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Materials
=========
Hugo's "Scottish Gaelic in 3 months". ISBN 0 85285 234 7
Author: Roibeart O/ Maolalaigh, lecturer in the Dept of Celtic at the
University of Edinburgh 4.95 (Pounds) $7.95 (US Dollars). Includes useful
index at the back. There is also a tape available to accompany the book
Distributed in the USA by
Hunter Publishing Inc
300 Raritan Center Parkway
CN94, Edison, New Jersey, 08818
Teach Yourself Gaelic (book,tape) author: Boyd Robertson. 16.99 pounds for
both. ISBN 0-340-55925-X. Book alone is 7.99 (ISBN 0-340-55923-3). Includes
useful small dictionary at the back
Both of the above are recommended (particularly the Hugo book) and suitable
for complete beginners and progress to upper intermediate conversational
level. Both books really need the learner to be exposed to additional audio
materials and/or conversation as the amount of spoken materials on the tape
is a bit limiting.
Speaking Our Language (workbooks, tapes, videos), published by Canan
(mailto:canan@smo.uhi.ac.uk). Highly recommended for complete beginners
through to upper intermediate levels. The entire course covers 4 series,
each containing 18 programmes with each programme approx 25 mins.
Tel: +44-1471-844345 Fax: +44-1471-844322
Canan PO Box 345, An t-Eilean Sgitheanach, IV44 8XA, Scotland
Everyday Gaelic (book) author: Morag MacNeill (intermediate level)
Courses and organisations
=========================
Telford College run Gaelic classes at various levels including
Scotvec 1,2 and 3 and Gaelic Higher. Both evening classes and distance
learning.
Contact: Telford College, Crewe Toll, Edinburgh EH4 2NZ
mailto:etc@etel.exnet.com Fax: 0131 343 1218
Tel: 0131 332 2491 extn 2233 (Communication and Languages Dept)
http://www.ed-coll.ac.uk/
This is the only centre in the world offering a Gaelic Higher course
by correspondence. Students keep in touch with tutors by mail,
E-mail or phone. Learning packs are also sent out and work is
returned with comments. Listening tapes and speaking practice are
also part of the course. Course fees (1996-97) are 42 pounds for
the Scotvec modules and 49 for the Higher. There is a separate fee
(about 20 pounds) for actually sitting the exam.
http://www.ed-coll.ac.uk/Course/ftmatrix.asp?ID=6118
Courses
-------
Gaelic/Highland/Music/Singing courses (1-2 weeks long)
Sabhal Mor Ostaig, An Teanga, Sleite, Isle of Skye IV44 8RQ,
Scotland tel: 01471 844 373
mailto:gavin@smo.uhi.ac.uk
(Sleite is pronounced "Slate")
http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/
There is a course "Conaltradh ann an Gaidhlig" which seems to be a
little above Higher level and is a distance learning course.
Gaelic courses from beginners to advanced available in Sutherland info at:
http://www.cs.toronto.edu/~maclean/AnCeathramh.html
Tel: 01408- 641 474 mailto:anceathramh@mail.enterprise.net
Cothrom na Feinne run Gaelic courses
Contact: Cothrom na Feinne, Balmacara Mains, Balmacara, by Kyle
IV40 8DN. Tel: 01599 566 240
Jewel and Esk Valley College (Edinburgh) offer a National Certificate
in Gaelic studies for learners wanting to achieve fluency through a 9
month immersion course (16 hours a week). E-mail: info@jevc.ac.uk
http://www.jevc.ac.uk/
Tel: 0131 654 5294/5204
Correspondence course
---------------------
Gaidhlig Bheo: Correspondence course, run by The National Extension
College, 18 Brooklands Avenue, Cambridge
Tel: (01223) 316644 Fax: (01223) 313586
http://www.nec.ac.uk/
On-line Gaelic lessons/software
-------------------------------
Canan, http://www.canan.co.uk/ have launched a Gaelic CD-ROM
priced 9.95 pounds and based on the first 5 lessons of Speaking our
Language. mailto:canan@smo.uhi.ac.uk
http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaidhlig/ionnsachadh/bac/
http://www.scottishradiance.com/galsec.htm
Spoken lessons with real audio
http://members.aol.com/libphil/
covers many languages including Gaelic
Basic Gaelic for parents, with sound samples
http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaidhlig/ionnsachadh/bgfp/
Information particular to the United States
An Comunn Gaidhealach America
http://www.acgamerica.org/
Information on The Gaelic College of Celtic Arts and Crafts in
St Anns, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia - Gaelic and other Scottish classes
are offered here
http://www.gaeliccollege.edu/
mailto:gaelcoll@atcon.com
Other information
-----------------
Am Braighe, a Newspaper in English and Gaelic from Cape Breton, Nova
Scotia carries a wide range of Gaelic merchandise
http://www.ambraighe.ca/
mailto:gaeltalk@auracom.com
Other links
-----------
Other Gaelic links, see [7.2]
Gaelic books, see [7.3]
Gaelic products from Scotland, see [7.4]
Book information
----------------
Get more information on the books listed here
via our books page in association with Amazon.
