RESEARCH I PIPING TODAY •14 1847. Here, thefigure isessentially a ‘vehicle’ lished inTheClansofthe Scottish Highlands in MacCrimmon by Robert Ronald McIan pub- Bagpipe. Alaterexampleisofthe‘portrait’ of information torepresent theGreat Highland studio andfoundhimselfwithout sufficient ‘reconstructed’ returned whentheartist tohis Baroque oboe. mayhave been The instrument chanter seeminglymodelledonashawmor yet the bagpipe is intriguingly strange and the sion of William Cumming asareal personand of 1714inwhichtheviewergainsanimpres- much re-produced Piper tothe Laird ofGrant caseinpointisRichardimportant Waitt’s or historianofpiping.Aninteresting and themusicologist tofrustrate but mostlyserve in thesamespiritofeducatingandentertaining picted inthesegenre were portraits represented audience. a contemporary de- The instruments elementsandmoral messagesfor with artistic figures andtendto represent genre art-styles butthesearepean art; generallyanonymous appear widelyonthebroader canvas ofEuro- pipers are rare though bagpipes and players of principally names,andimagesorportraits ofpipinginScotland,weIn have thehistory Portraits latest (early19 Arms, andthepiperinHighland dress ofthe ally Windsor Castle), aversion oftheRoyal with thistles,acastleorroyal palace(usu- traiture thanforitsheavyuseofsymbolism islesssignificantaspor- class ofimagery andposthumous. contemporary This latter oils of1840toaseriesengravingsboth ing in quality from an exquisitein portrait half adozen ‘portraits’ ofhimsurvive, rang- the age of photography. Possibly more than the mostillustratedHighland piperbefore image. He is remarkable for being probably sic, anothertangiblelinkwithAngusishis and his family. well As as books and mu- stantial musicallegacyofAngusMackay n thelastissue,we lookedatthesub- th century) fashion. century) The Piper’s House recover somethingofthelifeandmusicwithinPiper’s House. family, ClannMhicRuairidh, before returning to toRaasay ofhis of Angus Mackay intothehistory andinvestigate further Gaelic college,Sabhal MòrOstaig inSkye, lookattheportraiture Deckerand Dr Forrest, bothprogramme leadersatScotland’s In thisthird pipingscholars andfinalpart, Professor Hugh Cheape Hebridean cultural context, flourished. andsocial,inwhichthey withissuessuchastheoriginsof theMackays orthe engage further piping tradition although ourconventional wisdomtendsnotto ofScotland’sThe musicoftheMackaysliesatheart ofRaasay majority of portraits ofAngusMackay,majority ofportraits while bagpipe asdepicted here. In contrast,the is nomaterialevidenceforthisMacCrimmon is playing a‘Great Highland Bagpipe’ butthere mode ofHighland dress. We presume that he andhistoric for depictingadistinctive tartan 1840. BypermissionoftheScottishNationalPortrait Gallery. Angus MackaybyAlexanderJohnston,oiloncanvas,dated Taigh a’Phìobaire by Hugh CheapeandDecker Forrest notable series of portraits painted between ming at213cm by 154cm. This is oneofthe with thehugelife-size imageof William Cum- 90.2 cmby 70.5cm,prompting acomparison The AngusMackay paintingissmallandneat, 1802 carries the shield on the chanter stock. 1784 andaPrize Pipe by Hugh Robertson of of Neil Maclean, havingwonthePrize Pipe in same positionontheearlierengraved portrait chanter stock. The samedetailappearsinthe inscribed prize ‘shield’ wasindeed fixed onthe tellsusthatthe Surviving evidenceotherwise shield clearlyshown onthechanterstock. Competition in1835,withaninscribedsilver the Prize Pipe wonintheHighland Society beautifully detailedimageshows himplaying to Walter CampbellofShawfield and Islay. The was painted about 1840 when Angus was piper oils by AlexanderJohnston (1815-1891). This as we know, in strikingportrait withthevery instrument. andhis piper oftheearly-to-mid19thcentury convincing representations ofthehousehold attention totechnicaldetail,givingusmore still heavywithsymbolism,reveal muchcloser This series of portraits of Angus begins, as far ofAngus begins,asfar This seriesofportraits Part Three RESEARCH

