Stòrasa’Bhaile Naidheachda’ Chlachain · AnRubha AmFoghar/Autumn2009 5...

AnRubhaThe Highland Village Gaelic Folklife Magazine

www.highlandvillage.ca Vol. 11 No. 2: Am Foghar /Autumn 2009

The Village News

Celebrating 50 Years1959-2009

Stòras a’ Bhaile

Naidheachd a’Chlachain

The Knight ofthe Ring

Dè do naidheachd? What’s new?...in our Gift Shop ��

The Malagawatch Mice:And the Cat who DiscoveredAmerica - Caroline Stellings

$14.95 each

“Good Boy M.A.!” Traditional Cape Breton FiddleMusic by Michael Anthony MacLean - 2 CD set with

36 page booklet containing tributes, photos and back-ground and historical notes on over 125 of Michael’s old-

time traditional tunes. $20.00 each

More Great Books!History titles: Grant’s Highland Folk Ways, John Lorne Campbell’s A Very Civil People, and others . . .Arts & Culture titles: Effie Rankin’s As a’ Bhràighe, John Shaw’s The Blue Mountains and other GaelicStories from Cape Breton, Sìols reprint and CD - An T-Òranaiche, and more . . .Genealogy titles: All Call Iona Home, Mabou Pioneers, A West Wind to East Bay, To the Hill of Boisdale,“Eoghan Dubh” (Hugh & Mary MacEachen, Mabou), Cuir is Buan (Glendale), and more . . .Fiction: A Forest for Calum by Frank Macdonald, Butterflies Dance in the Dark by Beatrice MacNeil, & others!

Gift Shop /Taigh nan Annasan

Yes! We ship what we sell!Phone us at 902.725.2272Email us at [email protected]

“Taste of Gaelic”Music CD from Dawn & Margie Beaton

$19.95

Guthan Prìseil/Precious VoicesVoices and Songs of the CB Gael

Anne Landin$22.95 each

Nova Scotia’s Lost Highways:The Early Roads that Shaped the

Province - Joan Dawson$18.95 each

AnRubhaAll contents © 2009, the Nova ScotiaHighland Village Society & the Province ofNova Scotia (unless otherwise noted).

AnRubha (The Point) is published in Iona,Nova Scotia, Canada twice each year byComunn Clachan Gàidhealach na h-AlbannNuaidh/Nova Scotia Highland Village Society.Comments, suggestions and contributionsare welcome.

Contact:4119 Rathad/Highway 223Sanndraigh/IonaAlba Nuadh/Nova ScotiaB2C 1A3 - CanadaGuthan/Phone: 902.725.2272Toll Free: 1-866-4GAELICFacs/Fax: 902.725.2227E: [email protected]: www.highlandvillage.cawww.anrubha.ca

Editorial Committee: Rodney Chaisson,Marlene Ivey, Pauline MacLean, KatherineMacLeod & Seumas Watson

Contributors: Rodney Chaisson, Dr. GiuliaDe Gasperi, Marlene Ivey, CarmenMacArthur, JohnMacLean, PaulineMacLean,Katherine MacLeod, Maxie MacNeil, TomPacek, Vicki Quimby, Ellison Robertson, Dr.John Shaw, Jim St.Clair, Dr. Seósamh Watson,Seumas Watson

Layout: Rodney Chaisson

Printing: City Printers Ltd, Sydney

Front cover photo: Highland Village animatorAileen MacLean (Aileen n’in Aileig Eòin NìllEachainn) playing the pipes next to Cash’sCarding Mill.

Also, on the front is the image for Gaelic NovaScotia. The image is that of a salmon in the shapeof the letter 'G'. The salmon represents the gift ofknowledge in the Gaelic storytelling traditions ofNova Scotia, Scotland and Ireland and the Isle ofMan. The 'G' represents the Gaelic language andthe ripples are the manifestations of the languagethrough its attendant culture: song, story, music,dance and custom and belief system.

ISSN # 1914-6043

Mailed under Canada Post Canadian Publi-cations Mail Product Sales Agreement#41257540

Inside This IssueFrom the Director’s Desk 4Celebrating 50 Years at Hector’s Point - Rodney Chaisson

Mar Is Léir Dhomh Fhìn / My Own Viewpoint 5A Strategy for Community Engagement & Contemporary Visitor Experiences - Marlene Ivey

Mar Chuimhneachan/In Memory 6Mairead NicGhilleathain/Margaret MacLean - Seumas Watson

Fo na Cabair / Under the Rafters 7An Taigh Dubh/The Blackhouse - Pauline MacLean & Katherine MacLeod

Ridire an Fhainne/The Knight of the Ring 8Collected from Flora MacLellan - John Shaw

Naidheachd a’Chlachain / The Village News 10The Interpretive Season of 2009 at Big Hector’s Point

A’ Tighinn Beò air Tìr/ Making a Living 12Archie Dan MacLellan at Work in the Woods and Mines of Cape Breton - Sèosamh Watson

Excerpt from “Mac-Talla” 14Deòrsa Taillear ‘S Na Teachdairean/George Taylor and the Envoys

An Rubha Photo Album 16Stòras a’ Bhaile 2009

Ag Éirigh Air Òrain/An Rubha Song Selection 18Cumha do Dhòmhnaill MacFhionghain recorded fromMaxie MacNeil

An Gàidheal Portmhor 19“Hò Rò Ghoid Thu `n Nighean” - “Jenny Dang the Weaver”

Anns a’ Ghleann `s a Robh Mi Òg/In the Glen Where I was Young 20Iain Ruairidh Mhicheil Steaphain Ruairidh `ic Dhòmhnaill Òig - Seamas Watson

Poleasaidh Gàidhlig a’ Clachan Gàidhealach 21The Highland Village’s new Gaelic Policy

Dualchas nan Canach/Canna Heritage in Cape Breton 22Cultural & Social Contributions of Canna Emigration to Cape Breton - Dr. Giulia De Gasperi

Dèante le làimh / Handmade 26Gaels and the Knitting Tradition - Vicki Quimby

Obair an Taighe - Featured Artifact 27An Criathair - The Riddle

An Rubha Reviews 28Anne Landin’s“Guthan Prìseal/Precious Voices” - Seumas WatsonBonnie Thornhill’s “An Rathad gu Baile nan Gall/The Road to Englishtown” - Jim. St.Clair

Our People - Acknowledgements & Accolades 30

The Nova Scotia Highland Village Societywas incorporated on November 3, 1959,

setting in place the foundation for the dreamof a living heritage village for Scottish Gaelicculture in Nova Scotia, a concept which hadbeen originally proposed in 1938 by thenPremier Angus L. Macdonald after visitingthe British Empire Exhibition in Glasgow,Scotland. With the onset of World War II theproject was shelved until the mid 1950swhen theNSAssociation of Scottish Societiesbegan promoting it once again.

Communities throughout Nova Scotiaexpressed interest in having the proposedHighland Village in their area. The GrandNarrows & District Board of Trade was oneof those groups. In October of 1955, HughF.MacKenzie and Rev. Dr.A.D.MacKinnonpresented the case (entirely in Gaelic) forthe Iona area to the Association’s site selec-tion committee. After considerable debate,as well as lobbying from Pictou County, inMarch of 1956, the Iona area was chosen.

The original proponents of theHighland Village in Iona became the driv-ing force for its establishment and growth.Later that year, the site was secured. In1962, the first Highland Village DayConcert was held to raise money to helpconstruct the Village. By the 1970s, as aresult of their hard work and tenacity, theVillage began to take shape. By the 1980smost of the Highland Village site was inplace. None of these achievements couldhave taken place without the commitmentand support of the community and itsmany dedicated volunteers and support-ers.

In 2000, recognising the importance ofthe Gaelic story in Nova Scotia and the

vision of the Village to interpret and cele-brate that story, the Highland Villagebecame a part of the Nova Scotia Museum.Gaelic language and culture in Nova Scotiawas now part of the Provincial heritageinfrastructure, which would continue to beoperated by its founding Society.

In early November, the Nova ScotiaHighland Village Society marked its 50thanniversary as a community-based organi-sation founded “to protect, interpret andfurther the collection of buildings and arti-facts at the Nova Scotia Highland Villagesite in Iona; and to preserve and promotethe Scottish Highland and Island culture asfound in Nova Scotia.” Today, as a provin-cial museum site, the Society has becomeregionally and internationally recognisedfor its interpretation and promotion ofGaelic language and folklife in Nova Scotiathrough the Highland Village Museum, aswell as community outreach.

The 50th anniversary of incorporationwasmarkedwith a special live broadcast ofCBC Cape Breton’s Mainstreet withWendyBergfeldt on November 3rd, 2009. The pro-gram reflected on the history of the Societyand the role it has played in the lives ofCape Bretoners as well as its contributionsto cultural development.

In the months ahead, we will continueto celebrate what we have achieved overthe past five decades. The next issue of AnRubha will focus on this milestone and ourachievements. It will feature details on ouryear long program tomark our 50th year asa Gaelic heritage organisation.

In the meantime, stay in touch throughour website or our Facebook page (searchHighland Village Museum). �

The Nova Scotia Highland Village Society(Comunn Clachan Gàidhealach na h-AlbannNuaidh) was incorporated on November 3,1959 under the Societies Act of Nova Scotia.Its purpose was to construct and operate anoutdoor folk museum dedicated to theScottish Gaelic culture in Nova Scotia.

The vision of the Highland VillageMuseum/An Clachan Gàidhealach is to beinternationally acknowledged for advancingresearch, fostering appreciation, learningand sharing authentic Gaelic language andheritage while serving a vibrant Gaelic cul-tural community.The mission of the Highland VillageMuseum/An Clachan Gàidhealach, a livinghistory museum, is to research, collect, pre-serve and share the Gaelic heritage and cul-ture of Nova Scotia and represent it accurate-ly and vibrantly.The Highland Village Museum/An ClachanGàidhealach is a part of the Nova ScotiaMuseum Family of Provincial Museums,Department of Tourism, Culture & Heritage.The Nova Scotia Highland Village Societyoperates the site on behalf of the Province.

The Society is a member of National Trust ofScotland, CLI Gàidhlig, Gaelic Society ofInverness (Scotland), Association of NovaScotia Museums (ANSM), CanadianMuseums Assoc. (CMA), Iona ConnectionHeritage Co-op, Council of NS Archives(CNSA), Genealogical Assoc. of NS (GANS),Cape Breton Genealogy & Heritage Society,Interpretation Canada, Costume Society ofNS, Assoc. of Living Historical Farms andAgricultural Museums (ALHFAM), AmericanAssoc. for State & Local History (AASLH),Tourism Industry Assoc of NS (TIANS),Baddeck & Area Business Tourism Assoc.(BABTA), Destination Cape Breton Assoc.,Sydney & Area Chamber of Commerce, andthe Strait Area Chamber of Commerce.

4 Am Foghar/Autumn 2009 AnRubha

From the Director’s DeskCELEBRATING 50 YEARS ATHECTOR’S POINT

__________________________

Nova ScotiaHighland VillageSociety

Rodney Chaisson, Director

Highland Village 40th Anniversary on CBC Mainstreet. Host Wendy Bergfeldtwatches as Evan Bonaparte leads in Gaelic song at the Milling Table.

Photo

byRo

dney

Chais

son

AnRubha Am Foghar/Autumn 2009 5

As a publicly supported Nova Scotialiving history museum and folk life

centre, the Highland Village is mandatedto interpret, represent and uphold NovaScotia Gaels’ history, language, culture,customs andmodern heritage community.At present, Gaelic language students incommunity-based classes have grown to asignificant number over a geographic areaextending from Cape Breton to metroHalifax.While sessions and classes are rel-atively common, there are few opportuni-ties for people to gather with the singlepurpose of unstructured socializing inimmersion settings that encompass every-day type activities that include Gaelic artexpressions (song-making, storytellingacross genres, music, dance and sub-domains, e.g., comedic take off) tradition-ally enjoyed at home. Through Gaelic lan-guage social programming the HighlandVillage aims to create frameworks forspeaking Gaelic in settings that encourageits natural flow leading to enhanced con-versant ability for those engaged in Gaeliclearning and providing occasions for pur-poseful use by native speakers. This com-munity-based initiative is essentially along-term strategy for human and culturalresource renewal of Gaelic language inNova Scotia. Cultural recovery, language-community capacity building, culturalautonomy and community immersion arethe intended outcomes.

By immersing learners in Gaelic NovaScotia, he (Seumas Watson) says ‘theirGaelic will be infused with colour, cul-ture and humour, which leavens thelearning environment and grounds thelearner in a people and place. It also bet-ter equips them to speak to native speak-ers, whether they live in Nova Scotia orScotland’ (Lasag Spring 2009 p. 8).

As a result of sustaining Gaelic lan-guage and heritage the Highland Villageacts to underpin, authenticate and accruevalue for the cultural identity of the peo-ple of Nova Scotia. Investing in andtransmitting the cultural identity of theNova Scotia Gaels is the HighlandVillage’s core business. Strategic plan-ning, a comprehensive plan of action, isessentially a tool kit that can be used toensure that the organisation is empow-ered to deliver its core business, addressits mission, uphold its values and keepwell on the path to meet its vision.

At the Highland Village our strategicplan has us all working together - Board

of Trustees, staff, representatives fromthe local farming community, opin-ion/community leaders, youth, visitors,peers, and expertise from external organ-isations, for example, the Department ofAgriculture. We are reflecting deeply onall of our organisational scenarios, mak-ing a mindful assessment of the organi-sation’s needs, wants, capacity and capa-bility. By cross referencing the actionplan priorities of our five main strategicdirections – programming and productdevelopment, human resources, mainte-nance and infrastructure, marketing andfinance – with Nova Scotia’s HeritageStrategy 2008-2013 and the Nova Scotia

Mar is léir dhomh fhìnA STRATEGY FOR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT& CONTEMPORARY VISITOR EXPERIENCES

Interpretive Master Plan 2009, we guar-antee that we are planning in concertwith our Nova Scotia Museum family.

Our strategic plan is coloured by sig-nificant milestones in the organisation’shistory – for example the June 2000Proclamation between the Nova ScotiaGovernment and the Nova ScotiaHighland Village Society - and signifi-cant institutional documents. Mostrecently these include our Gaelic Policy(see page 21) as well as the first publica-tion in the Highland Village InterpretiveResearch series, The Gael in 16th to 19thCentury Scotland (see page 7). The formerwill act to define, advocate and reinforceour commitment to Gaelic language andculture on the site, in Nova Scotia and innational and international communities.The latter signifies our research ledapproach to site development – an indi-cation that we have started as we meanto go on.

One of our priorities is to communi-cate a visceral and authentic representa-tion of the Scottish Gaels, and their Nova

Guest Column by Marlene Ivey, Coordinator of Strategic Initiatives

�...Investing in and transmitting thecultural identity of the Nova ScotiaGaels is the Highland Village’s core

business. Strategic planning, acomprehensive plan of action, is

essentially a tool kit that can be used toensure that the organisation is

empowered to deliver its core business...�

Scotia descendents, by focusing on theintangible aspects of the Gael’s relation-ship with the land - substantially howthey lived and worked to sustain them-selves. By witnessing the lives of theGaels in relationship to their land andthrough related experiential opportuni-ties, visitors will achieve an enhancedunderstanding of the Gaelic experiencein Nova Scotia. The socio-linguistic cul-ture of the agricultural Gaels was dra-matically different from that of our con-temporary consumer society. So, inrelaying the physical agricultural story ofthe Gaels, visitors are given access totheir heritage through encounters with afarming environment from pioneer timesto early 20th century. Throughout NovaScotia Highland Village Museum’sstrategic planning process, assessmentshave indicated that revitalisation of thefarm area is a critical touch point forengendering heritage and communitycooperation.

Design and delivery of contemporarymuseum experience is centred onmoments of engagement with visitorsand the ideas, emotions and memoriesthat those moments create. By enhancingand developing interpretive content andnew methods of delivery, we willimprove our ability to instil a higherawareness in our visitors, communicate amore meaningful story of Nova ScotiaGaelic language and culture, becomeskilled in responding to challenges in themarketplace, encourage repeat atten-dance and increase our potential toattract new audiences. �

Mar is léir dhomh fhin (My Own Viewpoint)is a regular feature. Marlene Ivey,Coordinator of Strategic Initiatives, specialis-es in design and planning. After 23 years inScotland she returned to her native CapeBreton.


in 1929. They raised a family offive. Margaret spent her life inthe area of Boisdale and BigBeach, districts settled primarilyfrom the islands of South Uistand Barra. Margaret passed awayon December 31, 2008.

Her extensive repertoire ofsongs, both traditional and local-ly composed, was acquired there.In particular, she recalled withgreat clarity the influencesbrought to her singing by hergrand mother Mary MacKinnon(Màiri Dhòmhnaill Nìll), grandfa-ther Donald MacDonald (DòmhnallDòmhnallach) and two uncles JohnMacDonald (Johnny Iain Dòmhnallaich) andMichael MacDonald (Mìcheal IainDòmhnallaich).

Margaret was humble about her excel-lent Gaelic and remarkable memory forsongs. She was proud of her Barra ancestry.Visited by Gaelic scholars from Scotlandand Ireland, her contribution to the CapeBreton Gaelic Folklore collection, housed atSt. Francis Xavier University, was in thevicinity of ninety songs. The following is ahumorous composition reportedly madeby a Donald Gillis of Rear Beaver Cove. Itwas recorded by Jim Watson and EllisonRobertson in 1986 at Margaret’s kitchen inBoisdale. She was assisted on chorus by herdaughter, Sadie, and Father AllanMacMillan, currently at St. Andrew’sParish, Judique, Inverness County.

SW: Cà ‘n do dh’ionnsaich sibh ur cuidòran? Where did you learn your songs?

MN: Dh’ionnsaich mise na h-òrain o mosheanmhair (Màiri Dhòmhnaill Nìll.) Agusbha dà uncle agam, dà bhràthair màthar, abha glé mhath air òrain. Bha na h-òrain aca`s thog mi poidhle dhiubh siod cuideachd.I learned the songs from my grandmother(Mary MacKinnon.) I also had two uncles whowere very good on the songs. They had songsand I got a lot of them there as well.

(Am Fonn)Guramise tha fomhulad on sguir mi dhe `n òlCha n-òlmi deur tuilleadh fhads a bhiosmi beòGuramise tha fomhulad on sguir mi dhe `n òl

(Chorus: I’m disheartened having quit thedrink. I won’t touch another drop as long as Ilive. I’m disheartened having quit the drink.)

1. Tha sagart na cléireadhCuir soighneadh an céill dhuinnCha bhi mi `ga bhléimeadhB’e sin fhéin a’ chòir

(A priest of the clergy has made us sign thepledge. I won’t blame him, since it was his rightto do so.)