http://www.siliconglen.com/Scotland/books/amazon.html#[7.1]
[7.2] Gaelic links
Gaelic
------
World centre for Gaelic links, Sabhal Mor Ostaig, Skye
http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/
and http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaidhlig/gaidhlig.html
The Scottish Parliament
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/gaidhlig
The Gaelic resource database
http://db.svtc.org.uk/grdb/grdmain.htm
Guide to Gaelic Scotland
http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/cnag/failte/
(available in English, Gaelic, Spanish, Italian, French and German)
Gaelic organisations
http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaidhlig/buidhnean/
Gaelic net
http://www.gaelic.net/
The Gaelic Homepage
http://metalab.unc.edu/gaelic/gaelic.html
Dalriada Celtic Heritage Trust
http://www.dalriada.co.uk/
The Gaelic-L archives
http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/liosta/gaelic-l/
Slighe nan Gaidheal - Scottish Gaelic in Seattle
http://www.slighe.com/
Siol nan Gaidheal
http://www.siol-nan-gaidheal.com/
The Scottish Office dept with responsibility for Gaelic
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/structure/se-arts.htm
The Book of Deer, the oldest Scots Gaelic book
http://www.bookofdeer.co.uk/
The date and time in Scotland, given in conversational Gaelic
http://www.sst.ph.ic.ac.uk/angus/bin/uair.cgi
Gaelic Orthographic Conventions
http://www.his.com/~rory/orthbod.html
The Coigach Gaelic Place Names CD
http://members.aol.com/coigich/CGPN.htm
Celtic
------
Celtic Congress
http://www.evertype.com/celtcong/
A' Cho\mhdhail Cheilteach, mailto:seonag@cnag.org.uk
Barry John Steen, 7 Grebe Avenue, Inverness IV2 3TD
Reference
---------
Links to Dictionaries
http://www.geo.ed.ac.uk/home/scotland/gaelic.html
http://www.ceantar.org/Dicts/
More info
---------
Yahoo
http://www.yahoo.co.uk/Society_and_Culture/Cultures/Celtic/
[7.3] Where can I get Gaelic books?
The Gaelic Books Council stocks every Gaelic book in print
including prose, poetry, songs, music, children's material etc.
They have a catalogue. The Gaelic books council ships worldwide
and takes credit/debit cards. Postage is free to UK addresses,
elsewhere add 30%.
Comhairle nan Leabhraichean
22 Sra\id Achadh a'Mhansa
Glaschu
Alba
G11 5QP.
Fon: 0141 337 6211
Facs: 0141 341 0515
The Gaelic Books Council
22 Mansfield Street
Glasgow
Scotland
G11 5QP
Tel: 0141 337 6211
Fax: 0141 341 0515
mailto:sales@gaelicbooks.net
http://www.gaelicbooks.net/
and
http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaidhlig/buidhnean/cnl.html
Note: All Gaelic addresses can be used fine provided the postcode is
written. If you are looking for a Gaelic name for your child, the book
to get is Ainmean Chloinne, Scottish Gaelic names for Children.
Author Peadar Morgan.
Published by Taigh na Teud, Breacais Ard, Skye. ISBN 1871931401
http://www.scotlandsmusic.com/
The book to get if you want to give your house a Gaelic name is
"Cuir ainm Gaidhlig air an taigh agad" (Give your home or cottage
a Scottish name) by David and Deborah Livingston-Lowe
ISBN 0-9681442-0-9. 44 pages. Includes English, Gaelic and phonetics.
