“There is really not much of a Clan structure in the mainland or on the lowlands, but certainly in the Hebridean Isles, Inner and Outer, and in the far north of Scotland, there still is a fully functioning Clan system.”
Listen to “Competing in Gathering of the Clans, Scotland” on Spreaker.
QUOTES
“If I’m getting selected, although I’m playing it, I’m playing it in place of my Clan Chief.”
“So if I lose, it’s not me that loses, it’s the Clan Chief.”
“After the clearances, you couldn’t really openly be in a Clan, because you could be punished for it.”
“For the Outer Hebridean Islands, they were only governed by the government since the mid 1980’s. Up until that point, they were governed by the Lords of the Isle.”
SHOW NOTES
A Midlife Traveler Podcast; Season 1 Scotland Speaks
EPISODE: Importance of Competing in The Gathering of the Clans, Scotland
Side note: This story is better when heard in the Scottish voice…so listen the podcast...please.
Competing represents your Clan Chief… don’t let him down.
It’s not a massive, massive challenge. The issue is, or where the nervousness is, is that although if I’m getting selected, although I’m playing it, I’m playing it in place of my Clan Chief. So it’s not me that’s going to … So if I loose, it’s not me that looses, it’s the Clan Chief. So that’s where some of the young men, certainly I get a bit nervous.
Not that Farker cares anyway, but you know I care. He spends his whole life making decisions to benefit my family. So on that particular day, this is one day, that he gets to sit down, and allow his Clan to do the work for him.
So I’m always nervous about letting the Clan Chief down. I don’t want to do that. It’s never happened anyway.
The Clan system never really went away in parts of Scotland
So for a lot of people there is really not much of a Clan structure in the mainland or on the lowlands, but certainly in the Hebridean Isles, Inner and Outer, and in the far north of Scotland, there still is a fully functioning Clan system.
You have to understand, that for the Outer Hebridean Islands, they were only governed by the government since the mid 1980’s. Up until that point, they were governed by the Lords of the Isle, by the Clans. The Clan Chiefs. And that was right up until you know, not that long ago.
So we’ve always had that system up here in Scotland. It was just after the clearances, you couldn’t really openly be in a Clan, because you could be punished for it.
Are you planning a vacation trip to Scotland?
We hope so because it’s awesome. We had a blast during our travels there. If you are looking for a complete Scotland vacation advice please read our blog post here with a wee bit o’ resources to help. If you are just looking for ideas of some fun things you can to… check the day tour ideas below!