2. Gura h-e Maighstir FionnlaghA dh’fhàg mise tùrsachNuair a thuirt e rium-sa“Tionndaich ris a’ Hall

(Father Finlay is the one who left me melan-choly when he commanded, “Turn to the(Temperance) Hall.”

3. Gura mis’ a tha tùrsachOn lath’ a chuir mi cùl ris`S tric na deòir o m’ shùileanDrùdhadh sios mo shròin

(I’ve become gloomy since the day I shunned it(alcohol.) My eyes often drip tears down to mynose.)

4. `S toilicht’ tha mo mhàthair`S tric a bhios i `g ràitinn“Dòmhnall fhuair na gràsanOn sguir e dhe `n òl

Mar Chuimhneachain/In MemoryMAIREAD NICGHILLEATHAIN, BAGHASDALMargaret MacLean, BoisdaleBy Seumas Watson

Highland Village marks the passing of Margaret MacLean (nee MacDonald -Mairead bean Ruairidh Iagain Ruairidh), Boisdale, Cape Breton County with

much regret. She will be missed by friends and relatives and in the world of Gaelicsinging. An outstanding tradition bearer, Margaret was born at Boisdale in 1909.She married Roderick MacLean (Ruairidh Iagain Ruairidh) of adjacent Big Beach

(My mother is well pleased. She often says,“Donald is in a state of grace since he partedwith the drink.”)

5. Nuair théid mi gu bainis`S an fhiodhall `na caithreamCàch ag òl na dramaich`S bidh mise fo bhròn

(When I go to a wedding, and the fiddle isbounding, the rest are drinking drams. I’ll be sopathetic there.)

6. `S mis’ a bhios cràiteachNuair a thig là pàighidh`S na botuill `gan traghadh`S mi gun làn mo bheòil

(I’ll be miserable on payday: bottles drained offand me without a mouthful.)

7. Ma chumas sinn na h-àinteanMar a dh’iarr a’ SlànuighearSaoil am bidh sinn sàbhailtGed bhitheamaid ag òl

(If we keep the commandments as directed bythe Savior, don’t you think we’ll be savedthough we should be drinking?)

8. Ach nuair a thig an Nollaig`S a thig na fir air Chollaig.Òlaidh sinn na galainA dh’aindheoin na Hall

(But when Christmas comes and the lads arearound on New Year visits, we’ll drink it by thegallon in spite of the Hall.)

9. Maggie Cook an creutairBu laghach leam fhéin i.Nuair rachainn air chéilidhBhiodh botul `na dòrn

(Maggie Cook, the old dear, I think she’s so nice.When I would go to visit, she would have a bot-tle in her hand.)

10. Alex Steele ud shuas`S e an dram a bhiodh air suarachMac an fhìor dhuin’ uasailDha `m bu dualach bhi còir.

(Alex Steele up yonder, a dram for him was atrifle. Son of a true gentleman, his legacy wasgenerosity.) �

© Recorded, transcribed and translated bySeumas Watson.

Photo

from

JohnM

acLe

an

Margaret with son John, granddaughter KarenRedden & great-granddaughter Sarah Redden.


to base all of its future interpretive andsite developments on sound researchfindings. Fundamental to this process areresearch reports that authenticate thephysical presentation of our living histo-ry site and provide our animators withtangible resources on which to base theirinteraction with visitors.

The first of these reports was complet-ed this past summer - RannsachadhTaisbeanaidh a’ ChlachainGàidhealaich: Na Gàidheil anAlbainn, 16mh Linn -19mhLinn/Highland VillageInterpretive Research: The Gaelin 16th to 19th CenturyScotland. This report of life inGaelic Scotland, specifically theBlackhouse, takes into account materialculture representations that should befound in the building and the story ofhow Gaels lived with the land. As Gaelswent about their daily lives, they werecompletely unaware that they were aunique culture, or that others would findtheir way of life significant. The variousaspects of culture cannot exist alone.Language, religious observances, beliefs,customs and traditions are intimatelytied together to constitute the wholestory of the Gael.

Over the next few issues of An Rubhaour Fo Na Cabair/Under the Rafters feature

will include excerpts from that researchdocument. The first is the simplicity oflife in a harsh environment.

FOOD STUFFS: BARLEY (EÒRNA)

A quote from I.F. Grant, in her book“Highland Folkways” (London:Routledge, 1989) begins the story of ourGaelic speaking ancestors.

The old houses were built for a differentsort of life. They were evolved by a people of“immense ability” to withstand the severelocal conditions by means of the limited mate-rials that were available to them and theirown unspecialized skills. They gave thenightly warmth and shelter that was cravedby men and women who spent their dayslargely out of doors…

The Highlands traditionally grew twotypes of grain; bere or bear (bar-ley/eòrna) and oats. Bear was a hardygrain that produced a good head of seedand grew on poor soil. The field was pre-pared in November by laying themanure as well as seaweed on thefield. The alkali from the sea-weed was absorbed intothe soil which provid-ed good growth.

Given the namebigg, barley was sewn after the field wasturned either with the plough or the cas-chrom. It was broadcast by hand, har-rowed and left to grow without care.Sewn late in April, it would ripen ineight or nine weeks. When ripe, it wascut with a sickle or as John LaneBuchanan (traveller observer, 1782-1790)stated “they never cut their barley, butpluck it by the root…” and gathered intosheaves, or sguaib, then stood them up instacks. The stacks were often gathered inthe evening and measured anywherefrom ten feet long, to four feet wide andsix feet high. The stack was constructed

in order to dry the grain and keep the airflowing through the stacks while itmatured. Thomas Pennant (travelerobserver, 1776) says as soon as the grainwas cut, sheaves were made and a num-ber stacked in a pile and the top of thepile thatched. When dry weather came,the thatch was taken offand the grain car-ried into

storage.As the grain

was harvested,the work was

accompanied by rhyth-mic singing to aid in the

process. At the end of the har-vest, the grain was then taken to

the yard to be processed. Gaels useda perforated sheep skin as a sieve to

winnow the grain after thrashing. Thestraw from the barley was not of a quali-ty for feed but was used for litter for thebyre and as additional thatching. �

Rannsachadh Taisbeanaidh a’ ChlachainGàidhealaich: Na Gàidheil an Albainn, 16mhLinn -19mh Linn/Highland VillageInterpretive Research: The Gael in 16th to19th Century Scotland was researched andwritten by Pauline MacLean, Manager ofCollections and Genealogist, and KatherineMacLeod, Collections Assistant. It is the firstin a series of research reports. They are cur-rently working on the second installmentwhich focuses on settlement in Nova Scotia1770s to the 1850s which will support inter-pretation of the log house, centre chimney(MacDonald) house and sahbal (barn).

Fo na Cabair /UNDER THERAFTERSAn taigh dubh/THE BLACKHOUSEPauline MacLean & Katherine MacLeod

As a provincial museum site that strives for excellence and international acknowl-edgement, professional research is essential to support quality interpretive pre-

sentations, exhibits and programming. The Highland Village is committed

The Flail (Builtean)


Uill, bha siod ann uair, fear aig an robhtriùir mhac, agus ‘s e Ridire an Fhàinne

a bh’air. Agus an uair sin tha seansa nachrobhmóran dha’ n t-saoghal ac’, agus an tig-hearna aig an robh iad, chuir e far an àit’ iad.Uill, thuirt an athair ris na gillean,“Feumaidh sinn falbh as a’seo airson ar beòshlaint a dheanamh an àit’air choireiginn eile.”

Bha iad a’ falbh ‘s a’ falbh ‘s a’ falbh ‘s a’falbh ‘s a’ falbh ‘s a’ falbh. Uill, mudheireadh tha seansa gun do bhuail ant-acras iad agus thànaig iad gu abhainnagus studaig iad gun gabhadh iad greim dobhiadh agus thug iad amach na loigh-nichean iasgach agus fhuair iad ... chaidhiad a dh’iasgach agus fhuair iad bradan.Uill, am bradan a fhuair iad, ghlan iad e ‘snuair a bha iad a’ glanadh a’ bhradain nachd’fhuair iad fàinn’ òir am broinn a’bhradain. Agus ghlan iad e ‘s a Dhia, nuaira chuir iad am fàinne ‘san uisge ‘s nach dothionndaidh am fàinne an t-uisge ‘na fhìon.O, bha siod gàbhaidh iongantach leo’ achcha do ghabh iad seud orra.

Ach bha iad a’ dol a dheanadh beairteas,tha mi cinteach, air a’ seo agus dh’fhalbhiad ‘s dh’fhalbh iad ‘s tha mi cinnteach maran tuirt iad fhéin, dhìrich iad beinn theine‘s thearainn iad beinn ghloine ‘s thànaig iadan sin gu ruige taighmór a bha ‘n sin. Aguschaidh iad astaigh agus ‘s e taigh robaireana bh’ann ‘s bha crowd do dhaoine astaigh. ‘So, bha iad a’ gabhail bìdh ‘s thug iad biadhdhaibh, ach thuirt an gille ... thuirt an athairris na gillean, “Tha eagal orm nach e taighmath an seo idir. ‘S fheàrr dhuinn a bhithfalbh.”

Uill, bha iad as deaghaidh am fàinneshealltainn dhaibh agus amach a ghabh iadagus nach do dhìochuimhnich iad amfàinne.

“O, Dhia,” thuirt iad fhéin, “bha sinn a’smaoineachdainn gu robh sinn a’ dol abhith math dheth, ach tha sinn a nist ... chan-eil ... ach dhìochuimhnich sinn amfàinne.”

“All right,” thuirt am fear bu shinedhaibh, “cha chreid mi nach dean sinn trìearrannan air an oidhche, agus feuch amfaigh sinn am fàinne. Falbhaidh mi fhìn aira’ cheud earrann agus falbhaidh an sin andarna mac air an ath-earrann agus falb-haidh an sin am mac òg air an earrann mudheireadh.”

Sin a bh’ann ‘s dh’fhalbh iad. Bha iad a’fuireach ‘s dh’fhalbh an gille bu shine air a’cheud earrann dha’ n oidhch’ agus rànaig etaigh nan robairean agus có thachair air achan Gille Giobach Glas agus e ‘g éirigh airtarraing uisge. Dh’fhoighneach e, “Tha thucoimhead trom, sgìth, airtneulach,” thuirtesan.

“Tha,” thuirt esan. “Tha mi fad fìnfuaineach an lath’ a’ tarraing uisge.”

“‘S dé ... carson a tha thu a’ deanadhsin?”

“O, fhuair sinn fàinn’ òir air a’ bhòrdagus chuir sinn am bogadh e ann an uisgeagus tha iad ‘g éirigh air deanadh fìon.”

“O, an e sin a bh’ann?” thuirt esan.“Bheir dhomhsa na bucaidean ‘s bheir micuideachadh dhut.”

An sin dh’fhalbh an Gille BochdGiobach Glas [‘s] shìn e na bucaidean dha`n ghille - bha e cho coibhneil ‘s gun tug ecuideachadh dha - bheir an gille air nabucaidean ‘s thug e sràc dha’ n GhilleGhiobach Ghlas ‘s spad e e. Agus thug efhéin leis an t-aodach a bh’air a’ GhilleGhiobach Ghlas agus chuir e air e agusthug e leis na bucaidean làn do dh’uisge. ‘Srànaig e ‘n sin astaigh dha’ n taigh agus iad

All right. Dh’fhalbh esan dhachaidh ‘sthill e ‘s cha do dh’inns’ e seud dha nathachair air.

Ach dh’fhalbh an sin an treas fear.Dh’fhalbh e ‘s thachair an aon rud air:dhìrich e beinn theine ‘s theàrainn e beinnghloine ‘s rànaig e àite nan robairean ‘sthachair an Gille Glas marbh air agus narobairean agus an t-sùil as an ceann - anfhamhair - is chum e roimhe ‘s chum eroimhe ‘s chunnaic e ‘n sin an dobhar ghlasseo air a’ loch. Uill, thuirt am famhair seoleis, an duine chuireas an t-sùil as anfhamhair mhór ‘s a mharbhas an dob-har-chù air a’ loch ud thall, gur e gheob-hadh nighean a’ rìgh le pòsadh.

All right. Dh’fhalbh esan ‘s chunnaic e ...chaidh e a dh’ionnsaigh a’ loch a bha seo ischunnaic e an dobhar-chù ud ach loisg e airagus mharbh e e. Thill e dhachaidh ‘s chado ghabh e seud air dé dh’éirich dha fhéin.

Uill, dh’fhalbh e fhéin an sin ‘s athair ‘sa dhithist bhràithrean ‘s bha iad a’ falbh ‘sa’ falbh. Cha robh iad fada gus an d’rànaigiad àit’ a’ rìgh.

“Dé tha dol air adhart a’ seo?” thuirt e.Bha cruinneachadh mór àlainn a’ sin do

dhaoine is iad uile gu léir ‘s a’ rìgh[mì-thoilichte]. Ach có thachair orr’ ach a’rìgh ‘s e uamhasach tùrsach agus bhanighean a’ rìgh - a’ bhean òg - ag éirigh airgal ‘s air caoineadh.

“O,” thuirt esan, “dé tha seo?”O, thuirt a’ rìgh leis mar a th’ann: bha

an nighean bh’anns an oighreachd bhothoiseach, gur e ge b’e có chuireadh ant-sùil as an fhamhair mhór a bh’as an taighseo shios, na ge b’e c’ainm a bh’aca air - chan-eil cuimhn’ agam air - agus a mharbhadhan dobhar glas air a’ loch ud thall, gura h-egheobhadh nighean a’ rìgh le pòsadh. ‘S e,an nighean aigesan le pòsadh.

“Agus có a nist a rinn sin?”“O, ‘s e am mucair a bh’agam fhìn agus

a bh’aig m’athair a chionn leithid seo dodh’ùine - bhliadhnachan - a mharbh andobhar-chù air a’ loch ud thall ‘s e thafaighinn na h-ìghinn le pòsadh.”

“Uill, tha sin tuilleadh is dona,” thuirtesan.

“Ach ‘s e ur beatha-se tighinn astaighdh’ionnsaigh na bainnseadh.”

“O,” thuirt esan, “far am bi mi fhìn bidhmo thriùir mhac, ‘s far am bi mo thriùirmhac bidh mi fhìn.”

All right. Thànaig iad astaigh ‘s bha iada’ gabhail am bìdh, tha mi cinnteach, ‘schaidh drama a thoirt dha’ n mhucairbhochd - tha mi cinnteach nach robh e

Sgeulachan/The Story Telling TraditionRIDIRE AN FHAINNETHE KNIGHT OF THE RINGCollected from Flora MacLellan by John Shaw

uile gu léir a’ deanamh an fhìon ‘s bha iad‘ga òl, neo gu dé bha iad a’ deanamh ... Achco-dhiubh thuirt esan gu robh e fhéinseachd sgìth a’ tarraing uisge agus gumbiodh e toilichte nan toireadh iad aonbhogadh dha’ n fhàinne dhasan,co-dhiubh.

‘S o, uill, bha siod ceart gu leòr: thug iadbogadh dha’ n fhàinne dha ‘s bheir esan airté dha na bucaidean agus thilg e an t-uisgefairis air na coinnlean a bh’ann. Chuir e asuile gu léir na coinnlean ‘s bha iad ... startan trod astaigh: ‘s tusa thug dha e ‘s cha tug‘s tusa thug dha e, ‘s iad a’ leum air a chéilea’ spadadh ‘s chlìor esan dhachaidh ‘s namb’e c’àite robh athair ‘s a bhràithrean eilecha do ghabh e sian air dé dh’éirich dha.

Dh’fhalbh an ath-bhràthair an sin air andarna ceathramh dha’ n oidhche agus a’cheud rud thachair e air, an Gille GhiobachGhlas marbh. Agus chaidh e astaigh aguscha robh ann ach robair thall ‘s robair abhos marbh. Ach chunnaic e ‘n sin solus-dan beag taobh an t-simileir agus bhabogha-saighead aige ‘s loisg e air. Uill,thuirt am fear a bh’ann, “‘S tu tha math aira’ bhogha-saighead. Tha iad a’ gràdhainnan duine a chuireadh an t-sùil as anfhamhair mhór agus a mharbhadh an dob-har ghlas air a’ loch ud thall, gur e a gheob-hadh nighean a’ rìgh le pòsadh.”

�...”Is there any means,” said the Knight

of the Ring, “by which it can berepaired?”...�


eòlach air soithichean briagha sam bith abhith aige ach biadh nam muc. Agus thugiad soitheach òir a bh’aca - cha n-eil fhiosdé cho sean ‘s a bhiodh i sin - dìreach gusan drama [a riarachadh]. Agus tuille nantròcaireachd nach do thuit an soitheach ‘srinn e trì pìosan air an ùrlar.

“O,” thuirt a’ rìgh an uair sin, “‘siomadh rud a bha cur orm ‘s tha cur ormach tha mi uamhasach truagh airson ant-soithich, o chionn tha e cho sean ‘s chadeach a bhristeadh riamh.”

“Bheil seud sam bith ann,” thuirt Ridirean Fhàinne, “a chàireas e?”

“Uill, nam biodh triùir astaigh air an àit’a dh’innseadh naidheachd gun fhacalbréigeadh innte bho cheann gu ceann,chàireadh e ‘n soitheach.”

Uill, tha mi cinnteach gun deach iadfeadh na cuideachd uile gu léir [‘s] thànaigi ‘n sin gu Ridire an Fhàinne. Uill, thuirtRidire an Fhàinne ‘n sin ris a’ mhac bushine, “Nach inns’ thusa an naidheachdagad fhéin?”

Uill, start a mhac air innse mar adh’fhalbh iad ‘s mar a chaidh iad a chur àsan àite ‘s mar a fhuair iad am fàinne ambroinn a’ bhradain ‘san allt ‘s mar a rànaigiad àite nan robairean ‘s an rud a rinn efhéin: mar a spad e ‘n Gille Giobach Glas[‘s] mar a fhuair e ‘m fàinne. Dhia, nach dodh’éirich pìos dha’ n t-soitheach ‘s chaidh eleis fhéin. Bha ‘m mucair bochd a’ fàs carexcited, tha mi cinnteach, mu dheidhinnseo.

Dh’éirich e a nist ‘s thuirt e ris an darnamac éirigh. Dh’inns’ am fear seo mar athachair dha fhéin ‘s gun do chuir e ‘n t-sùilàs an fhamhair mhór a bha taobh an teinenuair a dh’inns’ e dha gur e ‘m fear achuireadh an t-sùil as an fhamhair mhóragus a mharbhadh an dobhar ghlas air a’loch ud thall a gheobhadh an nighean lepòsadh. Ach nach do dh’éirich pìos eiledha’ n t-soitheach ‘s nach do stig e leisfhéin! O, bha a’ rìgh a’ fàs cuimseachtoilichte ach bha ‘m mucair bochd a’ fàstruagh, tha mi cinnteach.