Published by Celtica, 725 King Street West, Suite 507, Toronto ON
M5V 2W9 Canada.
Also try
--------
Acair specialise in children's Gaelic books and can be reached at
http://www.acairbooks.com/
mailto:enquiries@acairbooks.com
http://www.canan.co.uk/ (Scotland)
http://www.jthin.co.uk/ (Scotland)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/ (All UK Books in print)
http://www.chatsubo.com/ambraighe/ (Canada)
http://www.npr.org/programs/thistle/ (USA)
http://www.scottishbooks.com/
Personalised Gaelic books for children can be obtained from
Create-a-book Barra
244 Bruernish
Isle of Barra
Western Isles
HS9 5UY
Tel: 01871 890376
Book information
----------------
Get more information on the books listed here
via our books page in association with Amazon.
http://www.siliconglen.com/Scotland/books/amazon.html#[7.3]
[7.4] Scots Gaelic products and catalogue
Canan
-----
http://www.canan.co.uk/
Also
Firtree publishing have a bilingual Gaelic/English Highland calendar
http://www.scottish-calendars.co.uk/
[7.5] Where can I get Gaelic music and lyrics, info on Gaelic songs
Contact An Comunn Gaidhealach, 109 Sraid na h-Eaglais, Inbhir Nis,
IV1 1EY. Tel: 01463 231226. mailto:info@ancomunn.co.uk
there is also a small office in Stornoway
Tel: 01851 703487 Fax: 01851 706467
An Comunn have a lot of Gaelic music and maintain a list of every
Gaelic choir in Scotland. Currently the only Gaelic choirs outside
Scotland are in London, Sydney and Vancouver (BC), Victoria (BC),
Seattle (WA), Antigonish Gaelic Choir in Antigonish, Nova Scotia and
there is one in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.
http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaidhlig/buidhnean/acg/
http://www.the-mod.co.uk/english/contact.htm
An Comunn also has an American branch. Their web address is
http://www.acgamerica.org/
If that fails, try
The School of Scottish Studies, 27 George Square,
Edinburgh, EH8 9LD
http://www.pearl.arts.ed.ac.uk/SoSS/
mailto:Scottish.Studies@ed.ac.uk
Also worth contacting is Canasg
http://www.canasg.com/
Canasg Choral Music Publishing of Scotland specialises in
publishing choral and vocal music, offering a wide range of
totally original settings and arrangements for choirs and vocal
harmony groups; mainly a cappella, but some with instrumental
accompaniment.
[7.6] The National Mod and Local Mods
An Comunn Gaidhealach runs the national Mod and branches of An Comunn
around Scotland run the local mods. An Comunn is based at
109 Sraid na h-Eaglais, Inbhir Nis, IV1 1EY
109 Church St, Inverness, IV1 1EY. Tel: 01463 231226
An Comunn don't seem to have their own specific site, but can be reached
through The Mod site:
http://www.the-mod.co.uk/english/contact.htm
The Mods are a series of Gaelic competitions involving singing, poetry,
drama, music etc. Similar to the Eisteddfod in Wales - see
http://www.eisteddfod.org.uk/
The Royal National Mod is held in Mid-October each year during the end of
term break. Forthcoming venues for the National Mod are:
2000 (Dunoon); 2001 (Stornoway); 2002 (not allocated yet);
2003 (Oban - 100th Mod).
The National Mod runs from a Friday to the Saturday morning of
the following week (the competitions end on the final Friday)
See http://www.the-mod.co.uk/
Besides the official Mod programme, there is also a lively Mod fringe.
There are also local Mods. Here's a list of them:
Caithness/Sutherland; Dalriada (Lochgilphead area); Easter Ross;
East Kilbride; Edinburgh; Glasgow; Harris; Inverness; Islay; Kyle;
Lewis; Lochaber; Oban; Mull; Perthshire/Angus; Skye; Stirling; Uist;
Wester Ross. Local Mods generally run over a weekend.
Contact details for the local mods are available off the site at
http://www.the-mod.co.uk/english/provincial.htm
There is also a Mod in Vancouver held on even years.
