Brae Lochaber Gaelic Oral Tradition and the Repertoire of John Macdonald, Highbridge

https://theses.gla.ac.uk/ Theses Digitisation: https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/research/enlighten/theses/digitisation/ This is a digitised version of the original print thesis. Copyright and moral rights for this work are retained by the author A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge This work cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Enlighten: Theses https://theses.gla.ac.uk/ [email protected] BRAE LOCHABER GAELIC ORAL TRADITION AND THE REPERTOIRE OF JOHN MACDONALD, HIGHBRIDGE Andrew Esslemont Macintosh Wiseman A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy Celtic Department Faculty of Arts The University of Glasgow October 1996 © A.E.M. Wiseman 1996 ProQuest Number: 10992213 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 10992213 Published by ProQuest LLC(2018). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 lOSfi UNIVERSnT T.TV :< .\fiT Contents Acknowledgements ............................................................................................. iii Introduction................................................................................................... iv-vii Chapter 1. The Oral Tradition of Brae Lochaber in the Literature............ 8—21 Chapter 2. John MacDonald—The Teller of Tales.................................. 22—34 Chapter 3. Tales of the Supernatural........................................................ 35—69 Chapter 4. Clan Legends and Historical Tales.................................... 70— 106 Chapter 5. International Tales.............................................................. 107— 125 Appendix 1. Maps of Lochaber............................................................. 126— 128 Appendix 2. Index for International Tales in Brae Lochaber................129— 131 Appendix 3. (i) List of the Titles in “Tales from Spean Bridge”............132— 146 (ii) List of Lochaber Sound Archives ................................ 147— 157 Bibliography.......................................................................................... 158— 166 Acknowledgements I would like to thank the following individuals and organisations for the help they have given: Professor Donald MacAulay who supervised this study and who was always kind and helpful throughout. I am grateful for his help especially in transcribing some of the more difficult parts of the tape archives. His comments and suggestions have made this a better work than would have been otherwise. The completion of this thesis also happily coincides with the time of his retirement. Dr. Margaret Mackay and Rhona Talbot of the School of Scottish Studies who greatly facilitated the course of research by lending the Celtic Department in Glasgow copies of tapes, recorded by Calum MacLean and John Machines, and also photocopies of Calum MacLean’s manuscript collection “Tales from Spean Bridge”. The McCaig Trust, The Glasgow Highland Society, and Peter MacIntyre of Urras Brosnachaidh na Gaidhlig (Gaelic Language Promotion Trust) for much appreciated financial support. Tha mi fada 'nan comain uile. Introduction The aim of this study is to give as broad a prospectus as possible of the Gaelic oral tradition of Brae Lochaber. No one exemplifies the Gaelic tradition of the Braes better than John MacDonald who belonged to Highbridge. Our purpose here, then, is not simply to delineate John MacDonald as a story-teller but rather to analyse the representative content of his repertoire. By far the greater part of this corpus consists of historical traditions and supernatural tales. For that reason this study has attempted to give these aspects greater prominence and has included examples from other local tradition bearers and accounts from the literature, and thus John MacDonald is not exclusively foregrounded in the chapters dealing with historical legends and supernatural tales. Also, in order to reflect the content of John MacDonald’s repertoire these particular tales are the ones studied in greatest depth. John MacDonald can be described as the last Lochaber seanchaidh as he was the last person of a long line who not only composed over a hundred songs but had a vast knowledge of Lochaber traditions, passed on from his father, James MacDonald. Somewhat unusually John only learnt these traditional tales later in life, shortly before his father died. Condsidering that John Carswell, Bishop of the Isles, wrote in the first Gaelic book, the following diatribe against traditional story-telling in 1567, it is remarkable that it should have survived in such a vigorous form into this century: Agas is mor an doille an dorchadas peacaidh agas aineolas agas indtleachta do lucht deactaidh agus sgriobhatha agas chumhdaigh na Gaoidhleige gurab mo is mi an leo agas gurab mo ghnathuidheas siad eachtradha dimhaoineachda buaidheartha bregacha saoghalta, do cumadh ar Thuathaibh De Dhanond, agas ar Macaibh Mileadh, agas ar na curadhaibh, agas [ar] Fhind mhac Cumhaill gona Fhianaibh, agas ar mhoran eile nach airbhim agas slighte d’fTzaghail doibh fein, ina briathra disle De agas slighte foirfe, na firinde do sgriobhadh agas do dheachtadh agas do chumdachd. Oir is andsa leis an t-saoghal an breg go mor ina fhirinde.1 It is fortunate that not all Ministers of the Gospel took this view. Many of the nineteenth century clergymen were instrumental in folklore collection during its infancy especially in the Highlands. Concerning the traditions of the Lochaber, notable among such ministers were Rev. Alasdair Stewart [Nether Lochaber] (1829-1901), Revd. Dr. Archibald Clerk (1813-87) and Rev. James MacDougall (1833-1906).2 The area of Brae Lochaber has long been associated with the MacDonells, Ddmhnallaich na Ceapaich. The scion of this branch of Clan Donald was Alasdair Carrach, the third youngest son of John, first to be styled the Lord of the Isles. They are still there, though much depleted in numbers, despite emigration, clearances and general social movement. The geographic area of Brae Lochaber is roughly the same size as the old clan territory of the MacDonells. It is bounded to the south by Nether Lochaber, reaching as far west as Lochybridge, towards Fort William, bounded in the east by Badenoch, and reaching as far north as Glen Gloy where it merges with Glengarry. Maps have been provided in Appendix 1 for the benefit of anyone who is not familiar with the territory. As can be seen the main townships of the Braes are Spean Bridge and Roy Bridge, although during the time of the clans the heart of Brae Lochaber was Keppoch. It should also be emphasised that this study is not attempting a simply parochial perspective, although it is recognised that the historical traditions discussed intrinsically belong to the Braes. Any area of the Highlands and Islands would repay such a study as this providing that enough material is available. As can be seen some of the tales in John MacDonald’s repertoire have international relevance. A review of Brae Lochaber oral tradition, gleaned mainly from the Celtic journals of last century, is given (Chapter 1) in order to provide a contextual background to the John MacDonald’s repertoire. A brief biography of John is also given, explaining how he learned his stories and describing the traditional ceilidh setting. Also a vignette of the social history of Brae Lochaber is given which reflects the predominantly Gaelic society of John MacDonald’s youth. The main sources for the study of John MacDonald’s repertoire, as well as the other tradition bearers, is to be found in the manuscript collection transcribed by Calum MacLean, during 1951-2, which he appropriately named “Tales from Spean Bridge”. Most of these recordings were, unfortunately, subsequently erased after transcription. A full list of the titles of the various tales collected in this manuscript is given in Appendix 3 (i). In addition to this, the other fruitful source for material was the Sound Archive of the School of Studies, housed in the University of Edinburgh. A full list of all the Sound Archives pertaining to Lochaber is given in Appendix 3 (ii). Notes to Introduction 1 Thomson, R.L.Foirm na h-Urnuidheadh. John Carswell’s Gaelic Translations o f the Book of Common Order. Edinburgh: Scottish Gaelic Texts Society, 1970: 11; Lines 321-333. Translation appears in McLauchlan, Thomas (ed.).The Book of Common Prayer: Commonly Called John Knox’s Liturgy. Edinburgh: Edmonston & Douglas, 1873: 19: Great is the blindness and darkness of sin and ignorance and of understanding among composers and writers and supporters of Gaelic in that they prefer and practice the framing of vain, hurtful, lying, earthly stories

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