Raga

[A village at the foot of a low topped hill]

Crofters drew up their boats in the most suitable, sheltered place nearest their homes. Raga crofters had their own noosts below the houses of Raga. Noosts were a Norse innovation. A noost is a hollow dug into the bank or made by clearing rocks so that a boat was sheltered. Noosts were single or in groups. In winter the boats were sometimes pulled up to an even higher noost than in summer.

Raga 1980s

In 1861 there was a small grocer shop at Gracefield, Raga.

Raga had its fair share of impressive and absorbing stories and Chas was keen to hear them. I began telling about a shipwreck involving a Raga man.

Arthur Johnson from Raga survived the wrecking of the barque Essex which, in November 1874, struck a rock when approaching Cape Whittle on Labrador. The crew had to abandon ship and winter there. When food was running out they journeyed on foot over 100 miles where they were able to hire a small boat and then they endured 400 miles sailing to get to Quebec.

The Charleson family were also exceptional characters.

Three of the children of Olla Charleson from Raga suffered from blindness. David, born June 18,1826 was blind from a young age but had an exact sense of direction. His yearly payments as a pauper totalled £11.7s.5d. Catherine gradually became blind and John went blind at age 30. John had worked at Windhouse as a servant/labourer. He spent quite a time with Jakob Jacobson the author of writings about Shetland. John was aged 72 when Dr Jakobson met him.

'The two brothers Charleson, John and David, both old men, natives of de Herra, had a unique knowledge of the old dialect of their native district, and from them I obtained many obsolete words belonging to de Herra, especially from John Charleson, who was blind. The explanations accompanying the words were very exact and striking.

Among my informants who were settled in de Herra, I will name Thomas Henry of Buster, and Gilbert Gilbertson of Raga. To the first of these I am indebted for a proverbial expression in Norn and a couple of fragments of song in Norn.

A proverb from de Herra:

Ma'rta di ga'ns teke di veps (Much can be used for woof that is useless for warp)'

Chas could not determine exactly the position of some named areas of Raga but by following the descriptions we made our own guesses as to where they might be.

The Leys is the ground below the Wilderness. Grosaflet was a piece of ground or rig in Raga. De Glirs o Raga was a stretch of swamp which in earlier times might have been a small lake perhaps what is now the Waters of Raga. De Huddjins o Raga is an elongated height. It is now unknown where exactly these areas are located.

Beside the main Herra road towards Gremister and near the Lower Raga hill dykes lies a boulder which marks approximately one mile from the end of the Herra road. The boulder is called the ‘Grey Stane’. Bartle's Quarry is on the opposite side of the road. Bartle was a roadman who lived at Raga.

The Grey Stane

As we proceeded along the road we could see the Wester Side, incorporating Effstigarth, Grummond and Graveland, coming into view with the hill of Virdifield behind, then the voe, the Stuis and the beach. At this point the lower houses of Gremister were not in view.

The Herra Hall is just outside the hill dykes of Gremister.

Chas wanted me to pass on any scraps of information regarding the hall, the old fishing station, the church and the school and was intrigued that there was so much he did not know when he heard the accounts of what I had uncovered during research.