Caledonianly speaking, who ami I?

[AN COIGREACH ALBANNACH]

O Searcaigh,

Your last post was one of the nicest surprises I'v had on this forum.When I posted on your thread it was genuine sentiments I gave,but I admitt I thought it would bring no reaction from you.Often my posts on this sort of thing dont generate feedback.The bulk of members here just want to believe the Scottish shortbread tin fairytales,pluck a Scottish name out of what is for some of them quite an obscure and distant family history,look up the tartan that was tacked onto that name(even if there is no proof of any genuine pre repression highland Scot ever wearing it)and run about talking shite about who's thier chief.

You have a lot of genuine Scottish background in your family.I firmly believe that to know where you come from,whilst that past is still close enough to actually have an impact on your life,is to understand better who you are.

Don't you ever let anyone push you around and tell you you are not connected enough to Scottish identity to relate to and enjoy it,not with how close your Scottish kin are.You must have been told family stories,or had family experiences through your gran or granda about Scotland.

It may be simple things like somethings your gran cooked that were Scottish,or some family story that your Scottish granda may have fairly casually mentioned.If you persue those things,find out as much about them as you can from living members who can sit and tell them to you in flesh and blood,then you will open up a whole world of Scottish influence that is YOUR FAMILIES OWN.Those things will be unique to your family and no one can deny them to you.If they have passed on now then speer your ma an da.They will recall more and more once they see you're interested.When they do,it's really a special feeling to think that this IS your family.That you have something that no history book nor computer generated geneology search can give you.Not to put anyone down but I feel sorry for the ones that have to hark back to great great grandparents before they hit 'Scottish', or those who feel the need for a D.N.A test to try to determine who they are.I feel that if actuall Scottish family members are beyond living memory of any one that you've actually met in your family,then if your no longer in the country in point, its probably too far away to have any real cultural inpact on who you are.You are not like that.

It's not just about kilts and tartans.To be honest,and traditional,if your family were predominately lowlanders then expecting to find a tartan that is 'theirs' is pushing the envelope of historical reality even further than the so called ancient highland ones out there.But it's true that slowly,over the last maybe 100 years,gradualy the kilt has become a proud symbol of Scottish identity even for lowlanders.That,and the fact that a lot of highlanders moved down into the lowlands for work,ect,meant that pipe bands,kilted regiments and such have taken on meaning as symbols of Scotland.Take your time,let yourself find out as much as you can re your Scottish family,can you make contact with relatives still in Scotland?A connection,a family meaning somewhere will come to you and then you will just feel right about which way you choose to celebrate and respect your background,that part of who you are.

Understand that the kilt,tartans and how you presesnt them or use them can still have a lot of meaning for actuall Scots.It's true that they don't spend even half the time that we do wondering about it,becuase for them it's a given.But just respect that folk like you and I are reaching back and sharing something that is thiers.It's a part of us(whether some like to see that or not)but it is theirs.

Enjoy.Hope to hear from you again,'O' Searcaigh.
Scott.

[piperdbh]

If I were a dog, I guess I might be considered a Scottish tarrier??? (yes, I know about how I spelled tarrier!)

It depends on how long you tarried in Scotland!

[O'Searcaigh]

Once again a thoughtful post with good advice, Scott (AN COIGREACH ALBANNACH). Being sixty-six years old myself, all my "grands" and even parents have now passed on "beyond these shores" (naval/seafaring is even more a part of my family history than any particular national ancestry-- a common thread on all sides). However, I was fortunate enough to have heard lots and lots of stories from and about both of my Scottish grandparents (on both sides) as well as the Irish and German families in my lineage. Indeed, there is no substitute for the in-person experience of family (and ethnic) story sharing to give one a personal sense of those from whom one has come and to whom one owes much -- but I believe that one's identity is as much, or more, a function of those who have cared for you -- and for whom you care -- than any DNA, "blood lines" or even family names one might carry.

I opened this thread partly just to try to understand how others see this whole thing of "Scottish ethnicity and the kilt," especially having read around on the Board through several different Forums and finding such a wide range of views as to render the whole issue overwhelming to me. In short, I was hoping to better clarify and formulate my own views and -- in the context of a practical issue about the possible purchase of another kilt -- to see if indeed it made any sense to wonder what "tartan" would be most appropriate. I have learned a lot from everyone who has contributed to this thread as well as other threads in other forums. However, though I have a strong streak of the "wear what you want the way you want because you want to" attitude, I also realize that whatever one wears (including wearing nothing at all) says something to others who will take it to say something about you -- and if what you wear is associated with some particular institution, culture, or tradition, about that as well. When one dresses in such a way as to call attention to some such institution, culture, or tradition, I believe one should acknowledge that fact and be as care-full and respectful as one can in one's dress. After all, you are in that case not just representing yourself but also that institution, culture, or tradition in which you have quite literally clothed yourself. This does not mean that one needs to always be a stuffy fuddy-duddy but it does, I think, mean that one should be ready to take at least partial responsibility for the way others -- especially those others who belong to the institution, culture or tradition represented by that way of dressing -- will view you. Hence my original questions.

