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A little ramble and a review
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Jan. 10th, 2009 | 09:58 pm
Earlier in the week, in honour of the last days of my former freedom, off we went on the train into Glasgow for a big day out. I had some book tokens from the in-laws that needed spending, so some gratuitous trawling of bookshops was on the cards. Mr Seren was off dahn sahf so it was something to do, as well while I was all on my lonesome with the little monsters.
And in spite of the fact that I have a rather large pile of books that still need reading, I did well with my book tokens, picking up the new Phil Rickman book (one of my favourite fiction authors), along with a book called Colloquial Scottish Gaelic, and another book called Seanchas ìle. I've just finished the Rickman book, and was surprised to find mention of the Tara controversy in it (part of the plot centres around a similar (and actual) controversy in Hereford, near the Welsh border, where the council stuck a road through a previously unknown, and unique, early Bronze Age monument known as the Rotherwas Ribbon - sadly the road went over it, in spite of objections). It's almost heartening to see it in the mainstream, even if it's passing.
I'm working my way slowly through the Gaelic book - one of these days I'll get the knack I'm sure, but mostly I get as far as the basic greetings and start getting lost. I've found Gaelic classes on offer in Greenock, but they run for a year starting each September, so I have a bit of a wait. I figure I can use the time to get the hang of grammar, maybe. I'm terrible at it. The good news is, the lessons are free, seeing as the government are trying to encourage learning, though it's a bit worrying how well I'll be received if I manage to get a spot on the course. Mr Seren reckons they'll all be as mad as I am anyway, so they'll just be glad to have someone with similar interests no matter where I come from, but I'm thinking it could come across as I'm in ur Gaelic class, stealin ur languidge...It's worth a try though.
The Seanchas book was a quick read, so I might as well do a review while it's still fresh in my mind:
Seanchas Ile/Islay's Folklore Project
Foreword by Donald Meek
This book is part of a culture and heritage project run by the Columba Centre on the island, which started in 2005, and the majority of it is comprised of transcripts from Gaelic speaking islanders who talk about their experiences of growing up on the island, the tales they were brought up with, and a good portion of proverbs in the final chapter. Some of the transcripts of the tales and the interviews are available at the accompanying website, along with a few others that aren't in the book.
The book's aim is not just to present some of the lore that was collected, but to serve as a record of Islay Gaelic as well. Since I'm not a Gaelic speaker I can't fully appreciate the nuances in the colloquialisms peculiar to the island, but there's a glossary of some of the words in general that are used, as well as the names of particular birds and animals that are used on the island as well. It's refreshing to see a book on the subject giving such prominence to the language, with the Gaelic on the left-hand pages, and the English translation on the right-hand pages throughout, until the final chapter on proverbs and then the glossaries, where the Gaelic's given first and then the translation directly underneath or side-by-side.
In terms of the folklore, I was hoping for some good stuff on calendar customs in particular, but was a little disappointed on that front, aside from some interesting account of the Caileach Bhuain, the last sheaf of the harvest, and what they did with it (including a description of how it was made). More interesting, for me, was the chapter on Traditional Medicine and Food Ways. It wasn't as in-depth as I was hoping for - a criticism that could be aimed at the rest of the book, really - but it covered a lot of the basics like using dandelion milk to cure a wart, and how sphagnum moss was collected for the war effort, for use as a very porous sort of bandage. And cormorant, dulse, and limpet soup as tasty treats. You can download a few traditional recipes, if you want to have a go. So while it wasn't in depth, it gave a good general idea of how the islanders subsisted, before modern comforts changed a lot of that.
What really stood out was the personalities and humour of the people who were interviewed - most of whom seemed to be well into their eighties. One thing that made me laugh was:
And in spite of the fact that I have a rather large pile of books that still need reading, I did well with my book tokens, picking up the new Phil Rickman book (one of my favourite fiction authors), along with a book called Colloquial Scottish Gaelic, and another book called Seanchas ìle. I've just finished the Rickman book, and was surprised to find mention of the Tara controversy in it (part of the plot centres around a similar (and actual) controversy in Hereford, near the Welsh border, where the council stuck a road through a previously unknown, and unique, early Bronze Age monument known as the Rotherwas Ribbon - sadly the road went over it, in spite of objections). It's almost heartening to see it in the mainstream, even if it's passing.
