First Draft

Please send comments and suggestions on this draft to Mark Baxter or ‘Highland & Gaelic Society’, c/o OUSA, PO Box 1436, Dunedin, New Zealand.

Cumaibh air Chuimhne Doighean ar Sinnsir
Remember the ways of our ancestors

Definition

The exact definition of Gaelic or Celtic studies could be the subject of much academic discussion. For the purpose of this submission, Gaelic and Celtic Studies is considered to range from the history and culture of the early Celtic inhabitants of Britain and Europe, to modern Gaelic history, heritage and culture, focusing on Scotland, Ireland and Wales, these peoples, and their culture.

Background

Like the Māori of New Zealand, the Gaelic and Celtic peoples were colonised. In Ireland, children were beaten for speaking their own language. In the Highlands an even more barbaric system was often used. Children were made to wear a cow's skull around their neck for speaking Gaelic. The only way they could get it off was by telling on somebody else. In Wales, a similar practice, using a large rope, was widespread. It came to be known as ‘the Welsh Knot’.

Since then importance of Gaelic and Celtic heritage in education has been recognised in the UK and Ireland. Gaelic language has been reintroduced into some schools, in much the same way Māori language has been here. There are also schools in England which cater for children of Gaelic and Celtic descent. Universities in Scotland and Ireland have long offered papers and degrees in Gaelic and Celtic Studies. However, the only such courses to be offered in the Southern Hemisphere are at Sydney. Nothing significant is offered at any university in this country, despite the fact over 40% of New Zealand’s population originated from Ireland, Scotland, or Wales, (not to mention the significant number of Cornish people who also arrived on these shores).

If any university should offer such a course, it should be Otago. It is situated in Dunedin, the ‘Edinburgh of the South’. Dunedin and its students have a strong association with Gaelic and Celtic heritage, with the bulk of Dunedin’s original European settlers being Scottish. There were also a good number of Irish who settled in Dunedin, including two shiploads of Irish women who arrived in 1876. The Otago Witness used to feature a couple of columns of Gaelic song and poetry, in much the same way as Māori appears in some newspapers today. Even Dunedin’s popular culture shows this affiliation; for example adoption of the ‘Highlanders’ name by the provincial rugby team. Until recently Dunedin had the only Scotch distillery outside Scotland.

Otago students have requested various courses in Gaelic or Celtic Studies in the past. The Bamforth Fund was left to the University over a century ago for the study of Scottish culture. More recently — in 1993 — a petition of over 300 signatures requesting a Gaelic and Celtic history paper was presented to the History Department. Plans were made for a history paper, but were subsequently shelved due to “a shortage of funds” and “other priorities”. In 1996 a second petition containing nearly 1,000 signatures was presented, this time to the University Council. The demand had risen not just for a history course, but for language, mythology, and music courses as well. The Highland Society has run after-hours Gaelic Speaking courses for several years. These have been popular with not only many students by also members of the public.

Introduction and Rationale

The first petition, for a history paper, used the History Department’s own goals as part of the argument for the proposed course: “To provide the community with graduates who have acquired a broad knowledge of history and especially New Zealand history, New Zealand’s European heritage, and of other communities and historical processes of importance to New Zealand.” The rationale is still applicable for the broader course involving language, mythology, and music papers as well.

Firstly, Gaelic and Celtic peoples constitute a major component of “New Zealand’s European heritage”. Secondly, the colonisation and subsequent displacement of the Celtic peoples was certainly a process “of major importance to New Zealand”. In fact the study of this process could engender greater understanding between Māori and Pākehā.

Profit Potential

A course in Gaelic and Celtic Studies could offer several benefits to the Humanities Division, and Otago University generally. Because Otago would be the only New Zealand university offering such a course, it would attract people of Irish, Scottish, and Welsh descent from other centres, who have an interest in these topics, and would otherwise not study at Otago (survey being analysed). If Māori Studies is anything to go by, then such a course would attract the same people from other disciplines, wishing to supplement their degree with some other interest papers (survey being analysed). Unfortunately, the current political and economic climate has led to a reduction of numbers in the humanities, and drastic restructuring has been proposed.

The only humanities subject which has had a steady increase in numbers has been Māori studies. The reasons for this are varied, but one of the most important factors is that people have begun to show an interest in their own ethnic heritage. This has been a world-wide phenomenon, and anybody with reasonable powers of observation should be able to perceive that Gaelic and Celtic peoples have also taken part in this renewed awareness. The popularity of The Pogues and Riverdance, as well as the large number of Irish bars opening around the country, should be salient evidence of this. On Gary McCormick’s ‘Heartland’ programme, looking at the Scots, the Highland pipe bands claimed they had never had so many young people wishing to learn the pipes or drums.