1713 and 1726 of the Laird of Grant, his fam- ily, relatives, cadet chiefs and tacksmen – the Luchd-Taighe or traditional retinue of the clan chieftain. What is immediately striking is that the portraits of the ‘Piper’ and the ‘Champion’ are life-size and all the rest – including the Laird and his wife – smaller, head-and-shoulders, portraits. Significantly, perhaps, the portrait of Angus Mackay is very small by comparison and compares more readily with the late 18th and 19th century genre portraits of the ‘servants’ of royal and aristocratic households. Another small portrait of Angus Mackay, of the subject’s head and shoulders only, was commissioned by the Highland Society of London but remains to be further researched. A later portrait of Angus Mackay is in The Royal Collection. The watercolour is by a London-born painter, William Wyld (1806- 1889), who worked in France and Italy but occasionally returned to the United Kingdom. On a trip to England in 1852, Queen Victoria invited him to Balmoral to draw and paint the surroundings. A portrait of the ‘Queen’s Piper’ seems to have been a legacy of this Royal com- mission in 1852. The composition of William Wyld’s portrait bears comparison with engraved images of Angus. A further ‘portrait’ in an ex- travagant style was published as frontispiece in W L Manson’s The Highland Bagpipe in 1901, ‘from a drawing in the possession of Duncan Munro, Kyleakin, Skye’. It is heavy with sym- bolism of Angus’s appointment to the Royal Household and his bagpipe – we assume – is a grotesque caricature. Queen Victoria’s interest in her Highland ‘servants’ is further reflected in the fine wa- tercolour portrait of the next Royal piper, The Queen’s Piper, Angus Mackay, by William Wyld, about 1852. William Ross, appointed in 1854 and painted With grateful thanks to The Royal Collection ©2011 Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. in 1866. This image of her Scottish retain- ers is one of the series commissioned by the brother, John, won the fourth. It was said that of John Mackay. Close relationship or not, Queen from Kenneth Macleay (1802-1878) John Mackay had other oileanaich or ‘students’, John Bàn Mackenzie (1796-1864) must have and published in 1870 as ‘The Highlanders such as Archibald Munro, Angus Macpherson been about the same age as John Mackay’s son, of Scotland’. who was related to the MacLeods of Suidhisnis, Donald, and came second to him in the 1822 a farm next to Oighre, and John Bàn Mackenzie Highland Society competition and then took Traditions of Clann Mhic Ruairidh whose father, William, was married to a Raasay the first prize in 1823. John Bàn was born in According to island tradition, the Piper’s House Mackay. Achilty, Contin, Strathpeffer, and is said to have in Oighre or ‘Eyre’, at the south end of the Is- Raasay tradition still has more to tell us of been taught by Donald Mòr MacLennan and land of Raasay, was where Angus’s father, John, John’s immediate family than do the conven- John Beag MacRae, as well as by John Mackay raised his family and taught his four sons. His tional sources of piping history; we know that of Raasay. It is interesting to speculate as to eldest son, Donald, won the first prize in the he had a brother Donald – Dòmhnall Ruairidh why John Bàn crossed the country or was sent Highland Society of London’s pìobaireachd – and a sister, Catriona, and two or possibly for teaching in Raasay. Doubtless, as a pupil competition in 1822. His next son, Roderick, three other sisters. It would not be impossible with ability, he was welcomed into the Piper’s born in 1811, won the first prize in 1832. In therefore that William, the father of John Bàn House and probably stayed with the family 1835, Angus won the first prize and his younger Mackenzie, might have been a brother-in-law while in Raasay.