I'm working my way slowly through the Gaelic book - one of these days I'll get the knack I'm sure, but mostly I get as far as the basic greetings and start getting lost. I've found Gaelic classes on offer in Greenock, but they run for a year starting each September, so I have a bit of a wait. I figure I can use the time to get the hang of grammar, maybe. I'm terrible at it. The good news is, the lessons are free, seeing as the government are trying to encourage learning, though it's a bit worrying how well I'll be received if I manage to get a spot on the course. Mr Seren reckons they'll all be as mad as I am anyway, so they'll just be glad to have someone with similar interests no matter where I come from, but I'm thinking it could come across as I'm in ur Gaelic class, stealin ur languidge...It's worth a try though.
The Seanchas book was a quick read, so I might as well do a review while it's still fresh in my mind:
Seanchas Ile/Islay's Folklore Project
Foreword by Donald Meek
This book is part of a culture and heritage project run by the Columba Centre on the island, which started in 2005, and the majority of it is comprised of transcripts from Gaelic speaking islanders who talk about their experiences of growing up on the island, the tales they were brought up with, and a good portion of proverbs in the final chapter. Some of the transcripts of the tales and the interviews are available at the accompanying website, along with a few others that aren't in the book.
The book's aim is not just to present some of the lore that was collected, but to serve as a record of Islay Gaelic as well. Since I'm not a Gaelic speaker I can't fully appreciate the nuances in the colloquialisms peculiar to the island, but there's a glossary of some of the words in general that are used, as well as the names of particular birds and animals that are used on the island as well. It's refreshing to see a book on the subject giving such prominence to the language, with the Gaelic on the left-hand pages, and the English translation on the right-hand pages throughout, until the final chapter on proverbs and then the glossaries, where the Gaelic's given first and then the translation directly underneath or side-by-side.
In terms of the folklore, I was hoping for some good stuff on calendar customs in particular, but was a little disappointed on that front, aside from some interesting account of the Caileach Bhuain, the last sheaf of the harvest, and what they did with it (including a description of how it was made). More interesting, for me, was the chapter on Traditional Medicine and Food Ways. It wasn't as in-depth as I was hoping for - a criticism that could be aimed at the rest of the book, really - but it covered a lot of the basics like using dandelion milk to cure a wart, and how sphagnum moss was collected for the war effort, for use as a very porous sort of bandage. And cormorant, dulse, and limpet soup as tasty treats. You can download a few traditional recipes, if you want to have a go. So while it wasn't in depth, it gave a good general idea of how the islanders subsisted, before modern comforts changed a lot of that.
What really stood out was the personalities and humour of the people who were interviewed - most of whom seemed to be well into their eighties. One thing that made me laugh was:
"A crofter without much English is trying to explain to the Lowland vet what happened to his cow. In Gaelic he wanted to say:
'Chaidh i faotainn ann an sùil-chrith agus cha do chnàmh i a cìr fad trì làithean às a dhèidh' [She was in a deep bog and she never chewed the cud for three days]
The crofter translated the Gaelic literally which in English came out as:
'She was in the eye of the earth and she never boned her comb for three whole days.' "
There's no commentary, interpretation or in-depth analysis on the tales, anecdotes and interviews that are given, aside from a few notes explaining certain terms here and there, and a brief note on how the Gaelic has been transcribed at times to try and convey the slight differences in pronunciation for some words, so the transcripts are left to speak for themselves, a collection of firsthand accounts.
For the most part the bits where the interviewers have butted in during the course of the conversation have been left in, which sometimes helps give a sense of the rapport between interviewer and interviewee, and a sense of how the chat flowed, but other times it can be a little distracting as well. Overall, though, the sense it all gives is that it's the people that need to be remembered too, seeing as it's the people who make the island as much as the language and the culture. They speak with a warmth and a sadness of their childhoods, almost a frustration for all that's being lost as Gaelic diminishes and outsiders move in to live their dream of the Good Life - often at the expense of the islanders who can no longer afford to buy homes there. The tales and the fondness (or sometimes wryness) for the things that are talked about are quite evocative at times, and I found it hard not to empathise with their sense of plight. It's easy to get drawn in and start romantising the past.