We feel the downgrading of Humanities is a national disgrace. The key to their survival is diversification, and supplying papers that are unavailable elsewhere. Spanish, the latest language to be established at Otago, is not only widely available around the world, but also from Otago’s main local competitors — this being the reason for its introduction. Therefore, Gaelic and Celtic studies could give Otago a unique course with which to market itself against other universities, and the Humanities Division could receive much-needed funding.

History

The very founding of the University of Otago harkens to Dunedin’s Scottish settlers’ desire to educate their people. Education had become a badge of Scots’ identity in the nineteenth century that helped the Scots preserve a sense of nationhood without threatening the Union with England. Unfortunately, as a result, the promotion of Scots’ literature, heritage and history was neglected. It was not until early in the twentieth century that Chairs in Scots’ History were established at Glasgow and Edinburgh Universities. These subjects have fared worse in this country’s universities.

On Television New Zealand’s ‘Heartland’ programme, a New Zealander of Scots origin who had won an international piping competition said “I don’t know the history. All I know is how to play the music”. This is a travesty when one considers the importance of history to Highland music. A situation exists where a major proportion of New Zealand’s population (around 40%) cannot study their own history at a tertiary institution.

History would be the most popular paper in a Gaelic and Celtic Studies course. A course proposal has already been drafted by Tom Brooking and Ralf Hayburn, lecturers from the History Department at Otago. They both feel confident that the Department already possesses the necessary expertise and that such a paper would be well patronised.

Language

It is widely realised that in order to understand a history in any detail, one must at least understand some of the language. To take a Gaelic and Celtic history course seriously, a language consultant would have to be available. There is already an interest in the Gaelic language at Otago. The Highland Society at the University organised an introductory course in Scots Gaelic, which usually has around twenty five students attending. These people are studying on top of their other courses, and are receiving no recognised qualification for their efforts. The majority are not Society members, although they are mostly people of Scots descent. Some are linguistics students who have an interest in the Gaelic language in relation to other North-west European languages. In fact, there are many Gaelic words in the English language: such as whisky, slogan, Tory.

Mythology

Sir George Grey gathered a collection of Māori oral traditions called Legends of Aotearoa, and Ngā Mahi o ngā Tīpuna (The Works of the Ancestors). In the preface, he stated that despite being a fluent speaker of the Māori language, he could not understand the conversation of the chiefs he dealt with until he understood the myths to which they made reference. The same is true of Gaelic and Celtic societies. Oral traditions are a major component of the culture, and reflect patterns of thinking and behaviour, far more so than in a society which uses written traditions. An understanding of Gaelic and Celtic mythology is essential if one wishes to understand these cultures.

Recently, the Humanities Division has been reassessing the role of its Classics Department. It would good to utilise the skills of the Classics Department in the study of Gaelic and Celtic mythology. The Celts, Greeks, and Romans were three of the major groups of classical Europe, and their cultures influenced each other. The Gaels claim partial descent from the Trojans, and their traditions were very much influenced by the Greeks. It was in Ireland that classical Greek philosophy found refuge whilst the Roman empire collapsed, and the rest of Western Europe regarded Greek philosophy unfavourably.

There is also a desperate need for the study of mythology as a science, and how it operates within a society generally. Then there are the uses of mythology as a primary history source. These areas of study could only diversify and enrich the Classical Studies Department.

Music

The head of the Music Department at Otago stated that they would be “quite happy for students to take bagpipe within the existing performance training programme”, and are at present “consulting” over “the provision of a suitable teacher”. Recently one of their students, Jenny Coleman, submitted a PhD thesis upon the history of Highland music in New Zealand. Clearly the Music Department could accommodate Gaelic and Celtic music with relative ease.

Conclusion

A course in Gaelic and Celtic Studies could be established in the History and Music Departments with very little addition to the present resources. Classical Studies, with a few adaptations, could cater for Gaelic and Celtic mythology, probably to their own benefit. The only areas that really require any expenditure on the part of the University are language and the initial costs of setting up the course. It would probably be best to employ somebody with expertise in the Gaelic languages as Head of Gaelic and Celtic studies, as languages are central to the subject. Teaching Fellows could be employed if there is adequate demand.

Such expenditure could be underwritten, in part, by the Bamforth Fund, which at present yields around $14,000 per annum. The Highland and Gaelic Society hopes to investigate sponsors from the business community. Interest in studying this subject, as recorded in the petition and the popularity of Gaelic classes, was reasonably high. The Highland and Gaelic Society is currently undertaking further surveys to gauge this interest; early responses and community feedback have been very positive. Therefore, the risks to the University involved in setting up this course are comparatively minimal. The potential benefits could be substantial, especially for the beleaguered Humanities Division.

Drafted by:
Nigel Cairns
Mark Baxter

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