PIPING TODAY • 15 WORLDSRESEARCH PIPING TODAY •16 at Kyleakin ‘inretirement’. He diedin1848 Byservice. 1840,atthelatest,hewasliving tain whenprecisely heleftLord Willoughby’s Castle untilafter 1835 althoughitisnot cer- image have aboutthem. astrong ringoftruth working on theestate. andthis This memory and hadbeengiven theaccountby anoldman who wasatDrummond Castleinthe1880s had beentoldtohimby Pipe Major Meldrum over thebacksoftwoHighland ponies. This with alltheirpossessionsinfourcreels slung children, arrived atDrummond Castleonfoot a traditionthatJohn Mackay, withhiswifeand recalled1961, Archibald Campbell of Kilberry a reputable Highland pipertohisstrength. In consolidate hisHighland credentials by adding Castle. Clearly Lord Willoughby was keen to and equippedcontingentfrom Drummond army whichincludedanimpressively prepared heralded withtherecreation ofaHighland IV’s visitto Scotland in August 1822 hadbeen at Drummond Castle, Crieff. King George taken onasPiper to Lord Willoughby D’Eresby treated. Instead ofleavingthecountry, hewas Raasay indisgustatthewaypeoplewere being is more explicit,thatJohn Mackay hadleft plating emigration. Family tradition in Raasay of regime, John Mackay was said tobecontem- of Raasay had died in 1823 and, with a change taken over therole of Raasay’s piper. MacLeod sons, whohadwontheprize pipein1822,had Hisservice. sonDonald, theeldestofhisfour aged 56,John Mackay lefttheLaird ofRaasay’s Highland Bagpipe. 1792 whenhewonthefirstprize ofa Great pìobaireachd competitioninEdinburgh in was listedaswinneroftheHighland Society’s Johnson andBoswell), in1786.John Mackay MacLeod, 9th of Raasay (and the host of MacLeod whohadsucceededhisfather, John was pipertoMacLeod ofRaasay, thatis,James described as‘Merchant’. By 1792,John Mackay Kyleakin inthehouseholdofhisson,Roderick, together withhiswife,Margaret, aged70,in He is listed aged 75 in the 1841 Census, living ing tohisageasgiven inalatercensusrecord. John Mackay remained atDrummond John Mackay wasbornabout1767,accord- In 1823orpossibly1824, The comparisonwiththePiper’s House inthe uninhabitedIsle virtually hitherto ofRona. an Taighe orintheeven lessfavourable and tipoftheisland,in Eileanthe rocky northern harsh onesincethere wasnolivingtobehadin subsist ascrofter-fishermen. Thechoicewasa ofRaasayto niously dispatchedtothenorth emigrated, moved toSkye orwere unceremo- typical of the process of clearance. The tenants ofRaasay,island tothenorth anenforced move Mackay. Donald went to Rona, that is,the tenants inOighre, oneofwhomwasDonald the laird, John MacLeod ofRaasay, onthesix dated 23March onbehalfof 1839,wasserved cleared forsheep. Asummons of removing, Oighre about1839whenthetownship was Dòmhnall maca’ Phìobaire wasevictedfrom John, hadallleftRaasayandthePiper’s House. and John’s sons, Donald, Roderick, Angus and evident thatDonald’s brother John Mackay was ‘commonly calledIain Mac Ruairi’. It is himself wrote intheearly1850show hisfather father, ofcourse,alsoJohn. AngusMackay descendents ofRoderick Mackay ofRaasay, Mhic Ruairi, thusidentifyingthemallasthe His descendantshave beenknown asClann the only male Mackay remaining inthearea. – version ofhisageasgiven tothecensusregister. andbaptism,butaccordingbirth tohisown be established, not by parish registers of John Mackay’s age,asmentioned,can this district above eighty years of age’. the opinion…manyare now livingin instances oflongevitytendtoconfirm is notthoughtunsalubrious,andsome who wrote that ‘the air, on the whole, was) by theRev Malcolm MacLeod the Parish ofSnizort (inwhichRaasay noted inthe1790Statistical Account for MacCrimmon andMackay. It wasafact patriarchal agesofpipingfamiliessuchas or 19thcenturies,butreminiscent ofthe longevity notalltogethertypicalofthe18th Raasay Heritage Trust. Aged80or81,thisisa his burialplacehasnow beenmarked by the and wasburiedatKilmoluaiginRaasaywhere Dòmhnall maca’ Phìobaire –wassaidtobe By thelate1830s,Donald sonofthePiper Assistant, 1851. taken fromanundocumentedthirdeditionofThePiper’s of AncientPiobaireachd (1838).This‘portrait’hasbeen Assistant(c.1843)andACollection such asThePiper’s appeared onthetitlepagesofcontemporarycollections Angus Mackaybyanunknownartist.Versions ofthisimage derived his informationfrom Pipe Major to Gairloch. John MacLean wrote thathe also Rory, came southfrom theReay country the family of Am Pìobaire Dall, whose father, the early18thcentury, apatternmirroring came toRaasayfrom Sutherland, probably in how Mackay, aRory theeponymous Mackays ofGairloch. John MacLean described ofthe added Raasaytraditionstothehistory in 1952. Entitled ‘Am Piobaire