There are some fantastic pictures throughout the book, and along with the rest of it, it makes a wonderful start at presenting what's been recorded - but really, that's what it is (as is made clear from the outset, to be fair) and that's what it feels like. It's a start. Hopefully at some point something more in-depth will be made available (or widely available, that is).
Short and sweet though it is, it comes with a reasonable price tag and a few gems that makes it a worthwhile read for anyone interested in this sort of thing. Maybe it's not essential reading, but I can't help but feel that this is the sort of thing I'd like to support, because funding is so hard to come by. It's all well and good looking at the Highlands and Islands as a whole, but it's books like this that help to serve as a reminder of the differences, as well as the similarities, that can be found across such varying geography, and it would be nice to see more being done, and more of the work that's already been done become available to a wider audience.
'Chaidh i faotainn ann an sùil-chrith agus cha do chnàmh i a cìr fad trì làithean às a dhèidh' [She was in a deep bog and she never chewed the cud for three days]
The crofter translated the Gaelic literally which in English came out as:
'She was in the eye of the earth and she never boned her comb for three whole days.' "
There's no commentary, interpretation or in-depth analysis on the tales, anecdotes and interviews that are given, aside from a few notes explaining certain terms here and there, and a brief note on how the Gaelic has been transcribed at times to try and convey the slight differences in pronunciation for some words, so the transcripts are left to speak for themselves, a collection of firsthand accounts.
For the most part the bits where the interviewers have butted in during the course of the conversation have been left in, which sometimes helps give a sense of the rapport between interviewer and interviewee, and a sense of how the chat flowed, but other times it can be a little distracting as well. Overall, though, the sense it all gives is that it's the people that need to be remembered too, seeing as it's the people who make the island as much as the language and the culture. They speak with a warmth and a sadness of their childhoods, almost a frustration for all that's being lost as Gaelic diminishes and outsiders move in to live their dream of the Good Life - often at the expense of the islanders who can no longer afford to buy homes there. The tales and the fondness (or sometimes wryness) for the things that are talked about are quite evocative at times, and I found it hard not to empathise with their sense of plight. It's easy to get drawn in and start romantising the past.
There are some fantastic pictures throughout the book, and along with the rest of it, it makes a wonderful start at presenting what's been recorded - but really, that's what it is (as is made clear from the outset, to be fair) and that's what it feels like. It's a start. Hopefully at some point something more in-depth will be made available (or widely available, that is).
Short and sweet though it is, it comes with a reasonable price tag and a few gems that makes it a worthwhile read for anyone interested in this sort of thing. Maybe it's not essential reading, but I can't help but feel that this is the sort of thing I'd like to support, because funding is so hard to come by. It's all well and good looking at the Highlands and Islands as a whole, but it's books like this that help to serve as a reminder of the differences, as well as the similarities, that can be found across such varying geography, and it would be nice to see more being done, and more of the work that's already been done become available to a wider audience.
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erynn999
date: Jan. 11th, 2009 12:03 am (UTC)
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islands of the gaels
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thorn44
date: Jan. 11th, 2009 03:59 am (UTC)
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Re: islands of the gaels
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heilun_coo
date: Jan. 11th, 2009 10:04 am (UTC)
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Re: islands of the gaels
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thorn44
date: Jan. 12th, 2009 03:51 am (UTC)
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bantuathaid
date: Jan. 11th, 2009 12:45 pm (UTC)
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I relate to the faulty translation about the cow stuck in the bog. I walked right into a bog once and felt I had fallen into the "eye of the earth." Somehow, it's quite apt!
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heilun_coo
date: Jan. 11th, 2009 02:08 pm (UTC)
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Do you have a link for that site? My nan's family is from that area.
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bantuathaid
date: Jan. 11th, 2009 02:45 pm (UTC)
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It's so beautiful! Is she from one of the Islands there?
Seirbhísí Teanga Oileáin Chléire
Oileán Chléire
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heilun_coo
date: Jan. 11th, 2009 07:36 pm (UTC)
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(missed a bit :p )
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heilun_coo
date: Jan. 11th, 2009 07:39 pm (UTC)
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