Dh’éirich an sin an treas gille ‘s dh’inns’e mar a thachair dhasan: mar a thachair anGille Giobach ... mar a dh’fhalbh e bho’ntaigh ‘s mar a thachair an Gille GiobachGlas air ‘s na robairean ‘s a h-uile sian; mara dhìrich e a’ bheinn theine ‘s mar a thear-ainn e a’ bheinn ghloine ‘s mar a thànaig egu taigh a’ rìgh ‘s gu àite nan robairean,agus gun do mharbh e ‘n dobhar-chù air a’loch ud thall. O, Dhia! Nach robh ansoitheach a’ stigeadh ris fhéin uile gu léir ‘se cho math.

“Agus ‘s tusa mharbh,” thuirt a’ rìgh,“an dobhar-chù air a’ loch ud thall.”

“‘S mi,” thuirt esan.“Uill,” thuirt esan, “tha am fear seo, tha

seans’, ag innse nam breugan dhuinn.”Agus bheir e air a’ Ghille Ghiobach

Ghlas. O, dh’fhàs an nighean uamhasach,sòlasach toilichte nuair a chunnaic i an[gille] eireachdail a bha seo. Chaidh anGille Glas [sic - am mucair] bochd adhreasadh mar a bha e roimhe ‘na mhucair

I’ll go out the first part of the night, the sec-ond son will go out on the second part, andthe youngest will go on the last watch.”

So it was and off they went. They stayedput and the first part of the night out wentthe oldest lad. He reached the brigands’dwelling and whom did he encounter butthe Ragged Grey Lad who was there busydrawing water.

“You’re looking tired, weary and list-less,” he said to the Ragged Grey Lad.

“Indeed,” answered the other, “I’vebeen drawing and hauling water all day”.

“And why are you doing that?”“Well, we found a ring on the table and

we dipped it in water, and now the othersare in the wine-making business.”

“Is that the way it was?” said the lad.“Give me the buckets and I’ll lend you ahand.”

So the poor Ragged Grey Lad handedhim the buckets – it was so kind of theother one to help him – and the other ladgrasped the buckets, gave him a good wal-lop and knocked him dead. Now he tookthe Ragged Grey Lad’s clothes, dressedhimself in them and took the buckets full ofwater. He arrived inside the house andeveryone there was engaged in makingwine and drinking, or whatever else theywere up to. Now the lad said he was tiredof hauling water and that he would bepleased if they would let him have one dipof the ring anyway.

Well, that was all right with them, so thebrigands allowed him to dip the ring, andthe lad seized one of the buckets anddoused all of the candles with the water. Aquarrel erupted in the house – You gavehim a thump - No I didn’t - Yes youthumped him – with people jumping oneach other and laying each other low, so thelad cleared out home to wherever his fatherand brothers were, and gave no indicationas to what had happened to him.

The next brother went out on the secondquarter of the night, and the first thing hecame upon was the Ragged Grey Lad lyingdead. He saw a little gleam of light besidethe chimney; he had a bow and arrowswith him so he loosed an arrow and theman there said,

“You’re very good with the bow andarrow. They say that whoever could put thegiant’s eye out and kill the grey otter on theloch yonder would have the king’s daugh-ter in marriage.”

All right. The lad set out for home andwhen he returned he told them nothing ofwhat he had encountered.

Then the third lad departed. Hewent onhis way and encountered the same things:he ascended a mountain of fire anddescended one of glass and arrived at therobbers’ den, came upon the Grey Laddead and the giant with the eye shot out ofhis head, but he continued on until hespied the grey otter on the loch. Well, thegiant had told him, whoever would put the

‘s biadh nam muc a thoirt dha.Agus sin agad far na dh’fhàg sinn e. �

TT R A N S L A T I O NR A N S L A T I O N

THE KNIGHT OF THE RING

Therewas once aman called the Knight ofthe Ring and he had three sons. At that

time they did not have much they could calltheir own, and the laird who was over themremoved them from their home. So the fatherspoke to his sons saying,“We’ll have todepart from here to make our living some-where else”.

They travelled and travelled and trav-elled and travelled and travelled and trav-elled until finally they became hungry, andwhen they reached a river they decidedthey would have something to eat. So theytook out their fishing lines and started fish-ing and caught a salmon. They cleaned thesalmon they had caught, and as they werecleaning it what did they find in its bellybut a gold ring! They washed off the ringand by God when they put it into water ittransformed the water into wine! Thisastonished them greatly but they didn’t leton about it.

Now I’m sure they intended to make afortune from this, so they travelled on andas they would have said they ascended amountain of fire and descended a moun-tain of glass, and finally arrived at a greathouse which they entered. Now this was ahouse of brigands and there was a host ofmen inside at their meal, and they gave thestrangers food. But the lads’ father said tothem,

“I’m afraid this is not a good house atall, and it’s better for us to depart.”

Now it happened that they had alreadyshown the ring to the brigands and off theywent, but they forgot the ring.

“God help us,” they said. “We thoughtwere going to be well off, but now we haveforgotten the ring!”

“Very well,” said the oldest of the lads,“I think we should divide the night intothree watches and try to recover the ring.

Photo

byTo

mPa

cek. Flòiri n’in Eòghainn Dhòmhnaill

Aonghais (Flora MacLellan)

continued on page 11...


children’s programming such as Spòrs andNa Làithean Sona and Na Deugaireanremained well attended. Telling theHighland Village’s story through the Sgadanis Buntàta (Herring and Potatoes) in-schoolprogram was delivered to its highest yetnumber of students during the pre-seasonGaelicAwareness Month. (Perhaps not coin-cidently, school visitation was substantiallyup when the Village opened in June.)Community outreach included the Stòras a’Bhaile folkschool project which featured apioneering three days of immersion activityco-ordinated in partnership with the FatherBrewer Celtic Collection, Angus L.Macdonald Library, Dr. John Shaw, Schoolof Scottish Studies and Highland Village.(Report available on request. E-mail [email protected]). See also photo album on p.16.

This year’s guide staff training tookplace in April with assistance from CarmenMacArthur, St. F.X. Celtic Department grad-uate who is now finishing a master’s degreeon Cape Breton stepdancing at MemorialUniversity. The twoweeks training aimed atrefreshing Gaelic and cultural skills for usein daily interpretation.Wewere also pleasedto have Mary Jane Lamond and ColinWatson on staff as animators this year. Theydid a great job in bringing their languageand singing skills to the hill for enhancedintangible representations.

In the office, Marlene Ivey, a design &planning professional, has produced a blue-print for advancing Village objectives in tan-dem with the provincial Heritage Division’snewly released Interpretive Master Plan.(http://museum.gov.ns.ca/en/home/aboutnsm/imp.aspx) Responding to recommendations forknowledge-based interpretation, PaulineMacLean, Village Collections Manager &Genealogist and Katherine MacLeod,Collections Assistant completed a compre-hensive research project on the blackhouse

resulting in the document titled The Gael inthe 16th to 19th Century Scotland.(see page 7).Its contents will inform material interpreta-tion of the museum’s Hebredian style black-house in upcoming seasons.

The 2009 season brought forward a newcelebration complimenting rural life andculture in Gaelic Nova Scotia. Open FarmDay, a provincial event held on September21st, was added to our calendar as agricul-tural places across Nova Scotia opened theirdoors to visitors highlighting the province’sfarming industry. The inclusion of this pro-motion is in keeping with “green” commu-nity outreach programming consisting ofgardening seminars presented on-site by theNova Scotia Department of Agriculture.Adding to the site’s material ambiance,Pioneer Day saw the beginnings of a pre-logcabin shelter for just arrived immigrants ledby Donald Beaton and Marlene Ivey.Marlene also conducted a mask makingworkshop featuring Celtic themes prior tothe once again highly successful Oidhchenam Bòcan/Halloween tour of skits based onGaelic folklore.

Talks and workshop presentations dur-ing the 2009 season included demonstra-tions pertinent to cloth production, ably ledby Textile Researcher Vicki Quimby, a CelticColours song workshop, along with apacked daily animation schedule. TheSeòmbar na Gréineadh/Summer Room lec-tures featured Dr. John Shaw, University ofEdinburgh speaking on economic benefitsof the Tobar an Dualchais/Kist O’ Riches digiti-aztion project and Dr. John Gibson, whodelivered the annual Joe Neil MacNeilMemorial Lecture.

September brought the return of JohnVeverka, of John Veverka & Associates,Interpretive Consultants, who advisedHighland Village management and anima-tors on best practices for theme develop-

Interpretation of Gaelic Nova Scotia continued apace during the 2009 season as HighlandVillage introduced second person animation to the guiding approach and innovated through

language transmission integrated with intangibile interpretation on site. Along with scheduledhouse céilidhs, milling frolics, tunes, and square set dancing in the school house,

Naidheachd a’ Chlachain - The Village NewsTHE INTERPRETIVE SEASON OF 2009AT BIGHECTOR’S POINTSeumas Watson, Manager of Interpreter

ment based on his analysis of the HighlandVillage site and its current animation.Building on a 2008 visit, his suggestionsduring consultations will help to upgradeand streamline the Village’s capacity fortelling the Gaels’ story in Nova Scotia.Veverka also consulted with Nova ScotiaMuseum sites Sherbrooke Village, RossFarm, Fundy Geological Museum, FisheriesMuseum of the Atlantic and Le VillageHistorique Acadien de la Nouvelle-Écosse.

Summer students continued to makeimportant contributions to interpretationand daily operations. Student staff for 2009were Maria MacMillan - who also led theSpòrs program, animators Cindy andCrystal MacNeil, Evan Bonaparte and LauraMacNeil, and PR coordinator ShannonMacIver. All did a great job and we wishthem the best with their various studies.

Finally, and as always, acknowledgmentand sincere gratitude is due to all staff andvolunteers whose combined efforts make itpossible to tell Nova Scotia’s Gaelic story tocommunity and the greater public. �

Summer students(left-right):

Shannon MacIver,Cindy MacNeil,

Maria MacMillan,Crystal MacNeil,

Laura MacNeiland to right

Evan Bonaparte.

Liz Rigney and Starr Dobsonbroadcast CTV Live and 5 livefrom Highland Village in July.

Vicki Quimby leads a NaturalDye workshop in June.


big giant’s eye out and kill the otter onthe loch yonder would have the king’sdaughter in marriage.

All right. So off he went to the lochand he saw the otter, but he loosed anarrow at it and killed it. Then he returnedhome as well without letting on whathad happened.

He and his father and two brothersdeparted then, and travelled and trav-elled. They hadn’t gone far before theyreached the king’s dwelling.

“What’s going on here?” he said.There was a large and handsome

gathering, and the king and all the restwere [displeased]. So who came to meetthem but the king, looking very sorrow-ful, and the princess – the young wife –weeping and crying.

“O,” said the knight, “what is this?”O, the king told him how things were:

the daughter in the estate from the begin-ning, whoever put the eye out of the biggiant in the great house below – or what-ever name they had for it – I don’tremember – and killed the grey otter onthe loch yonder would have the princess– that is his own daughter - to marry.

“And who has performed that feat?”“The man who has served as swine-

herd for some time – over a number ofyears - to myself and my father is the onewho has killed the otter on the loch yon-der, and now he’s getting to marry theprincess.”

“Well, that’s a shame.”“In any case you’re welcome to come

to the wedding.”Said the knight, “Wherever I am my

three sons are there too, and wherevermy three sons are, there am I.”

All right. They came in and they werepartaking of the feast, I’m sure, and the

poor swineherd was presented with adram; I’m sure he was not familiar withbeing served with fine vessels, just food forpigs. So they brought him one of the goldvessels they had – I have no idea how old itwould have been – just to [distribute] thedram – and alas! The vessel fell and brokeinto three pieces on the floor.

At that the king said, “Many’s the thingthat has vexed me before and vexes menow, but I’m truly saddened about the ves-sel on account of how old it is, and it wasnever broken before.”

“Is there any means,” said the Knight ofthe Ring, “by which it can be repaired?”

“Well, if there were three people presentwho could recount a story without a wordof a lie from one end to the other, now thatwould restore the vessel.”

Well, I’m sure they went through allwho were present until they came to theKnight of the Ring, who said to the eldestson,

“Won’t you tell your own story?”So the lad began with how they set out,

being put off their place, and how theyfound the ring in the belly of a salmon inthe brook; how they arrived at the robbers’den and his own feat: how he laid low theRagged Grey Lad and got the ring. And loand behold didn’t one piece of the vesselleap back into its former place! The poorswineherd was getting quite agitated, Ithink, over this.

The knight arose and told the secondson to stand up, so the lad told them whathad happened to him: that he had put outthe eye of the great giant who was besidethe fire, once he was told that whoever putout the eye of the big giant and killed thegrey otter on the loch would have theprincess in marriage. And then anotherpiece of the vessel rose up and adhered toit! Now the king was becoming quite con-tent, but I think the poor swineherd wasgrowing sorrowful.

The knight’s third son arose and

The Knight of the Ringcontinued from page 9...

recounted what had befallen him: how hedeparted from their dwelling and how hecame upon the Ragged Grey Lad and thebrigands, and how he killed the otter on theloch yonder. And lo and behold, the entirevessel was sticking together so well!

The king spoke, “And so it was youwho killed the otter on the loch yonder.”

“It was,” replied the lad.“Then,” said the king, “it seems this

man is lying to us.”So he seized the swineherd, and the

princess was so happy to see the [other]fine lad. The lad was dressed again in thegarments of a swineherd and given pig-feed to eat.

And that’s where I left them. �

A e-mail post on The Tale of Knight of Ringfrom John Shaw said: Came across the attachedstory and thought you may not have used it forAn Rubha. A couple of things re: its back-ground. Back in the `70s there was a reference toit in the collection in Sydney from a man inBroad Cove called Aingidh Aonghuis Aileinwho was still living, but at age 89, or so, couldnot recall the whole thing. I spent 2 years tryingto track it down and finally mentioned it inpassing to Flora MacLellan who said 'Oh sure,I know that one'. I sent it on to Alan Bruford(late scholar at the School of Scottish Studies),who was also unable to figure out where it fitsin the international tale classification system.So there it is. Anyway, it's a near miracle thatthe story survived to be recorded at all. The ringin the salmon motif, which Joe Neil (MacNeil)also had, is an old one, connected withPolycrates in ancient Greek and appearingthroughout Europe.

Recited by Flora MacLellan Broad Cove,Inverness Co.C2B4 15/11/77

© Recorded, transcribed and translated by Dr.John Shaw, Senior Lecturer in ScottishEthnology, University of Edinburgh.

Four Sgoil MhicFhrang/Rankin School students took part in a coopera-tive work experience program at Highland Village. (L-R) RodneyChaisson, Evan Bonaparte, Sarah MacSween, Joanne MacIntyre,

Katrina MacKenzie, Sarah MacDonald and Marlene Ivey.

Mary Jane Lamond leads a square set as part of ourFiddles and Feasts learning experience developed in

cooperation with the Eskasoni First NationThe program features Gaelic and Mi’kmaq cultures.


leis an fhiodha. Se obair chunnartach abh’ann. ‘S e.SW: Cha bu thoil liom fhéin a bhi ro-

theann orra.Cha b’eadh. Ach chaidh mi ‘n

àitichean na bu chunnartaiche nuair bhami ’g obair sa mhèinn shuas, chaich.Chaich. Àite gàbhaidh th’ann am mèinnghuail a bhi ’g obair. ‘S e.SW: Agus an deach sibh a

ghoirteachadh riamh?Uell, taing do Dhia! chaidh mi gu

math teann air ach — theab a’ spioraidorm aon là, fall a thàinig do ghual. Amfear a bha còmhla rium bha e air an taobhstaigh agus bhamise air an taobhmach ’scha b’urrainn dhomh faighinn ás gus andàinig cuideachadh. Agus chaich — uell,chaich gearradh a dheanadh air mocheann a’ là seo, ach cha robh guth agam.Bhami lucky nach dàinig a’ fall ceart orm,bha. Bha. Ach tha mi beò fhathasd air ashon. Chaichmise thoirt seventy-five milesair sleighich an àm a’ gheamhraich agusmu dhà throigh — ceithir troigheansneachda ann agus mo thoirt-sa dodh’ospadal suas aig Inverness agus gurobh surgery — an oidhche sin. Agusb’fheudar dhomh dhol dha ‘n dàrna sur-gery agus tha mi beò fhathasd.SW: Thàinig sibh throimhe. Chaidh

innseadh dhomh gu robh sibh ‘nur ceudphatient ans an osdabal.

Bha. Mise a’ cheud duine chaich ann.‘S e, dìreach.SW: Dé a’ bhliadhna bha siod?Nineteen twenty-four, an nineteen —

teenth of January, nineteen twenty-fouragus ’s mi ’cheud duine agus chaichioma’ duine ann bhuaithe sin.SW: O, ’s ioma’ sin!’S ioma’.SW:Ach bha ’n t-astar sin fada.Bha, seventy-five miles air cùl

sleigheachan. Bha.SW:An e éich...?Eich. Éich a bha ‘ga tharrainn. Éich a

bha ‘gam tharrainn. Bha mi, uell, seventy-five miles a’ tighinn a-mach eadar a’choille ’s Inverness shuas — ó, ‘s e stripdo dh’astar a bh’ann.SW: Dé’ n ùine — a thug sin? Dé cho

fada?Start sinn aig seachd uairean sa

mhadainn anns a’ choillich agus — landsinn shuas an Inverness mu ochd uaireanfeasgar agus chaidh an surgery-work sin achur ormsa — aig naoidh uairean adh’oidhche. Agus — agus cha robh fhios’am nuair bha mi dùsgadh ás a — you

Dia gar teasraigin, nam faice’ sibh nacuitheachan sneachd’ a bhiodh a’ sin!

Chunna mise aon oidhche sin —na toters a’ dol a-staigh St Ann’s. Bha sintwenty-five miles bho ‘n depot camp agusbha na company teams ann ’s bha countryteam. Thòisich na h-éich air dol far a’rathaid: b’fheudar dhaibh na lòid fhàgail.Chan fhaca sibh a leithid do go-aheadriamh aig éich a’ dol fodha ’s a’ tuiteam‘s a — an t-sneachda.