Dall’, his piece cant lecture totheGaelic Society ofInverness was himselfapiperandcontributedsignifi- Sorley, thepoet,andCalumIain, thefolklorist, Rector ofOban High School,andbrother of academicexcellence.particular John MacLean, MacLeans ofageneration ofseven thatachieved from thetownship ofOsgaig. These were the Raasay wasretailed by otherRatharsairich stream ofinformationontheMackays of Scottish Studies inthe1950s. Raasay begantoberecorded by theSchoolof recalled when the oral traditions of particularly Pipers’, never forgottheirinheritanceanditwas Sliochd nam Pìobairean, ‘the Descendants ofthe lush shallow valley ofOighre isvivid andcruel. An interesting andnodoubtsignificant Ruairidh,

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Raasay tradition on the decedents of Ruairidh Mackay showing two branches of the family.

William Maclean, Kilcreggan, a pupil of Mal- father used to overhear them and pick up This is a precious piece of biography which colm Macpherson (Calum Pìobaire). Calum his lesson, and play the same on the moor is not available elsewhere in print in its entirety. Pìobaire is strongly associated in our collective while herding, and that on a Feadan Seile- It is of course contradicted in a sense by family memories with Badenoch, but he was born in astair. He was overheard by Fear Aoighre tradition in Raasay. The naming in the manner Raasay and was related to a MacLeod family who taught him and afterwards sent him of a sloinneadh is very important, as Iain mac who were Tacksmen of Suidhisnis, the farm to the College of the MacCrimmons and Ruairidh, and a detail which is rarely offered in next to Oighre. Calum’s father, Angus, had been to the MacKays of Gairloch. He married piping histories. Reaching back effectively one taught by John Mackay. Margaret Maclean or Mairearad nighean generation only to an eponymous ‘Roderick’ Angus Mackay wrote a biographical note Aonghais: Issue, Katherine Mhòr, as child may be significant, for example, for status and on his father and family which is bound in who died in infancy, Donald, Mary, Marga- for descent – in other words both seemed in with the manuscript volumes of his music in ret, Cursty, Katherine Og, Roderick, Angus short supply – and Angus Mackay seems clear the National Library of Scotland. This fluent (self) and John. Katherine married Norman enough about modest family circumstances and possibly rapidly-written account is on MacFhionghain, now in Prince Edward with the words: ‘…he was, I believe, left an or- one side of a single sheet of paper. It is bound Island & has a numerous family. Mary mar- phan.’ However, another version might suggest together with two sheets, with four sides of ried John MacKenyie in Castle, Raasay; she that an alignment with the Mackays of Gairloch writing, with an account by Angus of his be- died in Raasay and is buried there. Margaret is implicit, in so far as Iain mac Ruairidh sig- ing confined to Bethlehem Hospital on 29 married Wm Robertson of Badenoch and nalled this identification. November 1854. It reads verbatim as follows died there; the other left a family. Cursty In terms of a Hebridean and Gaelic (in a version here in which the spelling has married A Maclean, her cousin, and she community, the sequel is entirely credible, been ‘normalised’ for readability from the has one daughter in Prince Edward Island. that John was taken into the tacksman’s original text): Kathy Og married John Munro and has one household, effectively fostered by him, and ‘This is a brief account of my father’s son, Duncan, alive at Kyleakin, Isle of Skye. worked as a herd laddie, in a role which at one family, John MacKay, commonly called Iain Roderick married Elisa Gillies of Raasay; time or another every child in the Hebrides Mac Ruairidh of Eyre in Ratharsair, Isle of he died in Edinburgh in 1854, leaving 4 performed for the family, the family group or Skye. He was, I believe, left an orphan with children. I, Angus, married Mary Johnston the township. The circumstantial detail which one sister; he was reared up by Malcolm Russell and have 4 children alive. John adds immeasurably to the account is that John MacLeoid, commonly called Fir Aoighre. died in London, England. Donald died in taught himself his music on a home-made He was there employed as a herd boy &c. London leaving three orphans; their mother chanter. This seems like good family tradition and in the house. Fir Aoighre played the Caroline [Lucas?] had died previously and and says much for Angus Mackay’s own style Pipes and was teaching a young lad. My is buried at Kensall Green. AMK’ and artistry.

