Bibles buried in sacred ceremony

Bibles from across the island were handed in

Nearly 500 bibles have been buried in a religious ceremony at a graveyard on the isle of Lewis.

The idea for the respectful disposal of the bibles, mostly in Gaelic, came from the Ness Charity shop which had become overwhelmed by the number handed in.

Most of the bibles were tattered and worn and unsuitable for resale.

More than 40 villagers attended the ceremony at Swainbost cemetery which was carried out by the Rev Kenneth Ferguson in English and Gaelic.

Ness committee member Donald Morrison said: "These were treasured volumes and many people were loth to dispose of them in the way we normally treat possessions we no longer need.

We were getting so many bibles we had to do something about it Nan Ferguson Ness charity shop manager

"After thinking about the matter for some time we came up with the idea of burying them."

Bibles were handed in from around the rural district with many others arriving from across Lewis.

Following the ceremony, committee chairman Iain Macsween said: "I believe that many of the Godly people buried in this cemetery would have used these same Bibles.

"People just did not know what to do with them but definitely did not want to throw them in the bin."

Communal ceremony

The shop's manager Nan Ferguson told BBC Scotland's news website: "We were getting so many bibles we had to do something about it.

"Some of these bibles were brought in by elderly people and they had belonged to their parents. I think people were very relieved to see them disposed of in this way.

"People sometimes bury bibles in their gardens but this was the first communal ceremony."

She added that the Jews had a tradition of burying sacred scrolls

A plaque has been erected at the cemetery to mark the event.