Scottish Culture
A Multi-Cultural Project
Preface
Dear reader,
Prior to this multi-cultural project, I had limited knowledge on the Scottish people and their traditions. The only thing I really knew about them was that men wear skirts (I now know they are called kilts). I became interested in this culture because of a television series I have started watching recently, called Outlander, which is set in seventeenth century Scotland. This show sparked my interest in the culture because it was filled with the mystical beliefs in magic, spirits, and demons. Also because, even though the show is in English, it seems like they are speaking another language entirely.
During my research I came across three pieces of Scottish literature, A Red, Red, Rose, I Once Loved a Lass, and The Young Laird of Lorntie. I found these pieces very interesting, and very different than literature of American culture. The authors use words like "bonie lass" to mean beautiful girl, and have many worlds meaning no such as "na", "nae", or "n'". Other than the language used in the pieces, it was interesting to see how their culture can be so diverse. One of the pieces depicted delicacy and love, while another showed firmness, bravery, and how beliefs in mystical creatures was prominent.
After reading and researching a bit about the Scottish traditions, I do think my perspective has changed. Before, I would have thought that a dish called haggis, which is sheep innards stuffed in a sheep stomach, was unnatural and disgusting, but now it seems much less weird, and I dare say I want to try some. By keeping an open mind throughout this project, I feel like I have evaded the "single-story" and it has opened my eyes to a whole another world, it seems.
Na h-uile la gu math duit (meaning may all your days be good in Gaelic)
-McKenna
Culture Overview
Scotland is home to a very dynamic and enthralling culture, filled with courage, determination, and spiritual beliefs. Although the culture has been diminished a bit over the years, people still hold onto their unique customs in the highlands.
One element of this culture is the belief in supernatural beings, such as spirits, demons, magic, witches, and other monsters such as the Loch Ness Monster. The Loch Ness Monster myth originally started in the Scottish highlands, and is often called "Niseag", Gaelic for Nessie. These creatures are feared and are thought to bring harm to the people of the highlands. Children are told stories about demons and watched and monsters, and the adults too believed them. Witches used to be burned at stake, or drowned in order to fully kill them and their black magic. Another example of these beliefs is the Callanish Stones, which are believed to be Giants who were turned to stone because they refused to be converted to Christianity.
Another element of this culture is the food. One dish in particular is Haggis, the national dish of Scotland. Basically, it is boiled sheep lungs and hearts stuffed into a sheep's stomach. It is not known for a fact but it is thought to have roots around the thirteenth century, when sheep started to become domesticated. Today, haggis is still being eaten although not as much as in the past. Haggis is typically served with neeps, and tatties, which is Scottish slang for turnips and potatoes.
Kilts, are also a well known characteristic of Scottish culture. A kilt is a pleated wool skirt-like wrap, traditionally worn by men. It is typically seen as an unusual thing, because in most other cultures, it is the women who wear skirts, not men. Kilts are made with different patterns of plaid, called tartans. These different tartans represent the clan, or family, the person belongs to. Kilts are worn at knee length and are belted to the side. They can be worn to a formal event with a dress shirt, or into battle adorned with armor.
A holiday celebrated in the highlands of Scotland is Hogmanay. Hogmanay is a celebration of the new year, and is the oldest celebration in Scotland and the largest celebration in all of Europe. This holiday began in about 300 BC when the celts settled in Scotland. This holiday ties back to the beliefs in spirits and fairies. This holiday was a sacred day for the dead, and Celtic priests called Druids would perform rituals such as hanging mistletoe and having bonfires. In modern times, the holiday lost its spiritual beliefs and religious meanings and is now for celebrating the new year. One modern tradition of Hogmanay is that whoever walks through the door of your house first in the new year, he or she will bring the luck or lack thereof for the upcoming year.
Being brave, stubborn, and determined is also a large part of the Scottish culture. The best example of this is when the Hanovers of England had control of the Scottish highlands in the early 1700's. The English tried to take away the Scottish culture, changing the language of the land to English rather than the native language of Gaelic. The Scots stayed true to their culture, though and fought back against the English even though they were outnumbered their weapons were inferior. The uprising against the English was known as Jacobitism and contained the Jacobite army who, despite being extremely militant and driven, were defeated in 1746.
The pieces of lituture I read display the dynamic culture in Scotland. A poem called A Red, Red, Rose, by Scottish poet Robert Burns depicted the delicate, sweet side of the culture. The poem was about the joy love can bring and vivid and strong his love is for his "bonie lass." A folk song, called I once Loved a Lass, was also about love, but this was a darker love, that ultimately ended in death. The Young Laird of Lorntie shows the most about the culture. It is a folklore of the highlands that warns about the dangers of water sprints, also known as mermaids. The Scottish culture shows through with the belief of mermaids, and the bravery and heroism that is displayed in the piece when the young man saves the drowning woman.