The Piper’s House in its Raasay setting, looking from Oighre to Skye. PIPING TODAY • 17 RESEARCH PIPING TODAY •18 son andPipe Major William Maclean, gave reminiscences oftwopipers,AngusMacpher- ing thatwent oninthe Piper’s House, the notation by assonance. music’ matchedtherhythmandsignalled or‘mouth-or insong,whichtheport-à-beul implicit advantage ofconveying grace-noting, music either in vocables, which would have the involved listeningtotheteachersinging specific to piping. Learning thebagpipe then sung themusicor‘chanted’ itinawaythen year 1826 to1840’,tellingusthattheteacher ntaireachd ofJohn Mackay, hisfatherfrom the had writtendown pipemusic‘from theCan- watching. AngusMackay laterwrote thathe clearly involves acombinationoflisteningand form but‘off hisfingers’ where thetechnique get thetunesfrom histeacher, notinwritten in the player’s fingershasalready beendiscussed ness and abilitytolearn a tune from observing written orprintedmusicalscore. The readi- how bagpipemusic wastransmittedbefore the entirely comprehensible andapointerasto of piping,thismodepickingupmusicis and was‘cheated’ ofthefirstprize. In terms competitions inEdinburgh, in1820and1821, twice went awaytotheHighland Society could have beenDonald sonofJohn who Curiously, the unnamed Pìobaire of the story occurselsewhere. tiously by closeobservation and naturallywon. played thePiobaire’s composition ashisown competition so that he himself played first, the tuneand,havingarrangedmattersat stick. The rival watched him closely, learnt the boatfingeringnotesofhistuneon recognised. The Piobaire of satonathwart competitor joinedthecompanyandwasnot – each piperwastoplayhisown composition on hiswayby boattoacompetitionwhere ofthe Pìobaireabout 1947andtoldthestory lived inFearns ontheeastsideofRaasaydied brother ofJohn Mackay. CalumRuairi who they were thesonsofNeil sonofDonald, the Nèill Dhòmhnaill – their names telling us that Calum Ruairi NèillDhòmhnaill andIain Ruairi The initialinformantswere thetwobrothers, and recognizing theplayingofherbrother. sound ofthepipesfrom aboatoutintheSound John Mackay’s sister, Catriona,hearingthe wastoldconcerning In astory thelastarticle, Learning am port aigefhèin.On thejourney,am port another While we have nodescriptionoftheteach- The motifoflearningcovertly andsurrepti- Piping Today (2005);apupilisadvisedto Maclean recalled: some 16milesfrom Dalwhinnie, Pipe Major Pìobaire (known alsoasTaigh a’ Phìobaire) Having justarrived atthehomeofCalum House inmuchthesamewayastwoboys. would have undoubtedlylearnedinthePiper’s throw awayfrom thegreat John Mackay’ and Raasay-born father, Angus,hadlived ‘a stone’s as boys learningfrom CalumPìobaire whose an illuminating account of their experiences the Mondays.’ and thesameprocedure againon started and enjoying ourselves climbingthehills; with rabbitsandhares andthings likethat; snow withastick;tokeepthepotboiling out andhuntforhares and rabbitsinthe piper also;andheIusedto goaway friend upinSutherlandshire; heisagood off; heandhissonAngus,whoisnow my on aSaturday; hegave ustheSaturday to playmuch;no;buthenever taughtus bedtime. He wouldnotgive you anytime the bagpipe from seven o’clock until near through the day;we hadtoplayitallon thatIhadlearnedonthechanter rything substantial plaingoodfoodandtheneve - prepare for their supper old highland style were set asidethenwe hadtowashupand just aboutsixo’clock. Andthechanters thechantersagain,until then we started to three, orhalfpastthree, forawalk,and me outinthe afternoon, from two o’clock went onuntildinnertime. Then hetook side ofthefire andIontheother;that going withthechanter, himselfonone chanter atteno’clock; andIhadtokeep thepractice at nine,andthenwe started eight in the morning; we had our breakfast in histeaching...we gotupatalittleafter the followingstrict day; and hewasvery ears and enjoying it. So wethen started seeing meswallowing