Calum MacDonald (no connection with the person in Runrig) is the Mod
officer with An Comunn Gaidhealach.
[7.7] How mutually intelligible are Scots and Irish Gaelic?
Irish Gaelic and Scots Gaelic are a bit like Italian and Spanish -
fluency in one goes a long way to understanding the other. I am
learning Scots Gaelic and can read some Irish with a bit of difficulty,
but fluent speakers of Scots Gaelic can more or less understand most
Irish - indeed Irish Gaelic is often broadcast on Scots Gaelic
radio. The people from Islay however have a Gaelic that is almost a
cross so have less trouble than the rest of Scotland. Donegal Irish is
the closest to Scottish Gaelic. The written form of Gaelic is easier to
understand than the spoken form due to being more standard.
[7.8] Gaelic playgroups
Comhairle nan Sgoiltean Araich (CNSA)
53 Sra\id na h-Eaglais (53 Church Street)
Inbhir Nis (Inverness)
IV1 1DR
Tel: 01463 225469
mailto:info@cnsa.scotnet.co.uk
There are about 150 pre-school playgroups throughout Scotland through the
medium of Gaelic and about 50 Gaelic medium primary schools
The organisation for parents who have children being educated through
the medium of Gaelic is "Comann nam Parant", their newsletter can be
obtained at
SANAS - (Gaelic parents' newsletter)
Contact: Aonghas MacNeacaill
The Rock
Carlops
Peebleshire
EH26 9NF
[7.9] Gaelic newspapers
Gaelic newspapers
=================
(Papers with a significant Gaelic content and untranslated articles)
Guth na Ga\idhlig
The subscription desk
Highland News Group
Henderson Road
Inverness
IV1 1SP
Tel: 01463 713700
Stri (magazine of the Scottish branch of the Celtic League)
Carn (magazine of the Celtic league as a whole)
See [2.7] for information on the Celtic League
An Gaidheal Ur (magazine sent to members of An Comunn Gaidhealach).
See [7.5] for contact info for An Comunn
Am paipear beag; (The West Highland Free Press)
See [18.1] for contact details
An t-Albannach (The Scotsman)
Gaelic column on Fridays and alternate Wednesdays. These columns also
appear on the paper's website.
http://www.scotsman.com/
Papers with a Gaelic column
===========================
Scotland
--------
(contact details in [18.1])
The Inverness Courier, The Oban Times, The Press and Journal,
The Scots Independent, The Stornoway Gazette,
Northern Ireland
----------------
La/
Nuachta/n laethu/il nGael
An Chulturlann
216 Falls Road
Be/al Feirste (Belfast)
BT12 6AH
Tel: 01232 239303
Fax: 01232 2393943
Nova Scotia
-----------
Am Braighe
http://www.ambraighe.ca/
mailto:gaeltalk@auracom.com
[7.10] Gaelic Arts
Proiseact nan Ealan / National Gaelic Arts Project
An arts development agency promoting Gaelic music, theatre and
visual arts through initiatives such as exhibitions, publications,
festivals, television programmes, CDs and training courses.
Contact: Malcolm MacLean
Proiseact nan Ealan
10 Iomair Sligeach
Steornabhagh
Eilean Leodhais
Alba
HS1 2EA
mailto:pne@sol.co.uk
http://www.gaelic-arts.com/
(10 Shell Street, Stornoway
Isle of Lewis HS1 2EA )
Proiseact nan Ealan is the organisation to contact about the
excellent "Ceolas" event held in Uist the first week in July.
Tel: 01851 704493/703440
Fax: 01851 704734
Ceolas is a summer school to explore the interconnections between Scottish
traditional music, song and dance. Tutors from Scotland and Cape Breton
offer courses on pipes, fiddle, Gaelic song and dance.
The course is 125 pounds for the week (accommodation extra).
Proiseact nan Ealan also organised an excellent programme of Gaelic
events during the Edinburgh Festival a few years ago.
