Ewen MacLachlan – Dance Master, Catechist and Storyteller

There can be little doubt that Ewen MacLachlan has left his mark upon Gaelic oral tradition, particularly of South Uist. When Calum Maclean (1915–1960) was collecting in the Southern Hebrides his name was mentioned more than a few times especially if the topic of dancing was raised. Many of the numerous tales recorded by Maclean from that great storyteller of the twentieth century, Angus Barrach MacMillan (1874–1954), can be traced to Ewen MacLachlan:

In Angus’s family there had been a tradition of story-telling. His father, Calum MacMillan, who died in 1917, was in his day a noted story-teller. Angus maintains that he does not have even a third of the tales his father had. About the year 1850 there arrived in South Uist an itinerant dancing-master named Ewen MacLachlan. He was also a noted story-teller. In South Uist he met Calum MacMillan. When MacLachlan decided to go to Benbecula and hold a dancing-school there, he went to live in MacMillan’s house. Such a guest as an itinerant dancing-master, who as well had a large repertoire of tales, would have been welcome in any house in the Hebrides. In that little house in Griminish, Calum MacMillan learned most of the tales he knew and later passed on to his son. MacLachlan stayed with MacMillan for the greater part of a winter, and in the evenings on his return from the dancing classes told tales well into the night.

So far, so good. But there are many contradictions regarding MacLachalan. He died in 1879 of ‘natural decay’ in Daliburgh, South Uist, aged 80, and where he is described as a dance master and single, which means that he was born around 1799. His father’s name is given as Angus MacLachlan but no mention is made of his mother. Presumably the informant, Neil MacCormick in this instance, simply didn’t know the name of MacLachlan’s mother. And it may well be asked did MacLachlan know himself? But according to another source, MacLachlan was called mac Iseabail Reitealain (son of Isabella of R(h)etland), Retland being a place in South Morar, and, of course, part of the Clanranald territories. Matronymic names in Gaelic society usually indicate illegitimacy but MacLachlan’s death certificate contradicts this. To add further to the mystery, the census returns of 1841 and 1851, indicates that Ewen MacLachan was born in Greenock, Renfrewshire. Could it be then that MacLachlan was born in Greenock, from Highland parents, namely Angus MacLachlan and Isabella (probably a MacDonald) and was perhaps brought up in South Morar? In South Uist and Barra tradition, MacLachlan is referred to as Eòghan na Làimh Bige (‘Ewen of the Shrivelled Hand’) or An Dannsair Ciotach (‘The Stumpy Dancer’) indicating that he had a deformity. It is also related, according to oral tradition, that he travelled to the Continent in order to study for the priesthood but either due to his illegitimacy or his deformity he was barred from ordination. Whether there is a grain of truth to this tradition or not, MacLachlan, like his near contemporary Ruaraidh Ruadh MacCuithein ('Red-haired Roderick MacQueen), was a catechist.

Given that Alexander Carmichael was assiduously collecting oral traditions all around the Uists and that MacLachlan had a reputation of being a good storyteller then why is it that there seems to be no mention of him amongst Carmichael’s papers? It is inconceivable that they did not hear about one another, or, indeed, that they did not meet. Maybe the answer lies in the fact that they did meet but simply did not get on well. Or was MacLachlan just too suspicious of Carmichael because he was an exciseman? It is perhaps doubtful that a definitive answer can ever be reached but other sources elsewhere might flesh out MacLachlan’s career and help to clear up some of the mystery that surrounds such an intriguing character.

References:
Maclean, Calum, 'Hebridean Traditions', Gwerin: Journal of Folk life, vol. 1, no. 1 (1956), pp. 21–33.

Melin, Matts, Hebridean Dancing (1989, 2001) [http://www.matsmelin.com/hebrideandancing.html]
Image: Dancing Feet

Child Prodigy II

In his later life in Edinburgh Alexander Carmichael would often reminisce about the people from whom he had recorded such a treasury of lore and tradition during the years he spent in Uist. He recorded these memories in a number of draft manuscripts: it is difficult to say whether they were originally intended for publication, for reading to an audience, or just for his own pleasure. One touchstone of memory must have been the two days (6–7 April 1869) he spent with Duncan MacDonald of Snaoiseabhal in South Uist and his six-year old grandson Donald, whom we’ve already met in the blog. Carmichael clearly got on well with the old man, whom he describes as ‘a smart little man sorely inflicted with rheumatism. Has a clear blue eye & an intelligent face’. But it was the boy whom he remembered vividly many years after the event.