Connections in Text
The Young Laird of Lorntie, is an old folklore of Scotland. It has no specific author and is believed to have been first created in the early 1700's. It tells a story of a young man, the Laird of Lorntie, who was on his way back from a hunting expedition, when he comes across what appears to be a drowning lady in a nearby lake. Even though it was dark, he still went to save the lady, but his servant pulled him out before he could reach her. His servant claimed that the lady was actually a water-spirit. His claim was soon proved true, as when they looked back they saw the mermaid thrashing her tail and exclaiming her disappointment that he got away because she had wanted to eat his heart. This story shows Scottish culture by displaying the language used, the landscape, beliefs in spirits, and also shows great bravery that is admired by the Scottish people.
The folklore shows the distinct language of the people by using words that are unique to Scotland such as "skirl," to mean sing and saying such as "bide a blink" meaning wait a second. Even though this language is English, it is distinctively Scottish, and even seems like a whole another language. As well as the language, the story depicts the landscape of the Scottish highlands, by displaying the lush forests, greenery, and many lakes found there. The terrain affects the culture because without the woods and lakes, fishing and hunting would not be a popular sport for men.
This story also displays the beliefs in the supernatural, such as the water spirit in the story. In Scottish culture, water spirits, or mermaids are seen as evil creatures who should be feared. It is believed that the mermaids lure men into the waters where they live with their beauty, and then eat their hearts. The fear of the mermaids is shown when the servant says "that wauling madam was nae other, God sauf us! than the mermaid." When he acknowledges God, he shows that he is truly afraid of the water spirit, and this also shows that the main religion in Scotland is Christianity.
Other than the physical culture of Scotland, the story also shows how bravery is an important characteristic in Scottish culture. Scott's are known for their courage and determination, especially in the time when the story was first being told. In this time, the Hanovers of England were ruling the highlands of Scotland and were trying to convert them to English culture. The Scots refused to give up their traditions, and fought back against the English empire the fact that they were outnumbered and England had better weapons. The story has aspects of bravery in it, when the young Laird jumps into the water to help the so called drowning women, even though it is dark and murky. The young laird was "unable to resist the impulse of humanity" and went to save the woman. This shows how righteous and brave that Scots are, and it is a huge part of the culture.The Young Laird of Lorntie
THE young Laird of Lorntie, in Forfarshire, was one evening returning from a hunting excursion, attended by a single servant and two greyhounds, when, in passing a solitary lake, which lies about three miles south from Lorntie, and was in those times closely surrounded with natural wood, his ears were suddenly assailed by the shrieks of a female apparently drowning. Being of a fearless character, he instantly spurred his horse forward to the side of the lake, and there saw a beautiful female struggling with the water, and, as it seemed to him, just in the act of sinking. "Help, help, Lorntie!" she exclaimed. "Help, Lorntie-----help, Lor-----," and the waters seemed to choke the last sounds of her voice as they gurgled in her throat. The laird, unable to resist the impulse of humanity, rushed into the lake, and was about to grasp the long yellow locks of the lady, which lay like hanks of gold upon the water, when he was suddenly seized behind, and forced out of the lake by his servant, who, farther-sighted than his master, perceived the whole affair to be the feint of a water-spirit. "Bide, Lorntie--bide a blink!" cried the faithful creature, as the laird was about to dash him to the earth; "that wauling madam was nae other, God sauf us! than the mermaid." Lortie instantly acknowledged the truth of this asseveration, which, as he prepared to mount his horse, was confirmed by the mermaid raising herself half out of the water, and exclaiming, in a voice of fiendish disappointment and ferocity,--
Lorntie, Lorntie,
Were it na your man,
I had got your heart's bluid
Skirl in my pan."
Bibliography
Wiliams, Sean. "Beware the bagpipes!" Faces: People, Places, and Cultures Sept. 2013: 22+. Student Resources in Context. Web. 16 Apr. 2015.
"Scotland." Junior Worldmark Encyclopedia of World Holidays. Ed. Robert H. Griffin and Ann H. Shurgin. Vol. 4. Detroit: UXL, 2000. 391-401. Student Resources in Context. Web. 16 Apr. 2015.
"Callanish Stones." Online Picture. Wikipedia, 2015. Web. 15 Apr. 2015
"Renaissance fair attendee wearing a belted plaid." Online Picture. Wikipedia, 2015. Web. 15 Apr. 2015
"A Red, Red Rose by Robert Burns." Scottish Poetry Library. Scottish Poetry Library, n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2015. <https://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poetry/poems/red-red-rose>.