View source for Buggane

{{Short description|Isle of Mann folklore figure}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
[[File:The Phynodderree, and other legends of the Isle of Man (1882) (14566611488).jpg|thumb|TIM MVLREA AND THE BUGGANE'<br>(''The Phynodderree, and other legends of the Isle of Man'' (1882))]]
In [[Manx folklore]], a {{Lang|gv|'''buggane'''}} (or ''boagane'')<ref>Spelling used in ''[[The Deemster]]''</ref> was a huge [[ogre]]-like creature native to the [[Isle of Man]]. Some{{Who|date=May 2025}} have considered them akin to the [[Scandinavia]]n [[troll]].

==Manx folklore==
[[File:St Trinian's (10).jpg|thumb|Roofless St.Trinian's with Greeba Mountain in the background.]]
A [[shapeshifting|shapeshifter]], the buggane is generally described as a malevolent being that can appear as a large black calf or human with ears or hooves of a horse. It was large enough to tear the roof off a church.<ref name=BriggsFairies>{{cite book|last=Briggs|first=Katharine M. |author-link=Katharine Mary Briggs |title=A Dictionary of Fairies|publisher=Penguin|location=Harmondsworth, Middlesex|year=1976|pages=51–52|isbn=978-0-14-004753-0}}</ref> Its natural form is described as "covered with a mane of coarse, black hair; it had eyes like torches, and glittering sharp tusks".<ref name=Morrison>{{cite book | url=http://www.isle-of-man.com/manxnotebook/fulltext/sm1911/index.htm | last=Morrison | first= Sophia | title=Manx Fairy Tales | publisher= David Nutt | location= London | year= 1911}}</ref> Another tale describes it as a huge man with bull's horns, glowing eyes and large teeth.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cowell |first1=R. Corlett |title=A Manx" Bogane." |journal=The Antiquary |date=1886 |volume=14 |pages=255–257}}</ref>

As magical creatures, bugganes were unable to cross water or stand on hallowed ground.<ref name=Morrison/>

===St Trinian's Church===
{{main|St Trinian's Church}}
The most famous story recounts a buggane who found himself an inadvertent stowaway on a ship bound for [[Ireland]]. Determined to return to the Isle of Man, he caused a storm and guided the ship towards the rocky coast of Contrary Head. His plan was interdicted through the intervention of St. Trinian. Invoked by the captain with a promise to build a chapel in his honour, the saint guided the ship safely into [[Peel, Isle of Man|Peel Harbour]]. Incensed, the buggane screamed, "St. Trinian should never have a whole church in Ellan Vannin."<ref name=Callow>[http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/phy/phy18.htm Callow, Edward. "The Buggane's Vow", ''The Phynodderre and Other Legends of the Isle of Man'', J. Dean and Son, London, 1882]</ref> When the chapel came to be built, three times the local people put a roof on, and three times the buggane tore it off.

The ''Buggan ny Hushtey'' lived in a large cave near the sea and was known for having no liking for lazy people.<ref>Morrison, Sophia. "Buggane ny Hushtey, the Buggane-of-the-Water: A Manx Folktale", ''Folklore'', Vol. 34, No. 4 (Dec. 31, 1923), pp. 349-351 {{JSTOR|1256555}}</ref> However, it should not be confused with the [[Cabbyl-ushtey]], the Manx [[water horse]].

Bugganes were occasionally called upon by the [[fairy|fairies]] to punish people that had offended them. The buggane of [[Glen Maye]] would have pitched a lazy housewife into a waterfall for putting off baking until after sunset, had she not cut loose the strings of her apron to escape.<ref name=Morrison/> The buggane from Gob-na-Scuit was known for tearing the thatch off the haystacks, puffing the smoke down chimneys, and pushing sheep over the edge of the brooghs (a steep bank or grassy cliff).<ref>[http://www.feegan.com/fltales/fltales2.html "Old Nance and The Buggane", Feegan's, IOM]</ref>

===Finn MacCool and the Buggane===
In Manx legend, the Irish giant [[Fionn mac Cumhaill]] (Finn MacCool) crossed over to Mann and settled near [[Cregneash]]. The buggane from [[South Barrule|Barrule]] came to do battle, but Fionn did not want to fight. Fionn's wife, Oonagh, disguised Fionn as a baby and tucked him into a cradle. When the buggane saw the size of the 'baby', he thought that its father, Fionn, must be a giant among giants, and so he left. They eventually met near [[Rushen|Kirk Christ Rushen]] and fought from sunrise to sunset. Fionn had one foot in the Big Sound, and so made the channel between the [[Calf of Man]] and [[Kitterland]], and the other foot was in the Little Sound, and so he made the narrow channel between Kitterland and the main island. The buggane was standing at [[Port Erin]]. He came off victorious and slashed Fionn awfully, so that he had to run to Ireland. Fionn could walk on the sea, but the buggane could not, so he tore out a tooth and threw it at Fionn. It hit him on the back of the head, and then it fell into the sea and became what is now called [[Chicken Rock]]. Fionn turned round and roared a mighty curse, "My seven swearings of a curse on it!" "Let it lie there for a vexation to the sons of men while water runs and grass grows!"
And so it has.<ref name=Morrison/> The Irish version of the story has Fionn's adversary a giant from [[Scotland]].

==In popular culture==
* Bushys (Mount Murray Brewing) of [[Douglas, Isle of Man]] brews a light brown English bitter called "Bushy's Buggane".<ref>[http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/bushys-buggane/38855/ "Bushy's Buggane", Ratebeer.com]</ref>
* Stories from the Isle of Man: The Buggane of St. Trinian's, featured in Season 6 (8 August 1969) of the BBC children's television series ''[[Jackanory]]''.
* In the ''[[Spook's]]'' series by [[Joseph Delaney]], a buggane features prominently in the seventh book, ''The Spook's Nightmare'' ([[United Kingdom|UK]] title)''/Rise of the Huntress'' ([[United States|US]] title).
* Buggane is featured in the fantasy novel ''[[The Road To Fero City]]'' by Morat, in which he is imprisoned for vandalising churches.
* In the [[Pathfinder Roleplaying Game]], Buggane make an appearance in the Bestiary 4 as a race of blind giants distantly related to ogres. Their appearance is inspired by that of the [[naked mole-rat]].
*In the 2009 [[Lemon Demon]] song "Eighth Wonder" (about [[Gef the talking mongoose]]) on the 2016 album ''[[Spirit Phone]]'', buggane are referenced in the lyrics as they both originate on the Isle of Man.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commonscatinline}}

{{Fairies}}

[[Category:Aos Sí]]
[[Category:Fairies]]
[[Category:Irish folklore]]
[[Category:Irish legendary creatures]]
[[Category:Manx legendary creatures]]
[[Category:Ogres]]
[[Category:Shapeshifting]]
[[Category:Supernatural legends]]
[[Category:Tuatha Dé Danann]]