[7.11] Info on Scots Gaelic accents
Broadly speaking there are three major Gaelic dialects. One includes the
Western Isles (except Lewis), Skye, Glenelg, Moidart and Western
Lochaber "The Central Western Area". The next area lies around this area
and includes Rossshire, Inverness, Badenoch, Fort Augustus, Laggan,
North Argyll and Mull. The third area includes Lewis, Sutherland,
Deeside, Perthshire, Mid-Argyll, Jura, Mull, Islay and Kintyre. There
are of course variations within this, such as Islay's "go robh math
agad", peculiar to there.
In Uist and Barra, deanamh and words ending in mh are pronounced with a
"oo" sound at the end, whereas in many other places it's a "v". Lewis
Gaelic is noticeably different in pronounciation and I know native
Argyll and Sutherland Gaelic speakers who have trouble
understanding Lewis Gaelic (however, the other way around is probably
also true). In Lewis they have their own words, such as "bu\rn" for
drinking water. Elsewhere it is uisge. The variation between Lewis and
Harris Gaelic is very noticable. As has been pointed out, the
Scandanavian influence is very strong and it seems to me as if Lewis
Gaelic speakers speak it with a Scandinavian accent - completely
different to the rest of Scotland. Whilst it's true that Lewis Gaelic
has its own vocabularly, the same is also true of many other areas.
However, there are similarities between Harris and Sutherland Gaelic (but
both different to the rest of the Outer Isles). For instance, they both
pronounce "adhart" as "ugurst" whereas the dh almost drops out in most
other areas. This is despite Harris and Sutherland falling within different
linguistic areas.
For more information on this, see Anthony Dilworth's essay "Central
Western and Peripheral Gaelic". Tony Dilworth was a linguistic
researcher (now retired) with the School of Scottish Studies. For
thorough research on Gaelic and Scots dialects contact the school.
The School is on-line at:
http://www.pearl.arts.ed.ac.uk/SoSS/
mailto:Scottish.Studies@ed.ac.uk
Perthshire Gaelic:
See Cothrom 6, published by the Gaelic Learners Association
P29-33. mailto:cli@cli.org.uk
Sutherland Gaelic
mailto:anceathramh@mail.enterprise.net
(An Ceathramh Gaelic centre in Sutherland)
Wester Ross:
Contact:
Roy Wentworth, 25 Ea\rradal a Deas, Gairloch, Ross-shire IV21 2AU
More info in
Companion to Gaelic Scotland, edited by Derick S. Thomson
[7.12] Commercial Scots Gaelic translation service
http://www.lews.uhi.ac.uk/fosglan/
[7.13] Dog commands in Gaelic
Heel - gu sail (nas fhearr saoilidh mi na 'sail' fhein)/(better than
'sail' by itself)
Sit - suidh!
Stay - fuirich! (fan! mas e Gaidhlig Earraghaidheil a tha sibh ag
iarraidh math dh'fhaoidte; Cha bhitheadh 'stad' freagarrach, agus cha
bhitheadh 'feith' uamhasach nadarra - 'a' feitheamh' = 'waiting')
Come (here) - trobhad!; tiugainn! (Chan urrainn dhuibh 'thig' a radh
leis fhein - feumaidh tu facal eile comhla ris, mar eiseamplar 'thig
an-seo'.)
Fetch - faigh (sin/seo/e)
(Get) down - laigh si\os! (Chan e ordugh a tha san fhacal 'dol' -
dh'fhaodadh sibh 'gabh sios' no 'sios leat' a radh.)
(Be) quiet - bi samhach!
Attack - gabh chuige!; gabh air/oirre etc.! (Chan e ordugh a tha san
fhacal 'ionnsaigh'. Co-dhiu, tha mi 'n dochas nach bi sibh feumach air
an ordugh seo!!)
Stop that - sguir dheth! ('sgurr' = mountain peak)
?Off? - chan eil mi a' tuigsinn carson a chleachdadh duine seo an aite
'down', agus co-dhiu chan e an aon rud a tha ann an 'air falbh' - ach
'having gone', no 'somebody is away somewhere'.
Mu dheireadh, seo facal eile a bhiodh feumail, 's docha - ma tha sibh
a' bruidhinn ri cuilean, canaidh sibh "A Chuilidh" - car coltach ri
'doggy' ann am Beurla. 'S e "A chon" a bhiodh na seann na\baidhean
againn a' chanail nuair a bhiodh iad a' bruidhinn ris a' chu\.