Gu lucky, leum mise — se companyteam a bh’ann. Bha aon each agam, youknow, a mhacraiche on horseback, ach ancòrr dhiubh thilgeadh iad thu dheth. Bhacorra-theam ann, fhios agaibh, éich nachrobh math dhut a dhol — (air an druim).Cha robh iad ’nan saddle-horses idir.SW: O, cha robh iad cleachdte ri sin?Ach cha leig mi ás mo chuimhne gu

bràch an oidhch’ a bha sinn a-muigh.B’fheudar sinn na lòid fhàgail. Ansneachd’, cha chreid sibh. Bha e cóigtroighean solid a’ sin, dìreach. Thòisich nah-éich air dol far a’ rathaid.

Mu dheireadh nuair a fhuair na h-éich, bhiodh iad — làidir — dh’fheuchiad — bha’n track, fhios agaibh, air afalach leis a’ fall shneachda a rinn i.SW: Ciamar a fhuair sibh air n-

adhart?O, fhuair sinn — fhuair sinn a-staigh,

fhios agaibh. Bha na h-éich, chaich — nah-éich, chaich am fuasgladh ás nasleighachan, fhios agaibh, ’s chaich anleigeil loose, fhios agaibh. Agus bha feardha na h-éich agamas, fhuair mi dìreachcothrom air, fhios agaibh. Bha e airdeireadh air càch ’s bha àsan car a’deanadh nan track ach fhuair na h-éichmìomhodh a bha gàbhaidh. Fhuair.Fhios agaibh, gun chòrcadh fhaighinncuideachd, éich mhòra na company, bhamiadachd mhór annda. Rachadh iadeighteen’s twenty-one hundred.SW: Agus an robh Gàidheil còmhla

ruibh an sin?O, bha, bha na Gàidheil ann gu

dearbh ’s bh’iad shìos bho àite ris an cansinn Murray ann an St. Anns, theireadhiad. Bha Gàidhlig aca ’ga bhruidhinn ’sbha Fraingis aca ’s Beurla. Bha a chuileseòrsa cànan aca. Bha, a chuile seòrsacànan ’s daoine — daoine complete abh’annda uile ’s iad ag obair cruaidh,bha.SW: Gu dé an seòrsa obair a bhiodh

— ri dhèanamh agaibh?Uell, innsidh mise dhut dé an obair a

bhathas a’ dèanadh a’ siod. Bhathas a’

gearradh pulpwood, mar an duirt iad, air-son paipeir ’s bh’iad dol dha na States a-mach. Agus bh’iad a’ gearradh — nacords. Ceithir troighean a dh’fhad agusbha cord ochd troighean a dh’fhad ’s cei-thir — ceithir troighean a dh’àirde. Aguschunna mis’ iad a’ cur dà fhichead —ceud — ceud mìle cord leis an abhainn,iad ’gan draibheadh, fhios agaibh, a’tuigsinn, sìos leis an abhainn. Chunnaic.

Agus sin bhathas — nuair ruigeadhiad an acarsaid shìos — ‘s e Acarsaid StAnns theireamaid leatha — bha boomcrosach fon acarsaid, maide aguschainichean aca. Bhiodh am fiodh, fhiosagaibh — seo cumail an fhiodh gun dhola-mach. Agus sin nuair thòisich iad airlòdadh na soithichean bhiodh — bàtamach ’s e pushadh an fhiodha agus uid-heam eile ‘ga thoirt a-staigh, fhiosagaibh, gus a —. Bh’iad a’ toirt dheth nacarta agus an sin bha iad ‘gaphoidhleadh air na soithichean móra seo’s iad a’ dol dha na States.

Bhiodh — mu dhà mhìle cord air achuile steamer uamhasach a bha seo.SW: O, sin poidhle — poidhle fiodha.Bha. O, tha sin ceart.SW: Agus an robh an obair sin cun-

nartach?O, bha. Dh’fheumadh duine— an aire

thoirt a’ draibheadh. Bha mise — bha jobagam a bhithinn còmh’ ris an fhear abhiodh — bhiodh e — nam biodh jammór aca dh’fheumadh duine dhol a-mach air an jam agus — tha cuimhne ‘mam fear seo, ‘s ann a mhuinntir NewBrunswick a bha e. Cheangladh e — andynamite , cóig no sia dha na sticks seo, richéile agus bha cord mór fad’ againn.Dh’fheumainn-sa dhol amach, fhiosagaibh, air an jam ghàbhaidh a bha seoagus, uell, bha weight air a’ seo dol sìosann am pòca ’s —. Agus — dh’oibric-headh an dynamite na b’fhèarr ann anuisge na dh’oibricheadh e — bha i —agus nuair a rachainn ’s leagainn seobhiodh e cunnartach bhon nach biodhfhios aig duine cò dhiubh startadh gusnach startadh an — jam nuair a bhiodhduine ‘ga leagail seo sìos am meadhainan— jam a bha seo. Bhamis’ a’ sin a’ teic-headh a-staigh gu tìr agus bha sinn a’ sina’ dol ro — fo chraobh mhór uamhasacha bhiodh ann agus bha esan, dìreach,uell, you know, ag explodeadh seo.Rachadh na blockan sin suas, tha mi crei-dsinn, mu sia — na ceudan troigh sanadhar ’s pàirt dhiubh dol ’nam pìosan, ‘sdh’fhalbhadh an— an damba an uair sin

A’ Tighinn Beò air Tìr / Making a LivingARCHIE DANMACLELLAN AT WORK INTHEWOODS ANDMINES OF CAPE BRETONCollected by Seósamh Watson


know [SW: anaesthetic?]. Cha robh fhios’am càit an robh mi. Thòisich mi aircoimhead mu chuairt.

‘Uell, chan eil mi aig an taigh againnfhéin,’ thuirt mi. ‘Ach— chan eil — chaneil mi an St Ann,’ thuirt mi, ‘s a’ champ.’SW:— na’s motha.Chan e. A’ seo mar a bha mi. Studaig

mi orm fhéin: bha mi san ospadal. Tha.Bha ceithir nursaichean ’nan seasamh aigan leabaidh ’s an t-eagal orra gun leu-mainn aisde. Dh’fhaighneachd midhaibh a’ sin a’ robh mi dol a bhi allright? ’s thuirt iad gu robh.

’S dh’iarr mi deoch an uisge. Charobh math dhaibh sian...(a thoirt dhomh)Thigeadh iad agus uisge aca ann an tubebheag ’s dh’fheumainn-sa balgam thoirtás. Ach bha ‘n sin té a-staigh ’s thuirt mirithe,‘An ainm a Dhia their dhomhsaglaine mhath do dh’uisge!’

‘O, chan eil math dhomh! chan eilmath dhomhs’!’

‘Their e nuas ’s chan innis mi idir e!’Dh’òl mise glaine uisge ’s ’a d’rinn e

sian orm. �


God save us, if you’d seen the snow-drifts that would be there! I saw one

night there —the toters going in to St.Anns. Thatwas twenty-fivemiles from thedepot camp and the company teams werethere and a country team. The horses start-ed to go off the road: they had to abandonthe loads. You never saw such a commo-tionwith horses goingunder and falling in— the snow.

Luckily I jumped [for it] — it was acompany team. I had a single horse, youknow, as a rider, on horseback, but the restof them would throw you off. There wasthe odd team there, you know, horses that... They weren’t saddle-horses at all.SW: Oh, they weren’t used to that?But I’ll never forget the night we were

out. The loads had to be abandoned. Thesnow, you won’t believe [it]. It was fivefeet solid there, exactly. The horses start-ed going off the road.

Finally, when the horses got —theywere strong — they tried to — the track,you know, was hidden by the fall ofsnow that came.SW: How did you get on?Oh, we got — we got in, you know.

The horses were — the horses got —released from the sleighs, you know, andthey were let loose, you know. And oneof my horses, I just got a chance on him,you know. He was behind the rest andthey were sort of coming in a track butthe horses suffered abuse that wasdreadful. They wern’t wearing corkedshoes, the big company horses. Theywere very sizeable. They would weigheighteen & twenty-one hundred pounds.

SW:And were there Gaels along withyou there?

Oh, yes, the Gaels were there, certain-ly and they were down from a place wecall Murray in St Ann’s, [as] they’d say.Gaelic was spoken by them and theyspoke French and English, They hadevery sort of language. They had, everysort of language and they were — ‘com-plete’ people and hard-working. Yes.SW:What sort of work had you — to

do?Well, I’ll tell youwhat workwas being

done there. Pulpwood was being cut, asthey said, for paper and they were [itwas] going out to the States. And theywere cutting — the cords. Four feet long,

and a cord was eight feet long and four— four feet high.And I saw them puttingforty — a hundred — a hundred thou-sand cords down the river, driving them,you know, you understand, down theriver. I did.

And then they were — when they’dreach the bay below — St. Ann’s Bay wecall it — they had a boom across underthe bay, a beam with chains. The lumber,you know — this would be preventingthe lumber from going out. And then,when they began to load the ships therewould be — a boat out and it would bepushing the wood and another machinebringing it in, you know to — . Theywould take the bark off and then they’dpile it up on these big ships headed forthe States.

There would be — about two thou-sand cords on every huge steamer here .SW: Oh, that’s a pile of — lumber.Oh, that’s right.SW:And was that work dangerous?Oh, yes. A person had to be careful

driving. I was — I had a job where I hadto be along with the man who’d be —he’d be — if they had a big jam a personhad to go out on the jam and— I remem-ber this man, his people were from NewBrunswick.

He would tie — the dynamite, five orsix of these sticks, together and we had abig, long cord. I had to go out, you know,on this dreadful jam and well, there wasa weight on this going down into a bottleand — . And the dynamite would workbetter in water than it would work [outof it]— it was — and when I’d go and setthis it would be dangerous because aperson wouldn’t know whether the jamwould start [break up] when he’d be set-ting this in the middle of the jam. I’d bemaking off to the shore and then we’d gothrough — under a huge big tree thatwas there and then, hed, well, justexplode this [the charge]. The blockswould go up then, I believe, about six —hundreds of feet into the air and some ofthem go into pieces and the dam wouldgo then with the wood. It was dangerouswork. Yes.SW: I wouldn’t like to be too close to

them myself.No. And I went into more dangerous

places when I was working up in themine. I did. Yes. A coal-mine is a dread-ful place to work in. It is.SW:And did you ever get hurt?Well, thank God! I came fairly close to

it, but — my spirit failed me one day. Afall of coal came. The man who was withme was on the inside and I was on theoutside and I couldn’t get out till helpcame. And my head was, well — cut thatday but I wasn’t injured. I was lucky theproper fall didn’t come [down] on me.Yes. But I’m living yet in spite of it. I wastaken seventy-five miles on a sleigh inwinter-time in about two feet — four feetof snow and I was brought up to the hos-pital in Inverness and there was surgery— that night and I’m living yet.SW: You came through it. I was told

that you were the first patient in the hos-pital.

I was the first person to go into it. Yes,indeed.SW:What year was that?Nineteen twenty-four, the nineteenth

of January, nineteen twenty-four and Iwas the first person and there have beenmany since then.SW: Oh, many a one!Yes.SW:And that was a long journey.Yes, seventy-five miles on the back of

sleighs. Yes.SW:And horses? Was it horses?


Gilleasbuig Eòghainn Dhòmhnaill ‘icAonghais (Archie Dan MacLellan)Ph

otofro

mSe

samhW

atson


Deòrsa Taillear ‘S Na Teachdairean

Bho Mhac-Talla, Vol. 1, No. 1,Sidni C.B.,

Di sathairne, Mai 28, 1892

Nuair a bha Seumas I na rìgh airSasuinn ‘s air Alba, thàinig trì teach-

dairean ionnsaichte á dùthaich chéin adh’fhaicinn ciamar a bha Breatuinn athaobh sgoiltean agus cholaistean. Andéidh dhaibh gach fiosrachadh a bhadhìth orr’ fhaotainn, chaidh iad a sheall-tainn an rìgh, a ghabh riu gu suilibhir, ‘saig an robh còmhradh mór riu. Anns an t-seanachas a bh’aca, thuirt na teachdaireangu robh iad a’ meas OilthigheanBhreatainn os ceann tighean-foghluim ant-saoghail uile, ‘s gun deanadhrìoghachdan eile gumath nan leanadh iada dòigh. Cha d’fhuair iad coire ach do aonnì, ‘s b’e sin nach robh OilearChomharaidhean (Professor of Signs) annsna h-olthighean. Nam biodh sin ann, bhagach nì ceart.

Cha robh an rìgh deònach gumfaighte dad ceàrr ‘na rioghachd, agusthuirt e ris na teachdairean gu robh a lei-thid sin do chathair ann anOilthigh ObarDheathain, am baile a b’fhaide air falbhanns a rìoghachd. Chuir seo ioghnadhmór orra agus thuirt iad gu feumadh iadan t-Oilear fhaicinn mum pilleadh iaddhachaidh. Cha robh fhios aig an rìgh dé‘dheanadh e, ach ghabh e lethsgeul gumb’e seo toiseach an t-samhraidh, ‘s nachbiodh an t-oilthigh cruinn gu treis a’gheamhraidh, agus nach biodh na h-Oilearan aig an tigh gu sin. Fhreagairiadsan gum bu mhath a b’fhiach dhaibhfeitheamh fad shia mìosan, airson nì choiongantach seo fhaicinn. Chunnaic anrigh nach robh dol às dha, ‘s air dha bhicinnteach nach robh a leithid de chathairanns a rìoghachd, sgrìobh e le làimhfhein litir gu Oilearan an Oilthigh, aginnse mar a bha, ‘s a’ guidhe orra andìchioll a dheanarnh air duine fhaotainnairson na cathrach.

Air do na h-uaislean sin a’ chùis a reu-sanachadh eatorra fein, dh’aontaich iadan ònair a thairgse do Dheòrsa Tàillear,

greusaiche Obar Dheathain, duine nachd’rinn iomrall riamh ann an càs air bith,`s a bha air aon suil. Thurt iad ris gumfaigheadh iad gùn ‘s bannan Oileir dha ‘sgu robh e ri suidhe `s a’ chathair gun eràdh facal airson na chunnaic e riamh,ach gum faodadh e comharra sam bith adheanamh a fhreagairt an comharraid-hean- san.

Ghabh Deòrsa ris na cumhdachan seogu toilichte. Thàinig toiseach a’gheamhraidh, ‘s thàinig na teachdaireangu Obar Deathain. Air an latha shuid-hichte, chaidh an toirt astigh do thalla ‘nOilthigh. Bha Deòrsa Taillear, le ghùn ‘sle bhannan, ‘s le lethshuil na shuidhe `sa’ chathair. Chrom na teachdairean ancinn gu modhail ri Oilear nanComharaidhean. Chrom an t-Oilear acheann riusan. Shìn a’ cheud teachdaireamach aonmheur ris an Oilear. Shìn an t-Oilear amach dàmheur ris an teachdaire.Shìn an dàrna teachdaire trì meòireanamach ris an Oilear. Chrath an t-Oilear adhòrn ris na teachdairean.Thug an treasteachdaire orange ás a phocaid `ga cumailsuas fa chomhair an Oileir. Thug an t-Oilear pìos de dh’aran coirc’ as a phocaid‘s chum se e fa chomair nan teachdaire-an. Chrom na teachdairean an cinn gumodhail arithist, agus chaidh iad amach.Lean na h- Oilearean eile iad, dh’feuchde bharail a ghabh iad air Oilear nanComharraidhean. Thuirt iad gu robh iadair an deagh phàigheadh air sonfeitheamh fad leth-bhliadhna ris nachunnaic iad an diugh.

Ars a cheud fhear, “Thog mise aonmheur, a’ ciallachadh nach eil ann achaon Dia. Shìn esan dà mheur a’ cial-lachadh gu robh dà phearsa ann, an t-Athair ‘s a Mac.”

Thuirt an dàrna teachdaire,—”Thogmise tri meòirean a’ ciallachadh gu robhtrì pears’ ann—an t-Athair, a Mhac agusan Spiorad Naomh. Dhùin an t-Oilear adhòrn, a’ ciallachadh gu robh na tripearsa sin `nan aon.”

Thuirt an treas teachdaire, “Thugmise mach orange, a’ nochdadh maitheasDhé ann a bhi toirt dhuinn measan chobriagha ‘s cho fallainn. Thug esan amach

pìos de dh’ aran coirce, a shealltainngum b’e aran os cionn gach nì, taice nabeatha.”

Thriall na teachdairean còire air anturus dhachaidh, ag aideachadh gumfaca iad an latha sin ioghnadh an t-saoghail!

Bha na h-Oilearan a nis ro- thoileachair barail Dheòrsa fhaotainn air a’ chùis.Nuair a chaidh iad astigh, dh fheòraich egu feargach gu dé na daoine thug iaddha ionnsaidh mar sid.

“Bha fhios aca glé mhath gu robh miair lethshùil, ‘s chan fhoghnadh leis a’cheud thoirmeasg ach a mheur ashineadh rium, ag innse, dhomh nachrobh agam ach aon sul! Shìn mise machmo dhà mheur a dh’innse dha-san gurobh m’ aon shùlsa cho math ris an dàshùl aige-san. Shìn an dàrna fear amachtrì meòirean a dh’innse dhomh nachrobh againn ach trì sùilean eadarainn.Dhùin mise mo dhòrn a dh’innse dha guspadainn e.”

“Mar nach biodh sin gu leoir, thug antreas fear orange as a phocaid a shealltu-inn nan nìthean matha bha fàs ‘nandùthaichean a tha fad air thoiseach air andùthaich bhochd againne. Thug misemach pios de dh’aran coirce a shealltu-inn dha gu robh sid móran ni b’fheàrr nagach orange ‘s meas eile dh’fhàs riamh`nan dùthaich-san.” �


George Taylor and the Envoys

From Mac-Talla, Vol. 1, No. 1Sydney, C.B.

Saturday, May 28, 1892

When James the First was king ofEngland and Scotland, three schol-

arly envoys from a foreign nation came tosee the state of universities and schools inBritain. Having garnered all the informa-tion they sought, theywent to see the kingwho merrily greeted them and engagedthem in much conversation. During theirtalks, the envoys stated that they consid-ered British universities superior to other


schools anywhere in the world and thatother kingdoms would do well to followtheir example. They found no faultexcept for one thing, there being noProfessor of Signs in the universities. Ifthat was corrected, all things were fine.

The kingwasn’t pleased that anythingshould be seen lacking in the kingdom,and he told the envoys that there was achair of such at the University ofAberdeen, the city at the furthest extrem-ity of the realm. This surprised themgreatly and they said that they must seethe professor before returning home. Theking didn’t know what to do, but hemade the excuse that, since it was earlysummer, the university wouldn’t resumeuntil later in winter and the professorswould be at home until then. Theyreplied that it would be worth theirwhile to wait six months to witnesssomething so novel as this.

