One of the largest Scottish events that is been held in the
summer months every year is what is called nowadays ‘Highland Games’. Scottish
Highland games are events celebrating the Celtic and Scottish heritages. The event
is not only an athletics competitions, but also includes piping, drumming,
dancing, and other entertainment exhibitions about the Scottish cultures. The competitions
are not only for locals, it attracts the athletes from all over the world to
participate and compete in these events. The events starts on May and last
until September and takes place in multiple towns, villages and famous castles across
the country. The average number of competitors in this event is about 3,500
competing in the presence of about 23,000 spectators.
History:
Some people debate that the origin of highland games came
from Ireland in 2000BC then came to Scotland with the immigrants in the fourth
and fifth century. The origin of Braemar Gathering, which is the largest and
most prestigious Highland Games event with also annual attendance of the Royal
Family, is back to Malcolm Canmore in 1040. Malcolm used the strength
competition of jumping, running, throwing and riding to determine the most
suitable men to become his soldiers.
Throughout the time the highland games faced several
problems made it stop despite its increasing popularity. The worst problem that
the highland games suffered was the proscription in 1746 after the Jacobite
Rebellion. The ban included the Scottish dress, customs and gathering and was
forced by law for almost 40 years. After cancelling that law, the highland
games resumed again. Moreover, the visit of George IV to Scotland boosted the
attention and interest in the Scottish customs.
The Irish ‘Book of Leinster’ has described the oldest heavy
events known which goes back Tailteann Games from 1829BC until 554BC. Since the
‘Book of Leinster’ was written in the twelfth century, which is a very long
time after the actual events, the content of the book should not be accepted as
absolute facts.
Hummers Throwing history:
If you ever watched the hammer
throwing Olympics you might wonder why they are calling it hummer throwing while
throwing heavy balls instead. But if you watched the highland games you might
get a rough idea about the reason since they throw objects closely resembling
the sledge hummers which was the first version of hummer throwing competition
and where it got its name.
Some argue that the origin for
hummer throwing goes back to the ‘Roth-Cleas’ or ‘Wheel feat’ sports of the
ancient Irish Tailteann Games in about 1829BC or the 'casting of the bar' of
Renaissance England. The earliest reference to weight and hummer throwing goes
back to the rein of Edward III (1327-1377). In his rein he prohibited these among
a list of sports to make the men focus more on archery practice. The interesting
thing about these concerns is that they were the result of threats from the Scotts
especially Robert the Bruce, who had won Scottish independence from Edward II
in the battle of Bannockburn in 1314.
There were other references to
hummer and weight throwing in the sixteenth and seventeenth century is
descriptions of sports. For example what was published in 1508 in Barclay's
'Eclogues':
“I can
both hurle and sling.
I
runne, I wrestle. I can well throw the barre,
No
shepherd throweth the axeltree so farre;
If I
were merry, I could well leap and spring.
I
were a man mete to serve prince or king”.
Another quote is from sixteenth
century when minstrel Randel Holme described the sports of Lancashire:
“Any
they dare challenge for to throw the sledge,
To
jump or leape over a ditch or hedge,
To
wrastle, play at stoole-ball or to runne,
To
pitche the barre or to shoote a gunne...”
The
Events :
As mentioned earlier, Highland Games consist mainly of
traditional heavy sports but also has a variety of other traditional
exhibitions and competitions in dancing, drumming etc.
Heavy
Events:
Most people consider the main event in the Highland Games is
the athletic competitions and the other events merely entertainment.
Caber toss:
The Competitor hold a long pole or
log vertically with the small end in his hand. Then the competitor is allowed
to run in order to toss the log in such a way that in flips and the larger end
of the log hits the ground first. The smaller
end then hits the ground in the 12 O’clock position relative to the direction
of the run. Then the competitors judged on how closely their throws was to the
ideal 12 o’clock position. The difficulty lies in the length and weight of the
log and keeping it balanced while running before the toss not mentioning the
large strength required for the toss itself.