I took down several versions of the beautiful poem of Fraoch in Argyle and the Outer Isles. They all agree in the main but differ in detail. That, however, which I like best is a version written on the 7th April 1869 from the recitation of a remarkable boy six years of age, Donald Macdonald, son of Alexander Macdonald, crofter, Snaoisval, South Uist. Probably I took down in all from 400 to 500 lines of excellent old poetry from this wonderful child of song modesty and memory.
Among other things was a hymn which the boy called the ‘Hymn of Uist’. This resembles and may actually be a free rendering of the hymn of Saint Bernard entitled [ ]. If it be a free rendering of the Latin of Saint Bernard the Gaelic to my thinking is infinitely superior…
The only difficulty experienced with this boy was childlike, his disposition to gambol about with his companions. There were a kitten, a pup, and a lamb in the house and every now and then these three and the boy rose and had a frolic on the floor together.
The boy’s grandfather Donl mac an taillear, Donald son of the tailor [his actual name was Duncan] – a nice old man sat in a corner enveloped in friendly peat smoke and now and again scolded the boy in a friendly way for not attending to the gentleman.
At last fairly tired and done up these four playful delightful and frolicsome creatures lay down on the floor beside the friendly fire of peat and fell fast asleep. A shaggy little six-horned sheep an equally shaggy symmetrical black calf and a sturdy ragged little foal all by times and sometimes together looked in and sniffed the nestling group beside the fire.

In an earlier draft of this reminiscence, Carmichael carries on:

The writer too tired and fatigued drew his cloak over him and stretching himself on the wooden bench Gaelic, Seise, on which he sat, fell fast asleep and slept soundly till the cold awoke him in the grey dawn of the morning. Leaving the house as quietly as he could he washing himself in the first friendly stream, he walked on several miles to the house of one of his innumerable kind and most hospitable friends where he had breakfast.
One of the things obtained from this child was Laoidh Chrisd the Lay or Hymn of Christ, probably one of the finest sacred poems in the Gaelic language. It resembles and may actually be a fine rendering of the famous hymn of S Bearnard…

The field notebooks suggest that Carmichael’s memory of the event may not have been entirely accurate: before leaving their house, he recorded some thirty-two pages of material from the two MacDonalds. Afterwards, he headed down to Tobha Mór/Howmore on the other side of Loch Ròg (perhaps a mile or so away, rather than ‘several’!). There he wrote down several songs from another memorable acquaintance: Peggy MacAulay née Robertson (c.1820–81), ‘Peigidh Sgiathanach’, ‘a tall, straight, comely brunette, with beautiful brown eyes and hair “like a raven’s plumage, smoothed on snow”’ whom he had first recorded about a month previously. As Angus Macmillan has kindly pointed out to us, Peggy lived next door to where Mary Wilson was born and brought up, Mary being the mother of another great storyteller, Angus MacLellan (1869–1966), ‘Aonghas Beag’.

References:The original fieldnotes are to be found in CW MS 107 fos. 36v–56v.
Carmichael’s later reminiscences of the event are recorded in CW MS 172 fos. 1–4. His description of Peigidh Sgiathanach is in Carmina Gadelica ii, p. 213: see also p. 350n.2.
Image: Detail of the Carmichael portrait.

Child Prodigy

The term ‘seannachie’ conjures up images of an old man telling ancient stories heard and retold through generations. This week, to the team’s surprise, in one of Carmichael’s field notebooks we came across a young lad, Donald MacDonald, who at only 6 years of age was able to recite lengthy poems and songs, something you would usually expect from an aged seannachie.

Carmichael appears to have spent a few days in the spring of 1869 in Snishival in South Uist collecting songs and poems from Donald and his grandfather, Duncan MacDonald, described then as a ‘smart little man sorly inflicted with rheumatism. Has a clear blue eye and an intelligent face’. Donald told Carmichael that the tales he recited he learned from his grandfather, who in turn had learned them from his father. Amongst those which Donald recited are Laoidh Dhiarmaid, Laoidh Fhraoich and Taladh Iain Mhùideartaich – no mean feat, that’s for sure!

Donald was the son of Duncan’s daughter Catherine and Alexander MacDonald, a relation of the Duke of Tarentum (1765-1840). Sadly, by the time he was 13, in 1875, both of his parents had died and he is shown on census records as living with Duncan and his uncle, also called Donald.

Donald and Duncan were from a long line of seannachies in South Uist which includes Duncan MacDonald, or Donnchadh mac Dhòmhaill 'ic Dhonnchaidh (1882-1954), who is still remembered there. While we know that he worked as an agricultural labourer around Snishival until he was about 29, we don’t know what happened to him after that and whether he continued the family tradition as his cousin did.

References:

CW 107/43 fols. 40r-43v
Image: Duncan MacDonald of South Uist (1883-1954), first cousin of Donald MacDonald, pictured at the Callanish Stones while attending an International Conference held in Stornoway, October, 1953.