The king seeing noway around it, andascertaining no such chair existed in thekingdom, he wrote, with his own hand, aletter to the university’s professorsdescribing the situation and requestingthem to do their best in finding a personto fill the chair.

After considering the matter amongthemselves, the learned agreed to awardthe honour to George Taylor, anAberdeen cobbler: a man who had nevererred in any situation and who had onlyone eye. They informed him that hewould get a professor’s gown and sashesand that he was to sit in the scholar’schair without uttering a word of any-thing he had ever seen. George happilytook to the offices.

Winter came and the envoys arrivedin Aberdeen. On the appointed day, theywere taken to the university’s hall.George Taylor, with gown, sashes andone eye was sitting in his chair. Theenvoys politely nodded their heads tothe Professor of Signs. The professornodded in return. The first envoy heldup one finger to the professor. The pro-fessor held up two fingers to the envoy.The second envoy put up three fingers tothe professor. The professor shook his fistat the envoys. The third emissary took anorange out of his pocket, holding it up to

the learned one. The professor took apiece of oatcake out of his pocket, dis-playing it to the envoys. The envoysbowed their heads politely once againand departed. The other professors fol-lowed them to try and get their opinionof the Professor of Signs. The envoysdeclared that they were well rewardedfor having waited half a year given whatthey had seen today.

The first one said, “I indicated withone finger, meaning that there is only onegod. He held up two fingers, meaningthere were two personages: the Fatherand the Son.”

The second envoy said, “I put upthree fingers, meaning there were threepersonages: the Father, the Son and theHoly Ghost. The professor closed his fist,meaning the three personages are one.

The third envoy said, “I took out anorange, demonstrating God’s mercy ingiving us fruits so beautiful and healthy.He took out a piece of oatcake thatshowed bread, above all else, is the staffof life.”

The three cordial envoys continued ontheir way home acknowledging that theyhad seen that day one of the world’swonders.

The scholars were now anxious to getGeorge’s opinion on the matter. Whenthey went inside (the hall), he angrilyasked them what sort of men were thosethey had brought to him?

“They knew very well I am one-eyed,and it was undeserved rudeness to holdup his finger to tell me I only have oneeye! I held out my two fingers to tell himthat one eye was as good as both of his.The second fellow held up three fingersto say that we only had three eyesbetween us. I made a fist to let him knowthat I would flatten him.”

“If that wasn’t enough, the third fel-low took an orange out of his pocket toshow off the good things that grow in faroff lands far in advance of our own poorcountry. I produced a piece of oatcake toshow him it was a way better than anyorange, or other fruit, that ever grew intheir country. �

Translated by Seumas Watson.

It was drawn by horses. I was drawnby horses. I was, well, seventy-five milescoming out from the wood to Inverness,you know. Oh, it was bit of a journey.SW:What time — did that take? How

long?We started at seven in the morning in

the wood and — we landed up inInverness about eight in the evening andI had that surgery-work [appendectomy]done on me — at nine o’clock at nine.And I didn’t know when I was wakingout of the — you know — [SW: anaes-thetic?]. I didn’t know where I was. Istarted looking round.

‘Well, I’m not at our own home,’ Isaid. ‘But I’m not in St. Ann’s,’ I said, ‘inthe camp.’SW:— either.No. Here’s were I was. I thought

about it: I was in the hospital. Yes. Therewere four nurses standing at the bed andthey were afraid — that I’d jump out ofit, I asked them if I was going to be allright and they said I was.And I asked fora drink of water. They wouldn’t give —they <couldn’t give me> any. They’dcome with water in a little tube and I’dhave to take a drop out of it. But therewas an old[er] one in there and I said toher,

‘For God’s sake give me a good glassof water!’

‘Oh, I can’t, I can’t~’‘Bring it up and I won’t tell at all!’I drank a glass of water and it didn’t

do me any harm at all. �

Archie Dan MacLellan (GilleasbuigEòghainn Dhòmhnaill ‘ic Aonghais ) lived inBroad Cove, Inverness County. Watch formore of Archie Dan’s stories in the next issueof An Rubha.

© Collected, transcribed and translated byDr. Seósamh Watson, a recently retiredProfessor of Modern Irish at UniversityCollege Dublin. Author of numerous articlesand books on Gaelic language topics, he hascollected folklore and samples of dialect exten-sively in the field throughout Cape Breton.Along with similar work in Ireland andScotland, he is a founding member of theInternational Society for Dialectology andGeo linguistics, and joint editor of the multi-volume UNESCO Atlas LinguarumEuropae, published by the University ofFlorence. A long time advocate for Gaelic atthe community level, Dr. Watson is also a co-founder of Oideas Gael, Gleann Cholm Cille.

Each issue of AN RUBHA features an excerpt from Jonathan G. MacKinnon’sMAC-TALLA (Echo) with translation. MAC-TALLA, published in Sydney,Nova Scotia, was the longest running Gaelic weekly (ending as a bi-weekly)1892-1904. MacKinnnon, born in Dunakin in 1869, published his first issueat 22 years of age. He was a life-long promoter of Gaelic and was involved inother publications including Gaelic translations of English literature. Digitalcopies of MAC-TALLA can be found on the Sabhal Mòr Ostaig website at:http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/en/leabharlann/mactalla/

Archie Dan MacLellancontinued from page 13...


An Rubha Photo Album: Stòras a’ Bhaile 2009Storas a’ Bhaile 2009 convened three days of workshops, July 29, 30 and 31, focusing on language acquisition through living Gaelic cul-

ture. During this time, sixteen individuals registered to participate in activities based in the experience of Gaelic Nova Scotia’s tan-gible and intangible cultures. In addition Storas a’ Bhaile drew attention to technical support for Nova Scotia’s Gaelic culture throughSruth nan Gaidheal; the online portal containing a comprehensive representation of the province’s Gaelic tradition in story, song andlocal history.

Storas a’ Bhaile philosophy is grounded on the concept that Gaelic language renewal in Nova Scotia depends on restoring a groupidentity based in shared cultural expressions. For emerging secondary-bilinguals expecting to use Gaelic as a natural medium for socialaffirmation, the supporting environment must offer an associated identity culturally and linguistically distinct. The mission for Storasa’ Bhaile: 2009 was to encourage common Gaelic usage in ways which have typified Gaelic world view to the present.

Overall objectives for Storas a’ Bhaile 2009 were as follows: Inform on and transmit Gaelic arts and folkways indigenous to NovaScotia; Educate on uses of the Sruth nan Gaidheal website that compliment and reinforce Gaelic folklife skills and language transmissionthrough the medium of a social environment; Identify, explore and experience Gaelic cultural expressions relevant to Nova Scotia;Encourage participation in Gaelic cultural expression by individuals, community groups and educational institutions; Bring detailedawareness to specifics of Nova Scotia Gaelic language and culture in a social environment designed for transmission of arts such asmusic, dance, singing, storytelling and home culture; Celebrate and share Nova Scotia’s Gaelic traditions as a social resource owned byits inheritors and community of interest. Encourage the maintenance of Nova Scotia's Gaelic cultural assets as a renewable resource forcommunity economic and social development.

Storas a’ Bhaile is a partner-based initiative. Coordination of resources and event planning was carried out by Highland Village staffmembers Seumas Watson, Eosag Nic an t-Saoir (Joanne MacIntyre) and trustee Hugh MacKinnon along with Susan Cameron, librarianfor the Father Brewer Celtic Collection, St. Francis Xavier University, Dr. John Shaw, Senior Lecturer, School of Scottish Studies,University of Edinburgh and Gaelic singerMary Jane Lamond. Funding support from the Office of GaelicAffairs is gratefully acknowl-edged by the Highland Village Museum/An Clachan Gàidhealach and the organizing committee. �

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Photos (Clockwise from far left)

1. A' deanamh mharag le Catrìona NicNìll-Making maragan with Catherine MacNeil

2. Céilidh `s an taigh-sgoil - Céilidh in theschoolhouse (left to right: Mary Jane Lamond,Rod C. MacNeil, John Shaw, Allan MacLeodand Tiber Falzett.

3. A' seanachas le Anna NicFhionghain - In con-versation with Anna MacKinnon

4. Gabhaibh comhairle an t-seann tuathanaich -Ailean MacLeòid tells how to best thin theturnips.

5.Togail an teine `s an t-seann nòs - AllanMacLeod demonstrates fire building in the openhearth.

6. An fhìrinn ghlan! - John Shaw teaches a talltale to the group.

7. Bruidhinn air ceòl - Eòs Peadar discusses fid-dle music with John Shaw.

8. O bheul gu beul - Catherine MacNeil makespoint on marag making to Carmen MacArthur.

9. Suas e! - Joe Peter MacLean playing tunes.

All photos taken by Shannon MacIver.

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(Fonn)Hò air ill a bha hòHò air ill a bha hòÉiribh ìllean `s òg i òMo chridhe trom `s cha neònach

(Chorus)Hò air ill a bha hòHò air ill a bha hòRise up lads `s òg i òMy heart is heavy and no wonder.

1. Fhuair sinn sgeul an diugh bha bochdGun deach Dòmhnall a chuir fo `n phlocDh’fhàg siod do chàirdean fo sprochd`S do dhachaidh bhochd fo dhòrainn

(We received wretched news today thatDonald was buried under the sod. It left yourrelations desolate and your household abject.)

2. Cha n-urrainn dhomhs’ an diugh dholannBhon a tha àd sileadh dheòirFechaidh mi le cridhe fannRi rann a chur an òrdan

(I can’t visit today and face their weeping.With a faint heart, I shall attempt to composea verse.)

3. Tha do phàrantan àd dhéidhGun a h-aon aca glé threunCha n-eil leigheas air an creuchd`S annad fhéin bha an dòlas

(Your parents who remain have lost theircourage. There is no healing balm for theirwounds. You were all in their hopes.)

4. Chaidh an sgaradh tric air thùs`S goirt a’ lot tha `seo as ùrNach fhaic àd gu bràch do ghnùisNo ‘n ùir a chaidh `gad chomhdach

(Often felt the first renting and sore thenewest wound that they will never again seeyour face, or the dirt that covered you.)

5. `S i `r n-ùrnaigh ri Rìgh nam FeartGu faigh iad gràsan `s neart`S suarach an ùine ri teachdGun téid àd dhachaidh

(Our prayer to almighty God is that they willbe forged in grace and brief the time beforethey return to home.)

6. Choisinn thu iomadh clùThuit thu ann an airm a’ Righ`S iomadh òigear tha ri d’thaobhAir raointean na Roinn Eòrpa

(You won for them muchreknown. You fell in the king’sarmy. Many a lad lies by yourside on the fields of Europe.)

7. Cha chuir mise teud airghleusA sheinneas dhomh dochliù `s do bheus`S iomadh fear a bha `n éisA dh’fhairich feum dothròcair

(I can’t tune a string that cansing your praise and virtue.Many is the one in time ofneed who felt the aid of yourcompassion.)

8. Cha bhiodh do chridhedhaibh am foillChleachd thu carrantas leloinnThéid iomadh ùrnaigh dhana neòildo chaoimhneas thoirtdhut sòlas

(You heart held for them nodeceit. You practiced charityby preference. Many prayerswill travel to the skies thatyour benevolence will bringyou happiness.)

9. `S bochd nach robh motheanga geurMar na bàird a bharomham an déMholainn-sa do chliù `s dobheus`S an spéis thug mi dha `n òigear

(It’s a pity that my tongue wasn’t sharp likethe bards who came before me. I would pro-claim your virtue and excellence and myfondness for this young man.)

10. Bho nach fhaic sinn thu air thalamhGuidheamaid tròcair dha t’anamNuair a bhios ar cruadal seachadTachraidh sinn ri Dòmhnall

(Since we won’t see you on this earth, let uspray for mercy on your soul. When our trialsare over, we will join with Donald.) �

This touching lament is the composition ofthe late Big Neil MacNeil (Nìall MòrMhìcheil Nìll ìc Iain Mhóir) of HighlandHill, Victoria County, Cape Breton. It wasmade on the occasion of the death of Donald

Ag Éirigh Air Òrain / An Rubha SONG SELECTION (FROM Nòs is Fonn Collection)Cumha do Dhòmhnaill MacFhionghainCollected from Maxie MacNeil

MacKinnon (Dòmhnall mac RuairidhLùsaidh) from nearby MacKinnon Harbour,who was killed in action shortly after hisarrival in France during World War II. Wellliked by his neighbours, Donald had kept astore in the Harbour prior to joining thearmy. Donald was tragically preceded by hisbrother, who died prematurely of illness.

The air to the song is well known as Mochridhe trom `s cha neònach. It was recordedby Seumas Y. MacDonald for the HighlandVillage Nòs is Fonn project from the singingof Maxie MacNeil (Calum Dan Angus IainEòin) of Highland Hill. The words are alsoreported in the Nova Scotia Highland VillageSong Collection, compiled by SusanMacNeil, Maxie’s daughter, in 1985.Transcription and translation by SeumasWatson.

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Maxie MacNeil


Hò rò you stole the girlHò rò you dragged her offHò rò you stole the girlYou took her with you under the covers

Shiod agad mar ghoid thu `nigheanShiod agad mar shlaod thu iShiod agad mar ghoid thu `n nigheanThug thu leat fo ‘n aodach I

That’s the way you stole the girlThat’s how you dragged her awayThat’s the way you stole the girlYou took her with you under the covers

Màri Sìne based her setting on the wordsand singing of the late Lauchie MacLellan(Lachann Dhòmhnaill Nìll) of Broad Cove,Inverness County. Lauchie’s singing ofthis port can be heard online at the GaelStreamwebsite for the Cape Breton GaelicFolklore Collection (www.gaelstream.com)Mary Jane tells us that in this setting theof turns is in reverse of the usualsequence.

Hò rò ghoid thu `n nigheanHò rò shlaod thu iHò rò ghoid thu `n nigheanThug thu leat fo ‘n aodach I

An Gàidheal Portmhor / The Musical GaelHÒRÒGHOID THU `NNIGHEAN - JENNYDANG THEWEAVER

This common tune is found in at leastseventeen of the music books in HighlandVillage’s Joe MacLean Collection, includ-ing The Athole Collection of The DanceMusic of Scotland, 1883, Mozart Allan'sSecond Collection of Dance Music for theViolin, (no year given) and Gow'sRepositories - Part First of the CompleteRepository of Orginal Scots Slow Strathspeysand Dances, (no year given).

The oldest setting of Jenny Dang theWeaver in the MacLean Collection isreported in Robert MacIntosh's last collec-tion dating to 1796. For further informa-tion see The Fiddler’s Companion, © 1996-2009 Andrew Kuntz:http://www.ibiblio.org/fiddlers/JENN.htm �

Well known among Cape Breton, Scottish and Irish mucisians, Jenny Dang theWeaver is one of the most readily identifiable reels played on the fiddle. The

Gaelic words to the tune, as reported here, are from Mary Jane Lamond’s CD SuasE!, track nine (available on-line through iTunes). Its CD title is Hò Rò Ghoid Thu`n Nighean.

Tapadh leibh-se gu mórThe Nova Scotia Highland Village Society gratefully acknowledges the support of its government partners. In addition to our core

funding from the Nova Scotia Department of Tourism, Culture & Heritage (Nova Scotia Museum/Heritage Division),support has also been received from: the Province of Nova Scotia through the Tourism Division of Tourism, Culture & Heritage,Departments of Agriculture, Transportation & Infrastructure Renewal, Economic & Rural Development, and the Office of Gaelic Affairs;

the Government of Canada through Enterprise Cape Breton Corporation & Service Canada; and theMunicipality of Victoria County through District 1, and the Recreation and Tourism Department.

Image taken from the Robert MacIntosh Collection published in 1796, printed by A. MacGowan, Glasgow & Lengman & and Brodrip, London.


Betty (Ealsaid Ruaridh DhòmhnaillRuairidh) raised a family of four. He wasknown as an exceptional Gaelic singerbeing much in demand at local millingfrolics and céilidhs. John Rory was alsoknown for his scalpel wit and a concisehistorical memory. His great grandfather“Dòmhnall Òg,” a Barra man, fell withWolfe on the Plains of Abraham. Hevividly recalled a time when life was sea-sonal and tempered by Gaelic custom.

Is mise Iain Ruairidh MacNìll. IainRuairidh mac Mhìcheil ìc Stebhain ìcRuairidh. Rugadh mi ann a’ GleannBharraigh ann an naoidh ceud deug s’acóig. B’e mo mhàthair CatrìonaChaimbeul: Catrìona Eòin Chaluim ìcEachainn. Nuair chaidh is’ a bhreith gure Gleann Mòr a bhiodh `s an àite seo.

Chan n-e Gleann Bharraigh a bh’airidir. Chaidh atharrachadh a chuir annsan ainm, agus b’fheàrr leam fhìn nach dochuir iad an t-atharrachadh seo ann. Chachreid mi nach biodh Gleann Mór glémhath mar ainm air. Ach dh’atharraichàd an t-ainm nuair a thàinig a’ cheudtaigh-posta mach a’ seo `s chuir iad BarraGlen air – Gleann Bharraigh. IainDòmhnallach a bha `na mharsantaastaigh aig Idhe ann a’seo, tha mi`smaointinn gur e a’ fear, a chuala miseco-dhiù, a thug an t-ainm air a’seo.

SW - Có as a bha ur cuideachd?

IRM - Bha iad á Barraigh.`S ann às a sina thàinig mo dhaoine-sa.

SW - Robh Beurla aca nuair a thàinig iaddhan taobh seo?

IRM - Sin ceist nach do chuir mi riamh.

SW - An e Gàidhlig a’ chànain a bha air abruidhinn anns an taigh agaibh-se . . .?

IRM - `S e Gàidhlig a bh’againn astaighgus o chionn ghoirid, faodaidhmi cantail.

SW - Dé an connadh a bha sibh a` cleach-dadh astaigh?

IRM - `Se connadh a bha iad agùsaideachadh a chumal blàths anns na

taighean. `S ann `s a` gheamhradh abhiodh sibh `ga fhaighinn sin dha `ntaigh. Aig an àm a bha mise fàs suas `s abhiodh sinn deanamh na obrach sin. Charobh ach each `s sleighe na dà each `ssleighe a’ dol dh’an choillidh-tuagh `ssàbh. Dh’fheumadh tu a h-uile nì aca sinobrachadh. Cha robh power idir ann.Dh’fheumadh a’ sneachd a bhith ann airson gu faighteadh an aghaidh `s a choil-lidh, `s tarriung a dheanamh. Cha robhfàs math air fiodh a’seo idir. Gu h-araidconnadh cruaidh. Cha robh sin goirid alàimh ri mo linn-sa. Cha mhór chadugadh e mach fad a’gheamhraidh a

bhaile. Dh’fheumadh tu curachd adheanamh. Dh’fheumadh tu curachd adheanamh aig àm na curachd `s bha `nuair sin a’feur ri dheanamh. `S bhiodhiad a’coimhead as deaghaidh a’ bhuntàt’a chaidh a chuir. Dh’fheumte cumail glanna luibhean. An uair sin togail a’ bhuntà-ta airson a gheamhraidh.