Stone put:
In this competition a large stone of deferent
weight is used instead of metal shots in the Olympics. There are two types of
stone puts in the Scottish highland games, The ‘Braemar Stone’ and the ‘Open
Stone’. In the Braemar Stone the athlete is not allowed to run or trig to deliver
the stone. Also the stone used for Braemar Stone weights 20-26 Ib for men and
13-18 Ib for women. In the other hand, the stones used for Open Stone weights
16-22 Ib for men and 8-12 Ib for women. In addition to that, in the Open Stone the
thrower is allowed to use any throwing style as long as he use only one hand.
Most throwers in Open Stone event use either glider or spin techniques.
Scottish Hummer Throw:
The metal object used in this event
weights 16-22 Ib for men or 12-16 Ib for women and is attached to the end of a
shaft made of plastic, wood or bamboo and its length is about 4 feet. With the
feet in a fixed position, the hammer is whirled about one's head and thrown for
distance over the shoulder. Hammer throwers usually use specially designed
footwear with flat blades to dig into the ground to keep their balance while
whirling which increases the distance of the throw.
Weight Throw:
There are two types, light weight
and heavy weight. The light weight which is 28 Ib for men and 14 Ib for women. While
the heavy weight is 42-56 Ib for men and 28 Ib for women. The metal objects have either a handle
attached directly to them or by a chain. The only rule is that you can use only
one hand but your free to use any technique you want and the most used
technique is the spinning. The winner is the one who throws the furthest.
Weight over the bar:
The competitors are supposed to
throw 56 pound with attached handle over a horizontal bar using only one hand. Every
athlete has only 3 attempts for each height. The winner of each round advances
to the next round with a greater height. In case of tie score the winner is
determined by the one with less failed attempts.
Maide Leisg ( Scots meaning ‘Lazy
Stick’ ):
This event is performed by two men sitting in
the ground and pressing their legs against each other and holding a stick
between their hands. Then they have to pull the stick until one of them is raised
from the ground and the other one is the winner.
Music:
One of the most interesting events that the spectators are
looking up for is the massing of pipe bands. Normally about 20 deferent pipe
bands or more are performing together in the opening and closing ceremony
making it unforgettable experience. In addition to that, there are a wide range
of piping and drumming competitions as a group or solo. Drumming and piping are
not the only music available at the Highland Games, there are a variety of
Celtic bands, harp circles etc.
Dance:
The annual World Highland Dancing Championship is being held
in the Cowal Highland Gathering. The best dancers of the world compete for the
World Championship title.
Secondary
Events:
With the increasing popularity of the Highland Games a wide
variety of other activities are added. One of the interesting activities is the
clan tents which you can learn more about their society and their roots. There
are also vendors selling Scottish related goods. In addition to that, you can
find armouries displaying a variety of collections of swords and other weapons.
Furthermore, Herding dog trials and exhibitions are often held, showcasing the
breeder's and trainer's skills.
Conclusion:
The increasing popularity of the Highland Games events are
making it more and more interesting as more people are deciding to participate.
That’s not all, a wide variety of interesting things are being added which
makes the Highland Games one of the must go destinations if you ever visit Scotland.
I wanted to add that the Scottish Highland Games are not the only Highland
games that are being held but the variety of events and the atmosphere that is
filled with the cultural heritage makes it the most interesting one.
Reference:
·
About Highland Games.
(n.d.). Retrieved December 9, 2014, from http://www.scotland.org/whats-on/scotlands-festivals/highland-games/about-highland-games/
·
Black, C. (n.d.). HISTORY
OF THE SCOTTISH HEAVY EVENTS. Retrieved December 9, 2014, from http://web.archive.org/web/20010410044852/http://www.saaa-net.org/free/hist1.html
·
Black, C. (n.d.). HISTORY
OF THE HAMMER THROW. Retrieved December 8, 2014, from http://web.archive.org/web/20010219052059/http://www.saaa-net.org/free/hist.html
·
Highland games - Scotland.
(n.d.). Retrieved December 9, 2014, from http://www.visitscotland.com/about/arts-culture/uniquely-scottish/highland-games
