Wearing the kilt in Scotland

[Calgacus]

One should be very circumspect about reading any meaning at all into Scottish comedy songs. Even some apparent folk songs are not what they appear. I can't remember the title of the song now, but there's a song which waxes lyrical about the blue mountains of Benbecula, or some such similarly flat island.

I'm hoping some of the historians can chime in here, as it would be interesting to know if there were any differences in the custom of kilt wearing on the islands as opposed to the mainland highlands. The islands had a significant Norse influence which could conceivably have affected the garments worn locally, but Magnus Barefoot was famously named for his adoption of the dress of the native Scottish islanders who he raided. At that time the mode of dress was presumably leine & brat. One of the early travellers to the islands in the mid to late 18th century (I can't remember if it was Martin Martin or Boswell & Johnston) mentioned that kilts were not to be seen on Skye, and they speculated as to whether they had ever been worn there.

Whatever the truth of any of that, I suspect Jock's aversion to wearing a kilt in the Hebrides is possibly more to do with an aversion to looking like a tourist, though I don't want to put words in his mouth and I'm sure he will explain his reasons if he so wishes to do so.

[Jock Scot]

At the time I just thought that the kilt was just not appropriate for what we were about to do. Ferries with steep steps, wind, local knowledge etc.. At the time "the looking like a tourist" aspect had not entered into my thinking.

[CeilidhDoc]

Thanks for the input. I'm afraid I have given you another opportunity to shake your head at Americans doing it wrong. Haha.

I am curious about the Scots convention for pronunciation of highland vs highlanders though.

And the real lyrics to the first line I (incorrectly) quoted are far more satisfying than what I thought was being sung.

Your points are well taken Calgacus. I don't mean to derail the thread with a dissection of adoption of highland dress in the Hebrides but I agree it would make for some interesting discussion.

Slàinte!

[Calgacus]

To my ears it sounds like 'islanders' too, and it would make sense as he apparently originates from the Isle of Skye, in the song. But either way I think it makes little difference, it's a comedy song written by a Glaswegian, so I'd put no weight whatsoever on its lyrical content.

There's no convention as such over the pronunciation of 'highland' or 'highlanders'. Both words are pronounced in one of two ways, the 'highland(ers)' variety being the standard English pronunciation, and the 'heiland(ers)' variety being the Scots pronunciation. The English pronunciation is probably the most common.

Yes, you are quite right, I think a discussion of historical dress in the highlands vs islands would make an interesting thread in its own right.

[Jock Scot]

I can tell you one young man's thoughts on kilts in the Hebrides. Whether that was a minority opinion I cannot say, but I suspect it might be a common thought and does fit in with personal experience there, over many years. As to the historical facts I am not sure, but I certainly get the impression that the kilt was not commonly worn there.

We were having a superb dinner on South Uist, when Mrs Jock asked our young waiter, a local, why he was not wearing the kilt-----he was wearing a pair of very well cut trews--- the reply was instantanious, "no one wears the kilt over here, not even for weddings."I have to say that in all honesty I was not surprised.

It was very noticable that tartan was not standard hotel decor, nor was there any local style music,--- no pipes, no fiddles, no accordian, no local style songs------- playing in any establishment that we visited. It made a refreshing change from the mainland and we did wonder if the locals were making a concerted effort to be different?

[CeilidhDoc]

I can tell you one young man's thoughts on kilts in the Hebrides. Whether that was a minority opinion I cannot say, but I suspect it might be a common thought and does fit in with personal experience there, over many years. As to the historical facts I am not sure, but I certainly get the impression that the kilt was not commonly worn there.

We were having a superb dinner on South Uist, when Mrs Jock asked our young waiter, a local, why he was not wearing the kilt-----he was wearing a pair of very well cut trews--- the reply was instantanious, "no one wears the kilt over here, not even for weddings."I have to say that in all honesty I was not surprised.

It was very noticable that tartan was not standard hotel decor, nor was there any local style music,--- no pipes, no fiddles, no accordian, no local style songs------- playing in any establishment that we visited. It made a refreshing change from the mainland and we did wonder if the locals were making a concerted effort to be different?

This strikes me as surprising again, because arguably one of the most famous celtic musicians internationally is Julie Fowlis, and she hails from North Uist. She often speaks about how strong the culture was and how she was surrounded by traditional music growing up, as she does in this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qczDug2BNRo


But again, I don't live there so I get all this secondhand. Skye is the only part of the Hebrides I have visited myself. Some day I shall have to remedy that.

Slàinte

[Nathan]

This strikes me as surprising again, because arguably one of the most famous celtic musicians internationally is Julie Fowlis, and she hails from North Uist. She often speaks about how strong the culture was and how she was surrounded by traditional music growing up, as she does in this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qczDug2BNRo


But again, I don't live there so I get all this secondhand. Skye is the only part of the Hebrides I have visited myself. Some day I shall have to remedy that.

Slàinte

Julie Fowlis did grow up in a traditional culture in North Uist surrounded by music, but the kilt isn't at the centre of that traditional culture. The culture of the Hebrides that Julie describes is much like the one I grew up with in Cape Breton. First of all, the people were poor and life was very hard. I can tell you that while there is respect for the kilt, it is living the culture that is far more important than dressing the part.

If you like Julie Fowlis, you'll probably enjoy Mary Jane Lamond. She's from Cape Breton and has worked with Julie in the past. Here's a nice introductory playlist.

http://youtu.be/24_W4lkc5xA?list=PLr...ZCIP8-WGpYi7vW

[tpa]

I can tell you one young man's thoughts on kilts in the Hebrides.

We were having a superb dinner on South Uist, when Mrs Jock asked our young waiter, a local, why he was not wearing the kilt-----he was wearing a pair of very well cut trews--- the reply was instantanious, "no one wears the kilt over here, not even for weddings.

I have never been to the Outer Hebrides, but if they are anything like Shetland then I'm not surprised no one wears kilts. In Shetland there are hardly any trees, the wind is too strong. In Skye the midges are too strong. Hopefully I be able to manage a Hebridean visit in the not too distant future, then just as at home, I'll probably be the only one in a kilt.

[Nathan]

I correspond with some Hebridean friends online who wear the kilt occasionally.

[TheOfficialBren]

@ Ceilidh Doc

Regarding the comedic song's content: think Weird Al Yancovic...but Scottish.

Regarding the accent: think country music. Some (most, in my experience) of those singers exaggerate the accent in order to suit the genre and even play to the audience.

Regarding the islander/highlander lyric that was a different era in audio recording history. Simple mistakes were sometimes glossed over and left in because fixing them involved re-recording a passage in an era when re-recording was very expensive--you either got it right or lived with the mistakes on tape. I think it's simply a mistake on the singer's part. No biggie.

:-)