SW - Robh cleachadh àraid aca m’àm nacurachd? `S an àm a bha sin, ann anEilean na Nollaig, thugadh iad a’ sìolchun na h-eaglais gus beannachd fhaigh-inn air.

IRM - Bha sin ann nuair a bha mise gumath òg. Tha fiosam gun dug mi-fhìnsìol mar sin dha `n eaglais air LàBealltainn. Là Bealltainn a bha sinne `gathoirt. Cha b’ann Di dòmhnaich idir. Thami `creidsinn nam biodh Di dòmhnaicha’tuiteam air Là Bealltainn. . . cha n-eilfhiosam a nisd gum biodh àd ann a’ làsin, ach cha do dh’amais sin ri m’linn-sagu robh àd ann a’ là sin. . . gu robh anDòmhnach air Là Bealltainn. Ach `se LàBealltainn a bh’sinn a’toirt astaigh, o, sìolge b’e dé bha dùil agad a chuir: coirce,eòrna, buntàta, salann. Bha salann ri bhiann cuideachd air tàilleabh ... `s ann air-son brìgh. Tha thu ag ùsaideachadhsalann. Air son `s gum biodh sin math achuir air, o, biadh a bhios tu a’ toirt dha`n chrodh na a leithid sin ... `s gum biodhe toradh le linn.


I am John Rory MacNeil. John Rory sonof Michael, son of Stephen, son of Rory. Iwas born in Barra Glen in 1915. Mymother was Catherine Campbell.Catherine, daughter of John, son ofMalcolm, son of Hector. She was fromhere about half a mile away.

I believe Barra Glen was called GreatGlen about the time I was born. It wasn’tcalled Barra Glen at all. The name waschanged and I personally would prefer ithad been left as it was. I think GreatGlen would be perfectly suitable as aname. The name was changed when thepost office was established out here andthey named it Barra Glen. I believe it wasthe merchant John MacDonald in Iona

Anns a’Ghleann `s a’Robh Mi Òg / In the Glen Where I was YoungIain RuairidhMhìcheil Steabhain Ruairidh icDhòmhnaill ÒigRecorded by Seumas Watson

John Rory MacNeil was a native of Barra Glen, Victoria County. He lived his life andworked variously on the land as a farmer and woodsman. He concluded his work-

ing career as an attendant on the Iona-Grand Narrows car ferry. He and his wife

�...He was a recognised fiddler, story

teller, singer and historian.John Dan MacNeil was a man whonever forgot where he came from.�

bhith cumail connadh ris an taigh. Mafhuair thu a chuir ma seach, bha thudeanamh poidhl’ air. Dh’fheumadh tusin a shàbhadh agus a’sin a ghearradhmar a chanamaid `na bhlogan, agus a’sina spleatadh suas airson gun loisgeadh e`s a’ stòbh. Bha obair gu léor ann `na linn,nan gearradh tu `s a’ choillidh e, agus anuair sin a’deanadh deiseil airson teine athogail leis anns a’stòbh. Bha obair mhórann am blàths a’chonnaidh. Na faig-headh tu connadh cruaidh mar a chanassinn; beithe, na uinnseann, o `s e glébheag do dh’uinnseann a bh’ann, ach `s ebeithe `s meabail. Meabail geal, cha robhe uamhasach math air son connadh idir.Tha uamhas de sap ann: sùgh. Ach ammeabail dubh, bha am fear sin math. Bhaa’ fear sin math gu teas, beithe-buidhechanamaid ris.

SW - Am biodh sibh `ga chòmhdach aigan taigh?

IRM - Cha bhitheadh. Dìreach `gathilgeil am miosg a chéile mar a rachadhe. Bha sinn a’ feuchainn ri tighinn ro `n t-saoghal le beagan do dh’obair air a’


that gave that name to this place, that’swhat I heard anyway.

SW - Where were your antecedentsfrom?

JRM - They were from Barra. My peoplecame from there.

SW - Did they speak English when theyarrived here?

JRM - That’s a question I never asked.

SW - Is Gaelic the language you spoke inyour house?

JRM - I can say Gaelic was the languageat home until just recently.

SW - What fuel did you use to keep yourhouses warm?

JRM - They used fire wood to heat thehouses. You would bring it home in thewinter. We did that work when I wasgrowing up. There was only a horse andsleigh or two horses and a sleigh going tothe woods, an axe and saw. These werehand operated. There was no power. Itwas necessary to have snow in order toget along in the woods and for hauling.Wood didn’t grow very well here at all,especially hard wood. It wasn’t near tohand during my time. It nearly took thebest part of the winter keeping the housesupplied with wood. If you got anythingto put by you made a pile of it. You hadto pile it and cut it into blocks, as wewould say. It was then split up for burn-ing in the stove. It was a lot of wood in itsday. If you cut it in the woods and then

This past June, the Board of Trustees of the NovaScotia Highland Village Society adopted the

Highland Village’s first Gaelic Policy. It is the firstsuch policy for any Gaelic related institution ororganisation in Canada. A fully bi-lingual versionof the policy document is available in pdf format fordownload from our website (vision & missionpage). Below is an excerpt from our Gaelic Policy:

Introduction: Thus this policy defines andestablishes the guiding principals thatunderpin the fundamental role of Gaeliclanguage and culture in the mandate andoperations of the Nova Scotia HighlandVillage Society and its relationship with theNova Scotia and international Gaelic her-itage communities. Nova Scotia HighlandVillage Society is the local managementgroup responsible, on behalf of the NovaScotia Museum, Nova Scotia Departmentof Tourism, Culture & Heritage, for thestewardship of the Highland VillageMuseum/An Clachan Gàidhealach, a provin-cial Gaelic folk-life museum.

Nova Scotia Highland Village has pre-pared a Gaelic Policy for three essential rea-sons: (a) to ensure that NSHV is at all timesengaged in meeting expectations for itsinstitutional mandate as aMember of NovaScotia Museum as described in its inaugu-rating proclamation of 2000; (b) to developa consistent approach to authentic interpre-tation of the Scottish Gaels and theirdescendants in Nova Scotia by means oftheir Gaelic language and culture; and (c)to represent and communicate NovaScotia's Gaelic language and culturethrough best practices on-site and in thefounding community.

This policy has been created in recogni-tion of the public trust placed in HighlandVillage to interpret and uphold the Gaelicheritage of Nova Scotia by means of its lan-guage, culture and historical presence.

Policy Aims: The aims of this policy are to:(a) ensure that Gaelic language and cultureare a fundamental and priority componentin the interpretive and community-basedactivities of Highland Village; (b) ensurethat Highland Village provides cornerstonesupport for on-going development ofGaelic language initiatives in the provinceof Nova Scotia; (c) prioritize understandingthat Gaelic language and culture distin-guishes the Scottish Gaels and their dece-dents as a major ethnic group in NovaScotia; and (d) facilitate understanding ofGaelic Nova Scotia past and presentthrough the language and culture of itsfounding and extant community. �

got it ready to make a fire there was a lotof work in producing fire wood heat. Ifyou got hard wood as we say ... birch orash ... oh there was very little ash ... butbirch or maple ... white maple wasn’tvery good at all; there’s too much sap init. Black maple was good. That one was agood heat maker and birch, yellow birch,as we would say.

SW - Did you cover it over at the house?

JRM - No, we just threw them togetherwhatever way they fell. We were tryingto come through the world with a littlework on the farm. You had to sow. Youhad to sow at the time of planting, andthen there was hay to make, and theywould look after the planted potatoes.Theweeds would have to be cleaned out.Then the potatoes were lifted for winter.

SW - Did they have a special custom atplanting time? In Christmas Island theytook the seed to the church to be blessed.

JRM - That was done when I was veryyoung. I know I took seed to churchmyself ... on Beltane Day (May 1st). Wetook it on Beltane day, not on Sunday atall. I believe if Sunday fell on Beltane Day... I don’t know if they would do it onSunday, but it didn’t happen in my timethat Beltane Day fell on a Sunday. But itwas Beltane Day we were taking in seed(to the church), whatever you expected toplant: oats, barley, potatoes and salt. Salthad to be included to ensure potency dur-ing its life expectancy. �

© Collected and translated by SeumasWatson.

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Iain Ruairidh Mhìcheil Steabhain Ruairidh `ic Dhòmhnaill Oig (John Rory MacNeil)

POILEASAIDHGÀIDHLIGHighland Village’snew Gaelic Policy


relationship with their landlords, theMacNeills during the time of emigration.The narrative was recorded from AngusMacDonald (born in 1863) on December13, 1946:

’S ann a nuas à Cinn-tire a thàinigClann ’Ic Nìll a bha seo. Bhatuathanachas aca ’n a’ Mhaoil, MaolChinn tire, aig Gob naMaoile. Iain Ileach achanadh iad ris a’ chiadfhear dhiubh. Bha fear amuinntir an EileinSgitheanaich a bha fhiosaige a seo. ’S e Alasdairan Eilein a chanadh iadris. Bha fear eile amuinntir an EileinSgitheanaich agas bhafhios aige a seo. ’S e feara’ Choire a chanadh iadris. ’S e Tearlach abh’air. Chuir Clann ’IcNìll uamhas dhaoine asan eilean. Cha chreid minach d’fhalbh trì ficheadteaghlaichean as a seo rilinn m’athair a bhith’na dhuine òg. ’S e a’rud bu mhiosa dheth,chan fhaigheadh iad fuireach as a’rìoghachd seo fhéin. Bha iad air son iada dhol fairis co dhiubh. ’S ann aChanada a chuireadh iad. Chuala migun deach iad air bòrd an TobarMhoire. Bha iad a’ gealltainn dhaibhgum bitheadh iad gu math nuair aruigeadh iad a null, ach ’s ann a bhaiad na bu mhiosa. Chuala mi nach e ant-uachdaran nach e bu choireach risuile gu léir, ’gan cuir air falabh idir.Athair Mhic Nìll ma dheireadh thug etuathanach a seo agas bha an t-aite anuair sin fo chroiteirean, agas chuir sinan truaighe air. Bha na croiterean uileair an taobh thall air aghaidh a’mhonaidh agas iad ’ga àiteach chamhór air fad. Dh’fheumadh an

tuathanach a thàinig na daoine a shuf-tadh as gu faigheadh esan an talamh.Bha an talamh sin ’ga àiteach air fad.Thàinig a’ chuid a bha thall a nall a seo(gu Sandaidh) agas bha tuilleadh ’s a’chòir ann an uair sin. Cha b’ urrainndhaibh a bhith beò ann. Chuir iad nadaoine as an taobh thall uile. Fear Mac

Phàil a thàinig a seo ’na thuathanach,agas bha e treis mhór ann an Eige arithist. Bha crodh dubh aig antuathanach agas rinn e feum mór.(Transcribed from IFC MS 1029 333-334)

It was down from Kintyre thatthese MacNeills came. They werefarming in the Mull, the Mull ofKintyre, at the point of the Mull.They called the first of them IainIleach. There was a Skye-man whoknew this. They called himAlasdairan Eilein. There was another Skye-man and he knew this as well andthey called him Fear a’ Choire.Charles was his name. TheMacNeills sent a great number of

people from the island. I believe 60families left from here when myfather was a youngman. The worstthing of it was that they couldn’tmake a living in this district. Theywere in favour of them emigratinganyway. They would send them toCanada. I heard that they went

aboard in Tobermory.They were promisingthem they would be bet-ter off when they wouldarrive on the other side,but they were worse off.I heard that it was thelandlord’s fault entirelyfor sending them away.MacNeill’s father finallytook a farmer here and atthat time the place wasworked by crofters andthat caused trouble. Thecrofters were all on thefar side facing the moor-land and the land therewas almost entirelyinhabited by them. Thefarmer that came had toremove the people fromthe land so that he

would get it. This land was entire-ly inhabited. Those that were overthere came over here to Sandayand there were too many therethen. They couldn’t survive there.They sent away the people fromthe other side entirely. A MacPhailman came here as a farmer, and hewas in Eigg for a long period again.The farmer had black cattle and hemade great use of them. (Author’stranslation)

Specific Canna emigration to CapeBreton was first recorded in 1791, duringthe times of the MacNeills. By 1861 thepopulation of Canna had dropped to 127inhabitants. Considering that the aver-

Dualchas nan Canach/Canna Heritage in Cape BretonCULTURAL&SOCIALCONTRIBUTIONS OFCANNAEMIGRATION TOCAPE BRETONBy Dr. Giulia De Gasperi

Emigration from the Isle of Canna peaked during the decade 1821-1831 and dur-ing the Clearance of 1851. There is an interesting piece of oral narrative collect-

ed by Calum MacLean in the 1940s, at that time working for the Irish FollkloreCommission, which sheds some light on Canna and the islanders’


age population has always been around200, with the exception of the boom yearsof the kelp industry when the populationreached more than 400 inhabitants, wecan see how the number after theClearing had halved.Although no recordof the names of the emigrants survives,we know from other sources (writtenand oral) that many people of Cannaarrived in Nova Scotia and eventuallysettled in Cape Breton Island.

The families from Canna of which wehave data available, settled mainly inInverness County, on the west coast ofCape Breton, with the exception of onefamily who settled along the easternshore of the Bras d’Or Lake, in CapeBreton County. These families broughtwith them their language, ScottishGaelic, and their customs and traditions,all of which greatly contributed to shap-ing the cultural context of Cape Breton’snewly found Gàidhealtachd or ScottishGaelic-speaking community. This articleaims at exploring and gathering togetherthe cultural and social contributions ofsome of these Canna families to theGaelic-speaking communities of CapeBreton Island.

THE KENNEDYS OF BROAD COVEMemory of Canna-people in the BroadCove Parish survived in the use of theadjective, Canach for a Canna-person,plural Canaich, among local residents inthe twentieth-century and well-knownseanchaidh Lauchie Dan N. MacLellan,known for his large repertoire of songsand tales, could trace his ancestry back toa Murdoch Kennedy, who emigratedfrom Canna in the late eighteenth centu-ry, through his mother CatherineMacLellan, née Kennedy. The Kennedysof Broad Cove in Inverness County arethe first family of Canaich to be discussedhere. They were known for their musicaltalents, especially in step-dancing andfiddling. Pioneer John Kennedywho firstemigrated to Prince Edward Island fromCanna in 1790 and eventually settled inBroad Cove began dancing classes. Hisson, Archie continued the tradition up to1900 teaching the steps to dances such asthe Flings, the Swords, Seann Triubhas,Flowers of Edinburgh, Jacky Tar, Duke ofFife, and The Girl I Left Behind Me.Ranald Kennedy (1870 – 1958), Archie’sson, also knew how to dance. He hadlearned from watching his father teach-ing other people, then going to the barnto practice the steps by himself. He is,

however best know for being an excel-lent fiddle player, as Margaret AnnCameron Beaton remembers:

Ranald Kennedy of Broad Cove was acousin of my father’s, and what a vio-lin player he was! And there was thisAngus Campbell of Glenora Falls, andAmbrose Beaton. Well, every winterthose three would come to our placetwice, just to get my father dancing. …oh, my goodness, but you couldn’t hearany music like that now – just the oldtunes, the very best!

Indeed, musical talent ran in the fam-ily; Mary Kennedy, one of Ranald’sdaughters was also remembered as agood step dancer.

DR. KENNEDY OF MABOUAnother descendant of Canna familieswas Dr. Alexander E. Kennedy, a descen-dant of Red John Kennedy who camefrom Canna to Nova Scotia in 1791 and

never any scarcity of musicianshere. Violinists and bagpipe play-ers could be counted by the dozen,and many of them excellent per-formers at that. I have often seen asmany as eight, then and twelvemusicians at a wedding.’ The arti-cle lists fiddlers and pipers, divid-ing them by instrument and intoearlier and later categories. (Gibson,2002, p. 218)Amongst the earlier pipers, the article

lists Neil Jamieson and Gibson gives hispatronymic, Niall mac Lachlainn, ofPiper’s Glen, of Canna stock. Amongstthe later pipers, the Casket article citesJohn and Charlie Jamieson.

It is uncertain if piping was transmit-ted through themother’s or father’s side.To add to this mystery, there is a familytradition that links the Jamieson’s musi-cal ability to supernatural influence ofthe fairies. The family is also mentionedin Clara Denis’ Cape Breton Over, a travellog of her journey to the island, pub-lished in 1942:

‘I found myself entering a lovelyGlen and it took its name from afamily of Jamiesons who lived hereand who all played the bagpipes–the girls of the family as well asthe boys.’‘I remember them,’ said an agedman. ‘There was a big family o’them and every last one o’ themplayed the pipes. I can hear theirmusic yet when they’d be playingin the open, here in the Glen.’Unfortunately, economic hardship

made life difficult and the family eventu-ally decided to move to Glace Bay towork in the coalmines. On this occasion,a local bard, Angus Ban MacFarlarne,composed a lament in their honour:

Nuair a rainig mi an clireadhAnns an robh thu, Neill, a’ tamhachd,Fhuair mi ’n fhardach air a dunadh;Shil mi shuilean, ’s cha bu nar dhomh.

Nuair a chruinnicheadh na h-eolaichStaigh ’nad sheomar, mar bu ghnathleo,Gu’m biodh cridhealas gu leor ann,’S gheibhte ceol us orain Ghaidhlig.

Dh’fhalbh thu bhuainn a Gleann a’Phiobair’;Chuir sin mighean air mo nadur.’S ann ort fhein ‘s air do chuid cloinne’Chaidh a shloinneadh, tha iad agraitinn.

eventually settled in Broad Cove Marsh.Born in Kenloch, he had practiced medi-cine in Mabou until he died in 1940. Hewas a famous dancer and local accountssay he had participated in the very firstMabou picnic held in 1897. He hadlearned some steps from the aforemen-tioned Archie Kennedy of Broad Cove asTina Kennedy, Ranald’s daughter,relates:

Dr. Kennedy of Mabou was a gooddancer and he had a very hardstep. My father (Ranald Kennedy)asked him once where he got it andDr. Kennedy said, “I got it fromyour father (i.e., Archie) and it’s thehardest step I know!”

His grandchildren are notable dancersas well, who are often praised as havinga bit of the doctor’s talent in their danc-ing!

