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The Culture of the Islands.

The culture of the Islands is usually said to be "Celtic". Conventional wisdom has it that the so-called Celts originated in central Europe, and from this origin expanded to become an important cultural force throughout the continent. Roman conquest stamped out their culture on mainland Europe, leaving only small packets in the British Isles (Brittany was settled by the Welsh later). This view is based on cultural artefacts, Roman records and comparative art. However, when one looks closely at all the evidence for the idea, it is fairly circumstantial. Recently, another view has been expressed: that the so-called "Celtic" peoples arose mainly in situ from older resident traditions within the British Isles. Although the author of this idea has been heavily criticised for daring to challenge the accepted view, there are certainly points to commend this version of events.

Whatever the truth of their origin, Ireland was the bedrock of Gaelic culture and Gaels quickly converted to Christianity and adopted the Roman alphabet. Scholarship and learning flourished in Ireland, in marked contrast to the rest of Europe, which was still immersed in the dark ages. A good example of their work is the beautiful Book of Kells mostly written on Iona. The Gaels formed a distinctive church (usually referred to as the Celtic Church) strongly based on the Coptic Church of Egypt. Religious orders sent teachers, scribes and monks throughout Europe. It is in the writings of these monks that we find the first examples of Gaelic literature before 900AD, this form of the language, from which all modern dialects originate, is known as Old Irish.

Most of the literature and music in Gaelic society was (and still is) transmitted orally- particularly poetry, story and song. Some of the oldest material dates from a time before the Gaels moved from Ireland and is contained in the form of stories. These old tales bear a strong resemblance to Greek classical literature and the great mythological cycles of the Hindu's. They are long, concern mythical heroes with supernatural powers on perilous quests and are extremely well constructed.

There are two important "cycles" of these ancient stories: The Ulster cycle and the Fenian cycle. The first mainly concerns the exploits of the greatest hero in Gaelic mythology: Cu-Chulainn. These are dark and brooding tales, which start with the hero's birth and end with his death. The most important story in the cycle is "Tain bo Cuailnge" - the cattle raid of Cooley. The Fenian cycle, on the other hand, is not as dark and foreboding as the Ulster cycle, it is set in a different landscape and is usually considered to be younger in origin. Both these great cycles are known throughout Gaeldom, and many (presumably) old songs are based on them, particularly the Fenian cycle. The whole of the Ulster cycle and most of the Fenian cycle is set before Christianity and the coming of the Norse. Both are filled with a deep belief in magic and supernatural occurrences. One interesting and significant aspect of these tales is that they both show a Gaelic society, the structure of which would be recognisable up to the end of the 18th century. That is, a chief or kinglet surrounded by his elite warriors and knights and a retinue of trained artists, poets and musicians. These great stories were memorised by tellers and could take days to complete.

It is difficult today to assess the full impact of the Norse peoples on Gaelic culture because it also affected Ireland and Man. In time, the Vikings and Gaels of the Western seaboard discovered that they actually had some traits in common. They were both warrior races much given to war, honour and enjoying the better things in life. Like the Gaels they too had their great story cycles and myths. Some of the traditions recently died out in the Hebrides are of obvious Norse origin.

In Musical terms, the origin of dance music such as reels may be Scandinavian, although this cannot be shown definitely.

There are many misconceptions about Highland Life in the centuries before the 1745 rebellion. The Highlanders were descendants of an educated and enlightened people in the shape of the early Gaels. The structure of society was based around the local chief, apart from Gaelic he would usually be able to speak English and have an understanding of Latin. Highland leaders were often well travelled and using their powerful birlinns enjoyed imports such as fine silks and wines from the European continent. Each maintained a household of highly trained poets and musicians. There were several types of poet, but those known as the Filidh were of the highest order. They were more orators and historians than poets and were versed in the genealogy of the chief and his clan. These artists, both poets and musicians were not simple minstrels but were educated in bardic schools and expected to travel and learn their art from the masters of the time - clan pipers took seven years to train. The traditional drink of the warriors and chief was red wine (not whiskey, which was considered a cheap lowlander's drink, unfit for Highland knights).

In 1703, the author Martin Martin published a book entitled "A description of the Western Islands of Scotland (circa 1695)". It is one of the most important books on Gaelic culture ever written. There are several reasons for this importance, firstly it is the oldest, extensive, first-hand description of the Islands. Secondly, it was written by a Gael - Martin was a native of Skye and fully understood the significance of the culture. Finally, it is a truthful book and presents what he saw - warts and all. Martin's book was very influential, Boswell and Johnson used it on their travels and their later account is also important but very much an outsider's view of the area, showing little of the understanding which Martin displayed.

The world Martin recorded was one very different from today - although aspects of it are still visible. People still lived close to nature and the divide between the natural and supernatural world was narrow. In spite of the best efforts of the clergy, many of the old beliefs still hung on. The natives still walked "Sunwise" around an object or person to bring luck. This was even done on boats, which were rowed around before the start of a journey. Wells were venerated and each was considered to have its own unique power to heal the sick or cure insanity. Many other natural objects and occurrences also had their own special meanings.

There was still a strong belief in fairies (Gaelic fairies are different from the English type, looking rather like humans, but having special powers), as well as many other natural spirits which inhabited loch, river and hill. Every barn had its "brownie", who appeared in the form of an old man. Everyday life was full of rituals which were designed to keep these "other people" happy or at bay. There were darker spirits also, for example, the washer of shrouds, who would be seen at the local stream washing a shroud before a death. The Water Horse and Water Bull were creatures who inhabited bodies of water waiting to carry some poor unsuspecting soul away. The sea was also inhabited, this time by beautiful mermaids.

Martin reported several interesting rituals including the hanging of a goat from a ship's mast to bring a favourable wind. Another curious ritual, used to foretell the future, was the roasting of a cat on spit. In the dead of night, as the cat was being turned, a spirit in the form of a giant cat would arrive and answer any question posed to it. Feast days were observed with special baking and cattle were driven between Beltain fires to ward off evil. One of the most interesting rituals Martin reported (although it had stopped by his time) was the offering of a jug of ale to the sea god Shony in the Ness district of Lewis. A native would wade out waist deep in water and throw the contents of the jug into the sea while offering the hope that Shony would grant plenty of sea ware for the next year. Interestingly Shony also makes an appearance in the Manx song Gheay Jeh'n Aer.

Second sight was widely believed in, and every village had its seer. The sight was not considered a gift by those who had it, but rather a curse. Visions came in many different forms and the varied in type and intensity from seer to seer. Some were able to view incidents which would happen in the future and would walk off a road to allow some unseen party to pass. This belief was especially strong and continued well into the 20th century.

Around Martins time, the last great chiefs still had their full retinue of artists and performers. Among the very last to give up the old ways was the MacLeod of Dunvagan in Skye. It is here, around this time, that we find the last professional bards and the last, great, old style harper in the great Roderick Morrison, known in Gaelic as An Clarsair Dall. Here too the great MacCrimmon college of piping - a tradition so strong that it managed to continue even while it seemed everything else worthwhile was dying.

And everywhere there was music- both instrumental by trained pipers and harpers and in the villages with fiddles and other folk instruments. Martin gives an excellent description of Waulking songs, which we would still recognise today.