animal sporrans ... symbolism, historic purpose, magick?

[Chas]

Norway, of course, is not part of the European Union and therefore is not beholden to follow the EU laws on the sale of sealskin. So any trade in Norwegian sealskin would be purely for its own domestic market. Even if they did make sporrans (doubtful) it would be illegal for you to import one into the UK.

Regards

Chas

[Johnny Selkie]

I too (unfortunatly) doubt that I'll find someone making sealskin sporrans here in Norway as Highland dress hasn't really caught on with the general (norse)man in the street yet.

[Deirachel]

But now the chicken-or-egg question: Was the sporran, then, a pouch/bag that took on special meaning based on its material composition? Or was it a charm/magical item/article of belief that later developed a practical use as a container/bag?

It is most likely (if we assume the item becomes "special") the item existed before it was given the meaning and value it was purported to have. Of course, it really the proverbial chicken/egg argument*. As there is no written record AT ALL from the earliest humans, we have to look into the archeological record. We find tools (axes, clubs, weapon heads) before we find decorations (beads). Decorations before items believed to be completely religious (Venus of Willendorf, for example). But, does this mean the axe or spearhead was NOT religious. But, it appears religion is a "young" activity compared to the other ancient activities.

I too (unfortunatly) doubt that I'll find someone making sealskin sporrans here in Norway as Highland dress hasn't really caught on with the general (norse)man in the street yet.

Find a local leather-worker, and give him a cheap sporran he can tear down. Bring him photos of the exterior and interior you would like for your sporran. I'm sure he will be able to figure it out (even if he has to try it once or twice) and then you can get what you want custom made. For example, I don't have the $300-400+ it would take to get my desired skunk full-face for my daughter's wedding (as I will be also buying a kilt from Matt and a Sherrifmuir doublet once I finish saving for each). But, I will have the $60-100 to get a good case-skinned and tanned skunk fur plus the other leathers needed. My father is teaching me how to make the sporran, by deconstructing an old, worn-out (cheap eBay crap) sporran.

*It is a proverbial question. The answer is,ith: obviously, the egg for a few reasons. 1.) Fish, amphibians, insects, reptiles all evolved before birds. All are egg-layers. 2.) The species we call chickens are all evolved from some other bird. At one point, enough divergence in the genetic code occurred in the developing embryo for a new species to emerge from an egg - laid by a different species. Now if the question was "chicken or the chicken-egg" the answer is reversed. The first chicken was born out of an egg laid by some other species (Bird X), so it came from a "bird x"-egg. Yes, I did just type out that annoying paragraph. But, it was an essay question in my high school Bio class final and it stuck with me. ("Which came first: the chicken, Gallus gallus, or the egg? Explain your answer in one paragraph." )