22-31 December 2006
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Oban
It’s a pity to be within sight of the Isle of Mull and not be able to enjoy it. I could have gone to the island today but since there are no buses running on Sundays I decided it wasn’t worth the effort getting there for nothing.
If I had thought Oban was the next best thing, it turned out that its the worst thing. There is no network of public rights of way, the way it is present in England. The fault is perhaps with the terrain that accommodates paths only in the wildest and the most remote of Scotland. The fault is perhaps with the people who lay down paths to savour only the best of Scotland. Whatever the reason, I found no suitable paths for walking around Oban. Inevitably I ended up at busy secondary roads without a pedestrian walkway.
With nothing else to do, I returned to my room after a pitiful stroll. At Corran House, guests are few. The kitchen and the lounge are solely mine. The landlady, Anne MacDonald, has been busy this evening preparing for tomorrow’s Christmas dinner. Her family and grandchildren are going to be here tomorrow. When Anne had introduced herself yesterday, she had placed a particular emphasis on her surname. “MacDonald” simply means son or descendant of “Donald”. Thus, “Mac” is a recurring prefix in the names of Scottish clans. Today I have learnt something of the system of clans that is of a lesser significance in present times than it had been in the past.
Historically, each clan consisted of people linked by a common ancestry. As such, they had the same surname. Even those who had no direct ancestry to the clan adopted the surname to signify their loyalty. Each clan had a chief who provided protection for his clansmen in return for their services. These services included a sworn allegiance to fight for the clan when called upon to do so. I assume that Highlanders had not the ability or need to organise themselves on a large scale on rough mountainous terrains. There was no single king to exercise authority on the Highlands as a whole. The next best thing was to organise themselves on a smaller scale, with the unit of a clan being the common bond. A clansman defended his clan, not the Scottish king or the English king. This system was therefore not favourable to the monarchy who sought to abolish it altogether. As times changed, history took its course and the system evolved. The Clearances came after the Battle of Culloden and took a heavy toll on Highland occupation and population. The clan system was effectively at its end.
Wearing of tartans is a Highland practice. Later, the fashion moved to the Lowlands. Each clan became associated with a visible identity such as a unique pattern of tartan; but this is something that the Victorians introduced in a codified manner with their romanticised vision of the Highlanders. Wearing tartans became a symbol of the Jacobites and their anti-Union sentiments. Following the Battle of Culloden, wearing of tartans was banned. Sir Walter Scott glamorized it later in 1822 for George VI’s visit to Edinburgh. Since then, wearing of tartans and kilts has become fashionable in high society and formal occasions.
This system of clans is quite different from the caste system followed in India. While in India, the caste system is more of a social division and organisation, the clan system of Scotland is political. Within each clan, was a hierarchy that could loosely resemble India’s caste system. Naturally some clans were stronger than others. Tracing one’s belonging to a particular clan, for someone whose ancestors had lived in the cities for generations, is as difficult as for a modern Indian trying to trace his caste. It is better not to be able trace such divisions when only unity can secure the future course of the world.
Incidentally, the Battle of Culloden is an important one in Scottish history. I first learnt about it at Tate Britain in London from an oil painting by John Everett Millais, “The Order of Release 1746″. The quiet drama played out by the silent characters is more personal than political – the vacant gaze in the woman’s eyes, the tired frame of the man being released, the unrestrained welcome of the dog, the jailer’s careful study of the order in hand.
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