(Tuiseal gairmeach). Tha fhios nach eil e cho cairdeil ri "A chuilidh".
[7.14] Census figures for Gaelic speakers
1991 and 2001 figures
1991 figures
============
These figures were released in October 2002.
The first figure is the number of Gaelic speakers, the second
is the percentage this represents of the total population in the
area.
Borders 460 (0.45%)
Central 1612 (0.61%)
Dumfries & Galloway 515 (0.35%)
Fife 1477 (0.44%)
Grampian 2491 (0.50%)
Highland 14713 (7.39%)
Lothian 4206 (0.59%)
Strathclyde 18283 (0.83%)
Tayside 2479 (0.66%)
Orkney 92 (0.48%)
Shetland 105 (0.47%)
Western Isles 19546 (67.23%)
total 65978 (1.34%)
The numbers for Skye & Lochalsh (part of Highland Region totals) were:
4715 (41.16%)
Only two parishes in Skye had more than 50% Gaelic-speakers: Kilmuir
(73.2%) and Snizort (52.5%)
other areas:
Lochaber (Highland): 1988 (10.52%)
Inverness (Highland): 3476 (5.77%)
Ross & Cromarty (Highland): 2812 (5.82%)
Argyll & Bute (Strathclyde): 4583 (7.23%)
Glasgow City (Strathclyde): 6300 (0.96%)
Dun Eideann (Edinburgh) 3089
Lodainn an Ear (East Lothian) 322
Meadhan Lodainn (Midlothian) 227
Lodainn an Iar (West Lothian) 567
These figures come from the 1991 Census Scotland, Table L67S (Gaelic
Language), by way of an article by Kenneth MacKinnon, "Gaelic and 'the
Other Languages of Scotland' in the 1991 Population Census". The
Gaelic-speaker numbers are specifically labeled "Gaelic Mother-Tongue
speakers", so I don't know if second-language learners were excluded (or
if they were, how).
2001 census
===========
Numbers from the 2001 census were released on 13th Feb 2003. Surprisingly
they took 4 months longer to be released than the figures of 1991.
The number of Gaelic speakers fell by 11% over 10 years to a figure of
58,650. No more details available yet.
[8.1] Learning Gaelic song
See also [8.2], [8.3], [8.4], [8.5]
The Gaelic Learners' Association CLI (Comann an Luchd-ionnsachaidh)
has published "Karaoke Ceilidh" which is likely to be of use to
people interested in singing Gaelic songs. The package, produced
in conjunction with Clydebank College, consists of a book and tape
(ISBN 1 898043 05 1). The tape has six favourite Gaelic songs with
spoken, sung and instrumental versions of each song together with
eight popular puirt a beul. The accompanying book includes all the
lyrics in Gaelic and English together with grammatical notes. The
clear pronounciation of the spoken versions of the songs, is likely
to be of use to anyone seeking accurate pronounciation. The songs
include Fear a' bha\ta, O mo dhu\thaich, An ataireachd a\rd,
Maighdeanan na h-a\iridh (also recorded by Capercaillie), Eilean a'
Cheo\ (also recorded by Cathy Anne MacPhee) and Chi\ mi na
mo\r-bheanna (also recorded by Keltoi). The tape is laid out in such
a way that you can listen to the sung version, then turn the tape
over at that point to listen to the instrumental and spoken versions.
This allows side one of the tape to be listened to as a normal music
cassette if you choose. There are both male and female singers on the
tape. The package has been very successful since its launch in 1994.
Cost is 10 pounds plus 1 pound postage for the UK, 2 for EU, 3 for
elsewhere. More info from CLI at mailto:cli@cli.org.uk
See also http://www.cli.org.uk/
Temple records are an excellent source of material for Gaelic singers.
Artists such as Art Cormack, Christine Primrose, MacTalla,
Flora MacNeill and Eilidh MacKenzie all record for Temple and full
lyrics in Gaelic and English are available for all Temple recordings
by writing to the record company. http://www.templerecords.co.uk/
For more detailed information on traditional Gaelic singing,
http://www.siliconglen.com/culture/gaelicsong.html
A large number of Gaelic songs are online at
http://www.geocities.com/alltandubh/Clar.html
Courses
-------
There are courses in Gaelic song available at Sabhal Mor Ostaig
http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/ during the summer and at Feis Rois in May (in
Dingwall). E-mail Rita Hunter mailto:feis.rois@cali.co.uk
There is also classes in Gaelic song at the Ceolas summer school
held in Uist each July and organised by Proiseact nan Ealan (the
National Gaelic arts Project) Tel: 01851 704493/703440
Fax: 01851 704734. See also [7.10].