THE JAMIESONS OF PIPER’S GLENThe Jamiesons were another family ofCanna background who emigrated toCape Breton and settled at Piper’s Glen.One of the sons, Neil, had a large familyof boys and girls, all pipers, includingNeil. The Jamiesons were a very wellknown and respected family and arementioned in several works for theirmusical talent, including the followingnote:

An anonymous Antigonish Casketwriter noted of South WestMargaree in 1896 that ‘[t]here was



Seinnidh Iain grin a’ phiob dhuit;Seinnidh Sin’ i agus Tearlach,Eachann, Flòiri, agus Seumas,Mary Jane, us May, us Searlot.

When I reached the clearing whereyou were living, Neil, I found theHouse locked up; the tears came tomy eyes, as well they might.

When friends would gather inyour room as they used to like to,There would be merriment a-plen-ty and music and Gaelic songs.You have gone away from us fromPiper’s Glen, and that shedsGloom on my spirits; it was afteryou and your children that the glenwas named, they say.

Handsome John can play the pipesfor you; Jean can play them andCharlie;Hector, Flora and James, Mary Janeand May and Charlotte.

Family members eventually dis-persed, with some emigrating to theStates. However, John (1868-1944) andCharlie Jamieson (b. 1874) who remainedin Cape Breton, relocating to Glace Bay,were able to maintain their role as per-formers in the community. John was alsonoted for his ability at telling Gaelic sto-ries and playing tunes on the fiddle.

THE KENNEDYS OF MIDDLE CAPEMiddle Cape lies on the eastern shore onthe Bras d’Or Lake, in Cape BretonCounty. It was home to another Kennedyfamily of Canna background known fortheir extensive and varied repertoire oftales (sgeulachdan) and lore (seanchas).They were brought to the academic andnon-academic attention through theresearch of John Shaw. During his exten-sive fieldwork carried out in Cape Bretonbetween the 1970s and 80s he collected

oral material from several Gaelic-speak-ing tradition-bearers throughout theisland. One in particular, Joe NeilMacNeil of Middle Cape, styled Eòs NìllBhig, proved to be a source of infinitelore, portions of which have published inSgeul gu Latha: Tales until Dawn, tran-scribed, translated and edited by Shawand published in 1987. In the volume JoeNeil speaks of the several families heknew in his home district of MiddleCape, including the Kennedys. Localaccounts stated that this family was fromthe Isle of Canna. Although exact infor-mation about the arrival of this family inCanada is missing, the name appears inland grant records of the area as early as1821. It is possible that this family maybe related to the same Kennedys ofInverness County, although to this date itis still uncertain. At a closer look, thefamily stands out in Middle Cape notonly because it was the only family ofCanna origin in a community where themajority of the population was of Barraand South Uist origin, but mostlybecause of their incredible and uniquerepertoire of stories. Joe Neil MacNeilrecalls the following concerning the fam-ily:

Le m’fhiosrachadh fhéin, bha triùrghillean aig Murchadh. Bha Seamus isDòmhnall is Gilleasbuig ann. Bhatriùr pheatraichean aig Seamus ’s aigGilleasbuig ’s aig Dòmhnall. Bha Mór(agus Anna) agus Catrìona, neo CeitMhór mar a bheireamaid rithe. Agusb’e sin i dha rìreabh; ’s e boireannachmór, foghainneach a bh’innte – boire-annach éibhinn, aighearach agus boire-annach aig a robh sgeulachdan mar athuirt iad, beag agus mór. Agus bha igu math iasgaidh gus a bhith ’ganaithris.

Bha e (Iain Mac’Illean) ’g innsedhomh latha a chaidh e dha ’n sgoil.Agus bha rudeiginn ceàrr anns antaigh sgoil. Cha robh dòigh aca airblàthas a bhith ann, co-dhiubh ’s e pìoba bheireadh amach an deathach a bhrist

’s a thuit na gu dé a thachair, b’fheudardha tilleadh dhachaidh. Agus nuair abha e a cheum dhachaidh bhaDòmhnall Ceanadach ag obair amuighfaisg air an taigh agus dh’éibh e airsuas chon an taighe.

‘Trobhad anuas, a laochain,’ ors’esan, ‘agus gum faigheadh tu tea agusgun gabhainn sgeulachd dhut.’

“Agus chaidh mi suas a thaigh a’Cheanadaich agus fhuair mi cupa teabho Pheigi agus ghabh Dòmhnall a’sgeulachd dhomh. ’S e seo DòmhnallMhurchaidh Cheanadaich. Agus thugmi greis gun tighinn dhachaidh. Agusdh’fhoighneachd m’athair dhiom nuaira thàna mi gu dé thachair: gu robh miaig an dachaich nab u tràithe na b’àb-haist dhomh tighinn dhachaidh as a’sgoil. Agus dh’innis mi dha nach robhsgoil idir ann ‘ga teagasg an diugh,agus dh’innis mi dha mar a thachair.

“ ‘’S e gu dé,’ ors’ esan, ‘a bha ‘gadchumail cho fada gun tighinndhachaidh bho nach robh sgoil ann andiugh ‘ga teagasg?’

“ ‘Bha,’ ors’ mise, ‘gun do dh’éibhDòmhnall Mhurchaidh orm suasdh’ionnsaidh an taighe airson ’s gumfaighinn cupa tea agus dh’innis e sgeu-lachd dhomh.’

“ ‘Agus dé ’n sgeulachd a ghabh edhut?’ orsa m’athair - b’e seo CalumIain Mac’Illeain.

“ ‘Dh’innis,’ orsa mise, ‘dh’innis edhomh sgeulachd air Fear a’ ChòtaLiathghlais.’

Agus rinn m’athair gàire agusthuirt e, “Nach neònach leam,’ ors’esan, ‘thu bhith air tighinn dhachaidhcho tràth ‘s a thàinig thu ma ’s e sin a’sgeulachd a chuala tu.’ ”

Ach ’s ann air Gilleasbuig ab’eòlaiche mi dhiubh uile agus ’s annaige bu mhotha fhuair mi obair sgeu-lachdan. Bha e sònraichte air sgeulach-dan na Féinneadh agus a h-uile rud abhuineadh dhaibh sin.

Agus ’s fheudar dhomh a ghràdhanns an am seo gu bheil mór-bharail

Panorama of the Isle of Canna, outermost of the Small Isles on the west coast of Scotland,Taken from Compass Hill on Canna, overlooking Canna Bay and Sanday towards Rùm.

From Wikapedia and the citation is Emoscopes.


agam ri toirt air na Ceanadaich gusònraichte a thaobh iad a bhith chomath air gnothaichean nan sgeulachd.

To my knowledge Murdock (pio-neer Murdock Kennedy) had threesons: James, Donald, and Archie.James and Archie and Donald hadthree sisters: Sarah, Anna, andCatherine, or Ceit Mhor (“BigKate”) as we used to call her. Andshe was a big strong womanindeed – an amusing, cheerfulwoman and one who had, as theywould say, both big and smalltales. And she was more than will-ing to tell them.

John (a friend of Joe Neil) toldme about one day when he went toschool and something was wrongin the schoolhouse. They had noway of heating it – it may havebeen the pipe that took out thesmoke that broke and fell – and hehad to return home. And as he wason his way home Donald Kennedywas out working near the houseand he called him to the house.

“ ‘Come on up, boy,’ said he,‘and have some tea and I will tellyou a tale.’ And I went out to theKennedys’ house and got a cup oftea from Peggy, and Donald toldme the story. That was Donald, sonofMurdock, Kennedy.And it was awhile before I reached home.When I arrivedmy father askedmewhat had happened that I hadarrived home earlier than usualfrom school. So I told him therewas no school taught today andrelated to himwhat had happened.

“ ‘And what,’ said he, ‘kept youso long from coming home sincethere was no school taught today?’

“ ‘It happened,’ said I, ‘thatDonald, son of Murdock, called meup to the house for a cup of tea andtold me a tale.’

“ ‘And what tale did he tell foryou?’ said my father.

“ ‘He toldme the tale of theManin the Light Grey Coat.’ Ianswered. My father laughed andsaid, ‘It’s strange,’ said he, ‘thatyou should be home so early ifthat’s the tale that you heard.’ ”

Of all of the Kennedys I wasbest acquainted with Archie and itwas from him that I got the mosttales. He was an outstanding

reciter of Fenian tales and every-thing that had to do with them.

I must say here that I have agreat regard for the Kennedys; par-ticularly because they were sogood when it came to tales.

The Kennedys of Middle Cape arediscussed in more depth by Shaw in hisarticle “Observations on the Cape BretonGàidhealtachd and its relevance to pres-ent-day Celtic Studies,” where he pointsout the unique pedigrees of some of thetales that were in the family’s repertoire.Three fragments in particular stand outamongst their rich store of tales: BrìdMhór Each ‘Great Brìd of the Horses’, BàsChù Chulainn ‘The Death of Cù Chulainn’and O Cròileagan nan Each ‘O Cròileaganof the Horses’, all of which trace theirhistory back to several oral versions inIreland and Scotland and finally to earlymanuscript tradition. These fragmentsare also important because they repre-sent variants of tales that have not beenrecorded anywhere else in Cape Breton.One speculation made concerning theuniqueness and rarity of the Kennedys’repertoire suggests that the Kennedysbefore leaving the Isle of Canna couldhave become familiar with the storieshoused in the lost manuscript Fear o’nGharbh-thìr that made its way to theisland through the eighteenth-centuryJacobite poet and Baillie of CannaAlexander MacDonald (Alasdair macMhaighstir Alasdair). Whatever the truthmay be, the Kennedys will always beknown for their excellence in storytellingand for their uniqueness and richness ofrepertoire.

The MacArthurs of the Codroy Valley

Another family from Canna that, like theJamiesons, had to face secondary migra-tion were the MacArthurs of Canna wholeft the island around the early 1800s andwho are discussed in detail in MargaretBennett’s The Last Stronghold. AngusMacArthur first came to Nova Scotia,and after getting married, moved toCape Breton. Unfortunately the situationaround landownership was not promis-ing and eventually the family decided toleave for Newfoundland and settled inthe Codroy Valley. What is important inthe economy of this article is the invalu-able amount of lore and traditions thatthe MacArthurs brought over with them.The family married into the MacIsaacs

who had come to Newfoundland a fewyears earlier than the MacArthurs. Theywere of Moidart and Glengarry origins,another family of strong tradition-bear-ers. Allan MacArthur, grandson ofAngus, was the main informant for TheLast Stronghold, who gave plenty ofdetailed information about life in theNew World describing how old tradi-tions from the Old World Gàidhealtachdwere carried on in Newfoundland. Hewas himself a piper, a storyteller, a singerand a dancer and his house was the placefor many a céilidh. Unfortunately Allandied in 1971; the last descendant of hisfamily who lived in the Codroy Valleywas Charles who died in 1946. The LastStronghold is thus an invaluable workbecause it preserves traditions and cus-toms that would have been otherwiselost forever.

CONCLUSIONThis article introduces a selection of fam-ilies of Canna origin that were knownthroughout Cape Breton and beyond fortheir talent and for being excellent tradi-tion-bearers of a culture that was avibrant and living one; thanks to thememories of people who knew them orwho are related to them or to the worksof academics, we are able today to appre-ciate their contributions and efforts atpreserving and disseminating knowl-edge of various cultural forms in theirNew World context. We are also able toopen a window on what Canna was likein terms of its cultural background in thepre-emigration period. People fromCanna, as this article has shown, provedto be talented musicians, step-dancersand storytellers. We can only imagine atthis stage of research, how wealthy theisland must have been in terms of vari-ous genres of traditional performanceculture. Further studies and research willhopefully illuminate further our under-standing of the role of Canaich or Cannapeople to the New World Gàidhealtachd,which will help, on one hand to shedmore light on their cultural contributionsand on the other to demonstrate the richlegacy of Canna’s cultural heritage OldWorld and New. �

Dr. Giulia De Gasperi is an independantresearcher currently residing in Edinburgh.Her An Rubha article contains a lengthy listof citations which have been precluded due tospace limitations. They are available uponrequest.


of the Highlands and Islands seem toarrive in the new land, skilled in weav-ing, yet largely unfamiliar with knitting?

Weaving in Scotland undisputedlyhas a long history, from Viking-agestone-weighted looms to the more com-plex horizontal looms upon which the17th and 18th century plaiding and 19thcentury shawls of Paisley were woven.By the early 1800s, the IndustrialRevolution had put an end to muchhandweaving in England and the neigh-bouring Scottish Lowlands. However,the Highlands and Islands had up to thispoint escaped its full effect.At the time ofemigration, many communities were stillsupporting village weavers and tailors,with individual families spinning thewool from their own sheep.

Knitting was little known in Scotlanduntil knit clothing began to appear withregularity in a few Lowland areas by thelate 15th century. It was to take centuriesbefore the new technique was commonin all areas of the country. Initially usedto supplement loom-woven cloth, it pro-vided a form-fitting elastic material wellsuited for mittens and stockings.Knitting was at first a man’s job anddeveloped into a profession. Gradually,though it was taken up by women andused as means to supplement a family’sincome. Whereas Scotland as a countrywould become known for several dis-tinctive styles of knitting over the nextfew centuries, there is little evidence toshow that any of these techniques wereknown in the western Highlands andIslands at the turn of the 18th and begin-ning of the 19th centuries.

But some areas excelled early on. Theearliest professional knitters in Scotlandwere the bonnetmakers of Lowlandtowns, such as Aberdeen, Perth, Stirling,Kilmarnock and Glasgow. In Dundee,bonnetmakers were plentiful enough toform a trade guild by 1496. Knit in onepiece, often dyed blue, the bonnet was“heavily waulked,” or felted into a tightfabric which was durable and offeredprotection from the damp Scottishweather. They were no longer fashion-able in Europe by 1600, yet it still

remained popular in Scotland. In the18th century these bonnets, slightlyaltered, became a part of the uniform ofthe army troops recruited in theHighlands and even today they arethought of as being synonymous withHighland dress.

By the 17th and 18th centuries, itseems that most caps and bonnets wereknit. Although commonly worn in theHighlands, they were not producedthere. A man’s blue wool bonnet, datedaround 1715, is pictured in Dr. HelenBennett’s book, Scottish Knitting.Although it was found on Lewis in the

ing trade in Aberdeen continued, withThomas Pennant reporting in 1769 that69,333 dozen pairs were being sold annu-ally. Merchants were also supplyingimported wool to women in rural areasto be knit into stockings. These were thensent to England or Europe. By 1745 somehosiery coming from Aberdeenshire waseven patterned with squares, for sale tothe Dutch market.

The enthusiasm for knit stockings waswidespread: “Stockings in many parts ofScotland are knit much cheaper thanthey can anywhere be wrought upon theloom.” (Adam Smith, The Wealth ofNations, 1789.) However, by the end ofthe 18th century, knitting was still rarelyseen in many areas of the Highlands andWestern Isles. Stockings were made fromhandwoven material. Woven hose wereknee-length, with the fabric cut on thebias and sewn together. In the 1790s thefirst Statistical Account tells us that hosemade from handwoven tartan fabricwere the principal products of Comrieparish in Perthshire (Tayside).

Attempts were made to introduceknitting into the Highlands in the latterpart of the 18th century. However,according to Dr. Helen Bennett, theseefforts were seen by the population in anegative light. “Unlikely as knitting mayseem as a vehicle for subduing an insur-gent population, there had been continu-ing attempts to introduce the techniqueto the Highlands among measures toquash support for the exiled Stuarts inthe wake of the 1715 and 1745 risings.The Gaelic-speaking inhabitants, whopreferred droving and hunting to moresettled occupations, were regarded withsuspicion by those living further south.There was a long-held view that byestablishing schools to instruct the chil-dren in English and useful manufactures(such as stocking making) theHighlanders could be transformed intoobedient subjects of the Hanoverianmonarchy.”

Dèante le làimhGAELS&THEKNITTING TRADITIONVicki Quimby

The handcraft of knitting is often thought of as being particularly well developedin Scotland. Argyll socks, Shetland lace shawls, and Fair Isle sweaters are well

known even today for their distinctive styles and patterns. As early as 1615, a trav-eler to the Shetland Island recorded stockings and mittens being knit with a fine localwool and sold to foreign traders and fishermen. Why, then, did the emigrant Gaels

Vicki Quimby

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Outer Hebrides, it was imported fromthe Lowlands, not knit locally.

The guilds had lost their monopoly onthe market by the 17th century and knit-ting was shifting from a male professionto a female domestic occupation. Thispaved the way for the knitting of stock-ings to take hold in some eastern areas ofScotland. Knit socks had the advantageof being shaped to fit the leg better thanwoven ones. The Shetland Islands,blessed with native sheep having a par-ticularly fine wool, were a natural placefor some of the earliest examples of thisindustry. A court book dated 1615 forOrkney and Shetland tells of the theft ofa black sheep, valuable because its woolhad been used to knit wool stockings.Many more accounts throughout the17th and 18th centuries recorded the saleof stockings and mittens to Germantraders and foreign (often Dutch andGerman) fishermen.

On the mainland, Aberdeen wasrecorded in 1636 as having residents(women and children) listed as“shankers” or stocking knitters.Throughout the 18th century the stock-

�...why then did the emigrant Gaels of

the Highlands & Islands seem to arrivein the new land, skilled in weaving, yet

largely unfamiliar with knitting? ...�


So it was woven cloth and weavingskills that were predominate at the startof the 19th century as emigration fromthe Highlands and Islands began tobecome widespread. For those whostayed, the potato famines of 1846-8resulted in a greater effort beingmade bybenevolent landlords to teach knitting asan alternative source of income forHighland families. These efforts metwith greater success than previousattempts. Knitting now became a wide-spread cottage industry, even in theHighlands. Stockings, jerseys, and eventhe occasional patterned bed quilt, beganto appear with more frequency. By mid-19th century a hand knitted shawl mightbe worn over a blouse for special occa-sions, as noted on the Isle of Lewis.

Even though the refinement ofmachine knitting began producingcheaper goods, the mid-1800s wouldcontinue to see the development ofhandknitting in Scotland. Shetland laceshawls, incorporating the designs ofhandwoven Paisley shawls, were knit sofine as to be threaded through aweddingring and were sought after by many.Around this same time, Fair Isle knitting,with its complicated colourful patternswas becoming popular. And in theHighlands, Ross-shire, in the west-coastparish of Gairloch, became known forfancy-patterned knitted stockings to beworn first with kilts, then, later in thecentury, with knickerbockers for huntingand other outdoor activities. By the endof the century, handknit hose fromArgyllfinally supplanted the woven tartanhose, mimicking the patterns of the tradi-tional bias-cut cloth.

