Portuguese Kilts (Tras-Os-Montes)

[jp16103]

Hello, this is my first post on this forum so I apologize if this is in the wrong section.

I was researching kilts on Wikipedia and I saw this:
"Although not a traditional component of national dress outside Scotland, kilts have become recently popular in the other Celtic nations as a sign of Celtic identity.^[13] Kilts and tartans can therefore also be seen in Ireland, Wales, Cornwall, the Isle of Man, Brittany, Galicia in Spain, the Trás-os-Montes region in the North of Portugal, and Normandy, as well as parts of England, particularly the North East."

I found out recently that my family on my paternal grandmother's side is from the Tras-os-Montes region of Portugal, so after reading this I decided to do some research online about the topic. The problem is, I can't find anything on "kilts from Tras-os-Montes region" so I came here. Hopefully someone on this forum can answer my questions:

1. Is the Wikipedia article accurate? Are there really kilts from the Tras os Montes region of Portugal?
2. What do the kilts look like?
3. Could you post a picture of one?
4. Do Portuguese kilts have a tradition of a family tartan? (Sorry if my terminology wrong.)
5. How could I find my family tartan?

Thanks for any help, if I come up with any more questions I'll post them. If this is not the right website to ask these questions I apologize.

[Father Bill]

No answer (others will, I'm sure) but welcome to the "Great Rabble!"

[ASinclair]

Hello, jp16103!



I don't have the answer to your questions, but I'm sure others will. You are definitely in the right place.

[Cygnus]

Being able to speak Portuguese helps in this search:



Not really a tartan kilt, but still striking.

I found these images through a Google search that led me to a "Kilt Galaico" group for Portuguese and Spanish speakers.

And welcome to X-Marks!

[Hawk]

I'm sorry but they don't look like kilts to me.........

Hawk

[tripleblessed]

This comes up occasionally, with varying results. As always, one wears kilts for one's own reasons, and must decide
whether to follow one's own heart, or arbitrary rules set out by experts, or this is how it's done, or, Scots were pretty
independent folk who pretty much dressed themselves to suit themselves. Not attempting to start anything, being realistic. Some people who have roots in Galicia have strong affinity for what they believe their culture was and is, and choose to wear kilts. There was undoubtedly tartan in Galicia, I don't personally know about kilts. Some believe they were worn until falling out of favor, and disappearing; they wish to revive them. I have no dog in this hunt. I offer a couple of links, and some thoughts.

http://www.tartan.galician.org/kilts.htm http://balagan.info/british-orders-o...peninsular-war

Lt. Gen. Sir Arthur Wellesley's service in the Peninsula War resulted in his being named Viscount, and becoming a hero
to many Portuguese and Spanish folk. Some wear the Wellington tartan in his memory, and in gratitude for his service to their nation, and his contribution to their independence from Napoleon. The second link lists British forces involved. Some might choose the tartan of one of the regiments in gratitude. Opinions vary on the correctness of this choice. I'll leave that to others, many of whom would say I have no right to tartan myself. I will make the assumption that once one ceases to be dressed by one's mother, it's up to the individual. Just know opinions vary widely.

I failed to address questions directly. The first linked website addresses the first questions. Galician culture overlapped the present
national borders, so parts of northern Portugal have a feeling of affinity there. It would appear there is SOME history of kilts there.
How much is above my pay grade. Probably not a family tartan situation. As a guess. For choice of tartan, see above paragraph,
or choose one of your liking, or a district tartan with personal connection. ENJOY!!!

[cessna152towser]

Not kilts as the Scots understand them with overlapping aprons and pleats along the back, but a different interpretation of the kilt concept, and they do, like the Scots, wear knee high socks.
I've been to Portugal a few times and I have only ever seen these "white kilts" worn as costume by groups of folk dancers who come to the hotels in the evenings to entertain holidaymakers. Not something you could expect to see out and about in the streets of Portugal during the day.
And by the way, from the Scottish Borders.

[Jock Scot]

Well, I have learned something today! I had no idea about this and I hope that the Portuguese have less trouble in keeping their traditional attire from unhelpful adaptations than the Scots do!

[Cygnus]

So, I've been able to do a bit more research. The men in the above photos are known as pauliteiros (stick men), and are largely confined to Miranda do Douro in the Trás-os-Montes region. While the clothing is said to closely resemble the garb of the area's past warriors, it is now worn almost exclusively by those performing traditional dances which incorporate wooden sticks that are beaten together in complex rhythmic patterns to add visual appeal as well as a percussive element to the music and dance. The dances and elements of the traditional garb are almost certainly carry-overs from early Celtic times.

The patterns of the "shawls" (that's the direct translation for what they call the colorful cloth hanging down their fronts and the sides of their kilts) don't appear to have any sort of significance and are selected based solely on their visual appeal to the wearer.

I have been unable, thus far, to find anything related to tartan kilts in the region (aside from the very ancient use and recent adoption of the Galicia National tartan already posted by tripleblessed), but I will continue to search.

[Liam]

Well, I have learned something today! I had no idea about this and I hope that the Portuguese have less trouble in keeping their traditional attire from unhelpful adaptations than the Scots do!

Could be because they appear to have kept it only as an historical costume, not a modern piece of clothing that continues to evolve with other fashion trends.