In Nova Scotia, contact Rosemary McCormack on
http://www.capebretonet.com/Music/BRHeritage/
There is also sometimes courses at the Edinburgh Folk Festival, held
each Easter. mailto:dfrancis@netreal.co.uk
http://www.edinburghfestivals.co.uk/
There may also be course connected with the School of Scottish Studies
at Edinburgh University. See [12.1] for address and further information.
There is also sometimes short courses in Gaelic song held as part of
Celtic Connections in Glasgow each January.
http://www.grch.com/
Book information
----------------
Get more information on the books listed here
via our books page in association with Amazon.
http://www.siliconglen.com/Scotland/books/amazon.html#[8.1]
[8.2] Waulking songs and information
Article by Craig Cockburn mailto:craig@SiliconGlen.com
This article promoted by "The Smithsonian" in their Sept 98 issue.
Waulking
--------
Waulking is a process for fulling Harris tweed (making it
more airtight). The word 'waulking' is a Scots word from the 14th
century meaning the same as "full" in English. The waulking process
not only fulls the tweed but also shrinks it slightly.
Name origins
------------
The term "waulking" was coined by a non-Gaelic speaker who saw a waulking
done by the feet and modified the word "walking". Waulkings were done
by both hand and foot, but more usually by hand. The Gaelic name for
waulking songs is "Orain Luaidh", luaidh translates to "full". In
Scotland, waulking was done exclusively by women whereas in Cape
Breton both men and women did it - waulking is often seen in Cape
Breton at "milling frolics".
The process of waulking may also have given rise to the surname "Walker".
About 2 miles south-east of Burnley in Lancashire there is a small village
called Walk Mill in the Parish of Cliviger. In the book 'A Pennine Parish,
the History of Cliviger' (Thornber, Titus., 1987 Rieve Edge Press Ltd. )
the author describes the origin of the name of the village thus:
"... along side the river was a Fulling or Walk Mill ... The process
of fulling was a laborious one in which men trampled on the cloth inside
tubs of a mixture of water and fullers earth. Hence the name walk, and the
surname Walker. The earliest record is of a Richard the Fuller who had a
'millpool' in 1270 AD."
There are other cases of fulling referred to as 'walking' in the
medieval history of the Pennine region which may question be the origin
of the term "walking" before it mutated to "waulking". Titus Thornber's
suggestion that the surname Walker is connected with the occupation
is interesting.
Process
-------
When tweed is made, it needs to be fulled to increase its ability to
keep out the wind. Waulking is a process of repeatedly beating the cloth
to full it and prepare it for use. Waulking songs are a musical form
unknown elsewhere in Western Europe and often sound African. They are
very rhythmic and were composed to keep the beat when the cloth was
being waulked. This task was only done by women in Scotland, however
in Nova Scotia where it is known as milling then it is generally a
male task. Often waulking songs were adapted from other songs.
Frequently they tell of local gossip, the material is not usually
"highbrow". The tweed was generally soaked in human urine (it was
someone's job to collect the urine which had been saved in each house).
The women were usually seated around a table and the tweed would be
placed on the table, or perhaps a door which had been taken off its
hinges. There might be one woman at each end and maybe about 4-5 down
each side. One person would sing out the verse and then everyone would
join in the chorus. The verses and choruses (sometimes there are up to
4 choruses) are very short, sometimes only a few syllables. The chorus is
what is used to classify waulking songs I think - nearly always the chorus
is vocables. These are words with no specific meaning, although they have
been carefully chosen to fit the rhythm of the tune. I only know of one which
has real words - Deannain sugradh ris a nighean dubh (on the Poozies first
album). There are a few waulking songs in the book "Folksongs and folklore
of South Uist" (Margaret Fay Shaw, Aberdeen University Press
ISBN 0 08 032471 1) and particularly Hebridean Folksongs (Campbell &
Collinson 3 volumes).
