THCD, Not THCD

[Liam]

Indeed it can, Liam. Take for example the eagle feather used to symbolize rank with Traditional Highland Civilian Dress. There is no evidence of this existing prior to contact with the North American aboriginals. That said, something only becomes Traditional Highland Civilian Dress when Highland Civilians adopt it. I don't know why this concept bothers you or why you've chosen to raise it continually with me. I wasn't the first on this forum to articulate it nor is it a controversial claim. It is a simple descriptive fact. If something is really popular to wear with a kilt in, say, South Africa but is rarely seen or perhaps maligned as a poor choice in the Highlands of Scotland, what claim would it have to be traditional Highland civilian dress? I'm merely repeating the notion that in order for something to be considered the traditional dress of a people it has to be adopted and accepted by that people.

I'm a diaspora Highland Scot and I am very connected to the culture of my home island of Cape Breton. Notwithstanding the fact that the dominant culture on the Island is diaspora Highland Gaels, if we do something that diverges from Scotland, it becomes our traditional culture, not theirs.

N

This will continue to be a subject, that I doubt we will come to mutual agreement. Highland dress, like Western dress is practiced in many parts of the world. Civilian Highland dress whether traditional or historical was exported to the world with the exportation of the Highlanders along with other aspects of their culture. Highland traditions are practiced all over the world where ever the diaspora as you like to use find themselves. My position is that these traditions belong to the disporia and current Highlanders collectively not just to the current residents of the Scottish Highlands. THCD is a concept only at Xmarks, practiced by Xmarkers, and not a tradition of those who wear Highland dress in the Highlands of Scotland, or indeed anywhere else in the world, unless they are Xmarkers.