Should They Stay or Should They Go? -- Psychologically speaking, Scotland is a politically conflicted place. In 1999, its Parliament was restored after being dissolved for nearly 300 years following the union between England and Scotland in 1707. Most Scots have a fierce pride in their country, which is every bit as old as its larger and more dominant neighbor to the south. But whether that self-belief will ever translate into complete self-government is open to debate.
The traditional political parties -- Labour, Conservative, and Liberal Democrat -- remain staunchly in favor of the current union, while the leading independence group, the Scottish National Party, has seen its percentage of the vote drop in 21st-century elections. But SNP members are not the only ones who advocate Scottish independence: New parties with growing electoral success, such as the Greens and Scottish Socialists, also back full autonomy from rule in London.
Highland Games & Gatherings -- Highland Gatherings or Games have their origins in the fairs organized by the tribes or clans for the exchange of goods. At these gatherings, there were often trials of strength among the men, and the strongest were selected for the chief's army.
The earliest games were probably held more than 1,000 years ago, but the formal and annual organization of them dates only to the 1820s. The same traditions are maintained today: throwing hammers, tossing tree trunks (cabers), and running in flat races and up steep hillsides. Playing the bagpipes and performing dances are part of the gatherings.
Queen Victoria, who developed a passion for Scotland (which was dramatized in the film Mrs. Brown), popularized the Highland Games, which for many decades had been suppressed after the failure of the 1745 rebellion. In 1848, the queen and her consort, Prince Albert, attended the Braemar Gathering and saw Duncan, her ghillie (originally meaning a male attendant but today referring to a fishing and hunting guide), win the race up the hill of Craig Choinnich, as she recorded in her journal. The most famous gathering is still at Braemar, held in late August or early September and patronized by the royal family.
Clans, Tartans & Kilts -- To the outsider, Scotland's deepest traditions appear to be based on the clan system of old with the familiar paraphernalia of tartans. However, this is a romantic memory, and in any case, a good part of the Scots -- the 75% of the population who live in the central Lowlands, for example -- have little or no connection with the clansmen of earlier times. Clan tradition dates from the tribal units of the country's earliest Celtic history. Power was organized around a series of chieftains who exacted loyalties from the inhabitants of a particular region in exchange for protection against exterior invasions.
Chieftains were absolute potentates, with life and death power over members and interlopers, although they were usually viewed as patriarchs actively engaged in the perpetuation of the clan's bloodlines, traditions, and honor. One of the country's oldest and largest is Clan Donald, whose original organization occurred during the early mists of the Christianization of Scotland and whose headquarters have traditionally been Scotland's northwestern coast and western islands. Briefly the clan head was called "Lord of the Isles" because of the size and reach of the clan. Eventually Clan Donald dissolved into subdivisions, which include the Donalds of Sleat, Glengarry, and MacAlister.
The clan system had largely broken down long before Sir Walter Scott wrote his romantic novels about them and long before Queen Victoria made Scotland socially fashionable. The clans today represent a cultural rather than a political power. The best place to see the remnants of their tradition in action is at any traditional Highland gathering, although battalions of bagpipers seem to show up at everything from weddings and funerals to political rallies, parades, and civic events throughout Scotland.