itallinwithmy quietly to me and he turned round and from hisfingers;andhewaslooking over ful crispstrong notesthatwere coming just fairlycarriedawaywiththebeauti- toplay andIwas the house...andstarted and healwaysplayed withhisbonnetonin [Calum Pìobaire]... pickeduphisbagpipe up from thepeatfire andthen Malcolm coldandIgotagoodheat it wasvery house. Iwaswarmingmyselfatthefire... house, thatchedandatypicallyhighland darken andIwastakenintothehighland ‘It was November... itwasbeginningto early 19 roofed andinhabitedinthe might havelookedlikewhen House This iswhatthePiper’s some level ofcompetencyinthismannerbefore practice chanter. That John Mackay achieved and thenpractisingunaidedonhishome-made hearing thelessonsbeinggiven toanotherboy in AngusMackay’s accountofhisfatherover- excellent practicechanters. available inRaasayandare known toproduce both oftheseplantswouldhave beenreadily or length of water-reed was played by John; reed ofstraw, andmadefrom anelderbranch a fullyplayablepracticechanter, fittedwith a situations.Moreor biro todayincertain likely, gered’ theirisstalkmuchasoneusesapencil Perhaps theyoung John Mackay simply‘fin- fitting a reed ofbarleyoroatstrawatoneend. bore andfingerholeswithaheatedwire and lated by the usual method of burning a central suggest thatitcouldnothave beenmanipu- iris or gives theonlyaccountofstalkyellow and Uist, andsoon.Strangely, AngusMackay branches ofelderinSkye, water-reeds inMull stalksinPerthshire,locally available; ragwort materials were useddependingonwhatwas Highlands and Islands until recently. Different tions inEurope andwaswidespread across the once commontoanumberofpipingtradi- spent indoors. whenlesstimewas shifted inthesummertime indicative ofhow theseasonalcycle ofpiping made chanteronthemoorwhilstherding is account ofhisfatherpractisingonahome- ofcourse,andAngusMackay’sthe wintertime those tunesuntilwe fellasleep...’ This wasin myself; andwe slepttogether... andhummed them over together; William Maclean and memorised allthosetunestogether;humming Maclean’s accountaddingthat‘at nightwe The motifoflearningcovertly arisesagain Making home-madepracticechanterswas Angus Macpherson corroborated Pipe Major th seileasdair being used, and experiments century. or soearlier: much thesameasPiper’s House 20years into ahouseinteriorwhichwouldhave been in Skye about1840hasleftusadetailedinsight Kilmuir intheadjacent Trotternish peninsula minister writinganaccountoftheparish the oneroof islargelyirretrievable. Aparish and livingspaceforpeopleanimalsunder longhouse or ‘byre-dwelling’ combining shelter the Piper’s House. ambienceofthe The true the environment ofteachingandlearningwas fire during the long winter nights. Typical of learning were withinthehouseandround the For most Highland pipers, the early stages of Return tothePiper’s House before more formalteachingmethods. aural/oral learningafforded children inthedays sibility that home-made practice chanters and early agebutisalsoanindicationoftheacces- us somethingofhismusicalaptitudefrom an attracting theattention of Fear Oighre tells typical inSkye. describes asoncebeing elder branchwhichtradition straw reed,ismadeofan This example,withabarley practice chanter, orfeadain. his pipingonahome-made John Mackayfirstlearned MacLean ofBallygrant inIslay, writingtothe as thesocialfocusofanyhousehold.Hector was associatedwiththefireplace orhearth shrined intheGaelic termcèilidhwhichitself visit ormeeting–the‘coming together’ –en- element of hospitality, friendly thecustomary to thefireside. Typically, thiswasthedynamic pass through the byre and come up the house veyed theinvitation tocomeinatthedoor, invited: visiting neighbour or piping pupil would be a longstandingreputation. Passing stranger, ity for which the Highlands and Hebrides had practical roles. It wasthefocusofhospital- clearlyhadsymbolic aswell asThe hearth House –Tobht’ Taigh a’ Phìobaire – inRaasay. internal spacesmatchestheshellofPiper’s the cattle.’ while thatnextthedoorisoccupiedby of barnorbed-room, sometimesboth, thepurpose serves The inmostapartment indispensable for immediate family use. and theotherparaphernaliawhichare dergoing theslow process ofindigodye, containing the kelt for family dress, un- amraidh orcupboard, alargecovered pot which are thecradle,spinning-wheel, arm-chair,or rustic of plaitedstraw, near other side is found the good-wife’s contain five orsixpeople,whileonthe sofaisplaced,ofsufficientsize to or rude the onesideoffire, awoodenbench is suspendedfrom theraftersabove. On centre ofthefloor, over whichthecrook by the family, who have the fire in the istheoneprincipallyoccupied apartment tled-work, straworreeds. The middle by made of wat- stone walls or partitions whichareapartments, separatedeither This arrangement of two or three separate ‘The housesgenerallyconsistofthree ‘The Thig a-staigh! ! This con- suas! This or Thig PIPING TODAY •19 sunnag

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Gaelic folklore collector John Francis Campbell and allow us to explore that past. Some of these tifying surviving portraits of Angus Mackay. of Islay in 1860, described the ‘institution’ of sources have been used in order to propose a Reproduction of the two portraits is by permis- the cèilidh as it still prevailed in Barra: ‘The number of points: that much of the history of sion of The Royal Collection and the National people gather in crowds to the houses of those the Mackays has been preserved in the collec- Galleries of Scotland. We are also indebted to whom they consider good reciters to listen to tive memory of generations of Rathairsaich; and John A. Forrest, San Diego, for drawing a re- their stories’. One of Campbell’s collectors was that oral tradition has emphasised a probable construction of the Piper’s House for this issue. the Lismore-born exciseman, Alexander Car- genealogical link between the Mackay piping Again, we are most grateful to Rebecca Mackay, michael (1832-1912), whose own collection, families of Raasay and Gairloch. Oral tradi- Osgaig, Island of Raasay, for sharing with us Carmina Gadelica, was first published in 1900. tion also led us to the site of the Piper’s House, what she has learnt about the Mackays from In its Introduction, he recalled with sentimental allowing us a precious opportunity to go some Calum Beag Chaluim Ruairidh, ‘an outstanding glow his own experiences in the ‘ceilidh-houses’ way in reconstructing the environment of John historian and genealogist’. of the Highlands and Islands: Mackay’s home where piping flourished and was ‘In a crofting community the people work in passed on to his sons and other pupils. Close Further Reading unison in the field during the day, and discuss examination of the music, as recorded by Eliza Campbell, Archibald (of Kilberry), Pìobaire- together in the house at night. This meeting is Ross and Angus Mackay, highlighted unique achd Society Book 3, 80 and Book 10, iii-iv. called ‘cèilidh’ ... The ‘cèilidh’ is a literary en- stylistic approaches in both ceòl mòr and ceòl tertainment where stories and tales, poems and beag performance and has suggested that at Cheape, Hugh, Bagpipes. A National Collection ballads, are rehearsed and recited, and songs are least some of Angus’s ceòl beag repertoire may of a National Instrument. National Museums sung, conundrums are put, proverbs are quoted, be traced back to his musical roots in Raasay. Scotland 2008. and many other literary matters are related and It would be unrealistic and unfair to credit Cheape, Hugh, ‘“Get them off his fingers”: discussed ... The house is roomy and clean, if these musical traditions and characteristics of idioms of piping in Scotland’, in Piping Today homely, with its bright peat fire in the middle the Mackays solely with the teaching