Oregon State UniversityANTH 452: Folklore and Expressive Culture
Winter 2019
Orain Luaidh
The ancient practice of waulking wool and the songs that accompany the task are traditionally sung in Scots Gaelic, a classic Celtic language of Scotland. They were a way to synchronize the labor of a group of people working together and helped to pass the time, alleviate boredom, and increase the productivity of a task.2 The songs appeal to the social nature of a group task and are a way for the workers to bond. These songs are characterized by a lack of instrumental accompaniment and the rhythm is set by the main leader who dictates the pace, making the rhythm faster or slower as the work necessitates. The most popular Scottish work song is the Orain Luaidh, or waulking song, that women sang while working dye into wool or softening cloth.
Obair agus cluich
To most Scottish people prior to the twentieth century, there was very little concept of recreation and limited time for leisure or vacations. Work may start as early as 5:00 AM and went on until dark. Most work was done in the home or in the surrounding fields and if the primary income was from tradecrafts, it was often sold out of the home. Linen and wool weaving was a mainstay of rural Scottish economy for many small towns and villages as there were no large-scale manufacturing sites. When there was downtime, many Scottish would gather to drink, play cards or dice, tell stories, gossip, sing, and dance. Outside of an occasional gathering, most time off was devoted to church and secular activities.1
To most Scottish people prior to the twentieth century, there was very little concept of recreation and limited time for leisure or vacations. Work may start as early as 5:00 AM and went on until dark. Most work was done in the home or in the surrounding fields and if the primary income was from tradecrafts, it was often sold out of the home. Linen and wool weaving was a mainstay of rural Scottish economy for many small towns and villages as there were no large-scale manufacturing sites. When there was downtime, many Scottish would gather to drink, play cards or dice, tell stories, gossip, sing, and dance. Outside of an occasional gathering, most time off was devoted to church and secular activities. (Lynch)
Ã’rain nam mnathan
Songs of the women
Working songs are one Gaelic tradition that was preserved as they were performed in a home or a ceilidh, a social event at which there is Scottish or Irish folk music and singing, traditional dancing, and storytelling. Mothers would rock their babies, groups of men would sing drinking songs, and very importantly, songs were sung while tedious work tasks were performed. The rhythm, that was set in time with the thumping of the wool on the table, was more important than the actual words as often non-lexical vocables, such as which is something like “Heigh Ho” from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.3 "The two main types are 'Improvisatory', or vocables improvised by the performer; and 'Jelled', that is vocables composed as the chorus of a song and repeated by rote by the performer.” There may be more nonsensical lyrics if the task at hand requires a great deal of concentration and physical exertion; they are a “mental breather.” 4
Féisean nan Gaidhal
The Gaelic Festival
The Féisean nan Gaidhal seek to bring back traditional Scots Gaelic song and music to the youth of Scotland.5 The Féisean nan Gaidhal website defines it as a feast, gathering, or festival and is synonymous with the youth Féis movement in Scotland. When you say “Féisean nan Gaidhal” with a Scottish accent, it sounds a bit like “festival.” At a modern Féis, you can find traditional activities, such as wool waulking, traditional food, dance, music, and poetry along with people who are actively trying to keep their Scottish culture alive and relevant. Today, however, it is not uncommon to hear a work song that has been sung for centuries set to new accompaniments with modern musical instruments and sound mixing techniques.
Caoraich dhubh-cheannach
Blackface Sheep
According to the Blackface Breeders Association, the Blackface Sheep is the most common sheep in Scotland.6 The breed is prized for “survivability, adaptability, and versatility, with the ability to fit into any farming situation. They are one of the hardiest sheep breeds in the country and are the backbone of the Scottish sheep industry.” They all have horns, black and white faces, white legs and white wool. The oldest records of the breed go back to 12th-century Scottish monks.
Breacan clòimhe
Tartan wool
In traditional Scottish groups, what you wore and many aspects of your culture were derivatives “of the terrain and climate of the group’s homeland. Scottish sheepherders work outdoors in chilly, damp weather, so tightly woven warm, heavy wool sweaters that resist moisture became part of the local knitting craft.”7 Often what the people wore was limited to what they could afford or make and what materials were readily available. Dye for cloth was expensive so often natural colors were woven into patterns.
Latha Siubhal Beinne Dhomh
This is a story of a cheeky man who comes across a
beautiful young girl and asks her for a kiss.8
Gaelic
English
One day as I roamed the hills,
as I roamed the moor,
I met a girl,
a high-spirited, pretty girl
with a little knife in her hand,
gathering daisies,
gathering watercress
by the sides of the pools.
I went over to her
and asked her for a kiss.
"Hoots toots!
You shaggy old man!
In my father's house
you'll find grand folk,
a score of men wearing hats,
a dozen women wearing cloaks,
white cloths spread on tables,
cups of tea (china cups)
and glasses of ale."
Hi ill eo ro bha ho
Hi ill eo bhòidheach
'S nahiilleo ro bha ho
Latha siubhalbeinnedhomh
Latha siubhal mòintich
Thachair orm gruagach
Dhualach, bhòidheach
Sgian bheagna làimh
'S iribuain neòinean
'S iribuainbiolaire
Theann mi null rithe
Dh'iarr mi pòg oirre
Ud! Ud! Ud-ag araidh!
A bhodachain ròmaich
'S annantaigh m' athar fhèin
Gheibht' an còmhlan
Fichead fear adadh ann
Dusan bean cleòca
Tubhailtean gealaca
Sgaoilt' air bhòrdaibh
Cupannan crèadh' aca
'S glainneachan beòraich
Mo Nighean Donn
Song by Calum Alex Macmillan 9
Gaelic
Gur e mise tha fo ghruaim
‘S mi‘n taobh tuath dhan an Stòr.
[Sèist:]
Monigh’n donn hò gù Hì rì rì hù lò
Monigh’n donn hò gù
Monigh’n donn shònruich mi fhéin thu
ann an broad nam ban òg
[Sèist]
Hì rì rì hù lò Monigh’n donn hò gù
‘Sbidh mo làmh na do làimh
[Sèist]
Hì rì rì hù lò Monigh’n donn hò gù
Dh’aindeoin èildeirtha beò.
English
Oh how my mind is heavy
as I’m northwest of the Storr
[Sèist:]
My brown haired girl hò gù Hì rì rì hù lò
My brown haired girl hò gù.
My brown haired girl,
I remark thee
At the fair of the young women.
[Sèist]
Hì rì rì hù lò My brown haired girl hò gù.
And we will walk hand in hand
[Sèist]
Hì rì rì hù lò My brown haired girl hò gù.
Regardless of any living elders
Exerpt from Outlander
“Hot piss sets the dye fast,” one of the women had explained to me as I blinked, eyes watering, on my first entrance to the shed. The other women had watched at first, to see if I would shrink back from the work, but wool-waulking was no great shock, after the things I had seen and done in France, both in the war of 1944 and the hospital of 1744. Time makes very little difference to the basic realities of life. And smell aside, the waulking shed was a warm, cozy place, where the women of Lallybroch visited and joked between bolts of cloth, and sang together in the working, hands moving rhythmically across a table, or bare feet sinking deep into the steaming fabric as we sat on the floor, thrusting against a partner thrusting back."
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