Drawing on recent ethnography in County Kerry, Ireland, this paper will look at legends of the bountiful cow in Irish tradition - the Glas Gaibhneach - and reflect on how these stories have become an allegory for environmental exploitation amongst some tradition-bearers in contemporary times.
Paper long abstract
The Glas Gaibhneach is a cow of abundance in Irish folk tradition. Legends tell of her appearance during famine times to sustain the poor with her bountiful milk, until a deceitful old woman determines to test the limits of the cow’s yield by milking her into a sieve, following which the cow either dies or disappears back across the sea, forsaking humankind.
Although centuries’ old and attested in other countries, recent fieldwork undertaken by the author in County Kerry, Ireland, found that some tradition-bearers view the legends as an allegory for the exploitation of nature, and the finitude of the earth’s resources. While the legends thus demonstrate the inherent adaptability of folklore and its capacity to evolve and carry new meanings - thus persisting into and remaining relevant in the contemporary era - the legends also speak to the importance of folk narratives in mediating a changing ecological consciousness and rethinking our relationship with the natural world. Drawing on eco-critical theory, this paper will consider the vernacular worldviews and nature/culture dynamics presented in the legendry, and how these are being challenged and reimagined in the contemporary era of anthropogenic climate change.