During the waulking, the cloth would be pulled towards you,
then passed slightly to your left before pushing it back. This way, the
cloth turned round the table in a clockwise manner as it was being waulked.
The Gaels are superstitious and believe anti-clockwise to be unlucky. It
was important to turn the cloth to ensure the cloth was evenly processed.
Waulking as a process is now no longer necessary, machines do it now.
However, there are societies which preserve the waulking tradition for
historical/tourist reasons. I think waulking died out in the 1950s.
One of the oldest Gaelic songs in existence (perhaps 13th C?) is "Seathan",
a waulking song which appears in Carmina Gadelica (an amazing source
of folklore). Seathan (he was the son of the King of Ireland) is several
pages long and would easily take over an hour to sing. The waulking process
could last about 2-3 hours and there would likely be a ceilidh afterwards
(I hoped they washed their hands first!), with the men being invited back in.
I think it was usual to start with slower songs and then to speed up
towards the end - the speed of waulking songs varies a lot.
"Seathan" and "Gur h-e mo ghille dubh donn" are quite slow whereas "He mo
leannan" is usually sung a bit faster and "Tha Mulad", "He Mandu" etc are
faster still. One of the fastest is "Beann a' Cheathaich" which has been
recorded by Christine Primrose and in 1995 The Poozies recorded it on
"Danceoozies". It was adapted by Marjory Kennedy Fraser and became
"Kishmul's Galley".
Recordings
----------
Today, many bands/singers eg Capercaillie, Sileas, Poozies, Mary Jane
Lamond, Runrig, Christine Primrose, Cathy Anne MacPhee, Flora MacNeill,
Eilidh MacKenzie, etc sing waulking songs - they are proving very
popular and the strong rhythms make them quite transportable to
so-called mainstream culture (mainstream in whose definition?). It was
a waulking song sung by Capercaillie "Coisich a ruin" (also sometimes
known as "Fluich an oidhche") which became the first ever Scots Gaelic
tune to enter the UK top 40 (in 1991?). I believe this song is about 400
years old. There are three variations of this song that I know of.
There are many individuals and groups who have recorded a waulking song
or two on an album of Gaelic music, but there are four albums of
exclusively waulking songs which may be of interest:
1) Orain Luaidh - Waulking songs
Published 1986 by the Harris Tweed Association (sorry no address)
This is an excellent tape and has a 29 page A5 book with it which has
lyrics for every song, a translation and some notes. There is a 5 page
introduction which gives more information and additional reference material.
Most of the contributions are from the Western Isles although one is
from Cape Breton
2) and 3) both published by Greentrax records
Cockenzie Business Centre, Edinburgh Road, Cockenzie, East Lothian EH32 0HL
Tel: 01875 814155 Fax 01875 813345 mailto:greentrax@aol.com
http://www.greentrax.com/
2) Waulking songs from Barra
This is published in the excellent "Scottish tradition" series which is
essential for anyone really interested in authentic Scottish
traditional music, particularly from an academic standpoint. This
series is produced with the School of Scottish Studies, part of
Edinburgh University and the world's foremost authority on Scottish
ethnology. All the recordings (which cover both Highland, Lowland and
Shetland traditions) have extensive books and notes to accompany them.
The cassettes are not general mass market music and the song ones are
all unaccompanied. They are however outstanding and in particular
William Matheson's Gaelic Bards and Minstrels is incredible. I don't
have the waulking tape in this series but I do have 3 others and they
are both excellent!
3) Bannal - Waulking songs. Bannal is a group comprising many well known
singers, they are:
Kenna Campbell, Catherine Fletcher, Christine Grant, Wilma Kennedy,
Mairi MacArthur, Chrissie MacInnes, Maeve MacKinnon, Mary C MacLean and
Chrissie Martin
4) The South Harris waulking group has a tape "Waulking songs from
Harris". This is available from Lewis Recordings, 1 Millburn Road, Inverness
The tape comprises 18 distinct songs of between 1 and 3 mins each and is
all unaccompanied with all the women except Chrissie MacInnes having a turn
at solo. Most of the women are known soloists in their own right.
The tape is excellent entertainment value for listening to in the car
but is spoiled considerably by not having any notes on the individual
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