“Dh’fheumadh iad àit’ a dheanamh” (They would have to make a Place): LAND AND BELONGING IN GAELIC NOVA SCOTIA © Shamus Y. MacDonald A thesis submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Folklore Memorial University of Newfoundland December 2017 St. John’s Newfoundland and Labrador Abstract: This thesis explores the way land has been perceived, described and experienced by Scottish Gaels in Nova Scotia. It examines how attitudes towards land are maintained and perpetuated through oral traditions and how oral history, legends and place names have fostered a sense of belonging in an adopted environment. Drawing on archival research and contemporary ethnographic fieldwork in Gaelic and English, it explores how people give anonymous aspects of the natural and built environment meaning, how personal and cultural significance is attached to landscapes, and how oral traditions contribute to a sense of place. Exploring a largely unofficial tradition, my thesis includes a survey of Gaelic place names in Nova Scotia that shows how settlers and their descendants have interpreted their surroundings and instilled them with a sense of Gaelic identity. It also considers local traditions about emigration and settlement, reflecting on the messages these stories convey to modern residents and how they are used to construct an image of the past that is acceptable to the present. Given its focus on land, this work investigates the protective attitude towards property long ascribed to Highland Gaels in the province, considering local perspectives of this claim and evaluating its origins. It also examines the personal and cultural impact of social stratification based on land in the region, namely between properties located along the shore and those in the backlands. Providing a more holistic understanding of rural depopulation, my thesis challenges romantic views that frame out-migration as a symptom of cultural wanderlust, demonstrating connections to linguistic and cultural loss and making clear the continued importance land plays in the lives of those who moved away. Taken together, this material explores the complex and highly developed connection to land expressed by Gaels in Nova Scotia and provides a case study of how an immigrant group can invest a landscape with meaning over time. 2 Acknowledgements: In the folklore of eastern Nova Scotia, stories are told about spirits who return to earth to repay debts they accrued in life. In writing this thesis, I accrued a few of my own. Though hardly able to repay their collective generosity, I want to acknowledge here the debt of gratitude I owe those who helped me along the way. To begin, I want to thank my supervisor, Martin Lovelace. Having provided my first introduction to the Department of Folklore, Martin was its most enduring influence. Even after his retirement, he continued to gently nudge my work in the right direction. Guiding my thesis across the finish line, Diane Tye was equally supportive, helping me refine my message and organize my thoughts. Back home in Nova Scotia, special thanks are extended to Jim Watson. A mentor and friend, Seumas proofread the Gaelic. If there are any mistakes remaining, they are mine. Few people are more knowledgeable than him about Gaelic in Nova Scotia. A past professor is also due thanks. Laurie Stanley Blackwell fostered my interests as an undergraduate student and has been a source of continual encouragement and friendship ever since. Other friends, including Susan Cameron, Meghann Jack, Emily MacDonald, and Jessica MacLennan, helped in ways both small and large. For sharing their expertise and research, I want to acknowledge Callum Beck, Dan MacInnes, Stephanie Conn, Emily Clegg, Michael Newton, Glen Matheson, Paul MacDonald and Winnie MacDonald. Advice regarding translations was offered by Stacey MacLean, Effie Rankin, and Jeff MacDonald. Glen MacDonald, Theresa MacDonald, and Angus MacLeod paved the way with introductions and advice in northern Cape Breton. As my work came to a close, Lorrie MacKinnon offered enthusiastic support and valuable suggestions regarding the draft. Debbra Wilkinson, Nova Scotia Geomatics Centre, provided professional assistance regarding official place names and their history. 3 More personal thanks are owed to my parents, Helen and Jimmy, who long ago introduced me to the place this work is about and fostered a respect for its people and stories, and my wife, Jeslyn, who followed me down the long and winding road towards this degree and helped me emerge unscathed. My final thanks are extended to the local residents, living and dead, who shaped my knowledge of this tradition. Some are named in this thesis; many more work in the shadows. Suffice it to say knowing them has made all the difference. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS: Abstract: 2 Acknowledgements: 3 Table of Contents: 5 List of Figures: 6 A Personal Reflection: 7 Chapter One: Introduction 10 1.1 Overview and Chapter breakdown 12 1.2 The Written Record 15 1.3 Stereotypes and Marginalization 29 1.4 An Internal Perspective 36 Chapter Two: Previous Fieldwork in Gaelic Nova Scotia 39 Chapter Three: Methodology 50 3.1 Fieldwork Techniques 53 3.2 Participants 56 3.3 Writing and Transcribing 63 3.4 Translation 65 3.5 Theoretical Approaches 66 3.6 Defining Place 67 Chapter Four: Emigration and Early Encounters with the Mi’kmaq: 69 Chapter Five: Settlement and Expansion: 101 Chapter Six: Gaelic Place Names in Nova Scotia: 128 Chapter Seven: Transforming Space into Place 159 Chapter Eight: Perceptions of Region 194 Chapter Nine: Attitudes towards land and land ownership: 219 Chapter Ten: Land Abandonment: 240 Chapter Eleven: Conclusions 268 References: 275 5 LIST OF FIGURES: 5.1: Map by Kay Portibny 119 5.2: Map by A. J. MacDougall 120 6.1: Place name map, Benacadie Glen 146 6.2: Place name map, Benacadie Pond 153 6.3: Place name map, Black Point and Meat Cove 155 6.4: Place name map by Barry George 156 8.1: Map by Allan MacLeod 210 8.2: Map by Michael Jack MacNeil 211 9.1: Map by Catherine MacNeil 224 9.2: Map by Alex MacDonald 225 10.1: Map by Martha Ramey 255 10.2: Illustration by Paul ‘Moose’ MacKinnon 256 6 A Personal Reflection: The seeds of this thesis were sown in three fertile fields. Naturally enough, the first influence came from home. I was raised in a family that values stories and spent extended periods of time visiting my grandparents in Cape Breton. It was there I was exposed to a rural way of life and heard friends and relatives speak Gaelic. After completing an undergraduate degree in Celtic Studies, where I began learning the language myself, I spent a year studying in Scotland. The history and scenic beauty I encountered there was a source of continual interest, but reinforced my appreciation of the cultural heritage and landscape of Nova Scotia. After returning to Canada, I spent several years working in the Eastern Arctic. Deeply impressed by the sense of connection Inuit have for the land in Nunavut, my eyes were opened to the special bonds that exist between indigenous groups and landscapes in their respective territories. This experience prompted me to ask questions about the sense of belonging immigrant groups can forge in an adopted environment; reflecting on my own links to an ancestral homeland and the sense of belonging Scottish Gaels feel in Nova Scotia. How have settlers and their descendants developed and sustained bonds with specific landscape elements in the province? More to the point, how have they interpreted an adopted environment and made it their own? As a result of my interest in Gaelic language and culture in Nova Scotia, I suspected oral traditions held a key. After all, the first historians were storytellers. All over the world, the transmission of community history and traditional knowledge was once dependant on the spoken word. Legends, songs and stories brought people together, reinforced their cultural identity, and offered important learning opportunities. For this reason, oral traditions can provide valuable insights into the communities and people that maintain them. While my work would have been 7 more straightforward had it focused only on written works—no fieldwork, no transcriptions, and no translations—it would also have been less rigorous, less revealing, and less personally satisfying without the stories and perspectives included here. To be clear, the material that follows has been shaped by those who have shared it with me. Folklore, after all, possesses different meanings to different people at different times. That includes me. It has been said that all writing is autobiographical, and in many regards that is true of this work as well. I belong to the cultural group and region described. I also know the power of land, having seen its impact within my own family. But reflexivity in ethnographic research is best when it illuminates the focus, and is not allowed to eclipse it. In this work my goal has been to shed light on the relationship people have with land in Gaelic Nova Scotia. My story is not theirs, and their stories have been my focus. Unlike some studies, which feign objectivity through dispassion, my work does not pretend to be detached from its subject. Such an approach would be disingenuous. I care deeply about the people and place it describes: I can think of no better reason to devote so much time and effort to recording these stories. Despite this commitment, my thesis is not a praise piece. Scottish Gaels were not always fair in their dealings with land, either with each other or with members of the Mi’kmaq First Nation. To gloss over this reality would be unjust and inaccurate.