And what of the immigrants to thenew country of Nova Scotia? For thosewho left the Highlands andWestern Islesin the early 19th century, weaving clothwas the standard way of making textiles,and looms were constructed in many ofthe homes of the newworld. But knittingwas certainly adopted as the years wenton. Whether learned from their newFrench, American or British neighboursor from later arrivals from the old coun-try, it was knitting that became anotherdomestic task in the homes of Gaels. Andit was knitting that eventually outlastedweaving in most households. Spinningwheels were kept busy producing yarnfor knitted mittens, socks, and under-wear long after the last loom had beenput away. �

Vicki Quimby is a textile consultant and ani-mator at the Highland Village. Déante lalàimh (handmade) is a regular feature of AnRubha that explores various aspects of tex-tiles and craft production in Gaelic NovaScotia.

Making meal (min) by hand was a common practice among Highland immigrantsto Nova Scotia and remained so among their decedents into the twentieth centu-

ry. It was a labourious process first requiring threshing dried heads of grain with a flail(buailtean, sùist.) The days of threshing are evident in the name for that division of thebarn still referred to as the threshing floor (an t-ùrlar buailidh.) Flails were instrumentsmade with hardwood sticks attached by a thong (iall) of leather, or in some instances,eel skin.

Threshing of grain by flail remains a living memory for an older generation as acommon chore performed in their youth. In Gaelic Nova Scotia, grain varietiesthrashed to extract the raw material for making meal included oats (coirce), barley(eòrna) and, perhaps to a lesser extent, wheat (cruinneachd.) The late Ena Chisholm (Enan’in Iain ìc Eòin na h-Aibhneadh), born 1908 and raised in Glencoe, Inverness County,recalled, “Bhiodh àd a’ cur beagan do chruinneachd agus coirce agus buntàta. An coirce,bhiodh àd `ga bhualadh le ... `s e buailtean a bheireadh àd ris. Bhiodh àd `ga bhualadh lelàmhan... “ (They planted a little wheat, oats and potato. The oats were threshed with a... they called it a buailtean [flail]. They threshed it [oats] by hand.)

An Rubha’s previous issue looked at the hand quern (brà) as an essential implementin home production of meal. Associated with this work is the riddle (criathair), some-times called rideal. Having threshed the grains, chaff (A’ chàth) and kernels (éitein) layjumbled together. The mass was then gathered for fanning with a riddle employed towinnow (a’ càthadh an t-sil), i.e., separate, the grain’s rough outer shell from the kernelcontained inside - the portion suitable for making meal.

The process is fairly simple. Working from a spot where there is a suitable breeze,shells and kernels are placed in the riddle and tossed to the air. Chaff - being lighterthan the kernels - is blown away by the wind; leaving the kernels behind to be groundby the quern for making meal. Winnowing might take place outdoors, or in the barnbetween two doors opened to bring about a breeze of the right strength.

Construction of the riddle consists of a narrow band of wood bent in a circle to cre-ate a frame for a holed pocket of leather. Riddles at Highland Village are made with ahardwood frame, possibly ash, and covered by sheep hide approximately 2 ½ inchesdeep and 16-18 inches in circumference. The bottoms are perforated at an appropriatedistance to prevent kernels from being lost with the chaff. A Gaelic proverb, speaks tothe benefits of being properly equipped: “`S math cruinnneachadh na pille farsaing (Awide winnowing cloth makes for a good gathering); referring to a special cloth thatwas spread to catch the riddle’s yield. �

Seumas Watson, Manager of Interpretation.

Obair an Taighe - FEATUREDARTIFACTAn Criathair - THE RIDDLE

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Afew recordings over the years havebrought the Cape Breton style of

singing and samples of its song wealth topublic appreciation. Among those are theearly LPsÒrain Cheap Breatainn, based onRalph Rinzler’s 1950s recordings on theNorth Shore, Topic’s Gaelic Tradition inCape Breton Volume I (lamentablyunavailable on CD), Tribute to the NorthShore Gaelic Singers, and Cape Breton Gold.The latter three of which include inform-ative liner notes and words to the songs.Guthan Prìseil, with a book and accompa-nying CD, joins the ranks of these soundpublications to further pull back the cur-tain on Cape Breton Gaelic singing.

Highlighting the voices of singerspast and present, Guthan Prìseil containstwenty one songs over its 144 pages.Selections are reasonably balancedbetween male and female singers andinclude a mix of songs representing localcompositions and those from Scotland.The singing style is unaccompanied, as isstandard in the Cape Breton tradition.Singers’ bios are provided with photoswhere possible and attention to detailsuch as their antecedents place of originin Gaelic Scotland, composers’ back-ground and additional information rele-vant to the song and its history in thecommunity.

Having had the good fortune to knowvarious of contemporary singers appear-ing in the pages of Guthan Prìseil, the CDtracks provide a solid sense of transmis-sion coming down from older genera-tions. This is particularly evident in thesinging of Christmas Island’s PeterMacLean (Peadar mac Jack Pheadair `icCaluim Ghobha) and his late motherAnnie (nee MacInnis - Anna Mhìcheil IainMhìcheil) born 1889 at Castle Bay in CapeBreton County.

The geography of Gaelic Scotlandfromwhich singers’ ancestors hailed is ofinterest, with many having family back-grounds in the Isle of Barra. But there arealso representations from Lochaber, Isleof Muck and Canna descendants asheard in dialects accenting the songs’words and influencing song choices.Perhaps most importantly, the songs andsingers bear with them a primary tradi-tion resting on the social value of theirexpressions. That is, an even greaterpride is taken in the art than in their ownperformances, as songs link each singersand communities over generations.

Some exceptional songs areon offer for the learner inGuthan Prìseil.

Among them are Òige guAois composed by CharlesMacLean (Mìcheal Theàrlaich) ofWashabuck and latterly ofBaddeck, known for his wit andpolitical acumen and ÒranGaoil, a rare Old Country songmore fully reported inCreighton & MacLeod’s GaelicSongs in Nova Scotia. Two of mypersonal favorites are Thamulad, Tha mulad, sung by thelate Mary Margaret MacLean(nee MacKinnon - n’n NìllLachainn Eòghainn Bhàin.) Herfather was a well known bàrdnicknamed A’ Rìgh from AinslieGlen (Gleann nam Màgan),Inverness County. Another isMoladh Mhàbu sung by Annie(n’in Dùghaill, Alasdair)MacDonald. I recall visitingAnnie Collie, as she wasreferred to, in her final years atPort Hawkesbury. A singer ofsizable artistry, her physicalstature was that of a hummingbird.

As Gaelic Nova Scotia engages in itsown cultural restoration, Guthan Prìseilwill contribute to keeping the recordstraight on local singing styles while sup-plying a source of attendant seanchas nec-essary for continuing social transmissionaround the songs. �

Gùthan Prìsiel /Precious Voices is boundin soft cover with an audio CD. Copiesare available through the Centre for CapeBreton Studies, CBU or through theHighland Village Gift Shop.

An Rubha REVIEWGuthan Prìseal: Guthan agus Òrain Cheap BreatainnPrecious Voices: Voices and Songs of the Cape Breton GaelA review of Anne Landin’s book by Seumas Watson

NOLLAIGSHONADHUIBH!

HAPPYCHRISTMAS!

From the Board and Staff of the Nova Scotia Highland Village Society


With the accounts from the time of set-tlement to the present of more than

a hundred families who lived from SouthHaven to just beyond Englishtown,Bonnie Thornhill has completed her sto-ries and genealogical compilations of thepeople of St. Anns Bay and vicinity.

Ms. Thornhill's previous three booksbrought to life the many people ofTarbot, North River, St. Anns, North andSouth Gut. The majority of these earlysettlers were Gaelic speaking from theHebrides and the western shore ofScotland. Most of them werePresbyterian.

The compiler has not only searchedout, through extensive examination ofthe census records from 1838 to 1911, thenames and birth years of the subjects ofher history, but has also summarized thehistories of the churches, the schools, thepost offices, the ferry services and thecommunity activities. Thus the individu-als in the family histories are brought tolife and are interpreted in a social andeconomic context.

Therefore, these well documentedaccounts of the MacLeods, theCarmichaels, the MacAskills, the Kerrs,the Morrisons, the MacRitiches, theRobinsons, the MacDonalds, the Rosses,the Sullivans, the Sellons, theWilhausens, the Canns and many otherswill add to the reader's knowledge ofCape Breton life and times over two cen-turies.

Along the rocky shore line of St. AnnsBay, one will meet not only AngusMacAskill, An Gille Mór, but will also seephotographs of his house and his familyand meet his neighbours. As well, the

compiler has provided manystories about people withunusual nicknames such as thetwo sisters, Anne and KittyMacDonald, who lived far up onthe top of Kelly's Mountain on afoot path. Known as “thewools,” theywent from house tohouse in the occupation ofcleaning the fleeces of sheep ofdirt and twigs and thorns inpreparation for carding andspinning.

Anybody who likes stories ofCape Breton people and placesand is intrigued about how thesettlers made their living, andthen, they or their children wenton to the wider world of NewZealand and Upper Canada andthe United States, will find thisbook a great resource and fasci-nating reading.

Impressive indeed are thelives of the many young womenand men who went from therocky hillsides and narrowfields along the shore to positions ofprominence in medicine, in education, inlaw, and in the captaining of vessels onthe Great Lakes.

Attractive in its design, with a helpfultable of contents and listing of numerousreferences, the book is a fine addition tothewell-prepared andwell printed histo-ries of Cape Breton communities. It isalso of great benefit to those searchingfor people on their own family trees. �

An Rathad gu Baile nan Gall/The Road toEnglishtown, History and Genealogical

Sketches, compiled by Bonnie Thornhill ofNorth Gut, St. Anns and Baddeck was issuedin the autumn of 2009. Published throughthe efforts of the St.Anns-Baddeck-WaipuTwinning Society and Victoria CountyHistorical Society it was printed by CityPrinters, Sydney. The book is available at theSt. Anns CAP Site/Twinning Society at theGaelic College and at Reynolds Book Store,Charlotte St., Sydney. $40.00.

Jim St.Clair is an historian, author, andcolumnist with CBC Cape Breton. He lives inMull River, Inverness County.

An Rubha REVIEWAn Rathad gu Baile nan Gall/The Road to EnglishtownA review of Bonnie Thornhill’s book by Jim St.Clair

MAC-TALLA: the longest running Gaelic weekly now on-lineSabhal Mòr Ostaig has digitised Mac-Talla ("Echo"), Nova Scotia’s weekly Gaelic newspaper/magazine

published - later bi-weekly - between May 28, 1892, and June 24, 1904, around 540 issues in all. Its storeof news, local, national and international, letters to the Editor, Gaelic proverbs, poetry/song, stories,

translations and articles are a repository of Gaelic cultural ideas. Mac-Talla can be found at:http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/en/leabharlann/mactalla/

GAELIC NOVA SCOTIA ON-LINENova Scotia Office of Gaelic Affairs

www.gov.ns.ca/oga

Comhairle na Gàidhlig/Gaelic Council of NSwww.gaelic.ca


Our PeopleAcknowledgements &AccoladesTAPADH LEIBH-SE GU MÓRThe Nova Scotia Highland Village Societygratefully acknowledges the support ofmany individuals and organisations:PROJECT PARTNERS - Cape Breton University(Centre for CB Studies), and St. FX University(Centre for Regional Studies & Angus L.Macdonald Library).DONATIONS - River & Lakeside PastoralCharge, Rebecca Newlands, Al Judson, R. J.MacLennan, Ann MacIntosh, & Doris Tinney.ARTEFACTS & ARCHIVAL DONATIONS - Josie(Nash) Kyte (photo of Grass Cove GypsumMine); Jeremy White and Melanie Bok (smallfarm equipment); Annie MacDonald (Dairyitems); Naomi Walker (fishing items); SadieMarie MacNeil (bed and spring); ChristineHolmes (potatoe picker); and Dorothy Almon(Cape Breton Magazines).

CONGRATULATIONS&BESTWISHESCongratulations Highland Village PastPresident Bruce MacNeil and his partnerElgin on the birth of their son David Francis;to MacDonald House anscestor NormaMacDonald on her 100th birthday; to the Iona

Volunteer Fire Department on their 50thanniversary this past year;

Best wishes to staff member Gerry MacNeil,volunteer Juanita MacNeil, & memberCatherine Godwin who are a dealing withhealth issues.

SYMPATHIESTo families of Highland Village friends whohave passed away in the past severalmonths: Joan MacNeil (wife of Gaelic singerand former board member Maxie MacNeil);Sadie MacLeod (grandmother of staff memberKatherine MacLeod); Annie Mae MacKinnon(wife of late Howard MacKinnon and mother ofDonna MacKenzie); Helene Raymond (mother-in-law of board member Hugh MacKinnon);Hugh MacKenzie (brother of Board memberFrank MacKenzie); George MacNeil (son of thelate Highland Village supporter Anna “Hector”MacNeil); Roderick MacNeil (husband of formerstaff member Betty); Sr. Agnes Nash (associatedwith the MacIver-Nash House on site) andAggie MacLennan (see below). Our hearts goout to all their families for their loss. �

BOARD OF TRUSTEES (Elected June 2009)Kathleen MacKenzie, Antigonish (President)Hector MacNeil, Sydney River (Vice President)Hugh MacKinnon, Benacadie (Secretary)Marie MacSween, Ironville (Treasurer)Donald Beaton, Little NarrowsSusan Cameron, AntigonishCatherine Ann Fuller, BaddeckMadeline Harvey, EstmereSteve MacDonald, WhycocomaghBurton MacIntyre, WhycocomaghFrank MacKenzie, NewWaterfordJerry MacNeil, Little NarrowsWalter MacNeil, Sydney/Grand NarrowsHugh Webb, AntigonishDaniel Chiasson, Baddeck (Legal Advisor)

Staff (as of November 2009)AdministrationRodney Chaisson, DirectorMarlene Ivey, Coord. Strategic InitiativesJanet MacNeil, Administrative Assistant

InterpretationSeumas Watson, ManagerJoanne MacIntyre, Chief InterpreterColleen Beaton, AnimatorMarie Chehy, AnimatorCatherine Gillis, AnimatorJamie Kennedy, BlacksmithMary Jane Lamond, AnimatorHoss MacKenzie, BlacksmithAileen MacLean, AnimatorBeth MacNeil, AnimatorDebi MacNeil, Animator/Costume Coord.Jean MacNeil, AnimatorKaye Anne MacNeil, AnimatorSandy MacNeil, Farm HandMeagan Quimby, AnimatorVicki Quimby, Animator/Textile Consultant

Collections, Archives & GenealogyPauline MacLean, ManagerKatherine MacLeod, Assistant

Visitor Centre Services/Gift ShopGerry MacNeil, Senior Visitor Centre ClerkSadie MacDonald, Visitor Centre Clerk

OperationsJames Bryden, ManagerTim MacNeil, MaintenanceDavid MacKenzie, GroundskeeperPatricia Gaudley, Custodian

Volunteer ProgrammersQuentin MacDonald, HV Day ProducerJames O. St.Clair, Candlelight Tour Guide

Nova ScotiaHighland VillageSociety

Aggie MacLennan was chosen by the HighlandVillage board for our 2009 Award of Merit forher contribution to the Cape Breton step-dancingtradition. Shortly after being notified that shewould be receiving the award this year, Aggiepassed away. Her daughter Dena accepted heraward on Highland Village Day. Aggie dancedmany a step on our Highland Village stage aswell as halls and stages throughout Canada, theUS and Scotland. She will be missed. Our sym-pathies to her husband Neil and all of her family.

Aggie MacLennan - 2009 Highland Village Award of MeritAgaidh ni’n Ruairidh Ruaidh ìc Dhomhnaill ìc Ruairidh ìc Lachlain

Interested in Nova Scotia’sGaelic language and heritage?

Join the Nova ScotiaHighland Village Society!

The Nova Scotia Highland Village Societyis incorporated as a non-profit Societyunder the Societies Act of the Province ofNova Scotia, and a registered charity withthe Canada Revenue Agency. The Societyis made up of a membership which electsthe Board of Trustees (from their ranks) tooperate the Society on their behalf.

Members can attend meetings, elect theBoard, sit on committees, receive andapprove annual reports including auditedfinancial statements, receive An Rubha(semi-annual newsletter), receive noticesfor events, and feel a sense of pride in con-tributing to Nova Scotia’s Gaelic Culture.Membership is open to anyone.

General MembershipsIndividual: $15.00* per year.Family: $25.00* per year (one household).* Income tax receipts are issued for general

memberships.Membership PlusIndividual - $25.00** per year.Family - $40.00** per year (one household).

In addition to general membershipprivileges, Membership Plus members get:• free admission to the Museum(excludes special events & programs)

• 10% discount in the HighlandVillage Gift Shop

**Membership Plus fees are not tax deductibleand include 13% HST.

Membership–Ballrachd

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nCla

chan

Gàid

heal

ach

nah-

Alba

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Ainm/Name: _______________________________________________________________________________________Seòladh/Address: ___________________________________________________________________________________Cathair/Baile/City/Town:____________________________________________________________________________Cód a’ Phuist/Postal/Zip Code: ______________________ Dùthaich/Country: ______________________________Fón na Dachaidh/Home Phone: ______________________ Fón Àite na h-Obrach/Work Phone:________________Fags/Fax: __________________________________________ Post-d/Email: ___________________________________Check type: General Membership � Individual � Family Membership Plus � Individual � Family

Return to Highland Village, 4119 Hwy 223, Iona, NS B2C 1A3 | Fax: 902.725.2227 | E: [email protected], Cànan, Nòs is Dualchas – History, Language, Tradition and Heritage

AN RUBHAThe Highland Village Gaelic Folklife Magazine

4119 Highway/Rathad 223, IonaNova Scotia/Alba Nuadh, B2C 1A3, Canada

Highland Village On-line Gaelic Resources

41257540

Céilidh air Cheap BreatunnAmultimedia exhibit on the our Gaelic culture

Part of Virtual Museum of Canada.www.capebretonceilidh.ca

HV Home PageEvent calendar, news, cultural content, genealogy

resources, back issue of An Rubha, links to other NovaScotia Museum sites and resources, and much more...

www.highlandvillage.ca

Anull Thar nan Eilean – From Island to IslandFrom the Island of Barra to the Island of Cape Breton, we tell thestory of the Barra immigrants leaving Scotland and their life in

Cape Breton. Part of the Virtual Museum of Canada’s CommunityMemories Program. www.virtualmuseum.ca Cainnt mo Mhathar - My Mother’s Tongue

Unique audio and video recordings of Nova Scotian traditionbearers for Gaelic learners. Features clips from Highland

Village’s Nos is Fonn and Mar bu Nos Collections.A project of Comhairle na Gàidhligwww.cainntmomhathar.com

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