passion) vōga. Given with following explanation: Easter-Sunday weather will last all the week. More correct probably: the weather of Passion-week will be the weather of Easter-week.
The Conningsburgh phrase (acc. to Low): “Myrk in e Liora, Luce in e Liunga, Tim in e Guest in e geungna” (It’s dark in the Chimney, but it’s light thro’ the Heath, it’s still time for the stranger to be gone).
In Yell (in “de Herra”) this phrase is still preserved in the following form:
Mə‘rka lōra, lestra lɩŋga, tämra gɛstra gɔŋgəra [myrkt er í ljóra, ljóst er í lyngi, tími er, at gestr(inn) gengr]. With regard to the form gɔŋgəra, cf. Fær. gongur.
Our Lord’s Prayer[1] from Foula (reported by Low in his “Tour thro’ Orkney and Shetland”, reprinted by Barry and in “Annaler for nordisk oldkyndighed”, 1860):
Fy vor o er i Chimeri. Halaght vara nam det. La Konungdum din cumma. La vill din vera guerde i vrildin sinda eri Chimeri. Gav vus dagh u dagloght brau. Forgive sindor wasa (wara?) sin vi forgiva gem ao sinda gainst wus. Lia wus eke o vera tempa, but delivra wus fro adlu idlu, for do i ir Konungdum, u puri, u glori. Amen.
An Incantation.
This is found, in the tale: “Da Tief i’ de Neean” (Shetland Times 1879).
The tale itself, as well as the language used in it, doubtless originates from Ai. (Wests.).
The formula, which is mainly in Scoto-English, has Norn words sprinkled throughout, some of which show old grammatical endings, that have lost their significance. It runs as follows:
Da stuhl es scarp an fien,
Da sacheles emer a snean,
Da vird es sicer en pura,
A glimer i’ mirk-as-dim hura,
La stuhl an vird ay gyrda
An prof er an skyla, an svirda.
- ↑ A man still living in Unst was formerly able, according to his own and other’s statements, to recite Our Lord’s Prayer in Norn, or at any rate, the greater part of it. Some time ago, however, he had an illness which gradually enfeebled his memory, and when I looked him up, he could only remember the following corrupted fragments; — — halagət wa‘rtə name (hallowed be Thy name) — — sae hɩmblɩns (as in Heaven).