of the Number 15 (2005), 12-15. of the floor. There are many present – men MacCrimmons of Borreraig; by placing the and women, boys and girls. All the women are Mackays on the MacCrimmon pedestal, we Forrest, J Decker, ‘The Making of Bagpipe seated, and most of the men ... The conversa- tend both to over- and to under-rate them. Reeds and Practice Chanters in South Uist’ tion is general: the local news, the weather, the Finally, examination of the portraiture of Angus in Joshua Dickson, Editor, The Highland price of cattle, these leading up to higher themes Mackay has given us insight into more than Bagpipe – Music, History, Tradition. Ashgate – the clearing of the glens (a sore subject), the just his physical appearance; it has given us, in 2009, 71-94. war, the parliament, the effect of the sun upon effect, a broader understanding of the chang- the earth and the moon upon the tides.’ ing cultural status of pipers from the 18th to Gillies, William and Ann Matheson, Somhairle With the bright peat fire in the middle of 19th centuries. Mac Gilleain. Sorley Maclean, Edinburgh: Na- the floor, the cèilidh in the Piper’s House must In the first article of this series, it was tional Library of Scotland 1981. have passed from news and current affairs to pointed out that, apart from the importance snatches of songs and puirt-à-beul. Cailleach of his music, pipers today are often aware only MacLean, John, ‘Am Piobaire Dall’, in Transac- Liath Ratharsair, a local tune as we described of the final, tragic episode of Angus Mackay’s tions of the Gaelic Society of Inverness Volume 41 in the last issue, must have been a favourite and life. It is hoped that the series will have helped (1951-1952), 283-306. prompted the pipers amongst them to put it to reconnect the present generation of pipers on the pipes. Other favourite melodies would with an earlier, more important and interesting MacLean, Sam, ‘Some Raasay Traditions’, in surely have followed, such as Calum crùbach time and place in Angus’s life. This is surely Transactions of the Gaelic Society of Inverness anns a’ ghleann, Tha Biodag Dhòmhnaill mhic what Angus was trying to do in1854, when he Volume 49 (1974-1976), 377-397. Alasdair, Gun do dh’ith na còin na ceannaichean reasserted his roots so poignantly in his hospital MacLeod, Norma, Raasay. The Island and its and Tulloch Gorm; and all these tunes are to be log with the heartfelt opening words: ‘...mise People. Edinburgh: Birlinn 2002. found in Angus Mackay’s Piper’s Assistant or in Aonghas Mac Iain Mhic Ruari a rugadh ann Eliza Ross’s manuscript. an Eire, Rarsair...’ (‘I, Angus son of John son National Library of Scotland [NLS], MS 3756; of Roderick who was born in Eyre, Raasay...’). this biographical note has been transcribed Conclusions and is included by courtesy of the Trustees In one form or another, the piping heritage of Sabhal Mòr Ostaig of the National Library of Scotland; see also the Mackays of Raasay is with us still and must Am Màrt 2011 Roderick D Cannon, Bagpipe Manuscripts in merit careful consideration and re-examination, the National Library of Scotland, Piping Times not least because its origins lie on the threshold Acknowledgements Volume 38 (1986). of the ‘modern period’ and stretch back to a less We are indebted to Dr Nicola Kalinsky, Shona easily perceived past. That past is highly valued Corner and Philip Hunt, National Galleries ‘The Piper’s Tale’ (from a BBC interview with in the appreciation of the Highland bagpipe. of Scotland, and to Katie Holyoak, The Royal Calum Iain MacLean), in Creag Dhubh (The The sources are to hand, in music, language, Collection, for providing images for this essay Annual of the Clan Macpherson Society) literature, oral tradition and material culture, and for their guidance and support in iden- Number 45 (1993), 50-51. l

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