Your posts, along with those of Jock Scott (in other Forum Threads) has made me much more sensitive to these issues and, believe it or not, even helped me come to a conclusion about the practical issue of whether to buy a new kilt and if so, in what tartan. The fact of the matter is that I wear kilts for basically two reasons: 1) I find them much more comfortable than trousers 2) I do feel a strong sense of "identity" or association with my Scottish heritage. Another fact of the matter is that I already own an excellently well made first-rate kilt in the "Scottish National" tartan which, though it was too large for me at the waist, I have learned (through another Forum on Xmarks) of how to adjust it to fit me well now. This, I have decided, is "MY" tartan (as I have learned Scots tend to have one and only one) and any other kilts I now have or may have in the future (for knocking around the house, hiking etc) I consider just "comfortable clothing" worn mostly in privacy in and around my own home. I might add that I own four kilt jackets (Argyle, P.C., "Military (OD)" and Tweed), and a variety of waistcoats, kilt hose, belts, sporrans and brogues -- and can basically "fit out" for any kilt occasion. (I even also play the pipes -- a set of Dunbar P3s)). I do all this because I enjoy it and it helps me feel more like "me." I hope I'm not -- as they say of some here in the Country Music Capitol of the world (Nashville, TN): just "All hat and no cowboy."
Thank you all, sincerely,
Paul

[Peter Crowe]

"-- but I believe that one's identity is as much, or more, a function of those who have cared for you -- and for whom you care -- than any DNA, "blood lines" or even family names one might carry."

Very well said O'Searcaigh, this is also my opinion on ancestry and family. While, I understand some people need to feel connected to their ancestral roots from long ago, I don't personally feel the need for such a connection. I am grateful for the family and good family friends I have (had) in my lifetime, who give (or have given) me infinitely more than I can ever return.

My maternal grandfather was illegitimate (and never knew who his father was and as that individual mistreated his mother didn't want to), but he loved and honoured his mother, his wife (my gran), his daughter (my mum), and me (his grandson) before he passed on. The fact that I was first loved and cared for by good (and venerable in their own right) family members is pedigree enough for me.

[Mike_Oettle]

Paul, the point has been made that most of the tartans available today are of quite recent devisement. But I thought it worth mentioning that the Ulster tartan dates back to the 18th century.
There is disagreement as to what it actually looked like, but I like the colours of Ulster Red and if you want to reflect your Irish heritage it is a sett worth looking at.
Regards,
Mike

[AN COIGREACH ALBANNACH]

Thank you 'O' Searcaigh,the thought and respect you show is admired.

Gradatim Vincemus,you just took what I believe in,rolled it into a far more compact and time efficient ball than I would have,and served it up to us in a manner that had all the warm,homely truth in it that my great aunties scotch broth had when the dear auld soul had me round to her bit away up in east Killbride.

It touched me big yin.Ever heard that auld sang,'Longin fur ma ain folk'?
Aye well its dinging atween ma lugs juist noo.Och awa wi ye!

[Peter Crowe]

Thank you 'O' Searcaigh,the thought and respect you show is admired.

Gradatim Vincemus,you just took what I believe in,rolled it into a far more compact and time efficient ball than I would have,and served it up to us in a manner that had all the warm,homely truth in it that my great aunties scotch broth had when the dear auld soul had me round to her bit away up in east Killbride.

It touched me big yin.Ever heard that auld sang,'Longin fur ma ain folk'?
Aye well its dinging atween ma lugs juist noo.Och awa wi ye!

Thanks man, "My ain folk" was one of my late mammy's party pieces

[Mike_Oettle]

My gran was desperately fond of My Ain Folk – strangely enough, the Afrikaner Huguenot grandmother, not the one whose father was a Scot.
I just have to think of the title and I can hear her singing it – it brings tears to my eyes every time!
Regards,
Mike

[AN COIGREACH ALBANNACH]

Brilliant craic!Mike,Gradatim Vincimus, I can see us all taking a dram for auld lang syne together! And I'd like for every other man that's put into this thread to be there with us.Good men all.

Slainte lads!

[O'Searcaigh]

Agreed! Let's all at least have a "virtual" toast to each other; mine will be a Lismore